Mississippi building code bill sent to Governor Barbour. A watered-down version of the controversial bill to impose a statewide building code in Mississippi has been sent to Governor Haley Barbour for his signature. Supporters lauded the passage of the bill and termed it a good first step toward their ultimate goal of implementing tough standards for commercial and residential construction throughout the state. The approved version of the bill requires only three coastal counties — Jackson, Harrison and Hancock — and neighboring Stone and Pearl River counties to adopt portions of the IBC and IRC. Other Mississippi counties are exempt, but could opt to enact those codes at any time. The bill also establishes the Mississippi Building Codes Council, a group whose 26 future members will represent industries like construction, architecture, real estate and insurance. The council has until July 1, 2007, to make code recommendations for the entire state.

Debris that was left behind by Hurricane Katrina in Biloxi, Miss-issippi. (Mark Wolfe/FEMA)

Panhandle code debate continues. The Florida House and Senate are considering identical bills that remove an eight-year-old provision in the statewide building code that exempts the Panhandle from wind-borne debris standards. However, requirements like hurricane shutters or impact-resistant glass would be determined by the Florida Building Commission, which has until 2007 to make a decision.

A scene after the “Long Island Express” hurricane struck in 1938. (Suffolk County Community College)

Northeast U.S. could see a major hurricane this season. Forecasters say warmer temperatures in the Atlantic Basin and cooler temperatures in the Pacific Ocean are ripe conditions for the Northeast coast to be hit by a major hurricane. An AccuWeather meteorologist predicts a Category 3 storm to hit north of the Atlantic states. A Category 3 would resemble the 1938 "Long Island Express," which remains the area's worst hurricane.

Louisiana develops housing reconstruction plans. Governor Kathleen Blanco's administration recently outlined a $7.5 billion rebuilding, relocation and buyout plan for residents with hurricane-damaged homes. The plan would provide money to repair or rebuild damaged homes and to relocate people who want to build elsewhere in Louisiana. For those who don't want to relocate or rebuild in Louisiana, they would have a buyout option. Homeowners would be required to follow the newly adopted I-Codes and new federal flood standards to receive the assistance. An estimated 128,000 Louisiana homes had major damage from Hurricanes Katrina.

ASHRAE unveils strategic plan. Changing technologies, rising energy prices and an increased focus on sustainability in the building industry has led the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) to develop a strategic plan to focus its efforts and resources over the next several years. The plan identifies four principal directions, including ASHRAE positioning itself as a premier provider of HVAC&R expertise and being a world class provider of education and certification program. Click here to read more on the ASHRAE strategic plan.

2003 International Residential Code Study Companion: Interactive Test CD
#4117CD03$35.00$28.00
This is a timed test that quizzes users in 540 key code topics. Its interactive element provides users with immediate feedback and directs them to the correct code section. After completing the test, users are even scored. The Study Companion covers select topics of the code and includes code text, commentary and illustrations representing the provisions under discussion.

IAS Board Committee on Accreditation (BCA) holds first public hearing in Las Vegas. The BCA hearing held last week consider the IAS evaluation of the City of Las Vegas Building & Safety Department for accreditation under the IAS Building Department Accreditation Program. Las Vegas has been evaluated by a team of experts for compliance with the IAS Accreditation Criteria for Building Departments (AC251). The evaluation has been conducted over the last six months and consisted of a review of their quality management system, plan review, permitting, and inspection processes, including comprehensive review of their files and records, interviews with all program managers and in-the-field assessments. The city is expected to achieve accreditation as there has been a favorable recommendation from the evaluation team, however, all comments from the public and interested parties must be considered during the public hearing and a decision must be rendered by the BCA. Updates will be available in a future issue of ePartners.

Nearly 600 delegates attended ICC's 2006 Codes Forum held last month in Sacramento, California. The all-education program featured more than 30 code-related courses, includ-ing special sessions sponsored by the California Building Officials and the Sacramento Valley Association of Building Officials.

The following are upcoming events at which ICC staff will attend and/or host an exhibition booth:
April 13-14, Southern New Mexico Building Officials, Ruidoso, NM
April 13, National Hurricane Conference, Orlando, FL
April 13, South Florida Conference, Davie, FL
April 18-22, 100th Anniversary Earthquake Conference, San Francisco, CA
April 21-23, California Real Estate Inspection Association, San Jose, CA
April 23-26, Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors, Hershey, PA
April 25-27, Wildland Fire Safety Summit, Pasadena, CA
April 27-29, Fire Department Instructors Conference, Indianapolis, IN

ICC participates in CFSI events

	ICC Vice President Wally Bailey (left) talks shop with Fire Chief Eric Mohrman during the Congressional Fire Services Institute Dinner. Chief of Capital City Fire/Rescue in Juneau, Alaska, Mohrman serves on the International Fire Code Council.

ICC sponsored three tables at last week's 18th Annual National Fire and Emergency Services Dinner held by the Congressional Fire Services Institute (CFSI). COO Rick Weiland, DCOO Dominic Sims, President Henry Green, Vice President Wally Bailey, Secretary/Treasurer Steve Shapiro and Director Adolph Zubia were among the ICC representatives attending the event in Washington, D.C.
ICC's special guests included California State Deputy Fire Marshal Kate Dargan, Texas State Fire Marshal Paul Maldanado, and several representatives from the International Fire Code Council (IFCC).
Also, Dan Bailey, Director of Wildland Fire Programs, facilitated a panel discussion on the International Wildland-Urban Interface Code (IWUIC) during one of the seminars held in conjunction with the dinner. ICC hosted a reception for the National Association of State Fire Marshals on Wednesday evening.

Weiland named to FLASH
Board of Directors

	Weiland

ICC COO Rick Weiland has been named to the Board of Directors for the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes (FLASH). ICC and FLASH work under a partnership agreement to build better and stronger communities.
"I am honored to be selected for this position," said Weiland. "I look forward to working with FLASH and its Board of Directors to address important building safety issues." Weiland acknowledged that the increase in natural and manmade disasters has made it imperative that organizations like FLASH and ICC work more closely in an effort to educate the public, ease the effects of disasters on communities, and better protect lives and property.
Founded in Florida in 1998, FLASH® is a non-profit, 501(c)3 organization dedicated to promoting disaster safety and property loss mitigation. For more information, click here.

I-Codes listed among major influences
on building industry
Buildings magazine has launched its centennial anniversary celebration by examining the "100 Influences That Have Shaped the Building Market." The feature examines the proven processes, ideas, leaders, events and landmarks that have affected the "business of buildings" over the past 100 years.
The I-Codes are listed at number 41, followed by ASHRAE 90.1. The top 10 influences range from energy deregulation (no. 1) and the invention of drywall (no. 5) to the internet (no. 9) and e-mail (no. 10).
To read the entire article, click here.

Witt set to speak at disaster conference
CEO James Lee Witt is an opening speaker for Restoration 2006: Community and Economic Recovery after a Disaster. The conference will focus on the long-term rebuilding following large-scale disasters, including hurricanes, wildfires, earthquakes, chemical accidents and more. ICC is a sponsor of Restoration 2006, spearheaded by the International City/County Management Association.

Delahay receives hurricane conference award

	Delahay

The late Jim Delahay, the first engineer elected Chairman of the ICC Structural Committee, will be posthumously presented the National Hurricane Conference's Distinguished Service Award during this week's conference events in Orlando, Florida.
An expert in wind-resistant design and codes and standards, Delahay was also chair of the Code Advisory Committee of the National Council of Structural Engineers, co-chair of the ASCE 7 Wind Load Task Committee and a Past President of the Applied Technology Council. He served on FEMA’s Hurricane Ivan Mitigation Assessment Team.
Delahay passed away last year. His wife Linda is accepting the award on his behalf. To read more about this week's National Hurricane Conference, click here.

ICC President Henry Green was a keynote speaker during the NAHB National Green Building Conference held in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The conference featured two days of educational seminars on topics such as green development, marketing, water management and indoor air quality.

TRB/CTC update: The Terrorism Resistant Building (TRB) and Code Technology Committees (CTC) held individual and combined meetings in Chicago on March 9-10. As a result, the CTC issued three interim reports, including code changes for the 2006/2007 cycle in the following areas of study: Climbable guards (one two-part change to the International Building Code (IBC) and International Residential Codes (IRC); day care (one two-part change to the IBC and IRC); and NIST WTC (three to the IBC). The TRB also finalized its proposals for the 2006/2007 code change cycle, submitting 14 proposals, 13 of which are in response to the NIST WTC recommendations. The TRB proposals are all to the IBC with the exception of two.

Joint Council update: The Joint Council meeting was held last month in St. Louis. More than 40 members of the IBC, International Fire Code (IFC) and International Property Maintenance Code (IPMC) Code Development Committees attended and selected 198 committee members for 14 committees. The appointments went to the Board of Directors for review at its March meeting. Committee appointment letters will be issued in April.

2006/2007 code change cycle update: As of the March 24 deadline, ICC received more than 700 e-mail submittals and 15-20 faxed submittals. It will take about a week to download the files that were submitted via e-mail. Early totals indicate an average of three code changes per submittal that could lead to more 2,000 code changes, which mirrors the last cycle's record amount. In addition to the code changes by the CTC and TRB, included in the cycle will be a handful of changes submitted by two other ICC committees: the Ad Hoc Committee on Existing Buildings and the Hazard Abatement for Existing Buildings. The Ad Hoc Committee on the Administrative Provisions will be very active this cycle, as well, with more than 100 code change submittals to a total of 12 I-Codes.

An invitation to honor veterans and Silent Defenders. The ICC Foundation (ICCF) extends an invitation to all partners to the Project H.E.R.O. roll-out breakfast and Silent Defender Awards Dinner. Project H.E.R.O. breakfast attendees will get a first look at pilot sites and learn how they can become involved in future projects that help disabled veterans remodel their homes for easier accessibility. Those who have tirelessly worked to improve public safety, health and welfare will be honored by ICCF Chairman and ICC CEO James Lee Witt at the Silent Defender Awards Dinner. Both events take place on May 11 in Washington, D.C. Attendees of the awards dinner may also attend the rollout breakfast at no additional cost. Tickets and sponsorship opportunities are available. Click here for reservation information.

General Clark visits Project H.E.R.O. site. Project H.E.R.O. Chairman General Wesley Clark recently visited the home of

	General Wesley Clark visits with veteran Shelby Bowling at his home in Hamilton, Ohio.

Vietnam veteran Shelby Bowling in Hamilton, Ohio, which is the pilot site for Project H.E.R.O. Bowling suffers from diabetes and must use a motorized scooter to maneuver through his home. His house does not have an accessible entrance and his bedroom and bathroom are on the second floor — limiting his ability to access 50 percent of his home. The Project H.E.R.O. plans for Mr. Bowling's home include an addition with an accessible entrance, a bedroom and bathroom.

ICC-ES

ICC-ES Board meets. Board members discussed the Evaluation Committee, implementation of the new Evaluation Service Advisory Committee and issues regarding legacy evaluation reports. The Board set a tentative date for its next meeting during the ICC Annual Meeting in September.

New ES committee formed. After setting criteria for appointments, the ICC-ES Board named 20 members to the Evaluation Service Advisory Committee (ESAC). The wide diversity of worthy applicants would have otherwise made it difficult to evaluate and appoint members. Appointments were based on activity with ICC-ES operations and staff, involvement with industry activities, and the type of products, materials and/or services in which candidates functioned. Successful and unsuccessful applicants are currently being notified. Appointees will be announced in the ICC-ES eNews.

Report at ICC Industry Advisory Committee meeting: At the February meeting of the IAC, VP Gary Nichols and President John Nosse reported on action taken by ES on recommendations from the IAC Task Group Report. Particular emphasis was placed on communication improvements and staff increases to reduce the backlog of technical reviews. Subsequent committee discussions led to the disbandment of the task group along with the designation of John Taecker of Underwriters Laboratories as the liaison between the ICC and ICC-ES Industry Advisory Committees. Appointments to the latter committee will be made by the ICC-ES Board this month with the inaugural meeting scheduled for later this year

ICC ePARTNERS
Volume II, Issue 4
April, 2006

ICC Vision and Mission Statements

Vision
Protecting the health, safety, and welfare of people by creating better buildings and safer communities.

Mission
Providing the highest quality codes, standards, products, and services for all concerned with the safety and performance of the built environment.