Committee advances updates to accessible-housing rules to align with ICC standards

The committee advanced Senate Bill 109, which updates Colorado's statute governing accessibility for publicly funded housing to align with current International Code Council standards and clarifies implementation and enforcement.

Representative Joseph, sponsor, said the bill replaces outdated definitions, references current ICC standards, requires covered developers to submit implementation plans to ensure accessible units are delivered and distributed across project phases, and sets a modest baseline for larger developers (sponsors described a 2% figure for accessible units for larger projects). Representative Ricks and DOLA witnesses said the change will align Colorado Revised Statutes 9‑5 with modern construction and accessibility practice. DOLA's Sam Albrecht explained the bill updates the statute from older references to the ICC 2017 standard, corrects the standard's title, and that the bill applies to housing built with state or local public money; he said it does not supersede federal accessibility requirements and that the bill applies to new builds only.

Committee members asked whether the change would require jurisdictions without International Building Code adoption to adopt it; DOLA clarified that the statute applies only where public money is used for housing and does not force local code adoption across all projects. Sponsors moved a technical amendment (L6) recommended by DOLA; it passed and the bill was reported to the Committee of the Whole with a favorable recommendation by an 8–4 vote.

What happens next: SB109 will proceed to the Committee of the Whole as amended; sponsors said it will bring Colorado's public-housing accessibility standards into alignment with current ICC practice.