You have just received the International Code Council’s first California eReport dedicated to helping all interested parties during California’s adoption and amendment of the International Building, Fire and Residential Codes.

Thank you for your time in reading this newsletter!

Responding to California’s Needs

The International Code Council is honored that California is considering the use of the International Building, Fire and Residential Codes as the basis for the California Codes. The International Code Council’s commitment to assist California in its success has been at no cost to the state or its taxpayers.

California eReport focuses on the International Code Council’s assistance to California Building Standards Commission (CBSC) and the agencies during their proposed adoption and amendment of the 2003 Edition, with a transition to the 2006 Edition when available, of the following:

International Building Code (IBC)
International Fire Code (IFC)
International Residential Code (IRC)

For the first time since the 1920s, California will be adopting new model codes to serve as the basis for the California Code of Regulations, Title 24 Parts 2 and 9. California is well equipped to meet this challenge.

Here are some of the resources the International Code Council provides to the agencies:

• Printed and electronic copies of the IBC, IFC and IRC
• Code commentaries
• Educational and code support materials
• Rick Carroll, Manager of Electronic Media, created the web-based code development solution and provides automated code support resources
• Doug Thornburg, Director of Product Development, makes available education and technical support on non-structural provisions of the IBC
• Bob Guenther, Senior Technical Staff, delivers ongoing support for coordination between the Uniform Plumbing and Mechanical Codes and the IBC, IFC and IRC
• John Henry, Senior Staff Engineer, provides education, technical support and coordination between the agencies and ICC on structural and other code matters
• Ongoing technical and administrative support as requested.

Innovation for California

On July 19, the Commission invited Sara Yerkes, Senior Vice-President of Government Relations for the International Code Council to address assistance and support to the agencies and CBSC during this code adoption process.

At this meeting, Yerkes publicly offered CBSC and the agencies a first time ever, innovative web-based solution that can be used by the agencies during their amendment process. It is interactive! Capabilities include:

• A web-based, secure site hosted by the International Code Council
• Access to the entire IBC, IFC and IRC with the ability to underline and strikeout text
• The ability for users to make comments directly to the proposing agency during the “Public Comment Periods.”

How did this happen? International Code Council staff met with Stan Nishimura, Executive Director of CBSC, and the agencies to discuss the use of eCodes as a solution to allow the agencies to interact electronically with each other and stakeholders during the code development process.

The International Code Council saw Mr. Nishimura’s vision and developed this offer so that California’s vision can become a reality.

What’s Next?

The next CBSC meeting is scheduled for September 21. At this meeting, each proposed state agency will present a report on the following matters:

• Each agency’s progress on its amendment process
• Each agency’s proposed time lines for its amendment process

The International Code Council is looking forward to hearing from CBSC and the agencies that they have indeed accepted the innovative offer.

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