Code Adoption Progress in the South

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bphgravity

Senior Member
Location
Florida
Several states in the southern region of the country have adopted or are in the process of adopting updated editions of the National Electrical Code (NEC) and other electrical and life safety standards related to the installation of electrical products. This includes Part VIII of the International Residential Code (IRC), the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC), and several electrical and life safety standards published by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA).

Virginia was the first state in the south to update its state building code in 2014. The 2012 Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code (USBC) went into effect on July 14, 2014. The USBC includes the 2011 NEC, the 2012 IRC, the 2012 IECC, and the 2012 International Fire Code (IFC). The 2010 National Fire Alarm and Signal Code (NFPA 72), the 2010 Health Care Facilities Code (NFPA 99), the 2005 Standard for the Installation of Carbon Monoxide (CO) Detection and Warning Equipment (NFPA 720), and NEMA Enclosures for Electrical Equipment (NEMA 250-2008) are directly referenced by the USBC.

The next state to enact a statewide building code was Mississippi. Effective August 1, 2014, every county and municipal jurisdiction in the state is required to adopt one of the last three editions of the NEC (2011, 2008, 2005) as referenced by the adopted International Building Code &/or IRC. All commercial buildings are required to comply with the Energy Standard for Buildings Except for Low-Rise Residential Buildings (ASHRAE 90.1-2010). The Mississippi State Fire Prevention Code is based on the 2012 IFC.

The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation has adopted the 2014 NEC. The 2014 edition goes into effect on September 1, 2014. The Georgia State Codes Advisory Committee has recommended the Department of Community Affairs adopt the 2014 NEC. If approved, the 2014 edition will go into effect on January 1, 2015.

The states of North Carolina and Oklahoma are currently reviewing the 2014 NEC. Both states are expected to adopt the 2014 edition in mid-2015. The state of Florida is expected to adopt the 2011 NEC in mid-2015. The 5th edition of the Florida Building Code will also include the 2012 IRC and IECC. The 5th edition of the Florida Fire Prevention Code goes into effect on January 1, 2015. This document is based on the 2012 National Fire Code (NFPA 1) and National Life safety Code (NFPA 101).

There is currently no code adoption activity in the states of Tennessee, South Carolina, Alabama, and Louisiana.

NEMA Field Representatives and other members of the Coalition for Current Safety Codes are working hard with the stakeholders and other interested parties in these states to get the most current edition of the codes and standards adopted and enforced. NEMA Field Representatives serve NEMA members by promoting the use and adoption of the electrical, life safety, and energy conservation standards and by monitoring regional developments of importance to the electroindustry. Activities include giving public comment at code adoption hearings, providing technical documentation to regulatory agencies, and by supporting local associations and organizations impacted by delayed code adoption.

For more up-to-date code adoption information in all 50-states, please subscribe to the NEMA Code Alerts email service at www.nema.org/Technical/Code-Alerts. You can also view the most current NEC and Energy Code adoption maps along with informational spreadsheets at www.nema.org/Technical/FieldReps.
 

david

Senior Member
Location
Pennsylvania
Why is Florida so far behind the eight ball. Why not skip the 11 and go to 14?

The state of PA, in 2012 elected not to proceed past the 2009 international building codes. So the 2012 codes have come and gone. Now approaches the 2015 codes and the proposed changes for that code cycle are up for review.

The statutory language in the law only allows the most current model building code (proposed changes) to be reviewed for adoption. Since the proposed changes for the 2015 are out for review its going to take a change in the statue for the proposed changes that came out for the 2012 code cycle to be reviewed before any of them can be adopted.
 

bphgravity

Senior Member
Location
Florida
I will reserve my comments on the "why is Florida is so behind the eight ball" question...


I will provide some more detail in the event you wish to participate or provide public comment at a future code hearing. The next meeting of the Florida Building Commission will be on October 14th in Daytona Beach, FL. This is the meeting the Commission is expected to open the rule making hearing for the adoption of the 5th edition of the FBC / 2011 NEC. If the rule making hearing is indeed opened at this meeting, the effective date of the updated FBC / NEC will be March 1, 2015. There is a possibility the rule making hearing will be delayed until December. If this is the case, the effective date of the updated FBC / NEC will be June 30, 2015. The Commission may also schedule a "special" meeting to start rule making hearing before the October Meeting or sometime in between the October and December meetings. Please keep in mind the 5th edition of the Florida Fire Prevention code also references the 2011 NEC and that document goes into effect on December 31, 2014.


You can also become actively involved in North Carolina's code update. The final meeting of the Electrical Ad Hoc Committee reviewing the 2014 NEC will be meeting on September 3rd. The meeting will be held at 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM and located at the NC-DOI, 322 Chapanoke Road, Raleigh, NC (Conference Room 239). The Committee will be assembling the final report and recommendations to be submitted to the Standing Electrical Committee. Public input will be allowed during this meeting.

The Electrical Ad Hoc Committee will be presenting their final report and recommendations to the Standing Electrical Committee on September 4th. This meeting will be held at 1:30 PM to 5:00 PM and located at the same address and room for the September 3rd Meeting. Public input will be allowed during this meeting as well. This will be the last opportunity to address the Electrical Committee before it submits its final report and recommendation to the Building Code Council.

The Building Code Council will be meeting on September 9th. This meeting will start at 9:00 AM and located at the NCSU McKimmon Center, 1101 Gorman Street, Raleigh, NC. The public hearing will open the meeting followed by the Committee Meetings and Council Meeting. This will be an opportunity to either support or oppose the recommendations of the Electrical Committee. There will be at least one more Building Code Council Meeting in December (12/9/14) prior to the official adoption of the 2014 NEC. This will be followed by an appeals period. Barring the possibility of legislative review &/or any court action, the 2014 NEC with NC amendments will go into effect mid-2015.


And finally, the Oklahoma Electrical Technical Committee has wrapped-up is review of the 2014 NEC. Public Comments are accepted until end of business on Friday, August 29. This will be followed by a series of Commission meetings (9/15, 10/21, 11/18, & 12/16) where the final adoption and effective date of the 2014 NEC will be determined.

I will keep you all updated...

Take care,

Bryan
 

bphgravity

Senior Member
Location
Florida
The Florida Building Commission, Electrical Technical Advisory Committee will have a teleconference meeting on Friday, October 3, 2014 to discuss the possibility of adopting the 2014 National Electrical Code as part of the proposed 5th Edition (2014) Florida Building Code.

The call-in number is 1-626-521-0017. The attendee access code is 700-803-917. To connect to the webinar, go to www.global.gotomeeting.com/join/700803917.

The full agenda can be downloaded here: http://www.floridabuilding.org/fbc/commission/FBC_1014/Electrical_TAC/Electrical_TAC_Agenda.htm



In response to discussion at the September 9, 2014 meeting of the NC Building Code Council, the Electrical Ad Hoc Committee has been reactivated to prepare the required fiscal analysis as required per NC General Statute GS 143-138(a) and 150B-21.4(b1) for the proposed adoption of the 2014 National Electrical Code. The meetings are being held at the NC Department of Insurance, Office of State Fire Marshal, located at 322 Chapanoke Road, Conference Room 239 in Raleigh, North Carolina on the following dates and time:

? October 9th 9:30 AM - 4:00 PM
? October 16th 9:30 AM - 4:00 PM
? October 23rd 9:30 AM - 4:00 PM
? October 30th 9:30 AM - 4:00 PM

The Electrical Ad Hoc Committee will submit the completed fiscal analysis to the Standing Electrical Committee on or after the October 30th meeting. Upon approval of the completed fiscal analysis, the Standing Electrical Committee will submit the fiscal analysis along with a petition for rulemaking to adopt the 2014 National Electrical Code with committee proposed amendments at the December 9, 2014 meeting of the NC Building Code Council. This meeting will be held at 9:00 AM at the NCSU McKimmon Center in Raleigh, North Carolina.



Notice is hereby given that, in accordance with Section 6-9-40 of the 1976 Code of Laws of South Carolina, as
amended, the South Carolina Building Codes Council intends to adopt the following building codes for use in the
state of South Carolina.

Mandatory codes include the:
2015 Edition of the International Building Code;
2015 Edition of the International Residential Code;
2015 Edition of the International Fire Code;
2015 Edition of the International Plumbing Code;
2015 Edition of the International Mechanical Code;
2015 Edition of the International Fuel Gas Code;
2014 Edition of the National Electrical Code.

Permissive codes include the:
2015 Edition of the International Property Maintenance Code;
2015 Edition of the International Existing Building Code;
2015 Edition of the International Swimming Pool and Spa Code
2015 Edition of the International Performance Code for Buildings and Facilities.

The Council specifically requests comments concerning sections of the proposed editions, which may be
unsuitable for enforcement in South Carolina. Written comments may be submitted to:

Roger K. Lowe, Administrator
PO Box 11329, Columbia, SC 29211-1329
on or before March 1, 2015
 

bphgravity

Senior Member
Location
Florida
The Oklahoma Uniform Building Code Commission (OUBCC) created technical committees comprised of individuals in the respective trades to review the codes and make recommendations to the Commission. Each committee will recommend modifications to change the codes to meet the needs of the State. Those recommendations are then reviewed and voted on by the OUBCC. Once the vote is complete, the rules process to adopt the codes is started.

Final Presentations for the for the Building, Existing Building, Fire, Fuel Gas, Mechanical and Plumbing Codes will be given at the October 21, 2014 meeting. Copies of the presentations and the comment forms reviewed by the committees are available on the Technical Committee Meeting Page.

The Electrical Technical Committee presentation was given at the September 16, 2014 meeting. That presentation and the public comment forms reviewed by the committee are available on the Technical Committee Meeting Page of our website.

http://www.ok.gov/oubcc/Meetings_&_Events/Technical_Committee_Meeting_Agendas_and_Minutes/index.html
 

bphgravity

Senior Member
Location
Florida
The Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA) held a Board of Directors Meeting on November 5, 2014 in Savannah, Georgia. A presentation was given by Ted Miltiades, Director of the Office of Construction Codes and Bill Guinade, Chairman of the State Codes Advisory Committee (SCAC).

The Office of Construction Codes and the SCAC recommended the DCA adopt the following new code editions:
> 2014 National Electrical Code (with no amendments)
> 2012 International Existing Building Code (with Georgia Amendments)
> 2012 International Property Maintenance Code (with Georgia Amendments)

The Office of Construction Codes and the SCAC also recommended the DCA adopt the 2015 Georgia Amendments to the following State Minimum Standard Codes:

> 2012 International Residential Code
> 2012 International Building Code
> 2012 International Mechanical Code
> 2012 International Plumbing Code
> 2012 International Fuel Gas Code
> 2014 Georgia Prescriptive Deck Details Standard

The adopted Georgia Amendments can be reviewed here:
http://www.dca.state.ga.us/development/constructioncodes/programs/codeAmendments.asp

The DCA Board unanimously voted to adopt the new code editions & Georgia Amendments with an effective date of January 1, 2015.

If you have questions regarding the referenced documents, please contact the Construction Codes Program at 404-679-3118 or constructioncodes@dca.ga.gov.
 

Strathead

Senior Member
Location
Ocala, Florida, USA
Occupation
Electrician/Estimator/Project Manager/Superintendent
There has been buzz that Florida (my state) was not going to adopt the 2011 code because there were sections that they didn't care for. I wonder if it will be modified for those sections? The rumors I heard had to do with the additional arc fault requirements that increase housing costs.
 

bphgravity

Senior Member
Location
Florida
No. The rumors you are hearing are wrong. The 2011 NEC will be adopted as written with no state amendments.

The draft 5th edition of the FBC can be viewed here: https://floridabuilding.org/bc/bc_default.aspx


While on the subject of Florida, on October 14, 2014, the Florida Building Commission voted to set a ?tentative adoption date of no earlier than June 30, 2015? as the effective date of the 5th edition of the FBC / 2011 NEC. This assumes the Commission votes to start the rulemaking process at the December 12, 2014 Commission meeting. The 2014 Florida Fire Prevention Code will go into effect on December 31, 2014. This includes the NFPA 1-2012, NFPA 101-2012, NFPA 70-2011, NFPA 72-2010, NFPA 99-2012, NFPA 110-2010, NFPA 111-2010.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING...
 

bphgravity

Senior Member
Location
Florida
No. The 2014 NEC will not be adopted in North Carolina on January 1, 2015. The NC Electrical Ad Hoc Committee will be meeting with the NC Standing Electrical Committee one last time on December 8 to make the final touches to the Petition to Adopt the 2014 NEC, with committee recommended amendments, along with the required fiscal impact analysis. This will then be presented to the NC Building Code Council on December 9 as a "B-Item". If the Council approves, the petition will then go to the Office of Budget and Management for their review. The petition then goes back to the Council as a "Public Comment Item" or "C-Item" at the March 10, 2015 meeting. It then comes back to the Council on June 9, 2015 as a "D-Item" or one that is intended to be adopted by the Council.

So, assuming their is no legislative block, and their just might be one, the earliest the 2014 NEC can be adopted in NC is summer of 2015. I think it will most likely be fall of 2015, perhaps November 2015.

That being said, there is a "D-Item" being adopted at the December 9 meeting that does include the 2014 NEC. Item D-17 will amend the NC Fire Code to reference the most current edition of the NFPA documents. This includes the NFPA 70.


On a side note, the first meeting of the Louisiana State 2014 NEC review committee will also occur on December 9. This committee is tasked to review the 2014 NEC and recommend its adoption, with or without amendments, to the LSUCCC. Assuming all goes well, the 2014 NEC will be adopted in LA on January 1, 2016.

Happy Thanksgiving!
 

bphgravity

Senior Member
Location
Florida
An Act to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 62, Chapter 6; Title 68; Title 69 and Title 70, relative to marina and boat dock safety and cited as the "Noah Dean and Nate Act" goes into effect on January 1, 2015. The Act includes new or revised definitions for the following terms: boat dock, boat dock or marina operator, marina, person, vessel, and watercraft. The Act also includes three rules:

(1) Any main overcurrent protective device, installed or replaced on or after April 1, 2015, that feeds a marina shall have ground-fault protection not exceeding one hundred milliamperes (100 mA). Ground-fault protection not exceeding one hundred milliamperes (100 mA) of each individual branch or feeder circuit shall be permitted as a suitable alternative. Each marina operator may determine the devices that it will utilize to achieve the one hundred milliamperes (100 mA) limit that is required by this subdivision (a)(1), including, but not limited to, the use of equipment leakage circuit interrupters or ground fault circuit interrupters;

(2) Cause a safety inspection to be made between January 1, 2015 and December 31, 2017, and every five (5) years thereafter, by the state fire marshal. The inspection shall include a review of all sources of electrical supply, including ship-to-shore power pedestals, submergible pumps, and sewage pump-out facilities, that could result in unsafe electrical current in the water for the purpose of ensuring compliance with the standards for maintenance of electrical wiring and equipment that are applicable to the marina. In the event that a deficiency is found during a safety inspection, any subsequent inspection that is required for the inspection of repairs that are made to address such deficiency shall be conducted by a deputy electrical inspector who is commissioned under? 68- 02-143; and

(3) Install permanent safety signage with print legible at eighty feet (80') of distance and placed to give adequate notice, to persons using the boat dock or marina or swimming area near the boat dock or marina, of the electric shock hazard risks of the waters around the boat dock or marina. The signage shall state: "ELECTRIC SHOCK HAZARD RISK: NO SWIMMING WITHIN 100 YARDS OF THE BOAT DOCK".

The final section of the Act includes penalties for any boat dock or marina operator that intentionally or knowingly violates the requirements of the Act.

A full copy of the Act can be downloaded here: http://www.tn.gov/sos/acts/108/pub/pc0923.pdf
 

bphgravity

Senior Member
Location
Florida
This is to inform you that the Florida Building Commission will hold a rule hearing January 5, 2015 at 10:00 am via conference call/webinar. The purpose of the hearing is to accept public input regarding the proposed 5th Edition (2014) Florida Building Code & the 2011 National Electrical Code. The ?Notice of Proposed Rule? and the proposed 5th Edition (2014) Florida Building are available for review via the Commission website, www.floridabuilding.org at the following link.

Calling and webinar access information are available from the ?Notice of Proposed Rule?.

http://www.floridabuilding.org/fbc/thecode/2013_Code_Development_Process.html

Written comments on the proposed rule will be accepted through December 25, 2014 by 5:00 p.m. or at the hearing. For written comments, please send comments to the following email address:

mo.madani@myfloridalicense.com
 
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