2024 -- S 2761

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LC005145

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2024

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- STATE BUILDING CODE

     Introduced By: Senators Kallman, Gu, Acosta, Mack, Valverde, Bissaillon, DiMario, and
Murray

     Date Introduced: March 08, 2024

     Referred To: Senate Housing & Municipal Government

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Sections 23-27.3-100.1.4 and 23-27.3-100.1.5 of the General Laws in

Chapter 23-27.3 entitled "State Building Code" are hereby amended to read as follows:

     23-27.3-100.1.4. Appointment and qualifications of the committee.

     (a) The building code standards committee shall be composed of twenty-five (25)

members, residents of the state who shall be appointed by the governor with the advice and consent

of the senate. Eight (8) members are to be appointed for terms of one year each, seven (7) for a

term of two (2) years each, and ten (10) for terms of three (3) years each. Annually, thereafter, the

governor, with the advice and consent of the senate, shall appoint members to the committee to

succeed those whose terms expired; the members to serve for terms of three (3) years each and until

their successors are appointed and qualified. Two (2) members shall be architects registered in the

state; three (3) shall be professional engineers registered in the state, one specializing in

mechanical, one specializing in structural, and one specializing in electrical engineering; one

landscape architect, registered in the state; one full-time certified electrical inspector; two (2) shall

be builders or superintendents of building construction; one shall be a public health official; one

shall be a qualified fire code official; two (2) shall be from the Rhode Island building trades council;

two (2) shall be from the Rhode Island Builders Association; one shall be a holder of Class “A”

electrician’s license; one shall be a master plumber; two (2) shall be from the general public; three

(3) shall be building officials in office, one from a municipality with a population of sixty thousand

(60,000) persons or more, one from a municipality with a population of over twenty thousand

(20,000) persons but less than sixty thousand (60,000), and one from a municipality with a

population of less than twenty thousand (20,000) persons; one shall be a minimum housing official

in office from one of the local municipalities; and two (2) residents of the state who shall be persons

with disabilities as defined in § 42-87-1.

     (b) All members shall have no less than five (5) years practical experience in their

profession or business. The committee shall elect its own chairperson and may elect from among

its members such other officers as it deems necessary. Thirteen (13) A majority of the current

members of the board shall constitute a quorum and the vote of a majority vote of those present

shall be required for action. The committee shall adopt rules and regulations for procedure. The

state building commissioner shall serve as the executive secretary to the committee. The committee

shall have the power, within the limits of appropriations provided therefor, to employ such

assistance as may be necessary to conduct business.

     (c) Members of the committee shall be removable by the governor pursuant to § 36-1-7

and for cause only, and removal solely for partisan or personal reasons unrelated to capacity or

fitness for the office shall be unlawful.

     (d) The state housing and property maintenance code subcommittee shall be composed of

nine (9) members, residents of the state. Five (5) of these members are to be current members of

the state building code standards committee and are to be appointed by that committee. The four

(4) remaining members are to be appointed by the governor, with the advice and consent of the

senate. The four (4) appointed by the governor, with the advice and consent of the senate, shall

initially be appointed on a staggered term basis, one for one year, one for two (2) years, and two

(2) for three (3) years. Annually thereafter, the building code standards committee, and the

governor, with the advice and consent of the senate, shall appoint the subcommittee members, for

which they are respectively responsible, to succeed those whose terms have expired; the members

to serve for terms of three (3) years each and until their successors are appointed and qualified. Of

the members appointed by the committee, one shall be a full-time certified electrical inspector; one

shall be a master plumber and mechanical equipment expert; one shall be a builder or

superintendent of building construction; one member shall be a qualified state fire code official;

one shall be a property manager; and one shall be a current minimum housing official from a local

municipality. The four (4) members to be appointed by the governor, with the advice and consent

of the senate, shall all be current minimum housing officials from local municipalities. One shall

be from a municipality with a population of sixty thousand (60,000) persons or more, two (2) from

municipalities with a population of over twenty thousand (20,000) persons but less than sixty

thousand (60,000), and one from a municipality with a population of less than twenty thousand

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(20,000) persons.

     23-27.3-100.1.5. Building code — Adoption and promulgation by committee.

     The state building standards committee has the authority to adopt, promulgate, and

administer a state building code, which shall include: (a) Provisions and amendments as necessary

to resolve conflicts between fire safety codes and building codes, as provided for in § 23-28.01-6;

and (b) A rehabilitation building and fire code for existing buildings and structures. The building

code may be promulgated in several sections, with a section applicable to one- and two-family (2)

dwellings and multiple dwellings with six (6) dwellings or fewer; to multiple dwellings with more

than six (6) dwellings, and hotels and motels; to general building construction; to plumbing; and to

electrical. The building code shall incorporate minimum standards for the location, design,

construction, and installation of wells that are appurtenances to a building in applicable sections.

For purposes of this chapter, “appurtenance” includes the installation, alteration, or repair of wells

connected to a structure consistent with chapter 13.2 of title 46. The building code and the sections

thereof shall be reasonably consistent with recognized and accepted standards adopted by national

model code organizations and recognized authorities. To the extent that any state or local building

codes, statutes, or ordinances are inconsistent with the Americans with Disabilities Act, Title III,

Public Accommodations and Services Operated by Private Entities, 42 U.S.C. § 12181 et seq., and

its regulations and standards, they are hereby repealed. The state building code standards committee

is hereby directed to adopt rules and regulations consistent with the Americans with Disabilities

Act, Title II and III (28 C.F.R. 35 and 28 C.F.R. 36, as amended), as soon as possible, but no later

than February 15, 2012, to take effect on or before March 15, 2012. The state building code

standards committee is hereby authorized and directed to update those rules and regulations

consistent with the future revisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Standards.

All electrical work done in the state shall be in accordance with the latest edition of the National

Electrical Code (NEC). The state building commission shall adopt the latest edition of the NEC,

including any amendments to the NEC by the commission. The adoption of the NEC by the

commission shall be completed so that it will take effect on the first day of July of the year the

edition is dated.

     SECTION 2. Chapter 23-27.3 of the General Laws entitled "State Building Code" is hereby

amended by adding thereto the following sections:

     23-27.3-100.1.5.9. Residential code for small multiple dwellings.

     (a) The state building standards committee shall amend the state building code adopted

pursuant to § 23-27.3-100.1.5 to include multiple dwellings with six (6) dwellings or fewer under

the same section as one and two (2) family dwellings. In so doing, the committee may establish

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prescriptive requirements for maximum building height and travel distance to egress; but shall not

require the installation of automatic fire sprinkler systems or a greater than two (2) hour fire

resistance rating for wall, floor, and ceiling separation assemblies.

     (b) The state fire marshal and the state building commissioner shall develop by July 1, 2025

comprehensive recommendations for resolving any conflicts between fire safety codes and the

building code as amended pursuant to subsection (a) of this section. The recommendations shall be

submitted to the fire safety code board of appeal and review and the state building code standards

committee, as appropriate, for consideration and for implementation by rule or agreement by

January 1, 2026. The fire safety code board of appeal and review and the state building code

standards committee shall hold a joint hearing or hearings, consistent with the provisions of chapter

35 of title 42, for the purposes of considering and adopting such rules, regulations, and agreements

as may be necessary to implement the purposes of this section.

     23-27.3-100.1.5.10. Point access blocks.

     (a) The state fire marshal and the state building commissioner shall develop by July 1, 2025

comprehensive recommendations for standards that enable a single-exit stairway to serve multiple-

dwelling buildings up to six (6) stories in height, above grade plane (a “point access block”). The

recommendations shall be submitted to the fire safety code board of appeal and review and the state

building code standards committee, as appropriate, for consideration and for implementation by

rule or agreement by January 1, 2026. The fire safety code board of appeal and review and the state

building code standards committee shall hold a joint hearing or hearings, consistent with the

provisions of chapter 35 of title 42, for the purposes of considering and adopting such rules,

regulations, and agreements as may be necessary to implement the purposes of this section.

     (b) In implementing subsection (a) of this section, the state fire marshal and the state

building commissioner shall consider existing precedents for how to safely regulate point access

blocks.

     SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- STATE BUILDING CODE

***

     This act would require the state building standards committee to amend the state building

code to include multiple dwellings with six (6) dwellings or fewer under the same section as one-

and two-family dwellings. This act would also require the state fire marshal and the state building

commissioner to develop recommendations for resolving any conflicts between fire safety codes

and the building code. In addition, this act would require the state fire marshal and the state building

commissioner to develop recommendations for standards that enable a single-exit stairway to serve

multiple-dwelling buildings up to six (6) stories in height.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

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