Maryland May Be First to Adopt International Green Code
ANNAPOLIS, Md. – A bill introduced by Maryland state delegates in February may make the state the first to adopt the International Code Council’s second version of the International Green Construction code.
House Bill 972, sponsored by seven delegates, authorizes the Department of Housing and Community Development to adopt the code at the state level, and local jurisdictions to adopt it as an alternative to the Maryland Building Performance Standards.
On March 10, the House Environmental Matters committee voted in favor of the bill, with 23-1-0.
Adopting the code may decrease new or substantial renovations for state buildings or new schools that opt to go with the code over LEED, but might increase projects for other state buildings not required to meet high-performance building standards.
The bill states that adopting the code would have local impacts of potentially increasing project costs for government buildings.
In terms of small businesses, the bill states the code might boost activity for small business developers and contractors specializing in green building construction, but some businesses might face additional costs to comply.
If passed, the act will go into effect on October 1.
In September 2010, Rhode Island became the first state to adopt Version 1.0 of the code, unveiled earlier last year. Richland, Wash., was the first local government to adopt the code last year.
The second version was announced at Greenbuild in November last year.