South Asheville News

Congressman Chuck Edwards (NC-11)  on September 15, 2023 introduced H.R. 5473, the Promoting Resilient Buildings Act, which will permanently codify the current definition of building codes to prevent burdens on homebuilders and local municipalities. Congressman Donald Norcross (NJ-01) is a co-lead of this bipartisan legislation.

H.R. 5473 will require the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to allow homebuilders and municipalities to abide by rules published in the two latest editions of building codes, rather than just the single latest edition, when developing their Hazard Mitigation Plans, inspecting homes or building a house.

Keeping the current definition of codes to include the two most recent editions alleviates frequent, costly changes in Hazard Mitigation Plans and guarantees a level of consistency in the construction industry without compromising safety.

“The Promoting Resilient Buildings Act will reduce burdensome red tape on trade industries, state and local governments, and communities in Western North Carolina while still preserving their resiliency against potential environmental and structural disasters,” said Edwards. “The last thing our economy needs is another factor driving up housing costs and this legislation will make sure building codes don’t contribute to an increase while maintaining regulatory relief for our builders and municipalities by making permanent common-sense reforms to our building codes system.”

“Having gone from the construction site to Congress, I know firsthand how difficult it can be for workers and industry to adapt to frequent changes in building codes," said Norcross. "I'm proud to join Rep. Edwards in introducing this bipartisan legislation that will reduce the burden on trade industries and local government, while also lowering costs for consumers. This bill is good for workers, good for consumers, and good for our community. As a lifelong union electrician and co-founder of the Bipartisan Building Trades Caucus, I will continue to be a voice for workers and stand up for the interests of the building trades."

Background

• In 2018, the Disaster Recovery Reform Act established the definition of building codes relating to hazard mitigation to include the latest two published editions of relevant codes, specifications and standards. This definition sunsets in October 2023.
• If the building code definition is left to expire, FEMA will revert the definition to the single latest edition of codes.

Original source can be found here.