HB161INTRODUCED
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HB161
18153L3-1
By Representative Lipscomb
RFD: State Government
First Read: 04-Feb-25
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5 18153L3-1 02/04/2025 CMH (L)CMH 2024-2331
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First Read: 04-Feb-25
SYNOPSIS:
Under existing law, the Division of Construction
Management within the Department of Finance, which was
formerly the State Building Commission, is required to
adopt state building codes and state energy
conservation codes. The codes apply only to state
public buildings, public schools, hotels, and movie
theatres. The codes do not apply to private residential
or non-residential buildings and structures.
Also under existing law, each county commission
and municipality may adopt local building codes for its
jurisdiction. The codes are enforced at the local
level.
This bill would provide for the standardization
of the building codes across the state and would place
the authority to adopt the codes with the Division of
Construction Management. This bill would also include
all non-residential buildings within the state building
code and would specify that county and municipal
governing bodies would have the primary authority to
enforce the building codes with respect to the
non-residential buildings.
This bill would establish a process for
periodically updating the building codes.
This bill would authorize certain coastal
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This bill would authorize certain coastal
counties and municipalities to adopt supplemental
coastal building codes for protection against
hurricanes, high winds, and erosion.
This bill would also further provide for the
scope of practice of architecture and the duties of a
local building code official and would provide criminal
penalties for a violation.
A BILL
TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
Relating to building codes; to amend Sections 41-9-160,
41-9-161, 41-9-162, 41-9-163, 41-9-164, 41-9-165, 41-9-166,
41-9-167, 41-9-170, 41-9-171, 41-9-172, 41-9-173, and
41-9-174, Code of Alabama 1975, to provide for the
standardization of certain building codes in the state; to
require the Division of Construction Management within the
Department of Finance to adopt certain building codes; to
further provide for the applicability and enforcement of the
codes; to add Section 41-9-166.1 to the Code of Alabama 1975,
to authorize certain coastal counties and municipalities to
adopt supplemental coastal building codes; and to amend
Sections 34-2-30 and 34-2-32, Code of Alabama 1975, to further
provide for the practice of architecture and duties of local
code officials; and to provide a criminal penalty for a
violation.
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violation.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
Section 1. Sections 41-9-160, 41-9-161, 41-9-162,
41-9-163, 41-9-164, 41-9-165, 41-9-166, 41-9-167, 41-9-170,
41-9-171, 41-9-172, 41-9-173, and 41-9-174, Code of Alabama
1975, are amended to read as follows:
"§41-9-160
When used in this division, the following words and
phrases shall have the following meanings, respectively,
unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
(1) BUILDING CODE OFFICIAL. The individual appointed by
the Division of Construction Management or the county,
municipality, or other political subdivision of this state
having responsibility for the issuance of building permits and
the administration of the state building code, or a fire
marshal where there is no such official.
(2) DIVISION OF CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT. The Division
of Construction Management within the Department of Finance.
(5) NON-RESIDENTIAL BUILDING. A building that is not a
residence.
(6) RESIDENCE. A single unit providing complete
independent residential living facilities for one or more
persons, including permanent provisions for living, sleeping,
eating, cooking, and sanitation.
(1)(8) STATE BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION. All buildings
and other structures erected or acquired by or in behalf of
the State of Alabama or any of its agencies or
instrumentalities.
(2)(7) SCHOOLHOUSE. Any building or other structure
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(2)(7) SCHOOLHOUSE. Any building or other structure
erected or acquired by the public schools of Alabama and also
shall mean any private building in which 25 or more persons
are congregated regularly for the purpose of instruction in
any branch of knowledge.
(3) HOTEL. Any public inn or lodging house of 15 or
more bedrooms, in which transient guests are lodged for pay.
(4) MOVINGMOTION PICTURE THEATRE. Any building in which
movingmotion pictures are featured regularly for charge of
admission."
"§41-9-161
For the further protection of the people of Alabama,
the Construction Management Division of the Department of
Finance is authorized and directed hereby to promulgate and to
enforceDivision of Construction Management shall adopt a code
of minimum building standards pursuant to the Alabama
Administrative Procedure Act . The code adopted by the
Construction Management Division of the Department of Finance
under the provisions of this section, after having been
recorded in the office of Secretary of State for 60 days,
shall become effective.
The Construction Management Division of the Department
of Finance shall have the code printed suitably immediately
subsequent to its filing and shall distribute promptly the
printed copies thereof in the same manner as acts of the
Legislature are distributed; provided, however, that no charge
may be collected by the Construction Management Division of
the Department of Finance for copies of the code and that any
person shall be furnished a copy upon request. "
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person shall be furnished a copy upon request. "
"§41-9-162
(a) The code of minimum building standards promulgated
and enforcedadopted by the Construction Management Division of
the Department of Finance Division of Construction Management
shall be applicable only to all state buildings and
construction, schoolhouses, hotels ,and moving picture
theatres, and all other non-residential buildings in
Alabamathis state. The code of minimum building standards
shall not apply to any residence .
(b) The effect of the building code shall be limited,
in the cases of state building and construction and public
schoolhouses, to buildings and structures erected or acquired
after the operative date thereof. As to private schoolhouses,
hotels and moving picture theatres, the code shall apply to
the place of conduct of each such business activity not
employed or in the process of erection for that purpose prior
to the effective date thereof.
(b) The building code shall be enforced as follows:
(1) The Division of Construction Management shall have
the primary authority to enforce the building code with
respect to state buildings and construction, schoolhouses,
hotels, and motion picture theatres.
(2) County and municipal governing bodies shall have
the primary authority to enforce the building code with
respect to all other non-residential buildings.
(c) No building code official may impose additional or
more stringent code requirements than what is specified in the
building code."
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building code."
"§41-9-163
(a) The requirements of the building code shall be such
that the safety, health, general welfare and morals of the
people of Alabama thereby will be protected.
(b)(a) It shall be unlawful for any state building or
structure subject to this division construction or any public
schoolhouse which does not conform to not meet the
requirements of the building code to be erected or acquired .
(c)(b) It shall be unlawful for any person to operate a
private school, hotel , or moving picture theatre , or other
non-residential building that which does not meet fully the
requirements of the building code unless suchthe building was
used for that purpose prior to the effective date of the
building code."
"§41-9-164
(a) By July 1, 2025, the Division of Construction
Management shall submit a proposed rule to the Legislative
Services Agency to begin the formal rulemaking process to
adopt the 2021 version of the model building codes described
in Section 41-9-166.
(b) Beginning January 1, 2027, and every three years
thereafter, the Division of Construction Management shall
submit a proposed rule to the Legislative Services Agency to
begin the formal rulemaking process to adopt the International
Code Council's most recent publication of the revised model
building codes described in Section 41-9-166. The Construction
Management Division of the Department of Finance is authorized
and directed to make such changes in the code from time to
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and directed to make such changes in the code from time to
time as seem advisable in the best interest of the people of
Alabama. Changes in the code shall take effect and shall be
printed and distributed in the same manner as the original
code was made effective, printed and distributed.
(c) Every rule adopted under this section shall be
subject to the Alabama Administrative Procedure Act. "
"§41-9-165
(a) The Division of Construction Management
Construction Management Division of the Department of Finance
is empowered tomay provide adequate inspection service to
insureensure compliance with the building code.
(b) On request of the Division of Construction
Management, Other agencies and instrumentalities of the state
government are directed hereby to cooperate, as requested by
the commission, a state agency shall assist in the enforcement
of the building code.
(c) The commissionDivision of Construction Management
may appoint, subject to the Merit System, suchan adequate
number of persons, including architectural and technical
employees, as are necessary for the duties hereby imposed to
perform the duties required by this article and as otherwise
required by law."
"§41-9-166
(a) The Division of Construction Management, by rule,
shall adopt the following model building codes published by
the International Code Council, which shall apply to every
non-residential building in the state:
(1) International Building Code.
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(1) International Building Code.
(2) International Existing Building Code.
(3) International Plumbing Code.
(4) International Fuel Gas Code.
(5) International Mechanical Code.
(b) To assure uniform application of the model building
codes, the Division of Construction Management shall offer and
provide guidance to any county or municipality within the
state.
Any municipality in the State of Alabama may adopt any
model building code published by the Southern Building Code
Congress International and the National Electrical Code
published by the National Fire Protection Association as a
municipal ordinance, enlarging the applicability thereof to
include private buildings and structures other than private
schoolhouses, hotels, public and private hospitals, and moving
picture houses as it deems necessary and to prescribe
penalties for violations thereof in the same manner in which
other ordinances and related penalty provisions are adopted
and prescribed.
Any county commission similarly may adopt and enlarge
the applicability of any model building code published by the
Southern Building Code Congress International and the National
Electrical Code published by the National Fire Protection
Association for the county, prescribing penalties for
violations thereof, by resolution duly recorded in its minutes
and, after notice of four weeks, by publication once weekly in
some county newspaper, if there is one published in the
county, and by posted notices at the door of each courthouse
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county, and by posted notices at the door of each courthouse
in the county.
Changes in the provisions of the building code effected
by the Construction Management Division of the Department of
Finance may be adopted similarly by counties and
municipalities.
No county or municipality shall apply the building code
to state buildings and construction of public schoolhouses.
Model building codes adopted by a county or
municipality pursuant to this section shall only apply to
structures and facilities on the customer's side of the
electric meter and shall not apply to any electric power
generation, transmission, or distribution facilities on the
electric service provider's side of the electric meter.
Nothing contained in this section shall be construed as
requiring the advertising or posting of the code itself. The
provisions of this section shall be satisfied by giving of
notice that it is proposed to adopt a code. "
"§41-9-167
(a) No provision of the state building code , or any
municipal or county building code, or any other law or rule ,
may prohibit or otherwise limit the use of a substitute
refrigerant or substitute refrigerant-equipped product that
complies with the National Clean Air Act pursuant to 42 U.S.C.
§ 7671k and regulations adopted thereunder.
(b) Any heating, ventilation, air conditioning, or
refrigeration equipment containing a refrigerant described in
subsection (a) shall be listed and installed in accordance
with all applicable safety standards and use conditions
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with all applicable safety standards and use conditions
imposed pursuant to the designation."
"§41-9-170
When used in this division, the following words and
phrases shall have the following meanings, respectively,
unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
(1) Commission(3) DIVISION OF CONSTRUCTION MANGEMENT .
The Construction Management Division of Division of
Construction Management within the Department of Finance.
(2) DIRECTORDirector. The Director of the Technical
Staff of the Construction Management Division Division of
Construction Management of the Department of Finance .
(3) Code(1) CODE. The state energy conservation
building code to be adopted by the Construction Management
Division of the Department of Finance Division of Construction
Management."
"§41-9-171
For the health and welfare of the people of Alabama,
the Construction Management Division of the Department of
Finance of the State of Alabama, which was created in 1945 by
the Legislature, is authorized and hereby directed to adopt,
promulgateDivision of Construction Management shall adopt and
enforce a state energy conservation building code pursuant to
the Alabama Administrative Procedure Act . The code adopted by
the commission under the provisions of this division, after
having been recorded in the office of Secretary of State for
60 days, shall become effective. The code shall be applicable
to all buildings constructed or remodeled after May 2, 1978,
with state appropriated funds or funds from any other
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with state appropriated funds or funds from any other
instrumentality of the state. ItThe code shall include a
minimal energy conservation section which controls those items
affecting heat loss in the exterior envelopment of buildings
and affecting climatic control and illumination of buildings."
"§41-9-172
(a) The director of the technical staff of the
commission shall adopt the code as required by law and have the
responsibility for developing said code and presenting it to
the commission for adoption and, in fulfillment of such
responsibility, may , as it becomes necessary, may contract for
the consultant services of architects, engineers , and other
technicians with a portion of the funds provided. It shall be
the further responsibility of the director to
(b) The director shall keep the code updated and
consistent with acceptable engineering and architectural
practices. by from time to time presenting the commission with
recommended changes and modifications for adoption. The
director shall, at the earliest possible date after the
passage of this division, submit a state building code for any
building or construction utilizing state funds to the
commission for adoption. Said
(c) The code shall contain provisions for an energy
conservation code which regulates regulate the thermal
efficiency of the exterior of buildings and the efficiency of
lighting design and climatic control in buildings.
(d) The directorcode shall include in the said code
thermal and lighting efficiency standards which willthat meet
both of the following criteria:
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both of the following criteria:
(1) Be applicable to all new and renovated buildings ;
and.
(2) Be no less stringent than the Appendix J of the
standard building code."
"§41-9-173
The director shall prepare and offer suchany training
and assistance as the Construction Management Division of the
Department of Finance Division of Construction Management deems
necessary in implementing the provisions of this division and
the standards herein established state energy conservation
building code."
"§41-9-174
The commission also shall cause the director to
formulatestate energy conservation building code shall include
guidelines for thermal and lighting efficiency applicable to
all new and renovated buildings, whether such the buildings
are state funded or not, and guidelines for the manner of
implementation thereforof the code."
Section 2. Section 41-9-166.1 is added to the Code of
Alabama 1975, to read as follows:
§41-9-166.1
(a) As used in this section, the following terms have
the following meanings:
(1) COASTAL COUNTY. A county whose borders include or
abut the waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
(2) COASTAL MUNICIPALITY. A municipal corporation whose
corporate limits, or a portion thereof, are within a coastal
county or are otherwise within 25 miles of the waters of the
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county or are otherwise within 25 miles of the waters of the
Gulf of Mexico.
(b) Notwithstanding any provision of this division to
the contrary, the governing body of a coastal county or
coastal municipality may adopt supplemental coastal building
code requirements to provide increased protections against
hurricanes, high winds, wind-driven rain, flooding, erosion,
and other hazards and circumstances, the likelihood of which
is substantially increased due to the entity's proximity to
the coast.
Section 3. Sections 34-2-30 and 34-2-32, Code of
Alabama 1975, are amended to read as follows:
"§34-2-30
For the purposes of this chapter, the following words
and phrases shall have the meanings respectively ascribed by
this section:
(1) ARCHITECT. An individual who istechnically and
legally qualified to engage in the practice of architecture
who is registered as an architect in the State of Alabama with
the State Board for Registration of Architects .
(2) ARCHITECTURAL SERVICES. The creation of drawings
and specifications and other technical documentation and
administration of construction for the purpose of determining
compliance with the drawings and specifications. These
drawings generally consist of, but are not limited to, plans,
elevations, sections, and details of the related construction
as well as code analysis.
(3) BOARD. The State Board for Registration of
Architects.
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Architects.
(2)(4) BUILDING. A structure consisting of foundation,
walls, or supports and roof, with or without related
components, systems, or other parts comprising a completed
building ready for occupancy.
(5) BUILDING CODE OFFICIAL. The individual appointed by
the county, municipality, or other political subdivision of
this state having responsibility for the issuance of building
permits and the administration of the state building code, or
a fire marshal where there is no such local official.
(3)(6) PRACTICE ARCHITECTURE or PRACTICING
ARCHITECTURE. Performing or doing, or offering or attempting
to do or perform any service, work, act, or thing within the
scope of the practice of architecture. An individual shall be
construed to hold himself or herself out as practicing
architecture when, by verbal claim, sign, advertisement,
letterhead, card, or any other way, the individual represents
himself or herself to be an architect with or without
qualifying adjective, or when he or she implies that he or she
is an architect through the use of some other title.
(4)(7) PRACTICE OF ARCHITECTURE. When an individual
holds himself or herself out as able to render or when the
person does render any service by consultations,
investigations, evaluations, preliminary studies, plans,
specifications, contract documents, and a coordination of all
factors concerning the design and observation of construction
of buildings or any other service in connection with the
design, observation, or construction of buildings located
within the boundaries of the state, regardless of whether such
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within the boundaries of the state, regardless of whether such
services are performed in connection with one or all of these
duties, or whether they are performed in person or as the
directing head of an office or organization performing them.
(8) REGISTRATION. The certificate of registration
issued by the State Board for Registration of Architects.
(5)(9) RESPONSIBLE CONTROL. Control over all phases of
the practice of architecture, including, but not limited to,
control over and detailed knowledge of the content of
technical submissions during their preparation as is
ordinarily exercised by registered architects applying the
required professional standard of care."
"§34-2-32
(a) Nothing contained in this chapter shall prevent:
(1) Employees of registered architects from acting
under the instructions or responsible control of their
employers; or,
(2) The employment of on-site observers of the
construction or alteration of buildings.
(b) No person shall be required to register as an
architect in order to make plans and specifications for or
administer the erectionconstruction, enlargement, or
alteration of any of the following:
(1) Any building upon any farm for the use of any
farmer, irrespective of the cost of such the building, or any.
(2) Any single family residence building or any.
(3) Any utility works, structures, or building,
provided that the person performing suchthe architectural
works is employed by an electric, gas, or telephone public
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works is employed by an electric, gas, or telephone public
utility regulated pursuant to the laws of Alabama or by a
corporation affiliated with such utility , or of any.
(4) Any other type building which has a total area of
less than 2,500 square feet , provided it is not intended for
use as a school, church, auditorium, or other building
intended for the assembly occupancy of people , as defined by
the International Building Code and which includes, but is not
limited to, any building used for gatherings of people for
purposes such as civic, social, or religious functions,
recreation, food or drink consumption, or awaiting
transportation.
(c) The services of a registered architect shall be
required on all commercial construction projects, including
new construction and renovations and alterations, which are
not buildings except those hereinabove exempted pursuant to
subsection (b) and which are larger than 2,500 total square
feet and no.
(d) Nobuilding code official of this state or of any
city, town, or county herein charged with the enforcement of
laws, ordinances, or regulationsrules relating to the
construction or alteration of buildings , shall accept or
approve any plans or specifications that are not so prepared
by a registered architect and stamped with the architect's
seal. A violation of this subsection is a Class C misdemeanor.
(d)(e)(1) Nothing in this chapter shall prevent
registered professional engineers or their employees or
subordinates under their responsible control from performing
architectural services incidental to their engineering
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architectural services incidental to their engineering
practice.
(2) Nothing in this chapter shall prevent registered
architects or their employees or subordinates under their
responsible control from performing engineering services
incidental to their architectural practice.
(f)(1) No professional engineer shall practice
architecture or use the designation "architect" or any terms
derived therefrom unless that individual is registered
pursuant to this chapter.
(2) No architect shall practice professional
engineering or use the term "engineer" or any term derived
therefrom unless that individual is also qualified and
registered as an engineer."
Section 4. The Division of Construction Management
within the Department of Finance shall post the following
public notice on a website maintained by the division:
"All commercial construction projects (both new
construction and renovations), not excluded by Alabama law,
which are larger than 2,500 total square feet are required by
law to be designed by a registered architect in the State of
Alabama.
Construction documents required include all plans,
elevations, sections, and details related to the construction
project as well as code analysis. All documents shall be
stamped with the professional's seal."
Section 5. Each building code official, as defined by
Section 34-2-30, Code of Alabama 1975, shall post the
following public notice in a conspicuous manner at the permit
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following public notice in a conspicuous manner at the permit
office and, if applicable, on the website of the building code
official:
"All commercial construction projects (both new
construction and renovations), not excluded by Alabama law,
which are larger than 2,500 total square feet are required by
law to be designed by a registered architect in the State of
Alabama.
Construction documents required include all plans,
elevations, sections, and details related to the construction
project as well as code analysis. All documents shall be
stamped with the professional's seal."
Section 6. This act shall become effective on July 1,
2025.
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