Bill to add two seats to building codes board draws unanimous Senate backing; House hears testimony

Joseph Santos Lyons, chief of staff for Sen. Khan Pham, told the House Committee on Housing and Homelessness on April 23 that Senate Bill 49 increases membership of the Building Codes Structures Board from nine to eleven and specifies two new member types: a fire protection engineer and an expert in designing or building multifamily housing.

Santos Lyons said Senator Pham could not attend the hearing and asked the committee to support the change so the board’s membership would better reflect multifamily housing and fire protection expertise needed to accelerate housing production. He said the bill passed unanimously out of the Senate Housing and Development Committee and passed the Senate floor without objection.

Testimony in support emphasized that adding technical voices will help ensure building codes reflect the realities of multifamily construction. Santos Lyons said earlier versions of broader code reform language were removed and that the current bill is narrower, focused on board membership.

Committee members asked about the timing of opposition noted in the written record; Santos Lyons said contentious provisions were removed and the bill that reached the House was the narrower membership change. No organized opposition was presented at the hearing.

Ending: The committee closed the public hearing; the bill moves forward for committee consideration.