Summary of Member Meeting on July 24, 2014

Post date: Aug 18, 2014 3:12:0 PM

Alliance for Regulatory Coordination

Summary of Member Meeting

Meeting Date: July 24, 2014

Location: Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin

The meeting was convened at 9:10 a.m. by Bob DuPont, of Regulatory Guidance and Design, LLC.

Attendees reviewed and discussed the list of ten possible ARC priorities shown at the end of this report. They agreed these should be the current priorities of the Alliance. Main points of discussion were as follows:

• • Lapsing of funds from the DSPS has caused a significant drop in both fiscal and staff resources within the Department; with lags in code development and program administration being the direct result.

  • There was general agreement that ARC communications must include not only opposition to lapsing, but support for DSPS services such as continued code development, coordination with municipal programs, training of local inspectors, code interpretation and enforcement of code provisions in the field.

  • It appears that the DSPS is taking a wait and see attitude relative to code development; waiting for external customers to communicate specific concerns to the Secretary’s Office before they will convene a code council. In the past the State had relied on staff to identify issues and to develop recommendations based on their daily interactions with external customers and staff knowledge of the most recent national model codes and standards.

  • The new DSPS tact on code development seems to place more of a burden on businesses and organizations to keep up with code and standard developments at the national level. The current role of the Department in this regard, as well as in many others, seems to reflect the traditions of the former Department of Regulation and Licensing as opposed to the traditions of the Department of Commerce and the Department of Industry, Labor and Human Relations.

Attendees agreed that ARC priorities should be shared with legislative leaders as soon as possible; not waiting for the State elections in November. They also agreed to work towards strengthening the Alliance by helping to recruit additional member organizations.

The next meeting of Alliance Members was scheduled for October 22, 2014, from 9:00 to 10:30 a.m. at the offices of ABC, Wisconsin.

The meeting was adjourned at 11:00 a.m.

This summary was prepared by Bob DuPont, Regulatory Guidance and Design, LLC.

It was issued on August 18, 2014.

Priorities discussed during the July 24, 2014 ARC Member Meeting

1) Stop the lapsing of funds from the Safety and Buildings Appropriation.

Between 2001 and 2013, over $13.7 million of Industry Services fee revenue has been lapsed to the state general fund. That is more than $95,000 per month that was collected but not spent on the safety and building programs for which the fees were paid.

2) Encourage the DSPS to maintain a focus on customers with customer involvement in DSPS decisions regarding services of the Industry Services Division.

The Alliance supports use of advisory code councils for periodic updating of administrative codes concerning safety and buildings.

3) Improve the deployment of resources among programs and services for safety and buildings.

The Alliance supports the use of consistent criteria for deployment of resources among programs and services related to safety and buildings.

4) Improve coordination of state and municipal regulatory efforts for safety and buildings.

ARC members believe that state policies can be most efficiently and effectively administered through cooperative efforts of state and municipal programs and personnel.

5) Encourage remedial legislation on carbon monoxide detectors in residential commercial buildings.

ARC members want to focus on protecting sleeping areas from the hazard of carbon monoxide while eliminating the statewide mandate for inspection of carbon monoxide detector installations.

6) Encourage legislation that would allow a building owner the choice of having newer national model codes and standards apply to their building construction project.

ARC members believe owner’s choice of code application will help spur economic development while promoting safe buildings. Use of new codes and standards can also result in savings on insurance premiums.

7) Encourage promulgation of administrative rules for credentialing inspectors of fire detection, prevention, and suppression devices in accordance with 2013 Wisconsin Act 270.

Act 270 requires such credentials, beginning on May 2017, for persons performing inspections of fire detection, prevention, and suppression devices being installed during the construction or alteration of, or the addition to, public buildings and places of employment.

8) Encourage code update activity specifically for:

a. Implementing electrician licensing according to 2007 Wis. Act 63 and 2013 Wis. Act 143.

b. Implementing electrical inspection for commercial buildings under 2007 Wis. Act 63 and 2013 Wis. Act 143.

c. Reviewing the 2015 editions of ICC codes to update the State Commercial Building Code.

d. Reviewing the 2015 edition of NFPA 1 to update the State Fire Prevention Code.

e. Reviewing the State Uniform Plumbing Code for necessary updates and clarifications.

9) Participate in Wisconsin Emergency Management efforts to create Building Safety Evaluation Strike Teams to help respond to disasters.

ARC members encourage disaster mitigation through use of appropriate safety codes, and they encourage disaster response by qualified volunteers who help assess building safety.

10) Eliminate duplicate plan reviews for community based residential facilities by DSPS and DHS.

ARC members believe that such duplication of effort is confusing, inefficient and overly burdensome in terms of time and money.