Board and sponsor seek subcommittee on recodifying building‑ and fire‑code enforcement into RSA 155‑A

Representative Carol McGuire said House Bill 244 is a board request to recodify and consolidate building and fire code enforcement provisions currently scattered through land‑use statutes into RSA 155‑A. The sponsor said the measure is intended as an editorial and organizational change, not to alter policy, but she acknowledged that a bill of this size could include inadvertent misreferences and therefore recommended subcommittee review.

Philip Sherman, chair of the Building Code Review Board, testified that the consolidation is intended to reduce confusion about how code implementation intersects with zoning and other land‑use statutes. He urged a subcommittee process to (1) move related provisions to a single statutory home, (2) identify appeals and notice procedures that may be overly complex for building code matters, and (3) coordinate with other bills (including HB 428) that affect related statutory language.

Additional witnesses — including representatives of the home‑builders association and others — told the committee they support consolidation in principle but asked for time to refine cross references and technical edits. The committee Chair directed that HB 244 be sent to subcommittee for a quick turnaround and stakeholder review.

Why it matters: The bill attempts to clarify and centralize enforcement and appeals language to reduce enforcement confusion across municipalities and land‑use chapters. Sponsors and the board said the change is administrative; they asked the committee to treat it as a technical consolidation and to involve municipal and fire‑marshal stakeholders in drafting.

Next steps: HB 244 will go to subcommittee for coordinated drafting and review; no committee recommendation was recorded today.