ICC Government Relations department feature — Dave Nichols.

International Code Council Government Relations Regional Manager David Nichols (second from left) at work as he presents State Senator Bernadette Sanchez (center) with the 2011 Elected Official of the Year Award during a luncheon with New Mexico Council of Code Officials (NMCCO) Chapter leaders in Albuquerque.

To familiarize our Members and stakeholders with the work and staff of the Government Relations (GR) department, we started a series of articles, each one focused on an individual and his area of responsibility. Last year, we showcased Mel Cosgrove, Larry Brugger and Lee Clifton. This month I am introducing Dave Nichols. GR Regional Managers serve as liaisons and advisors to the Chapters, Members and customers in their respective assigned states. Dave Nichols works with the states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming (all of the states that feed the Colorado River, excluding California). Dave is a former fire marshal for the city of Mesa, Ariz.; and prior to joining ICC in September 2004, was employed by TRW Vehicle Safety Systems as Director of Regulatory Affairs for the Inflatable Restraints Division. In this capacity, he served as a company spokesperson and had responsibility for building code, safety and environmental compliance; community, government and media relations; and code development and legislative lobbying. Dave has developed strong relationships during the past 10 years with the ICC Chapter Members he serves. He enjoys attending and participating in their events as well as responding to requests for assistance, information or other concerns. Dave interfaces with 26 ICC Chapters in the states mentioned above, which involves considerable travel, email and telephone communication to stay connected. They consist of large state Chapters, smaller local Chapters, and include building, fire, plumbing/mechanical, and permit technician disciplines. Of particular interest to Dave, is the opportunity to act as a resource and sounding board for Chapter leaders and Members when questions arise about a variety of ICC products, services and policies. Important information and time-sensitive reminders are relayed to the Chapters to assist them in staying current with ICC-related activities. Examples include Building Safety Month, the ICC Annual Business Meeting and Code Development Hearings, Training and Certification services, the Code of Honor Scholarship application window, and deadlines for Chapter annual reports and the annual revalidation/designation of Governmental Voting Representatives. Regional Managers also assist their Chapters with state and local legislative issues by providing grassroots and coalition support on critical legislation and state agency rulemaking processes of concern to the Members and ICC. Typically, the starting point for Dave with his states is to network with the Chapters' Legislative Committees or leadership, discussing legislation they have identified as problematic, and also informing them of legislation and rulemaking that has been detected through ICC's legislative tracking services. Strategic plans and approaches are developed to then monitor, oppose or support identified legislation. Of equal importance is providing support for local and state adoptions of the International Codes. Most often, Dave is working behind the scenes organizing and coordinating stakeholder coalitions, which focus their support efforts towards the adoption of the current edition of the codes. He is currently working with Members and coalitions in Utah and New Mexico with the goal of state adoption of the 2015 I-Codes. ICC's cloud-based cdpACCESS program, enhancing the code development process and making it accessible to all ICC Members and other stakeholders, will be a primary focus for Government Relations staff in the coming months. Dave presented tutorial training to all 26 of his state and local ICC Chapters on how to utilize this new tool that will enable Members to remotely participate in the code development process. For the 2015 code development cycle, the ICC Board of Directors appointed four Code Action Committees (CAC); Building, Fire, Plumbing-Mechanical-Fuel Gas (PMG) and Sustainability-Energy-High Performance Building (SEHP) These Code Action Committees are appointed to review, develop and support code change proposals of interest to their respective disciplines. The Fire CAC has four Regional Workgroups that are assigned specific code development topics and review in support of the Fire CAC. Dave currently serves as the staff liaison for the Western Regional Workgroup, which is now focusing on the 2018 Group A codes now under development; utilizing cdpACCESS as a tool to help develop, review and comment on submitted code change proposals of interest to the fire service. One of the most enjoyable opportunities for GR staff is to attend Chapter ABMs and participate in the installation of new Chapter officers, recognize the service of past presidents, and support ICC Board members that may be attending to perform these same functions. Dave makes a special effort to welcome the new officers and to help the new leaders connect with the ICC Chapter support resources that are available online. He has also had the privilege of assisting three associations with the application process for recognition as ICC Chapters. GR Regional Managers strive to be the "go to" person for their areas. For Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming, Dave Nichols is your representative. If you don't know who is assigned to your state, please go to this site: http://www.iccsafe.org/gr/Pages/gr-map.aspx or go to the ICC home page (www.iccsafe.org) and click on the QUICK LINK "Government Relations", scroll down and click on "Locate your state's Chapters, Board Liaison or Staff Liaison."

Share this story: