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UCC Review and Advisory Council

Meeting Minutes
Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Labor and Industry Building
10th Floor Conference Room
651 Boas Street
Harrisburg, PA 17121

Council Members Present:

George W. Settle, Chair
Karen L. Welsh, Vice-Chair
Clem Malot
Brooke Rush
Merle Musick
Steve Black
Chris McQuail
Ed Fegley
Tom McCosby
Kathleen McCormick
Bobby Henon
 

Also Present:

Jennifer Berrier Esquire, Exec. Asst. to Deputy Secretary J. Scott Robinette
Dwight Decker, Esquire, Assistant Counsel, Dep't of Labor & Industry
Cindy Sheaffer, Esquire. Assistant Counsel, Dep't of Labor & Industry
 

Public Speakers:

Ray Lonabaugh, NFPA
Sara Yerkes, ICC
Doug Meshaw, PBA
Shari Shapiro, Calliope Communications
 

Reporter:

Rhonda K. Thorpe
 
 
The meeting was called to order at 10 a.m. by Chair George Settle, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance and introduction of all Council Members and attendees.
  1. Approval of Agenda: Chair Settle made a correction to the agenda changing IBC/ICCPC to IEBC and asked for a motion to approve the agenda. Mr. Black moved to approve the agenda. Mr. McCosby seconded the motion. The Council approved the agenda by unanimous consent.
     
  2. Chairman's Comments and Correspondence: Chair Settle stated that he received the electrical code changes by NFPA and made it available to Council Members. He discussed how to make that information available to the public. Chair Settle reiterated Labor & Industry and Council attorneys' interpretation of what the Council may adopt when reviewing the 2015 code revisions, which is that the Council may only adopt the 2015 code revisions not the 2012 revisions where there is no 2015 update. He recommended that if a subcommittee is stuck on a revision to send it to him, and he will get an opinion from Labor & Industry on the revision. Mr. Malot commented that he thinks, along with PABCO, the Council has the authority to review all 2015 and 2012 code revisions. There was a conversation among Council Members on the confusion surrounding what they should be reviewing.

    The Council agreed to send a letter to the General Assembly from the entire Council supporting the passage of Senate Bill 1023, so that the Council may look back at the 2012 revisions and adopt a code that is clear and workable. Mr. Fegley volunteered to draft the letter.

    Ms. Yerkes, on behalf of the International Code Council, explained the national code development process and recommended that the Council educate the General Assembly on the process. She commented that the ICC does not use the term "latest triennial code revision" but "triennial code updates." She also stated that other states review the entire code not the revisions. She urged people to read about the code process on www.iccsafe.org.
     
  3. Report of Legislation Working Group: No action taken.
     
  4. Report of Regulation Working Group: No action taken.
     
  5. Old Business: No action taken.
     
  6. New Business:
     
    1. Subcommittee Reports
      1. ADM: Mr. Fegley indicated that the subcommittee met, and that he hasn't received any recommendations to date.
         
      2. IBC-Fire Safety: Nothing to report.
         
      3. IBC-General: Mr. Fegley noted that the subcommittee members are reviewing the changes assigned to them.
         
      4. IBC Means of Egress: Nothing to report.
         
      5. IBC Structural: Nothing to report.
         
      6. IEBC: Mr. Rush indicated that they had reviewed all changes and sent the recommendations out at the last meeting.
         
      7. IECC Commercial: Mr. McQuail opined that the group had its third conference call and the members reviewed 84 of the first 103 amendments as favorable. He indicated that he was waiting for the remaining recommendations before submitting a complete spreadsheet to the Council.
         
      8. IECC Residential: Mr. McCosby indicated that the group didn't meet, but the spreadsheet is completed for group discussion.
         
      9. IFC: No action.
         
      10. IFGC: No action.
         
      11. IMC: Chair Settle stated that the group did not meet, but the group is still reviewing several items.
         
      12. IPC: No action.
         
      13. IRC-Building: No action.
         
      14. IRC-Mechanical: Mr. Musick said that the spreadsheet is completed, and he is waiting for recommendations from other members.
         
      15. IRC-Plumbing: Mr. Fegley mentioned that the group had met, and Mr. McCosby was voted chairperson.
         
      16. IWUIC: Mr. Malot said that the group did an analysis of the 2009, 2012, and 2105 codes. He pointed out that the group has three votes recommending adoption of the 2015 code as it is written.
         
      17. NFPA 70: Chair Settle voiced that Mark Henry was elected subcommittee chairman.
       
  7. General Public Comments: Ms. Shapiro urged the Council to contact the legislators to express concern about this year's code review process. She also offered assistance or support from her clients.
     
  8. Future Meetings: The Council scheduled its next meeting and public hearing for January 14, 2015 in Harrisburg.
     
  9. Adjournment: Mr. Henon moved that the Council adjourn the meeting. Mr. Rush seconded the motion. The motion passed by unanimous consent. The meeting was adjourned at approximately 11:39 a.m.