Celebrating Building Safety Week
Building Safety Week Capitol Hill Day visits
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| ICC Board President Henry L. Green (left)
meets in the U.S. Capitol with Alaska Senator and Senate
President Pro Tempore, Ted Stevens to discuss the International
Code Council's legislative priorities. Green is Executive
Director of the Bureau of Construction Codes & Fire
Safety for Michigan's Department of Labor and Economic
Growth. |
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The International Code Council Board of Directors and Government
Relations Advisory Committee met with more than just their
own delegations this year during Building Safety Week Capitol
Hill Day. They met with members of the U.S. Senate and House
of Representatives to discuss the International Code Council's
legislative priorities for the second session of the 109th
Congress.
Resolution Supporting Effective Post Hurricane Reconstruction
- In the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, this priority
directs Congressional attention to encouraging effective reconstruction
through supporting and promoting state and local adoption
and enforcement of the International Codes.
Implementation of the Code and Safety for the Americas (CASA)
Act - The CASA Act authorized the U.S. Agency for International
Development to carry out a program to improve building construction
codes and practices in Ecuador, El Salvador and other Latin
American countries through the training of professionals,
the translation and distribution of code publications and
other assistance as needed.
National Code Enforcement Grant Program (NCEGP) - An ICC
initiative in advocating introduction of new legislation.
This proposal seeks creation of a federal competitive grant
program to provide capital resources to local code enforcement
offices. Criteria for eligibility would incentivize establishment
of enterprise funds to ensure self-sufficiency in local building
code enforcement.
The Fire Sprinkler Incentive Act - The legislation amends
the Internal Revenue Code to classify automatic fire sprinkler
systems as 5-year depreciable property, creating an incentive
for commercial property owners to retrofit buildings with
sprinkler systems.
The Campus Fire Safety Right To Know Act - In support of
the national initiatives of the Center for Campus Fire Safety,
the ICC has been effective in coordinated advocacy to advance
this measure which would require campuses receiving federal
funds to report fire event and fire preparedness related data.
Appropriations to fund the National Windhazard Impact Reduction
Program - Full funding for the National Windstorm Impact Reduction
Program at $25 million, including $9.4 million for the Federal
Emergency Management Agency; $4 million for the National Institute
of Standards and Technology; $9.4 million for the National
Science Foundation; and $2.2 million for the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration.
Appropriations to fund the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction
Program - The program coordinates work done by FEMA, USGS,
NSF and NIST with collective funding of approximately $180
million per year. To carry out the new responsibilities the
reauthorization included $12.1 million in new authorization
for NIST, growing to $14.6 million in FY2009. The ICC advocates
appropriations for NIST's new responsibilities.
The Cigarette Fire Safety Act - The bill would implement
a national fire safety standard for cigarettes and that requires
cigarettes to self-extinguish if dropped or left unattended.
The legislation directs the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
to adopt the New York state cigarette fire safety standard
as the national standard.
In addition to addressing legislative priorities, each of
the International Code Council members offered the International
Code Council as a resource for building safety and fire prevention
issues.
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