Part of the Code Council's Government Relations staff work is the monitoring of federal, state and local legislation and rulemaking. Government Relations staff look for pending legislation and proposed regulations that may be of interest to, or that may have an impact on, the association or its members. Even national decisions have an impact on local governments and members. Working with the U.S. Congress, federal agencies, state legislatures and state agencies is important to the overall mission and goals of ICC.
Aside from ICC's advocacy work to support code adoptions and services such as ICC Evaluation Service, International Accreditation Service, ICC Solar Rating & Certification Corporation, training, certification and more, we also provide our advocacy resources to our members. Some ICC chapters have lobbyists on retainer but many do not. Our staff also support chapters by notifying them of any legislative or regulatory activity of interest. Subjects we have covered this year include diverse issues relevant to our codes such as code adoption cycles; contractor licensing; business licensing; registration laws for engineers, architects and interior designers; attempts to mandate local government to perform annual inspections on decks, dilapidated housing and wireless communications towers; exemptions from code requirements for farm structurers used for special events; special code exemptions from code requirements for churches; fire protection; hazardous materials; upholstered furniture flammability; illegal building conversion; cost of construction analysis; energy efficiency; water use; and more.
During the year, ICC staff attend many public hearings and meetings. They testify in person and submit written testimony or letters in support or in opposition to bills and rules. This work is done in coordination with our members and stakeholders.
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