Committee reports out bills on scissor stairs, embodied carbon, permitting, heat plans and crash prevention zones

A House executive committee on Friday advanced a package of bills addressing building codes, permitting processes and public-safety measures, reporting each to the full House with recommendations for passage.

The committee reported substitute House Bill 3,079.2 for HB 2228 — a measure to allow the use of interlocking “scissor” stairs in certain occupancies — out of committee by voice vote. Vice Chair Zahn, who moved the substitute, said the change would “allow more of the floor plates of the buildings to be used for housing instead of stairs,” and noted the substitute requires those stairs to be “separately enclosed and divided by fire resistant rated assemblies.” Staff announced the tally as 7 ayes, 0 nays.

On embodied carbon, the committee voted to report House Bill 2273, which directs the state building code council to adopt rules reducing embodied carbon in building projects, create a reporting form and establish a database. Chair (unnamed) framed the measure as a way to account for greenhouse gases…