The Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety has released an update to its Rating the States report, which looks at building codes of the hurricane-prone states from Texas to Maine.
“This update provides each state a useful analysis of their latest building code activities and what steps they can take to better protect their communities. It also gives interested citizens useful information so that they can understand the need for, and demand, better building codes,” says Julie Rochman, IBHS president and CEO.
IBHS plans to release a new report in 2015, so the nonprofit research organization is billing this report as “midterm update.”
Have states made progress with building code activity since IBHS' original report was released in January 2012? Then, IBHS assigned each of the 18 states studied a score on a 100-point scale. This report assesses the states on whether they have taken positive action, negative action or no action.
Friday we reported on the Gulf States. Today we look at the Southeast Atlantic Coast. Tuesday we'll head north to post the progress, or lack thereof, of the next seven states up to Maine. Click ahead to see more….
GEORGIA
POSITIVE ACTION
Georgia is in the process of adopting the 2012 editions of the International Code Council. The Peachtree State scored a 66 in IBHS' original report but its adoption of these updated codes will make up for the fact Georgia was still using 2006 editions of the ICC code, having bypassed the 2009 updates.
(AP Photo/Stephen Morton)
SOUTH CAROLINA
POSITIVE ACTION
Like its southern neighbor Georgia, South Carolina adopted the 2012 editions of the ICC code with some state-specific adjustments. The state scored an 84 in the original Rating the States report and did nothing since to hurt its outlook.
NORTH CAROLINA
NEGATIVE ACTION
IBHS is concerned legislation passed in the Tar Heel State will slow building code progress down. The law says the state will adopt ICC updates every six years. It used to be every three years. The legislation also limits inspections by local jurisdictions and the state building code council proposed the elimination of permanent anchors in construction. For a state that scored and 81 in the original IBHS report, the organization now says the outcome of this legislation is “a substantially weakened system of code adoption and enforcement.”
(AP Photo/Chuck Burton)
VIRGINIA
POSITIVE ACTION
Like Florida, Virginia remains an IBHS favorite. It tied Florida with a score of 95 in the IBHS original report in January 2012 and is in the process of adopting 2012 ICC codes. The projected start date for the codes is August 2014.
MARYLAND
POSITIVE ACTION
IBHS loves that the state prohibited local jurisdictions from removing residential sprinkler requirements in the state code. Many states have opted out of this requirement or allowed local jurisdictions to have the final say. But the state with arguable the best flag in the U.S. “is a leader in protecting residents, first responders and the building stock,” IBHS says. Maryland adopted the 2012 ICC updates.
DELAWARE
NO ACTION
Delaware scored a not-so-hot 17 in the original report and in its update, IBHS says The First State has made “no progress toward adoption of a statewide code since the original report's publication.”
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