Senate Committees Review
State Uniform Construction Code
INDUSTRY EXPERTS OFFER FIXES FOR BUILDING MANDATES
Speaking at a joint hearing by the Senate Local
Government Committee and Senate Labor and Industry
Committee today, state officials and construction
industry experts said Pennsylvania's Uniform
Construction Code (UCC) is in need of repairs.
Senator Bob Regola, (R-39), Chairman of the Local
Government Committee, opened the hearing by airing
his concerns about the mandated building codes.
"Currently, Act 45 puts even relatively minor
projects, such as erecting small decks or sheds,
under the scrutiny of building inspectors and code
enforcement officers. This is too much government
intervention and only increases the costs for small
businesses and residents in the community," Senator
Regola said. "Practically every member of the
General Assembly has heard horror stories regarding
the Act. Since it went into effect, the Act has
been amended six times and additional amendments are
currently being considered by the General Assembly
including a bill I introduced to remove a
requirement that Pennsylvanians use anchor bolts
that are required construction for hurricane or
earthquake prone regions."
Senator John R. Gordner, (R-27), Chairman of the
Labor and Industry Committee, said the hearing
focused on specific areas of concern about the UCC,
particularly: uniformity of enforcement; fees;
third party inspections; the impact on property
owners; and the creation of a UCC review panel.
Senator Gordner commended the Department of Labor
and Industry for setting fees that are "reasonable
and responsible" for the areas where they conduct
code inspections. He said that is not always the
case when Councils of Government hire third party
inspectors for the work. "The third party inspector
is charging a fee and the Council of Government is
imposing a surcharge, in some cases they are 40
percent higher than what you (the Department of
Labor and Industry) are charging," he told
Department Secretary Stephen M. Schmerin.
Secretary Schmerin agreed that the UCC needs
revisions. "When you have flaws in a building, you
know you have to go back correct the problem and
make it right. The same goes for our current
building code – the UCC. With some careful thought
and collaboration, we have the opportunity to
correct its problems and hopefully make it right for
everyone involved. Until we are able to do this,
however, the Uniform Construction Code will be
uniform in name only."
David Leinbach, testifying on behalf of the
Pennsylvania Chapter of the Associated Builders &
Contractors (ABC), said the UCC has not achieved its
goal of bringing "order to the chaos" of over 2,500
Commonwealth municipalities, their differing
standards, and unique administrative and enforcement
philosophies.
"To call the UCC 'uniform' is a misnomer due to the
existence of enforcement and administrative
differences among the municipalities who accepted
responsibility for code oversight. In addition,
each municipality has the ability to implement
amendments to the Code," Leinbach said. "One can
imagine the difficulty faced by a contractor tasked
with solving the puzzle of understanding local
construction rules, and how the code will be
interpreted and enforced in a given locality. The
varying review and appeal processes have created
additional costs to
labor projects by increasing the time and money
needed to secure permits or question adverse
decisions."
Lou Biacchi, testifying on behalf of the
Pennsylvania Builders Association (PBA), said the
bulk of the complaints that Pennsylvanians have with
the UCC revolve around questions of compliance.
"Citizens expect and should receive from their
government at all levels reasonable cost-effective
service. In some municipalities, lengthy delays
have been reported regarding building plan approvals
and inspections," Biacchi said. "In some cases,
primarily in commercial construction, there have
been serious reports of price gauging on the parts
of certain municipalities for building plan review
and inspections."
PBA and the Pennsylvania Association of Building
Code Officials both support an amendment to the
Uniform Construction Code Act to create a technical
review committee composed of experts in the various
sectors of the construction industry.
"At a minimum, such a council should be empowered to
conduct research for the legislature on UCC-related
issues and to receive comments and concerns about
the UCC from a broad spectrum of interested
parties," said Robert Loeper, Jr., PABCO President.
"We believe such a council should evaluate any
legislative proposal to amend the UCC and to provide
its findings and recommendations to the legislature
as part of the bill consideration process."
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CONTACTS:
Nate Silcox (Senator Regola)
(717) 787-6063
Todd Roup (Senator Gordner)
(717) 787-8928
