The International Code Council (ICC) will hold its combined Public Comment Hearings for the 2024-2027 building code cycle beginning April 19 in Hartford, Conn.

NAHB members are encouraged to attend the event live or watch via webcast to better understand the code development process and inform their actions during voting and later code adoption.

The 2024-2027 code development cycle is the first to use a combined Public Comment Hearing (PCH) under the ICC’s revised process, which now includes two Committee Action Hearings per code group. Under this process, all International Residential Code (IRC), International Building Code (IBC), and other I-Code (except energy) proposals receiving a public comment from Group A (2024) and Group B (2025) are heard in a single PCH.

The hearings will start on Sunday, April 19 at 1:00 pm ET at the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford and are scheduled to run through April 23. The hearings are open to the public and registration is free.

NAHB members, particularly those reasonably close to Connecticut, are encouraged to attend the hearings in-person or watch the live webcast streamed on the ICC’s Webcast page. Materials for the hearings, including proposed changes for each code, a discussion guide and reports of the committee hearings, can be found on the ICC’s Current Code Development Cycle page.

Approximately two weeks after the hearings, the ICC will begin its online governmental consensus voting. NAHB provides members with resources to facilitate discussion with local code officials to advance NAHB positions on code change proposals.

When changes are proposed to building codes, state and local code officials often agree with home builders: Change is needed only when it makes new homes safer and more resilient at a reasonable cost that does not affect housing affordability.

These officials, like home builders, reject changes that benefit product manufacturers and activists more than homeowners. If just one member in every HBA shares NAHB’s positions on code changes with just one code official, the result will be better building codes. 

For information on the hearings, the code development process or to find local officials in your area that participate in the ICC voting process, contact your NAHB Construction Codes and Standards state liaison.