Session & Interim: State Capitol, Room 513 Juneau, AK 99801-1182 Phone: (907) 465-4859 Fax: (907) 465-3799

Sponsor Statement for HB 436
Mechanical Code

An Act relating to construction, plumbing, mechanical, electrical, fire safety, and other safety codes adopted by state agencies and municipalities.

In the world of safety codes, there are two competing tracks - the uniform code group and the international code group. The uniform codes, which the State of Alaska has followed for many years, are approved by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). The codes put forth and adopted through this particular process are written by a wide range of interested parties, including design professionals, building contractors, trade unions, and others. These codes have served the design, building and construction trades-and the public they are intended to protect-well over many years. Tradesmen and contractors prefer the ANSI codes because they are proscriptive, specific, and are therefore easier for people doing the actual construction work to know how things should be installed or constructed.

The second track, referred to as the International Code "family," is an outgrowth of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and was published by the International Conference of Building Officials. It is preferred by some design professionals and government building officials. It is generally perceived to allow more latitude in interpretation and advocates claim it saves money in construction.

House Bill 436 comes down on the side of the ANSI codes, by requiring that safety codes adopted in Alaska by the state or a municipality be those in which the development of the code was open to all interested parties and not just to design professionals and bureaucrats. It also requires that codes comply with ANSI standards, as much as practicable.

Advocates of the International Code group have surreptitiously gotten the International Mechanical Code adopted through the State Fire Marshal's office, in contradiction to state statute. Other legislation (HB 399 and HB 437) address this problem. HB 436 complements either of those two bills by assuring that unlawful code adoptions do not take place in the future.

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