House Committee Approves Building Code Reform Legislation
The House Regulatory Reform Committee this morning approved important amendments to a bill designed to make substantive improvements to the state statute regulating building code and permitting processes, before moving it to the floor for likely consideration later this week.
HB 252, ‘Building Code Regulatory Reform’, includes the following provisions:
Clarifies that counties and municipalities may not continue to enforce any ordinance or policy requiring the inspections of homes more than those specifically set forth in the North Carolina Building Code. Jurisdictions were prohibited from adopting such ordinances or policies by a law enacted in 2013 at the behest of NCHBA.Authorizes an employee under direct supervision of a licensed architect or licensed engineer to perform field inspections of the completed installation of an engineered component of a project.Clarifies that no architect or engineer certification is required for components that are engineered by the manufacturer when those components comply with the North Carolina State Building Code.Requires all local inspection departments to create and implement an informal review process of inspectors. Disagreements on interpretations or inspection issues will be subject to this process. Furthermore, the bill directs inspection departments to report annually to the Joint Committee on Local Government on the implementation of this provision.Subjects any future or existing codes to the process established in HB 255 for review and approval by the Residential Code Committee or the Building Code Committee of the Building Code Council before consideration by the Council.Clarifies that inspection agencies shall not apply any local or state interpretation of the building code to projects that are begun under a valid building permit, unless the permittee elects to have the new interpretation apply.Finally, excludes lots with septic tanks or other on-site wastewater systems from dual meter requirements, if the cutoff valve and backflow prevention device are placed within 12 inches of the water meter.
One critical amendment approved today by the committee addressed REBIC’s concerns with the code interpretation process, and now allows builders and contractors to choose whether or not a new state building code interpretation would apply to their project. We will continue to monitor the progress of this bill and advocate for its passage in the House.
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