ICC Government Relations’ Monthly Update
The Code Council’s CEO Dominic Sims announces his plans to leave position at the end of 2024
The International Code Council’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dominic Sims, CBO, recently announced his plans to leave the organization at the end of 2024. With nearly 20 years at the Code Council and 12 years as CEO, Sims has had an undeniable impact on the organization and the building safety industry.Under his leadership, Code Council revenues more than tripled, and the organization’s assets increased twelvefold. Sims has been instrumental in the Code Council’s digital transformation and diversification strategies. During his tenure, the Code Council expanded its products and services globally and acquired NTA, General Code, American Legal Publishing, and others. Sims will work closely with the search committee to find the Code Council’s next CEO and help prepare the organization for success during the leadership transition. Read more here.
Want part of the unprecedented $137 million for code activities? Register for November 9 webinar
This year (FY 2023) FEMA’s Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) grant program is
providing an unprecedented $137 million in dedicated funds for code activities (Codes Plus Up). The
Codes Plus Up will provide $2 million per state and territory and $25 million to support the adoption,
updating, implementation, and enforcement of hazard-resistant codes. The program also targets $25
million for tribal governments. Although 2023 BRIC applications aren’t due to FEMA until February 29,
2024, interested communities should begin planning now as most states have much earlier notices of
intent and pre-application deadlines. Local governments must apply through their states. Examples of
eligible code activities include:
• Consulting, hardcopy or digital publications, building department accreditation, training,
including ICC’s When Disaster Strikes Institute, and certifications, to assist in the adoption,
updating, and effective implementation of current building codes; and
• Electronic permitting, virtual inspection technology, and remote building codes administration.
Additional details on the program, state pre-application and notice of intent deadlines, and an updated
BRIC for Code Officials Fact Sheet are available at www.iccsafe.org/bric. Join us November 9 at 1230pm
ET to hear from FEMA leadership and from code officials who have previously navigated BRIC
successfully to secure grant awards. Register here for the webinar.
Preserve accurate/authorized codes and the codes/standards development processes you power!
America’s codes and standards ensure public health and safety and are developed by non-profit
organizations through a rigorous, resource-intensive consensus-based process. The development costs
are funded by sales of the codes in digital and physical form. This system, and its substantial benefits for
public safety and our economy has come under threat as several courts have refused to stop
opportunists—who contribute nothing to the code development process—from copying, sometimes
erroneously, codes and reselling them commercially for profit. Your help is needed to stop this threat by
weighing in with your members of congress in support of the bipartisan Pro Codes Act (S.835 / H.R.
1631). Please visit www.procodesact.com to engage in this effort and to join the dozens of individuals
and organizations – from the American Society of Civil Engineers to the National Association of State Fire
Marshals and the American Hospital Association.
Letters of interest are due from state governments November 21 to DOE for IRA zero code funding
States seeking eligibility for Inflation Reduction Act zero code funding must send letters of Interest (LOIs)
by November 21 to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Letters cannot exceed two pages, and DOE
has provided an optional, easy-to-complete LOI template. It shouldn’t take more than a few minutes to
fill out. Letters should be submitted via email to IRACodes@hq.doe.gov by 11:59 pm ET, November 21,
2023. More details on drafting the LOI can be found on page ii of the ALRD (Administrative And Legal
Requirements Document). We strongly encourage any state officials who are considering adopting a
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zero energy code or updating their existing code to submit an LOI before this deadline. This round of
funding covered under this ALRD is limited to state governments. Qualifying building energy codes are
listed below and on pages 6 & 7 of the ALRD. Read more here.
Code Council/NEHA-led Pandemic Task Force Guide aims to prepare communities for future hazards
The International Code Council’s Pandemic Task Force (PTF) in collaboration with the National
Environmental Health Association (NEHA), recently published the Pandemic Task Force Consolidated
Best Practices Guide. The guide was created to prepare buildings and communities for disease-related
threats. The best practices in the guide were created after researching the effects of the COVID-19
pandemic on the built environment. It proposes needed resources, including guidelines, recommended
practices and implementation of the 2024 International Codes®. The contents of the guide can assist in
addressing potential challenges during future pandemics. This guide will also aid in constructing and
maintaining safe, sustainable and affordable occupancy of the built environment. More information on
the creation of the PTF can be found here. Read more here.
2021 IWCCP contains water conservation-related provisions from ICC’s 2021 International Codes®
The International Code Council recently released the 2021 International Water Conservation Code
Provisions (IWCCP). This resource provides the best and most comprehensive tool for the design,
installation and administration of potable and non-potable water conservation and efficiency systems.
“The world needs a much greater sense of urgency about water scarcity and the IWCCP gives
governments the tools they need to have a real impact in conserving water resources,” said Code
Council Chief Executive Officer Dominic Sims, CBO. The 2021 IWCCP contains all the water conservation
and hot water energy-saving requirements from the I-Codes for both residential and commercial
occupancies including provisions from the International Green Construction Code® (IgCC) and
International Energy Conservation Code® (IECC). The Code Council’s Plumbing, Mechanical and Fuel Gas
I-Codes are a vital part of a complete building system. Their usage allows for communities to stay
current with the latest building technologies while meeting the public health, sanitation and safety
requirements necessary for the built environment. Read more here.
ICC works with Standards Council of Canada to co-develop new accessibility standards on acoustics
With recent accreditation as a Standards Developing Organization with the Standards Council of Canada,
the Code Council is co-developing a new accessibility standard ASC/ICC A118, “Acoustics of the Built
Environment” with Accessibility Standards of Canada (ASC). The standard would address areas of
acoustic design of the built environment, designing for wayfinding, controlling noise and reverberation,
design of spaces with special acoustic considerations, service counters, learning spaces, shared office
spaces, support spaces, uses of audio amplification and transmission, assistive technology and listening
systems and public address systems. A call for committee is anticipated to be posted later this Fall.
Code Council members elect new officers and directors during Annual Business Meeting in St. Louis
Members of the International Code Council elected the new officers and directors to its 2023-2024
Board of Directors during the Annual Business Meeting in St. Louis, Missouri. Those elected are:
President—Stuart Tom, P.E., CBO, FIAE, Superintendent of Building and Fire, City of Pasadena, California
Vice President— David Spencer, CBO. Spencer is the Operations Manager in Adams County, Washington
Secretary/Treasurer — Mike Boso. Boso is the Chief Building and Zoning Official of Grove City
Past President – Michael P. Wich, Director of Building Code Administration and the Chief Building Official
of the South-Central Planning and Development Commission in Houma, Louisiana.
Additionally, newly elected and re-elected board members include:
• Andre Jaen, MCP, CBO, CSP, Section C Director for a 3-year term
• Blake Steiner, CBO, Section F Director for a 3-year term
• Michael Savage, Director at Large for a 3-year term
• Ron Clements, Director at Large for a 3-year term
• Steve McDaniel, Director at Large for a 3-year term
For details on the ICC Board of Directors meeting in St. Louis last month, read more here. And for
highlights from the 2023 Annual Conference in St. Louis, click here.
The 2023 Code Council Awards recognize outstanding efforts by individuals and organizations
During its 2023 Annual Conference in St. Louis, Missouri, the International Code Council recognized
individuals and organizations within the building safety industry who continuously go above and beyond
in their respective roles. The Code Council honors the following individuals and organizations:
The Bobby J. Fowler Award – James (Jimmy) Brothers, Past President of the Code Council Board of
Directors and retired Building Official for the City of Decatur, Alabama.
The Chapter of the Year Award – Building Inspectors Association of Nassau County.
The Chapter Merit Award – ICC Midwest Region V.
The Community Service Award – The City of St. Cloud (MN) Health & Inspections Department.
The Educator of the Year Award – Rob Neale, Owner and Principal of Integra Code Consultants.
The Excellence in Public Safety Award – Charles Simpson, Code Enforcement Officer of Killeen, Texas.
The Gerald H. Jones Code Official of the Year Award – Raj Patel, President of JAS Pacific Inc.
The Global Award – The Pakistan Engineering Council.
The National Leadership in Sustainability and Energy Efficiency Award – Gayathri Vijayakumar, Principal
Mechanical Engineer at Steven Winter Associates.
The PMG Leadership Award – Lee Clifton, Former Principal Inspector for the City of Los Angeles.
The Raising the Profile Award – Dan Carlson, Building Official from Wilsonville, Oregon and Adjunct
Professor at Chemeketa Community College BIT Program.
The Regions Spotlight Award – Region I of the International Code Council, highlighting the contributions
of Tim Spears through Region I Radio.
The Robert W. Gain Fire Prevention Leadership Award – Greg Rogers, Deputy Chief/Fire Marshal for the
Spokane Valley Fire Department.
The Trailblazer Award – Silvia Gonzalez, City of Minneapolis, Minnesota.
The W. Scott Copp Chapter Leadership Award – Oregon Permit Technicians Association.
Read more here.
Code Council and THIA collaborate to publish a new guide titled ‘The Tiny House – Building it Right’
The International Code Council, in collaboration with the Tiny Home Industry Association (THIA),
recently published The Tiny House – Building it Right: From the Publisher of the Building Codes guide.
The illustrated guide covers the proper construction of tiny homes including movable tiny homes
(MTHs). The Tiny House – Building it Right guide focuses on the planning, design, permitting,
construction and inspection of tiny houses. Code section references are provided throughout. The guide
also covers the various types of tiny houses and familiarizes builders of tiny houses with the
requirements contained in the International Residential Code® (IRC®). Read more here.
More than 50 named as the Code Council’s prestigious Master Code Professionals during 2023
The International Code Council’s Master Code Professional (MCP) designation is the highest level of
Code Council certification and is the “gold standard” for demonstrating proficiency in the code
profession. Currently, there are more than 800 MCP professionals worldwide, and their achievements
are a benefit to the code enforcement profession, as well as their communities. The Code Council has
certified thousands of individuals, but only a select number have attained this high level of achievement.
As of Oct. 9, 2023, 58 select code professionals achieved the prestigious MCP designation.
Comparatively, 59 code professionals achieved the MCP designation in 2022. Read more here.
GOT PULSE? Episode 55 puts the spotlight on ‘Tales of Code Enforcement’
In this episode of the ICC Pulse Podcast, we highlight code enforcement officers’ experiences in the code
enforcement officer profession, including stories from being on-the-job and how the public perception
of code enforcement officers continues to improve. The episode highlights the ongoing need for training
for code enforcement officers, including code official safety training that anyone can take to learn de-
escalation skills and other soft skills when encountering hazardous situations.
Content Warning: While we try to keep the conversations light in our show, this episode contains
discussions of death and violence as we talk about the safety of code enforcement officers. We’ll note
where these conversations occur in the show notes should you wish to skip over them. Listener
discretion is advised. Guests on the Show:
• Tana Bryant, Senior Code Enforcement Officer, City of Anniston, Alabama
• Pete Roque, Director of Code Enforcement, 4LEAF, Inc.
• Justin Edson, President, Code Enforcement Officer Safety Foundation
• Aleksandra Menasakanian, Executive Director, Code Enforcement Officer Safety Foundation
ICC Plumbing, Mechanical and Fuel Gas updates
$7 Billion investment in regional clean hydrogen hubs marks major milestone in U.S. energy transition
Amongst global efforts to combat greenhouse gas emissions, hydrogen fuel has emerged as a key
solution in transitioning to a more sustainable future. Because of its ability to be produced with zero or
near-zero carbon emissions, many regions have begun investing in hydrogen technologies, which has
further accelerated industry innovation and job opportunities. On October 13, 2023, the U.S.
Department of Energy (DOE) announced the allocation of $7 billion to launch seven Regional Clean
Hydrogen Hubs (H2Hubs) across the U.S. as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The H2Hubs will
accelerate the commercial-scale deployment of hydrogen to meet the nation’s climate and energy
security goals. The H2Hubs are anticipated to generate a combined output of three million metric tons
of hydrogen each year, contributing to almost one-third of the 2030 U.S. production goal while reducing
emissions from hard-to-decarbonize industrial sectors. Additionally, the H2Hubs are projected to
decrease carbon dioxide emissions by 25 million metric tons annually from end-users, as well as
generate and maintain tens of thousands of jobs nationwide, all while promoting healthier communities.
The timeline for construction of the H2 Hubs is anticipated to be 8-12 years for completion of the
projects. Read more of Mark Fasel’s article here.
CodeNotes focuses on overview of fuel gas pipe sizing requirements in the 2021 International Codes
The CodeNotes™ resource provides an overview of fuel gas pipe sizing calculations and requirements in
the 2021 International Fuel Gas Code® (IFGC®) and 2021 International Residential Code (IRC®). It also
covers both the longest length method and the branch length method. Applicable code tables, figures
and example problems and solutions are provided for each method to help the reader easily understand
the pipe sizing methodology. Read more here.
Additional Updates from the ICC Family of Solutions
Municity offers a streamlined process for easier internal communications and improved efficiency
Don’t miss the November 16 free webinar to learn how Municity’s Application to Certificate Program of
Work makes it easy to:
• Input applications for specific inspections, fees, internal review, and more.
• Easily track all associated activities for an application.
• Generate and distribute Permits/Certificates to applicant.
Municity is the only ePermitting and Code Enforcement software from the International Code Council.
To learn more, visit our website or join the Municity Overview Webinar November 16 at 1 p.m. Eastern.
November 21 free webinar on ICC Digital Codes Premium Complete is titled ‘Go Digital, Work Smarter’
Join your colleagues for the free webinar at 1 p.m. Tuesday, November 21, to learn how to search codes
faster and get digitally empowered with ICC Digital Codes Premium Complete. Hosted by Phil Anthony
and titled “Go Digital, Work Smarter,” the webinar will show how to search codes faster, collaborate
seamlessly, share access, organize notes and never miss a code update. Register here.
LFUCG becomes first code enforcement department in Kentucky to achieve ICC-IAS accreditation
The Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government Code Enforcement Division (LFUCG) has become the
first code enforcement department in the Commonwealth of Kentucky to achieve International
Accreditation Service (IAS) Code Enforcement Department Accreditation. The IAS Building and Code
Enforcement Department Accreditation (BDA) demonstrates that code enforcement departments have
met the national standard and are competent to provide unparalleled public safety services for their
communities. LFUCG Code Enforcement Director and past presiding officer of the International Code
Council, Alex “Cash” Olszowy, pursued IAS accreditation to “elevate the level of accountability of
property maintenance codes and their enforcement.” Read more here.
Whereas our (City, Town, County, State) is committed to recognizing that our growth and strength
dependson the safety and essential role our homes, buildings and infrastructure play, both in everyday
life and when disasters strike, and;
Whereas our confidence in the resilience of these buildings that make up our community is achieved
through the devotion of vigilant guardians––building safety and fire prevention officials, architects,
engineers, builders, tradespeople, design professionals, laborers, plumbers and others in the
construction industry––who work year-round to ensure the safe construction of buildings, and;
Whereas these guardians are dedicated members of the International Code Council, a nonprofit that
brings together local, state, territorial, tribal and federal officials who are experts in the built
environment to create and implement the highest-quality codes to protect us in the buildings where we
live, learn, work and play, and;
Whereas these modern building codes include safeguards to protect the public from hazards such as
hurricanes, snowstorms, tornadoes, wildland fires, floods and earthquakes, and;
Whereas Building Safety Month is sponsored by the International Code Council to remind the public
about the critical role of our communities’ largely unknown protectors of public safety––our local code
officials––who assure us of safe, sustainable and affordable buildings that are essential to our
prosperity, and;
Whereas “Mission Possible,” the theme for Building Safety Month 2024, encourages us all to raise
awareness about building safety on a personal, local and global scale, and;
Whereas each year, in observance of Building Safety Month, people all over the world are asked to
consider the commitment to improve building safety, resilience and economic investment at home and
in the community, and to acknowledge the essential service provided to all of us by local and state
building departments, fire prevention bureaus and federal agencies in protecting lives and property.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, _______________________________, (Mayor, Supervisor, Commissioner,
Governor) of ____________________________, do hereby proclaim the month of May 2024 as Building
Safety Month. Accordingly, I encourage our citizens to join us as we participate in Building Safety Month
activities.
_________________________________________________________________________
Signature