Louisiana is the 48th state to adopt the International
Codes™. Louisiana will enforce the 2000 International
Building® and International MechanicalCodes®.
The City Council in the state's largest city, New Orleans,
adopted the IBC, IMC and International Fuel Gas Code®.
Governor Murphy James "Mike" Foster, Jr. signed
the Louisiana Building Code legislation June 18. It takes
effect January 1, for state-owned buildings and the Louisiana
State Uniform Construction Code. In New Orleans, the I-Codes
also are effective in January.
St. Louis adopted the 2003 International Existing Building
Code® as its "Rehab Code." Mayor Francis
G. Slay signed the bill, which goes into effect August 1.
St. Louis already uses the 2000 International Property
Maintenance Code®, IFGC and IMC.
For school districts in areas without building codes, the
Texas Education Agency adopted the IBC, International Fire
Code®, International Plumbing Code®, IFGC
and International Energy Conservation Code®. In
2001, Texas endorsed the IRC, IPC and IMC for local adoption.
South Carolina updated its building code laws. Governor Mark
Sanford signed a bill July 2 that specifically designates
codes published by the International Code Council as the codes
of reference for construction in the state. The law includes:
the IBC, IRC, IFGC, IPC, IMC, IFC and IECC. Municipalities
may also adopt the IPMC, ICC Performance Code for Buildings
and Facilities™ and IEBC. South Carolina has been
using the 2000 I-Codes since 2001. The rulemaking process
to adopt the 2003 edition also has begun.
The ICC, a 50,000-member association dedicated to building
safety, develops the codes used to construct residential and
commercial buildings, including homes and schools. The majority
of U.S. cities, counties and states that adopt codes choose
building safety and fire prevention codes developed by the
ICC.
Editors note: Click here for
photos of the Louisiana signing ceremony
