Missouri moves to bar cities from having green building standards in codes

The Missouri House of Representatives voted in favor of initial approval of a bill that would bar cities and towns from having green or sustainable standards in their building codes if they would increase the cost of a building.

Under this measure, any city with green provisions in their codes would have to delete them. The potentially banned provisions include any features adopted after the 2009 International Code Council (ICC) standards that are energy efficient, sustainable, high performance, or environmentally responsive.

Missouri currently follows the 2018 ICC that includes more energy-efficient windows and water heaters, advanced lighting standards, thicker insulation, and stricter requirements for ventilation efficiency. The bill would turn the state code back to the 2009 ICC and prevent any municipality from enacting newer efficiency standards.

If enacted, the bill would not prohibit homeowners from making changes to an existing home or adding energy-efficient features, but upgrades conducted after a building is constructed are typically more expensive than installing them when the structure is built. The bill would affect commercial structures as well as residences.