The article reports that outgoing Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes is leading a lawsuit alongside Texas and 13 other states against the federal government, challenging new radical energy efficiency standards imposed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development HUD and the U.S. Department of Agriculture USDA.
The lawsuit, filed in the Eastern District of Texas, argues that the energy efficiency standards under the Cranston-Gonzalez Act, which dictate requirements for lighting, ventilation systems, and other components in new homes, are unconstitutional.
The lawsuit claims that these regulations, which are said to add $8,345 to the cost of constructing a new home, have a real cost of up to $31,000. The states involved argue that these added costs make housing less affordable, especially when more than 161,000 new single-family homes and over 17,000 multifamily units are affected each year.
Despite the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development stating that the standards can lead to long-term savings on energy bills, the lawsuit contends that they drive up costs for middle-class families and limit the production of affordable housing at a time of housing shortages.
In addition to challenging the current regulations, the lawsuit seeks to prevent the federal government from adopting similar future standards. The states involved include Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, South Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia, with the National Association of Home Builders also joining the case.
Reyes, who will be replaced by Derek Brown in January, described the lawsuit as one of his final actions as attorney general, aimed at protecting American families from increased housing costs.