Board of Building Regulations and Standards votes to change 10th Edition of MA Building Code Schedule

Board of Building Regulations and Standards Votes  to Change Plan for 10th Edition

June 12, 2019 Message Received from: 

Robert Anderson
Division of Professional Licensure
Office of Public Safety and Inspections  
Chief of Inspections - Building & Engineering
1000 Washington St, Suite 710, Boston, MA   02118

Initially, BBRS members intended to use the 2018 International Codes as the basis for the 10th Edition, targeting an implementation date of January 2020.  For numerous reasons, they have decided to redirect efforts and, instead, plan to develop the tenth edition code using the 2021 International Codes as a template, with an effective date of January 1, 2021.

This effort does not affect promulgation of new energy code requirements based on the 2018 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) scheduled to become effective on January 1, 2020. (Massachusetts General Law Chapter 143, Section 94(o) requires BBRS members to advance energy provisions on a particular cycle.)

New energy code provisions have been approved by the BBRS and are currently going through a final in-house review process.  Once completed, the new energy code requirements will be posted to the Office of Public Safety & Inspections (OPSI) website so that code users and enforcers may view provisions in advance of the effective date.

The Office of Public Safety and Inspections will follow-up with a future message to let you know when the new energy code requirements have been posted.

Background:

At the June 11, 2019 Board of Building Regulations and Standards (BBRS) meeting, and at the request of the Baker Administration, the Board agreed to table all current discussions and BBRS Advisory Committee work related to the proposed 10th edition of the Massachusetts Building Code.

To date, all previous work was based on amending the International Code Councils (ICC) 2018 base residential and commercial codes. The 10th edition had been expected to go into effect sometime in the Spring of 2020.

With yesterday’s vote, the Baker Administration and the BBRS agreed to the following goals:

1. The 10th edition is to be based on the International Code Council's (ICC) 2021 base residential and commercial codes;
2. The effective date for the 10th edition should be January 1, 2021;
3. Massachusetts will adopt new building codes on a three-year cycle that mirrors ICC’s code development process

In BBRS discussions, Board members noted that:

• the current 9th edition is based on the ICC’s 2015 model codes
• Massachusetts is typically 3-6 years behind ICC’s code development cycle, and
• by agreeing to adopt the 2021 model codes - Massachusetts would be in a position of implementing the latest version of national model building codes.

Dottie Harris, ICC’s Vice President of Government Relations, agreed to provide the BBRS with copies of the 2021 base residential and commercial codes as soon as they become available, expected by December 2019.

Once received, the BBRS will instruct their Advisory Committees to begin their review work (a full listing of the Advisory Committees is noted below).

Of specific note, the BBRS instructed their Energy Advisory Committee to include as part of their review and recommendations ways in which to incorporate net-zero energy provisions into the energy code.

The BBRS decision is a positive step toward ensuring Massachusetts is constructing its built environment using the most current standards and practices, while also incorporating clear paths toward net-zero construction.

More on BBRS 2019 Meetings

BBRS Advisory Committees:

If you are interested in serving on any of these BBRS advisory committees, please contact ACEC/MA

• Energy Advisory Committee
• Structural Advisory Committee
• Geotechnical Advisory Committee
• Fire Protection / Fire Prevention Committee
• Existing Buildings Advisory Committee
• Convention Center Fire Protection
• Prescriptive Standards for Low-risk Rooftop Solar Installations
• Construction Supervisor License (CSL) Exam Transition
• LNG Storage Facility Standards