International Code Council Testifies Before the U.S. House’s Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure on Resilient Building Codes

On September 25, 2024, Cindy Davis, Past President of the International Code Council Board of Directors, testified before Congress, emphasizing the vital role that building safety code adoption plays in enhancing community resilience. With more than 35 years of experience in the building safety industry at both the local and state levels, Davis brought a wealth of knowledge and expertise to her testimony.

She presented her testimony to the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management during the hearing, Examining the Role and Effectiveness of Building Codes in Mitigating Against Disasters. The subcommittee explored how adopting and implementing modern building codes can mitigate hazards to the built environment.

She addressed questions on the benefits of code adoption for community resilience and how FEMA’s policies could better support this important work, the adaptability of model codes to regional needs, and ongoing efforts as part of the 2027 International Codes® (I-Codes) development to improve public safety.

In her testimony, Davis emphasized the Code Council’s longstanding commitment to ensuring that the I-Codes incorporate the latest hazard-resistant designs, best practices and post-disaster lessons learned. She cited research showing that adopting current model building codes is essential to effective disaster mitigation strategies, reducing the impact of natural hazards like hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, tornadoes, wildfires and hail.

One of the studies she discussed was the National Institute of Building Science (NIBS) report which found that building to modern I-Codes editions saves $11 for every $1 invested through earthquake, flood and wind mitigation benefits, while retrofitting 2.5 million homes in the wildland urban interface (WUI) to wildfire codes could provide a nationwide benefit-cost ration as high as $8 for every $1 invested.

Additionally, she pointed out that studies continue to show no significant impact on housing affordability from modern building codes.

Federal Support for Building Code Adoption and Implementation

Davis expressed strong support for the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) Codes Plus Up program, which aims to expand BRIC’s reach to include code improvements. FEMA is expected to announce the FY24 BRIC program in early October. View our recent webinar “Preparing for the BRIC Codes Plus Up 2024 Cycle” here.

Currently, less than two-hundredths of a percent of BRIC’s spending is allocated to code investments, despite FEMA identifying this as one of the most effective community mitigation strategies. She also advocated for changes to BRIC’s scoring criteria to better recognize local efforts to integrate resilient building codes—an initiative supported by the Code Council.

Davis highlighted Code Council’s contributions toward federal funding support, sharing how the Code Council has provided technical support to 51 applications, representing $29 million in anticipated awards across 27 states/territories.

Additionally, she proposed implementing a cost-share adjustment to help states adopt impactful, cost-saving resilience measures.

To conclude the testimony, Davis urged the Committee to ensure that federal codes policy remains focused on codes that are resilient, consensus-based, correlated and cost-effective. She cautioned against an unnecessary expansion of FEMA’s code recognitions to include the thousands of codes developed across the U.S.

To watch the recorded testimony, click here. To learn more about the I-Codes, click here.