Pennsylvania Act 2006-108 — PENNSYLVANIA CONSTRUCTION CODE ACT - TRAINING OF INSPECTORS AND EXEMPTIONS

Act text

PENNSYLVANIA CONSTRUCTION CODE ACT - TRAINING OF INSPECTORS AND
                                EXEMPTIONS
                 Act of Jul. 7, 2006, P.L. 1052, No. 108              Cl. 35
                             Session of 2006
                               No. 2006-108

     SB 1179

                                  AN ACT

     Amending the act of November 10, 1999 (P.L.491, No.45), entitled
        "An act establishing a uniform construction code; imposing
        powers and duties on municipalities and the Department of
        Labor and Industry; providing for enforcement; imposing
        penalties; and making repeals," further providing for
        applicability, for training of inspectors and for exemptions.

        The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
     hereby enacts as follows:

        Section 1.  Section 104(b) of the act of November 10, 1999
     (P.L.491, No.45), known as the Pennsylvania Construction Code
     Act, is amended by adding a paragraph to read:
      Section 104.  Application.
        * * *
        (b)  Exclusions.--This act shall not apply to:
            * * *
            (6.1)  the installation of aluminum siding or vinyl
        siding onto an existing residential or an existing commercial
        building, except as might be required by ordinances in effect
        pursuant to section 301 or adopted pursuant to section 503;
            * * *
        Section 2.  Sections 701(b) and 901 of the act, amended July
     15, 2004 (P.L.748, No.92), are amended to read:
      Section 701.  Training of inspectors.
        * * *
        (b)  Categories of inspectors.--
            (1)  The department, in consultation with BOCA and other
        interested parties, shall establish appropriate categories of
        code administrators.
            (2)  A code administrator may act in place of a lumber
        grading or inspection agency to satisfy the requirement set
        forth under section 2303.1.1 of the 2003 International
        Building Code or its successor code or section R404.2.1,
        R502.1, R602.1 or R802.1 of the 2003 International
        Residential Code for One- and Two-Family Dwellings or its
        successor code.
        * * *
      Section 901.  Exemptions.
        (a)  Manufactured housing.--This act shall not apply to
     manufactured housing which bears a label, as required by and
     referred to in the act of November 17, 1982 (P.L.676, No.192),
     known as the Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety
     Standards Authorization Act, which certifies that it conforms to
     Federal construction and safety standards adopted under the
     Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (Public Law 93-
     383, 88 Stat. 633), nor shall it apply to industrialized
     housing, as defined in the act of May 11, 1972 (P.L.286, No.70),
     known as the Industrialized Housing Act.
        (b)  Religious beliefs.--
            (1)  An applicant for a construction permit for a
        dwelling unit or one-room schoolhouse utilized by a member or
        members of a recognized religious sect may file an
        application with a code administrator to be exempted from [an
        electrical provision of] the Uniform Construction Code, as
        provided in this subsection, which conflicts with the
        applicant's religious beliefs. The application shall state
        the manner in which the provision conflicts with the
        applicant's religious beliefs and shall include an affidavit
        by the applicant stating that:
                (i)  the applicant is a member of a recognized
            religious sect;
                (ii)  the religious sect has established tenets or
            teachings which conflict with:
                    (A)  an electrical provision of the Uniform
                Construction Code;
                    (B)  a lumber or wood provision, not relating to
                pressure treatment, of the Uniform Construction Code.
                (iii)  the applicant adheres to the established
            tenets or teachings of the sect;
                (iv)  in the case of a dwelling unit, the dwelling
            unit will be used solely as a residence for the applicant
            and the applicant's household; and
                (v)  in the case of a one-room schoolhouse, the one-
            room schoolhouse will be used solely by members of the
            religious sect.
            (2)  A code administrator shall grant an application for
        an exemption if made in accordance with paragraph (1).
            (3)  If an applicant receives an exemption for any
        building under this subsection and the applicant subsequently
        sells or leases the building, the applicant shall bring the
        building into compliance with the provision of the Uniform
        Construction Code from which it was exempted under this
        subsection prior to the sale or lease of the building unless
        the prospective subsequent owner or lessee files an affidavit
        in compliance with paragraph (1)(i) through (iv).
        (c)  Natural cut trees.--Section 804.1.1 (relating to natural
     cut trees) of the International Fire Code (2003) and any
     successor provision is excluded from this act. A municipality
     that elects to adopt an ordinance for the administration and
     enforcement of this act may, by ordinance, restrict the
     placement of natural cut trees in an occupancy group. The
     ordinance restricting the placement shall not be subject to
     section 503(b) through (k).
        (d)  Coal-fired boilers in residential buildings.--Coal-fired
     boilers installed in residential buildings shall be designed,
     constructed and tested in accordance with the requirements of
     Chapter 20, Section M2001.1.1 of the International Residential
     Code of 2003, or its successor provisions, except that these
     boilers shall not be subject to the stamping requirements of
     Section M2001.1.1.
        Section 3.  The amendment of section 901(b) of the act shall
     apply to permits applied for on or after the effective date of
     this act.
        Section 4.  This act shall take effect in 60 days.

     APPROVED--The 7th day of July, A. D. 2006.

     EDWARD G. RENDELL