SB 2339

THE SENATE
S.B. NO.
2339
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026
S.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII
A BILL FOR AN ACT
RELATING TO THE STATE BUILDING CODE COUNCIL.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
���� SECTION 1.� The legislature finds that the state building
code council was established by Act 82, Session Laws of Hawaii 2007, to create
and implement the state building code.�
The legislature further finds that health and safety considerations
relating to the state building code are matters of statewide concern.
���� The
legislature also finds that the state building code council has struggled with
limited funding and insufficient staffing since its creation.� Most members of the council are government
officials lacking the required knowledge and experience, and as a result,
amendments to the state building code often do not pertain to public health or
safety and are adopted without analysis of financial impact; input from
residential, commercial, and industrial builders; or consideration of the
resulting increase in the overall cost of construction.� In addition, the law requires the state
building code to be based on various codes, including the International
Building Code, which is updated every three years.� This triennial updating process places
significant burdens on the short-staffed state building code council.� The frequent updates also burden the staff of
county building departments who spend hundreds of hours revising their
respective county building codes, which in turn places additional burdens on
the construction industry by requiring employees to learn the updated code and
retrain workers.� These burdens are
ultimately borne by consumers in the form of increased building costs and
delays in permit processing.
���� The
legislature believes that increasing the number of members on the state
building code council who have knowledge of the state building code will help
to alleviate some of the burdens associated with the updating process.� Currently, a representative of the Building
Industry Association of Hawaii and a representative of the General Contractors
Association of Hawaii alternate serving four-year terms on the council.� The legislature believes that, since the
state building code knowledge offered by these two entities is so critical to
the council's efforts, representatives of both entities should have permanent,
standing memberships on the council.
���� Accordingly,
the purpose of this Act is to:
���� (1)� Make both the representative of the Building
Industry Association of Hawaii and the representative of the General
Contractors Association of Hawaii permanent, standing members of the building
code council; and
���� (2)� Add the following two members to the
state building code council:
��������� (A)� One member representing the Plumbers
and Fitters United Association, Local 675; and
��������� (B)� One member representing the
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 1186.
���� SECTION
2.� Section 107-22,
Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (a) to read as
follows:
���� "(a)� There is established a state building code
council.� The council shall be placed
within the department of accounting and general services for administrative
purposes only.� The council shall consist
of [[twelve]] fifteen voting members and one nonvoting member, who
shall be the comptroller or the comptroller's designee.� The council members shall serve four‑year
terms.� The voting members shall include:
���� (1)� One county building official from each
of the four counties appointed by the mayor;
���� (2)� One member representing the state fire
council;
���� (3)� One member representing the department
of labor and industrial relations, who has significant experience in elevator
safety;
���� (4)� One member representing the Hawaii
state energy office of the department of business, economic development, and
tourism;
���� (5)� One member representing the Hawaii
emergency management agency, appointed by the director of Hawaii emergency
management;
���� (6)� One member representing the Structural
Engineers Association of Hawaii;
���� (7)� One member representing the American
Institute of Architects, Hawaii State Council;
���� (8)� One member representing the Building
Industry Association of Hawaii [[or the General Contractors Association of
Hawaii,]] who has significant experience with building codes[[, with
alternating four-year terms between the two organizations and the first
four-year term to be served by the Building Industry Association of Hawaii; and]];
���� (9)� One member representing the
Subcontractors' Association of Hawaii, who has significant experience with
building codes[[.]];
��� (10)� One
member representing the General Contractors Association of Hawaii who has
significant experience with building codes;
��� (11)� One member representing the Plumbers
and Fitters United Association, Local 675; and
��� (12)� One member representing the
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 1186.
���� SECTION
3.� Statutory material to be repealed is
bracketed and stricken.� New statutory
material is underscored.
���� SECTION
4.� This Act shall take effect on July 1,
2050.
Report Title:
State
Building Code Council; Department of Accounting and General Services;
Membership; Building Industry Association of Hawaii; General Contractors
Association of Hawaii; Labor
Description:
Makes
both the representative of the Building Industry Association of Hawaii and the
representative of the General Contractors Association of Hawaii permanent standing
members of the State Building Code Council, instead of members who alternate
terms every 4 years.� Adds members
representing the Plumbers and Fitters United Association, Local 675 and
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 1186 to the State
Building Code Council.� Effective
7/1/2050.� (SD1)
The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.