Action Alert: HB26-1334, Legislation to modify Wildfire Resiliency Code, committee hearing set for today at 1:30

As previously reported, the Colorado Association of Home Builders is part of a coalition of construction industry participants and local governments supporting HB26-1334, legislation to address implementation concerns with the Colorado Wildfire Resiliency Code (CWRC).

This is one of CAHB’s highest priority bills this legislative session. We need your help to provide testimony to the House Transportation, Housing and Local Government Committee.

There is still time to sign up to provide testimony. Please click here to sign up, and the CAHB lobby team will provide more information about messaging and logistics. The committee hearing is today at 1:30 p.m., and witnesses may testify virtually. CAHB has a guideline document for providing testimony, which is available by emailing DeAnn Payne.

The wildfire code came from the passage of SB23-166, which created the Colorado Wildfire Resiliency Code Board within the Department of Public Safety. The Board was charged with establishing a minimum code and standards for hardening structures and reducing fire risk in the defensible space surrounding structures in the wildland-urban interface. Under the statute, local governments are required to adopt the code by April 1, 2026 and implement the code by July 1, 2026.

HB26-1334 would provide critical additional time for local governments to adopt local wildfire resiliency building codes, along with meaningful policy improvements and alignment with recognized wildfire-resilience standards by:

1.    Extending the implementation timeline by one year to ensure the Board fulfills its duty to provide support and data to local jurisdictions, thereby allowing local jurisdictions to complete code review and adoption processes in a technically sound and locally defensible manner;

2.    Directing the Board to review the code within the first year to enable addressing unintended consequences;

3.    Expanding the appeals process to include more impacted parties; and

4.    Directing the Department of Public Safety to report on the activities of the Wildfire Resiliency Code Board during the annual SMART Act hearing process.

Our primary concern is being faced with two bad options: Risk increased liability if builders accept a Certificate of Occupancy from a local government that is not yet enforcing the code, or face delays in having builders’ homes approved for compliance with the CWRC. Builders who are building homes in jurisdictions that do not enforce the CWRC will need documented evidence that the home complies with the CWRC. If they cannot obtain that documentation from the local jurisdiction, they will need to obtain it from the State through a state inspection. It is unclear at this time whether the State will have the resources to conduct timely inspections of all homes built or remodeled in these jurisdictions, but we remain concerned that the State will not have adequate resources, based on our conversations with the Department of Public Safety.

Please consider if you are able to testify on this important legislation. We anticipate there will also be opportunities to contact legislators to register your support for this bill.

Legislation to Extend Energy Code Board Will Not Be Introduced

The Colorado Association of Home Builders and other industry groups informed the proponents that they would oppose any request for late bill status for legislation that would extend and expand the authority of the Energy Code Board (ECB). The Southwest Energy Efficiency Project (SWEEP) had floated proposed legislation that would have made permanent the ECB and significantly expanded its oversight and roles.

Primary concerns shared about the proposed ECB legislation included eliminating the sunset provision and making the ECB a permanent board. This proposed legislation would also have fundamentally reshaped the ECB by tying Colorado’s code updates to the International Energy Conservation Code cycle, effectively mandating continuous review and potential regulatory changes and uncertainty; embedding policy-driven criteria—such as emissions reduction and greenhouse gas performance—directly into decision-making; establishing anti-backsliding provisions that prevent future policymakers from adjusting standards in response to affordability or feasibility concerns; and requiring automatic adoption of updated codes by state agencies and local governments, limiting flexibility and local control.

We plan to have conversations with the proponents, along with a larger group of industry groups and impacted stakeholders, before the next legislative session to share our concerns about the ECB and future legislation to extend and expand the board's responsibilities.