An environmental coalition is detailing its position in a case challenging the state’s rollback of energy efficient building codes. Last spring, the New Mexico Construction Industry Commission decided to toss out the 2010 codes, which would have made new buildings about 20 percent more efficient. It took over a year to hammer out the details of those codes.
Southwest Energy Efficiency Project’s Tammy Fiebelkorn, who was part of that process, says the repeal happened much faster. "The old code was simply overturned and replaced with new code," she says.
"There was no consensus building, no analysis to see how this new code would impact the citizens of New Mexico."
Environmental advocates say the commission did not provide evidence to support a rollback and violated the Open Meetings Act.