On October 25, 2017, Governor Wolf signed HB 409 into law, creating Act 36 of 2017, a move applauded by AIA Pennsylvania. “This piece of legislation represents a compromise between numerous stakeholders and what AIA Pennsylvania advocated for as a step in the right direction for updates and code adoption in the Commonwealth,” said AIA Pennsylvania Executive Director, Stephen Swarney, J.D., on the passage of the bill.
Act 36 of 2017 will significantly change the code review and Uniform Construction Code adoption process for the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry’s Review and Advisory Council, currently chaired by Maureen Guttman, AIA.
AIA Pennsylvania remains an influential leader regarding building codes and the UCC in the Commonwealth continues to advocate for comprehensive and aggressive code adoption for all of Pennsylvanians. AIA Pennsylvania supports a three-year review cycle, an opt-out process, and uniformity for the entire state for the health, safety, and welfare of the public.
AIA Pittsburgh’s legislative interests are represented at the state level by Marc Mondor, AIA who is the Chair of AIA Pennsylvania Government Affairs Committee. Mondor commented that the committee is “pleased to see forward movement toward modernizing building codes in Pennsylvania. This long-overdue measure will help building projects achieve better performance and better meet expected standards. We see this as a step towards our goal of greater competitiveness and congruence for design and construction requirements appropriate to market expectations, building technology, and our region.”
For additional details regarding the passage of HB 409 please contact AIA Pennsylvania’s Director of Legislative Affairs, Amal Mahrouki at amahrouki@aiapa.org.