HB198 Alabama 2024 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Chip BrownRepresentative

Republican

Session

Regular Session 2024

Title

Building codes; Alabama Home Builders Licensure Board; Alabama Residential Building Code, authorized to be established

Summary

HB198 creates a statewide residential building code program in Alabama, with a new division and advisory council to develop and enforce a code based on IRC/IECC, and reorganizes energy code governance and funding.

What This Bill Does

It establishes the Alabama Residential Building Code Division within the Home Builders Licensure Board to implement the Alabama Residential Building Code, based on the International Residential Code and the residential chapters of the International Energy Conservation Code. It creates the Alabama Residential Building Code Advisory Council to advise the board on the code and its updates, and requires counties and municipalities to adopt or amend codes to meet the minimum standards of the Alabama Residential Building Code. It creates the Alabama Residential Building Code Fund to finance the division’s work and allows funding for enforcement grants; it also creates the Alabama Construction Trade Advisory Council and a program to support construction trade education. It reorganizes energy code governance by renaming the Alabama Energy and Residential Codes Board to the Alabama Commercial Energy Code Board and creating an Alabama Commercial Energy Code Advisory Committee; it also restricts local codes adopted after 2027 to meet minimum Alabama standards and energy provisions, and prohibits new local requirements restricting consumer choices to install residential sprinkler systems (with certain grandfathering).

Who It Affects

• Residential home builders and licensees: must build, renovate, and repair according to the Alabama Residential Building Code, obtain and display a board-issued license, follow contract and reporting requirements, and may participate in education and licensing processes.
• Local governments, homeowners, and the public: local jurisdictions must adopt and enforce codes that meet minimum Alabama standards, with funding and oversight programs to support enforcement and homeowner protections.

Key Provisions

• Establishes the Alabama Residential Building Code Division within the Home Builders Licensure Board to administer and enforce the Alabama Residential Building Code, based on IRC and IECC.
• Creates the Alabama Residential Building Code Advisory Council with specified members and duties to guide code recommendations and updates for the board.
• Creates the Alabama Residential Building Code Fund to finance the division and code enforcement activities, with rules on administration, matching funds, and annual reporting to the Legislature.
• Requires local jurisdictions to adopt or amend residential codes to meet the minimum standards of the Alabama Residential Building Code; local codes after January 1, 2027 must meet minimum standards and energy provisions, with a 120-day effective date after adoption in many cases.
• Prohibits local codes from restricting a consumer’s ability to install residential sprinkler systems beginning October 1, 2024 (with grandfathering for pre-2010 ordinances).
• Renames the Alabama Energy and Residential Codes Board to the Alabama Commercial Energy Code Board, creates the Alabama Commercial Energy Code Advisory Committee, and establishes a Division to implement the Commercial Energy Code; the Division’s duties may expire at sunset of the board unless reauthorized.

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 22, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.

Subjects

Buildings, Construction & Infrastructure