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Hawaii IBEW and other testifiers urge caution as Senate panel defers bill to centralize state building codes
Summary
Testifiers including IBEW Local 1260 told a Senate committee that SB1540 could let counties diminish state minimum building standards; the committee deferred the bill indefinitely to allow further stakeholder talks while the State Building Code Council remains suspended.
The Senate Committee on Public Safety and Military Affairs paused action on SB1540, a bill that would make the most recent Hawaii state building codes adopted by the State Building Code Council supersede county codes beginning Jan. 1, 2028, and would restrict counties from adopting their own minimum standards without prior council approval.
The bill was deferred indefinitely after testifiers raised concerns that the measure, as drafted, could allow counties to weaken statewide minimum codes and to “circumvent” state fire-safety standards.
Why it matters: SB1540 would change the balance between state and county authority over building codes. Testimony in committee…
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