2023 -- H 5386

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LC000830

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2023

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- STATE BUILDING CODE

     Introduced By: Representative Jacquelyn M. Baginski

     Date Introduced: February 03, 2023

     Referred To: House State Government & Elections

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Section 23-27.3-100.1.4 of the General Laws in Chapter 23-27.3 entitled

"State Building Code" is hereby amended to read as follows:

     23-27.3-100.1.4. Appointment and qualifications of the committee.

     (a) The building code standards committee shall be composed of twenty-five (25)

members, residents of the state who shall be appointed by the governor with the advice and consent

of the senate. Eight (8) members are to be appointed for terms of one year each, seven (7) for a

term of two (2) years each, and ten (10) for terms of three (3) years each. Annually, thereafter, the

governor, with the advice and consent of the senate, shall appoint members to the committee to

succeed those whose terms expired; the members to serve for terms of three (3) years each and until

their successors are appointed and qualified. Two (2) members shall be architects registered in the

state; three (3) shall be professional engineers registered in the state, one specializing in

mechanical, one specializing in structural, and one specializing in electrical engineering; one

landscape architect, registered in the state; one full-time certified electrical inspector; two (2) shall

be builders or superintendents of building construction; one shall be a public health official; one

shall be a qualified fire code official; two (2) shall be from the Rhode Island building trades council;

two (2) shall be from the Rhode Island Builders Association; one shall be a holder of Class “A”

electrician’s license; one shall be a master plumber; two (2) shall be from the general public; three

(3) shall be building officials in office, one from a municipality with a population of sixty thousand

(60,000) persons or more, one from a municipality with a population of over twenty thousand

(20,000) persons but less than sixty thousand (60,000), and one from a municipality with a

population of less than twenty thousand (20,000) persons; one shall be a minimum housing official

in office from one of the local municipalities; and two (2) residents of the state who shall be persons

with disabilities as defined in § 42-87-1.

     (b) All members shall have no less than five (5) years practical experience in their

profession or business. The committee shall elect its own chairperson and may elect from among

its members such other officers as it deems necessary. Thirteen (13) members of the board shall

constitute a quorum and the vote of a majority vote of those present shall be required for action.

The committee shall adopt rules and regulations for procedure. The state building commissioner

shall serve as the executive secretary to the committee. The committee shall have the power, within

the limits of appropriations provided therefor, to employ such assistance as may be necessary to

conduct business.

     (c) Members of the committee shall be removable by the governor pursuant to § 36-1-7

and for cause only, and removal solely for partisan or personal reasons unrelated to capacity or

fitness for the office shall be unlawful.

     (d) The state housing and property maintenance code subcommittee shall be composed of

nine (9) members, residents of the state. Five (5) of these members are to be current members of

the state building code standards committee and are to be appointed by that committee. The four

(4) remaining members are to be appointed by the governor, with the advice and consent of the

senate. The four (4) appointed by the governor, with the advice and consent of the senate, shall

initially be appointed on a staggered term basis, one for one year, one for two (2) years, and two

(2) for three (3) years. Annually thereafter, the building code standards committee, and the

governor, with the advice and consent of the senate, shall appoint the subcommittee members, for

which they are respectively responsible, to succeed those whose terms have expired; the members

to serve for terms of three (3) years each and until their successors are appointed and qualified. Of

the members appointed by the committee, one shall be a full-time certified electrical inspector; one

shall be a master plumber and mechanical equipment expert; one shall be a builder or

superintendent of building construction; one member shall be a qualified state fire code official;

one shall be a property manager; and one shall be a current minimum housing official from a local

municipality. The four (4) members to be appointed by the governor, with the advice and consent

of the senate, shall all be current minimum housing officials from local municipalities. One shall

be from a municipality with a population of sixty thousand (60,000) persons or more, two (2) from

municipalities with a population of over twenty thousand (20,000) persons but less than sixty

thousand (60,000), and one from a municipality with a population of less than twenty thousand

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(20,000) persons.

     (e) At the request of the chairperson of the commission, the governor shall remove a

member of the commission in accordance with the provisions of subsection (c) of this section

whenever that member shall have missed three (3) consecutive meetings without providing

notification to the chairperson of the reasons requiring the member's absences from those meetings.

     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- STATE BUILDING CODE

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     This act would require that the governor remove a member of the commission upon the

request of the chairperson after the member's absence from three (3) consecutive meetings without

providing notice to the chairperson.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

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