THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

HOUSE BILL

INTRODUCED BY McGEEHAN, SOLOBAY, BRENNAN, JOSEPHS, W. KELLER, MANN, M. O'BRIEN, K. SMITH AND WALKO, JULY 14, 2009

REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON LABOR RELATIONS, JULY 14, 2009  

AN ACT

Amending the act of November 10, 1999 (P.L.491, No.45), entitled

"An act establishing a uniform construction code; imposing

powers and duties on municipalities and the Department of

Labor and Industry; providing for enforcement; imposing

penalties; and making repeals," further providing for

legislative findings and purpose, for Uniform Construction

Code Review and Advisory Council, for revised or successor

codes and for changes in Uniform Construction Code.

The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

hereby enacts as follows:

Section 1.  Section 102(b) of the act of November 10, 1999

(P.L.491, No.45), known as the Pennsylvania Construction Code

Act, is amended to read:

Section 102.  Legislative findings and purpose.

* * *

(b)  Intent and purpose.--It is the intent of the General

Assembly and the purpose of this act:

(1)  To provide standards for the protection of life,

health, property and environment and for the safety and

welfare of the consumer, general public and the owners and

occupants of buildings and structures.

(2)  To encourage standardization and economy in

construction by providing minimum requirements for

construction and construction materials consistent with

nationally recognized standards.

(3)  To permit to the fullest extent feasible the use of

state-of-the-art technical methods, devices and improvements

consistent with reasonable requirements for the health,

safety and welfare of occupants or users of buildings and

structures.

(4)  To eliminate existing codes to the extent that these

codes are restrictive, obsolete, conflicting and contain

duplicative construction regulations that tend to

unnecessarily increase costs or retard the use of new

materials, products or methods of construction or provide

preferential treatment to certain types or classes of

materials or methods of construction.

(5)  To eliminate unnecessary duplication of effort and

fees related to the review of construction plans and the

inspection of construction projects.

(6)  To assure that officials charged with the

administration and enforcement of the technical provisions of

this act are adequately trained and supervised.

(7)  To insure that existing Commonwealth laws and

regulations, including those which would be repealed or

rescinded by this act, would be fully enforced during the

transition to Statewide administration and enforcement of a

Uniform Construction Code. Further, it is the intent of this

act that the Uniform Construction Code requirements for

making buildings accessible to and usable by persons with

disabilities do not diminish from those requirements

previously in effect under the former provisions of the act

of September 1, 1965 (P.L.459, No.235), entitled, as amended,

"An act requiring that certain buildings and facilities

adhere to certain principles, standards and specifications to

make the same accessible to and usable by persons with

physical handicaps, and providing for enforcement."

(8)  To start a process leading to the design,

construction and alteration of buildings under a uniform

standard.

Section 2.  Sections 107(b) and 304(a) and (d) of the act,

amended or added October 9, 2008 (P.L.1386, No.106), are amended

to read:

Section 107.  Uniform Construction Code Review and Advisory

Council.

* * *

(b)  Duties.--The council shall do the following:

(1)  Gather information from municipal officers, building

code officials, construction code officials, licensed design

professionals, builders and property owners concerning issues

with the Uniform Construction Code raised by council members

or changes proposed by members of the General Assembly.

(2)  Evaluate the information compiled under paragraph

(1) and make recommendations to the following:

(i)  The Governor.

(ii)  The Secretary of Labor and Industry.

(iii)  The members of any legislative committee

considering amendments to this act.

(iv)  The President pro tempore of the Senate.

(v)  The Speaker of the House of Representatives.

(vi)  The Code Development Councils of the

International Code Council.

(3)  With the exception of the provisions of Chapter 11

and Appendix E of the International Building Code of 2006, or

its successor codes, or any other accessibility requirements

contained in or referenced by the Uniform Construction Code

relating to persons with physical disabilities, review new

and amended provisions contained in triennial revisions of

the codes issued by the International Code Council to any of

its codes. The council shall inform the department of any

code provisions that should be [excluded from] added to the

Uniform Construction Code by May 1 of the year of issuance of

the latest triennial code issued by the International Code

Council.

* * *

Section 304.  Revised or successor codes.

(a)  Building code.--

(1)  Subject to sections 105(c) and (d), 301(a)(3), (4),

(5), (6) and (7), (c) and (d) and 302, by December 31 of the

year of the issuance of a new triennial ICC International

Building Code, or its successor building code, the department

shall promulgate regulations adopting the new code as the

Uniform Construction Code unless the council informs the

department that it should [exclude] add any provisions of the

triennial code [from] to the Uniform Construction Code. If

the council provides this notification, the department

[shall] may submit regulations adopting the triennial code

with [provisions omitted] additions by the council under this

section within 90 days following council notification.

(2)  Subject to sections 105(c) and (d), 301(a)(3), (4),

(5), (6) and (7), (c) and (d) and 302, by December 31 of the

year of issuance of a new triennial ICC International

Residential Code, or its successor building code, the

department shall promulgate regulations providing that all

detached one-family and two-family dwellings and one-family

townhouses that are not more than three stories in height and

their accessory structures may be designed in accordance with

that code or the Uniform Construction Code at the option of

the building permit applicant. The department shall

promulgate regulations adopting the new code as the Uniform

Construction Code unless the council informs the department

that it should [exclude] add any provisions of the triennial

code [from] to the Uniform Construction Code. If the council

provides this notification, the department [shall] may submit

regulations adopting the triennial code with [provisions

omitted] additions by the council under this section within

90 days following council notification.

* * *

(d)  Code revisions.--

(1)  The council may determine that any new or amended

provision contained in a triennial revision by the ICC to any

of the codes which have been adopted by regulation of the

department as part of the Uniform Construction Code is not,

in the opinion of the council, consistent with or fulfills 

the intent and purpose of this act [or is otherwise

inappropriate for inclusion in the Uniform Construction

Code]. The council may recommend additional provisions to

meet the intent of this act. In making a determination on the

new or amended triennial revisions, the council may consider

the provisions of section 102, as well as other relevant

factors, including, but not limited to:

(i)  The impact that the provisions may have upon the

health, safety and welfare of the public.

(ii)  The economic reasonableness and financial

impact of the provisions.

(iii)  The technical feasibility of the provisions.

(2)  When adopting the latest triennial versions of the

ICC codes, the department [shall exclude a specific new or

amended code provision rejected] may include additional code

provisions as recommended by the council under paragraph (1)

and shall provide that the relevant provisions of the prior

versions of the code shall remain in effect.

Section 3.  Section 503(j) of the act, amended November 29,

2006 (P.L.1440, No.157), is amended to read:

Section 503.  Changes in Uniform Construction Code.

* * *

(j)  Challenge of ordinance.--

(1)  Aggrieved parties shall have 30 days from date of

enactment of the ordinance to file a written challenge with

the department and shall serve a copy of the challenge upon

the municipality. The challenge shall state the reason or

reasons for the challenge. A municipal ordinance may not take

effect for a period of 35 days following its enactment. If a

challenge is filed in writing with the department within 30

days, the department has five business days from the end of

the 30-day filing period to notify a municipality of the

challenge. There may be no enforcement of the ordinance until

a ruling is issued by the secretary or 45 days after the

filing date of the last challenge to the ordinance, whichever

occurs first.

(2)  The department shall review any ordinance which

would equal or exceed the minimum requirements of the Uniform

Construction Code based on the following standards:

[(i)  that certain clear and convincing local

climatic, geologic, topographic or public health and

safety circumstances or conditions justify the

exception;]

(ii)  the exception shall be adequate for the purpose

intended and shall meet a standard of performance equal

to or greater than that prescribed by the Uniform

Construction Code;

(iii)  the exception would not diminish or threaten

the health, safety and welfare of the public; and

(iv)  the exception would not be inconsistent with

the legislative findings and purpose described in section

102.

The department shall take into consideration, in rendering the

determination, the provision, code development process history,

purpose and intent of relevant provisions of the 1999 BOCA

National Building Code, Fourteenth Edition, ICC International

One and Two Family Dwelling Code, 1998 Edition, or their

successor codes.

* * *

Section 4.  This act shall take effect immediately.