Starting Georgia’s Building Code Amendment Process

Georgia will start hearing proposed building code amendments in the first week of April. There are thirty-nine proposed amendments so it’s going to be a busy few months. Here’s what’s in store…

Who and When

Georgia adopts and amends building codes on a statewide basis. The Department of Community Affairs (DCA) is the agency responsible for building code adoption and amendment. There’s an Office of Construction Codes & Research with the DCA that administers the process and manages the DCA’s industrialized buildings program.

The state standards are minimum standards and may not be weakened by local amendments. Local amendments may be more stringent than the statewide codes. Local amendments must be filed with the Department of Community Affairs.

Georgia accepts building code amendment proposals from anyone. They must be submitted to the Georgia Department of Community Affairs by the 15th of December each year. The proposals that are being heard this year were submitted before the 12|15 deadline last year, in 2021.

The thirty-nine proposals have been split among two amendments subcommittees for review. There’s an Energy, Residential & Building (ERB) Subcommittee composed of seven members and a Plumbing, Mechanical & Fuel Gas (PMG) Subcommittee composed of seven members.

Access to Information and Meetings

The DCA staff have created a hub for the 2022 activities of the State Codes Advisory Committee (SCAC). That’s a twenty-one member group appointed by the DCA Commissioner to represent the design, construction, regulatory and vendor trades. The groups reviewing the proposed amendments are subcommittees to the State Codes Advisory Committee.

The webpage for the 2022 activities of the SCAC in 2022 includes the proposed amendment chart, submittals for the proposed changes, subcommittee rosters, and meeting schedules. It’s important to note that the subcommittees typically work from amendment charts though you can find much more information in the submittals.

The amendment charts are a summary of the proposed change. The submittals include the proponents, their contact information, the proposed change, reasoning for the proposed change and the expected financial impact from the proposed change should it be adopted.

The following image is the first page from the amendment chart to give you an idea of how brief the chart is versus the submittals:

You can join the interested parties list for any effort in the Construction Codes department of the Department of Community Affairs. Use the staff contact listed on the agenda (upper right-hand corner) for the amendments subcommittee to be included.

The DCA staff has asked that everyone plan to attend the subcommittee meetings in person. As we understand it, there will not be a broadcast of the meetings and attendees will not be able to join virtually.

What to Expect

The first meeting of an amendments subcommittee is focused on the proponent. It’s a chance for the proponent to introduce her/his amendment and provide the reasoning for the proposal. The subcommittee members may ask questions or request more information. It’s also an opportunity for interested parties attending the meeting to speak with the proponent.

It would be atypical for the subcommittee to vote on any proposed amendments during the first meeting. As you can see on both subcommittee schedules published in the 2022 SCAC hub, the first meeting for both subcommittees will be held in the first week of April with the second meeting a month away in the first week of May. This is designed to give people an opportunity to consider the proponents’ statements at the first meeting, collect additional information, work with their respective constituencies, etc.

The meetings are scheduled closer together following the second meeting. The subcommittees may not use all of the meetings on the schedule. The final meetings will probably not be held though they are scheduled in case they are needed.

Full Disclosure

Ryan (our Ryan of Ryan Taylor Architects, LLC) has been asked to chair the ERB Subcommittee and he has submitted a simple amendment that will be considered by the PMG Subcommittee. Subcommittee members typically refer contact to/through the DCA staff so a record exists and can be shared with everyone in the interest of keeping meetings/discussions open.

In Closing

Building codes have a daily effect on our lives in our homes and in public/commercial buildings. We invite you to get involved in the process and let us know if you have any questions. Leave a comment below to let us know if you have any concerns.

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