Title 23
Health and Safety

Chapter 27.3
State Building Code

Article 1
Administration and Enforcement

R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-27.3-100.1.4



§ 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 (20,000) persons.

History of Section.
P.L. 1981, ch. 236, § 2; P.L. 1983, ch. 41, § 1; P.L. 1987, ch. 178, § 1; P.L. 1988, ch. 65, § 1; P.L. 1992, ch. 377, § 1; P.L. 1992, ch. 378, § 1; P.L. 1997, ch. 150, § 3; P.L. 1999, ch. 164, § 1; P.L. 2001, ch. 180, § 53; P.L. 2006, ch. 103, § 3; P.L. 2006, ch. 144, § 3; P.L. 2009, ch. 96, § 2; P.L. 2009, ch. 97, § 2; P.L. 2017, ch. 85, § 1; P.L. 2017, ch. 89, § 1; P.L. 2019, ch. 88, art. 4, § 4.