The State Building Code Council on Sept. 26 moved forward a package of code proposals recommended by technical advisory groups for CR102 drafting and public comment. The proposals cover plumbing (UPC), residential (IRC) and building (IBC) code amendments that the respective tags reviewed and recommended.

Ben O’Mara reported the MVPE and UPC tag recommendations and the council voted to advance the tag‑recommended UPC proposals into the CR102 package. The IRC recommendations from the BFRW (Building, Fire, Residential and Waterfront) technical review were similarly advanced into CR102, with one late proposal (GP2054) excluded from the package and sent back to the IRC tag for review because it had not been through the tag process.

On the IBC side the council adopted the committee recommendation to advance proposal GP114 and deny a competing proposal that the committee had previously considered. Those motions were carried by voice vote during committee reports.

Council members noted several items they expect to draw public comment — for example, changes related to residential sprinkler provisions and electric vehicle infrastructure. Members emphasized that advancing proposals to CR102 starts the formal APA comment period; it does not itself effect code changes. Drafts moving to CR102 will include preliminary cost‑benefit analyses and small‑business economic‑impact statements prior to publication.

Why it matters: Moving proposals to CR102 initiates formal public review under the Administrative Procedure Act; interested parties will be able to submit written and oral comments at scheduled hearings. The decision to send one late IRC proposal back to the tag preserves procedural fairness and allows technical review to occur.

What’s next: Staff will prepare CR102 draft filings for the packages moved forward; committees will finalize any edits and prepare the required economic analyses for the public‑comment filings.