Bill would add fire‑chief seat to Montana building codes council

Representative Eric Tillman introduced House Bill 144 to add a representative of the Montana Fire Chiefs Association to the state Building Codes Council. Tillman said the seat would bring “specialized knowledge and experience in fire safety” to decisions about building codes.

Sarah Swanson, commissioner of the Montana Department of Labor and Industry, told the Senate Local Government Committee the council exists under statute 50‑61‑115 to assist the department with application, implementation and interpretation of the state building code. Swanson said the council’s mission is to harmonize building codes with related rules and that adding a fire‑chief seat would improve collaboration and reduce past disputes between fire‑code and building‑code authorities.

Representatives of firefighter organizations also testified in support. Rich Cowger, speaking for the Montana State Fire Chiefs Association, said front‑end involvement of fire officials leads to better outcomes. Ole Hedstrom, for the Montana State Firefighters Association, said the added perspective will improve community safety.

Committee members asked clarifying questions about the current statute; Swanson pointed to line 16 of the statute language that directs harmonization of codes and said the bill is intended to encourage discussion before contentious rulemaking. No opponents or informational witnesses testified, and the committee closed the hearing without taking executive action.

The next steps for HB 144 will be whatever deliberations the Senate Local Government committee schedules; the chair noted that executive action was postponed because not enough members were present that day.