04/27/2006 01:30 PM Senate LABOR & COMMERCE

    CSHB 377(L&C) am -EXEMPTION: RES. BLDG. DRAWINGS & SPECS                                                                
                                                                                                                              
CHAIR  CON  BUNDE  announced  CSHB  377(L&C)  am  to  be  up  for                                                               
consideration.                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
MIKE PAWLOWSKI,  staff to Representative Kevin  Meyer, sponsor of                                                               
HB 377, said that the people  who the sponsor asked to testify on                                                               
this  bill couldn't  make it  to  today's meeting  and they  were                                                               
asked to submit their letters  in writing. He advised that Colony                                                               
Builders submitted the letter that best summarized the issues.                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
MR. PAWLOWSKI  summarized that  the point  is that  state statute                                                               
conflicts  with building  code  in its  requirement  of a  design                                                               
professional.  Building code  says a  two  family home  is up  to                                                               
three  stories;  state statue  says  a  four-family home  is  two                                                               
stories. In between those two  definitions, home owners or people                                                               
building  a home  get  saddled with  extra  costs for  performing                                                               
residential seismic  and wind design characteristics  in a market                                                               
that  is already  tight  for engineers  and  architects, who  are                                                               
generally not all  that interested because the job  is too small.                                                               
HB  377  attempts  to  clean up  that  discrepancy  between  what                                                               
building codes ask for and what the state law says.                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
2:05:18 PM                                                                                                                    
He said the  sponsor had worked back and forth  with the Board of                                                               
Architects, Engineers  and Land  Surveyors and  they had  come up                                                               
with an amendment for clarification.                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
2:05:54 PM at ease 2:06:12 PM                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  BUNDE moved  to  adopt  Amendment 1  and  objected for  an                                                               
explanation.                                                                                                                    
                                                     24-LS1471\FA.1                                                             
                                                         Bannister                                                              
                      A M E N D M E N T 1                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
OFFERED IN THE SENATE                                                                                                           
     TO:  CSHB 377(L&C) am                                                                                                      
Page 2, lines 23 - 24:                                                                                                          
     Delete all material.                                                                                                       
     Insert "is located in a municipality that has adopted a                                                                
building or residential code that  applies to the building and if                                                           
the building complies with the building or residential code;"                                                               
                                                                                                                                
MR. PAWLOWSKI explained that Amendment  1 clears up the fact that                                                               
the building  must be located  in a municipality that  contains a                                                               
building code.  Without the building  code, the issues  of public                                                               
safety are actually out there. If  there is a building code and a                                                               
department to submit a plan to,  all of the issues are covered by                                                               
the plan review process.                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR BUNDE asked  if someone wants to build on  a remote site in                                                               
an unorganized area, would he need the architectural review.                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MR.  PAWLOWSKI replied  yes -  if the  structure is  up to  three                                                               
stories - with an exception for owner-builders.                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR BUNDE  removed his objection  and Amendment 1  was adopted.                                                               
No one else  wanted to testify on this bill  and public testimony                                                               
was closed.                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
2:07:37 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR  SEEKINS  moved  to  report SCS  CSHB  377(L&C)  am  from                                                               
committee with  individual recommendations and zero  fiscal note.                                                               
Senators  Ben  Stevens, Davis,  Seekins,  Ellis  and Chair  Bunde                                                               
voted yea; so SCS CSHB 377(L&C) am moved from committee.