Governor signs Regola’s UCC Bill into Law

eliminates costly, unnecessary building requirement

 

Senate Bill 437, a bill eliminating an unfunded mandate in the Uniform Construction Code, was signed into law today, according to Senator Bob Regola, the prime sponsor of the legislation.

The 2006 International Residential Code contained a new mandate for attaching house foundations to their floor framing system.  Wall bracings -- or anchor bolts -- were required to be installed every nine inches along a foundation.  This new mandate was estimated to increase the cost of an average sized single family home by up to $3,000.

Senate Bill 437 reverts back to the previous standards contained in the 2003 International Residential Code on foundation wall bracing, by requiring anchor bolts every six feet.

“Besides the cost, this mandate should have only been applied to states affected by hurricane conditions or earthquakes,” said Sen. Regola.  “This was an excessive requirement for Pennsylvania, which has never had a documented case of failure under the previous standards.”

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Contact:  Nate Silcox (717) 787-6063