The International Code Council's board of directors approved a controversial change to the development process for its model International Energy Conservation Code, basing it instead on the system used by the American National Standards Institute. For the first time, private-sector interests, not just government code officials, will have final voting privileges on changes to the model code.

The ICC's switch to the more streamlined standards process被证明是有争议的。The proposed changeover drew 207 writtencommentsto the ICC from government officials, industry representatives and trade and professional organizations, with 75% weighing in against change. The comments came from dozens of cities and states, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and many of its chapters, the National Association of State Energy Officials, ASHRAE and DuPont Safety & Construction.

家builders, energy interests and manufacturers back the new process. “The proposed framework…appears to provide a clear improvement for the energy code development process going forward,” says Chuck Fowke, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).

在ICC董事会3月3日决定改用ANSI进程之后，AIA放弃了反对派。AIA首席执行官罗伯特·艾维（Robert Ivy）说：“我们对ICC进行了这一变化的前进，我们感到非常失望，我们认为这将使气候行动倒退。”“这一强烈反对的决定只是为了服务特殊的利益集团的服务，毫无疑问，它会侵蚀迫切需要治愈我们星球的现代法规的进步。

"We hope the ICC board of directors will ensure transparency and fairness in the selection of this new committee and take its oversight responsibility seriously,” adds Ivy.

Under the previous system, while the full range of stakeholders participated in hearings and committees, only government officials were able to vote on final code changes. In the ICC’s own words, that left “the final determination of code provisions in the hands of public safety officials who, with no vested financial interest, can legitimately represent the public interest.”

明显的变化

新系统代表一个明显的变化。“现在的最终决定将由一小群人，政府选民作为少数人做出，”市场转型研究所代码和战略副主任艾米·博伊斯（Amy Boyce）说。IMT是一家非营利组织，与所有者和开发商合作，以实现更节能的建筑物。

尽管ICC公共关系公司Coyne PR的高级帐户代表Jessica Chang说，尽管两个新的能源代码委员会的确切规模“尚未确定，但每个人可能会大约30至40人。”

委员会将有来自九个不同“利益类别”的代表，政府监管机构将占委员会成员的三分之一。委员会成员将通过公开提名过程确定，没有为组织保留的席位。这与以前的过程相比，在这11个委员会投票席上中有四个被NAHB选出的人。

“More stakeholders will be involved in the [new] standards process, but government regulators’ influence will be reduced,” says Jon Siu, who recently retired after many years as Seattle’s chief code official.