A bill from Sen. Shelly Short (R–Addy) substantially updates the make-up of the state Building Code Council and changes requirements for geographic and population-based representation.

SB 5429 proposes the following changes to the Council’s membership:

• One city representative must be from a city over population 50,000; one must be from a city or town under population 50,000.
• One county representative must be from a county over population 300,000; one must be from a county under population 300,000.
  • Currently the two city representatives and two county representatives on the Council have no stipulations related to population.
• Adds a utility provider representative.
• Increases the number of private sector representatives on the Council to 13 by adding one representative each from:
  • Real estate
  • Plumbing profession
  • Manufacturers and suppliers of building materials
  • Developers with expertise in single-family construction
  • Developers with expertise in multifamily construction
  • Developers with expertise in sustainable construction
  • Developers with expertise in remodeling and renovation
  • Developers with expertise in materials installation
• Stipulates that at least ten members must reside in cites under population 50,000 or counties under population 300,000.

The remaining membership is comprised of:

• A local government building code official
• A local government fire service official
• A person with a physical disability or, as proposed by the bill, an expert in accessibility

AWC seeks feedback from cities regarding the proposed changes to the Council’s membership.

Date to remember

SB 5429 is scheduled for public hearing in the Senate Local Government Committee on Thursday, February 6 at 1:30 pm.