Senate concurs with House amendments to building‑energy bill, shortening working‑group timeline and narrowing agency duties

The Senate concurred with House amendments to S253, an act relating to building energy codes, after a floor summary from the reporting senator for the Natural Resources and Energy committee.

The senator said the bill’s objective is to create improved and more coherent residential and commercial building energy standards. The House amendments clarify the Department of Public Service’s powers, duties and how the agency works with existing programs and laws, reflecting the department’s concern about taking on substantial new operational obligations.

The Senate accepted a shortened working‑group lifespan at the department’s request: reports are due in 2024 and 2025, with the group continuing into 2026 to allow the next Legislature the option to extend the work if productive. The conference also altered an original 2030 target to align dates and addressed the contractor registry managed by the Office of Professional Regulation, limiting the number of additional registry responsibilities assigned to OPR and requiring registrants to acknowledge that projects are subject to the building energy code.

The Natural Resources and Energy committee recommended concurrence (vote reported 4‑0) and the Senate concurred by voice vote.