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The County Line
- Pre-Convention Issue 2006
Should there be a statewide building code in Alabama?
It is usually hard to give a definitive answer when you aren't really sure you understand the question.
A number of groups, including most prominently the leaders of several property insurance companies and others associated with the construction industry, began a push earlier this year for local enforcement of a statewide building code in Alabama. And that push intensified in late June with the first meeting of a legislative study commission created to research the issue and make recommendations for legislative action.
Although we are very early in the process, the current discussion seems to be focused on the goal of implementing a statewide code for the construction of both commercial and residential buildings in Alabama. And those pushing for this code also advocate its enforcement by those on the local level -- city and county officials.
As the representative of county government on the study commission, we struggled with outlining our position at that first meeting. The many complicated questions involve issues close to the "heart" of county government - home rule, unfunded mandates and what some see as an overriding need to protect our citizens from unsafe workmanship and the forces of Mother Nature - making it even more difficult to lay out a clear-cut course of action.
A bill requiring the imposition of these building codes, complete with construction inspection in both the rural and incorporated areas, was floated around the back halls during the 2006 regular session of the Alabama Legislature. The bill was not introduced, but in the last few days of the session a resolution was passed establishing a study commission to evaluate this testy issue and to report to the Legislature before the beginning of the 2007 session. That group is slatted to hold several meetings this summer.
Once you begin to look beyond the surface, this issue is one of the most complicated to be considered in a while. If an agreement is reached on the threshold issue of whether or not such standards should be required, we've only started the debate.
How will the standards be implemented and adjusted over time?
Who will conduct the on-site inspections?
How will violators be addressed and encouraged to comply?
What about all the state licensure boards that now grant approval for persons to participate in the construction process?
And, perhaps most importantly, how will this expensive process be financed?
The Association's position on home rule is pretty clear - we fully support the shifting of decision-making power to the local level. And, believe it or not, on the issue of building inspection and the establishment of local building codes, the home-rule bell has already rung.
Several years ago the Alabama Legislature passed a new law authorizing counties to establish building codes and to set-up inspection departments to ensure that the codes are followed. Few Alabama counties have thus far exercised this authority, leading us to the obvious question of "why should we agree to take this decision out of the hands of local officials?".
Usually, local elected officials respond to the wishes and desires of those who put them into office. That's the real reason this organization has advocated so strongly for granting decision-making authority to the local level. If the people want something from their local government, it is pretty easy to show up at the county commission meeting and ask.
One must assume that very few people are showing up at county commission meetings to ask that the local officials establish local building codes and begin charging inspection fees to ensure that the codes are followed. If the local voters were demanding such inspections, the local officials would be responding.
This realization would normally make our response clear and predictable.
But there is a complicating factor -- the economic and emotional impact of the two massive hurricanes that crippled the gulf coast. It is very difficult to argue with scientific data: the winds of the hurricanes were not all that impressed with the quality of building construction in Alabama, and elsewhere.
Those advocating the enforcement of building codes in Alabama point to that destruction and claim some of it could have been avoided if the quality of construction had been reviewed and inspected. Imposing a set of construction standards today won't rebuild the damage, but could prevent damage in the coming years, they argue. One is hard pressed to object to that argument, at least on the surface.
The hurricanes have also caused the cost of property insurance (in those areas where such insurance is still actually available) to jump as quickly as the price of gasoline. And, again, the advocates for this reform say future increases are on the way if significant construction standards are not imposed.
There are some construction reviews in Alabama. The state's Building Commission, for example, inspects and reviews the construction of schools, publicly-owned facilities and private buildings where large numbers of persons will gather - such as movie theaters. The state Fire Marshall also has a role in inspecting buildings to ensure proper exits, impose limits on the capacity of such facilities and to review construction details.
Supporters of change in this area say that Alabama is not doing enough. There should be efforts at education for those persons involved in construction as well as those who are inspecting work to ensure its quality. And, those arguments ring with a solid tone of good sense and forward thinking. Incorporating that kind of "reform" into legislation should not meet with opposition from Alabama's county governments.
Again, however, when the focus turns to the enforcement of residential construction standards in rural Alabama, the response becomes more difficult to fashion. It is difficult to rationalize support for mandating local standards and enforcement when local elected officials have made the choice not to utilize the "home-rule" powers they already have on this very topic. One must assume that these local officials know the wishes of their constituents.
The outcome of imposing such standards or deciding to leave those decisions in the hands of local officials, is very difficult to predict, especially this early in the game.
If you can't predict the outcome, you find yourself back at the starting point - you really aren't ready to provide an answer when you aren't sure you understand the question.
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