I purchased a home in Richmond, Virginia that was built in 1938. The home had NO insulation in the walls, floor, or perimeter of the foundation. Single pane windows with leaky sash tracks were the standard. The ceiling had just 4" of rock wool. In the wintertime, you could feel the cold air blow across your feet as the air changed regularly in the home. This was the standard for 1938. 

There is no reason not to follow the Virginia Law mandated IECC national standard when it comes to reviewing code changes in Virginia.

The cost of purchasing an energy-efficient home is quickly offset by the savings in monthly utility bills. The comfort of the home is why we have homes, to begin with. Quality of installation, materials, and practices can help save energy over the life of the mortgage AND the life of the home, adding real value to the homeowner who can boast to the energy efficiency to the next purchaser.

A builder's job is to build a quality home. A good builder's job is to build a quality, energy-efficient home, built to the best science, common sense, and reasonable cost. This good builder can market efficiency as a bonus, not as an added cost. The bust builder would build an energy-efficient home he/she would be proud to live in, and in fact, does live in.

You have a chance here to correct the code to bring affordable living to more people, by not just considering what a home costs to build, but what it costs to own and operate. Lower utility bills mean more money for the homeowner to participate in a wider economy.