Home Builders, LARA agree to delay
new residential codes during court cases
(Gongwer News Service) — The Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs will not enforce updated administrative rules in the residential construction code while a court considers a lawsuit challenging them.
The Home Builders Association of Michigan and the Michigan Manufactured Housing Association, together with LARA, filed Monday an agreement with the Court of Claims that prevents LARA from enforcing the new rules and from either association seeking legal action against LARA for failing to comply with statute requiring updated rules. The agreement will remain in place until the two lawsuits filed by the associations against LARA are resolved and no longer subject to appeal.
At issue is MOAHR 2021-048 and MOAHR 2022-016, updates to the Michigan Uniform Energy Code and Residential Construction code. They were filed with the secretary of state on May 1 and will take effect on August 29.
Bob Filka, CEO of the Home Builders Association of Michigan, said the rules, which bring Michigan into line with national standards written in 2021, would create barriers to building new housing. Instead, the state should move directly to adopt national standards written in 2024.
The state has argued it cannot begin the rulemaking process to adopt the 2024 standards until it has the 2021 standards in place. Environmental groups also have praised the 2021 standards as more energy efficient.
With the stipulated order before Judge James Redford, the 2015 versions of the International Residential Code and 2015 International Energy Conservation Code remain in force during the litigation.
Database expands with
The Home Builders Association of Michigan and the Michigan Manufactured Housing Association, together with LARA, filed Monday an agreement with the Court of Claims that prevents LARA from enforcing the new rules and from either association seeking legal action against LARA for failing to comply with statute requiring updated rules. The agreement will remain in place until the two lawsuits filed by the associations against LARA are resolved and no longer subject to appeal.
At issue is MOAHR 2021-048 and MOAHR 2022-016, updates to the Michigan Uniform Energy Code and Residential Construction code. They were filed with the secretary of state on May 1 and will take effect on August 29.
Bob Filka, CEO of the Home Builders Association of Michigan, said the rules, which bring Michigan into line with national standards written in 2021, would create barriers to building new housing. Instead, the state should move directly to adopt national standards written in 2024.
The state has argued it cannot begin the rulemaking process to adopt the 2024 standards until it has the 2021 standards in place. Environmental groups also have praised the 2021 standards as more energy efficient.
With the stipulated order before Judge James Redford, the 2015 versions of the International Residential Code and 2015 International Energy Conservation Code remain in force during the litigation.
Database expands with
added oversight reports
The Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy at Wayne State University Law School announced that its Congressional Oversight Records Database (CORD) has expanded its collection by adding oversight reports from the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. The release includes 39 oversight reports dating from the 105th to the 118th Congress (1998-2024) now available to the public free of charge at www.cord-levin-center.org/home.
This new committee release adds a total of 39 oversight reports to the existing database. With this addition, CORD now houses a collection of 1,400 congressional oversight reports for scholars and academics to use in their research.
CORD is an effort by the Levin Center to make available for scholars, oversight practitioners, and the public oversight documents that are not easily accessible.
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