(A) There is hereby created within the department of commerce the residential construction advisory committee consisting of nine persons the director of commerce appoints. The advisory committee shall be made up of the following members:

(1) Three shall be general contractors who have recognized ability and experience in the construction of residential buildings.

(2) Two shall be building officials who have experience administering and enforcing a residential building code.

(3) One, chosen from a list of three names the Ohio fire chiefs association submits, shall be from the fire service certified as a fire safety inspector who has at least ten years of experience enforcing fire or building codes.

(4) One shall be a residential contractor who has recognized ability and experience in the remodeling and construction of residential buildings.

(5) One shall be an architect registered pursuant to Chapter 4703. of the Revised Code, with recognized ability and experience in the architecture of residential buildings.

(6) One, chosen from a list of three names the Ohio municipal league submits to the director, shall be a mayor of a municipal corporation in which the Ohio residential building code is being enforced in the municipal corporation by a certified building department.

(B) Terms of office shall be for three years, with each term ending on the date three years after the date of appointment. Each member shall hold office from the date of appointment until the end of the term for which the member was appointed. Vacancies shall be filled in the manner provided for initial appointments. Any member appointed to fill a vacancy in an unexpired term shall hold office for the remainder of that term.

(C) The advisory committee shall do all of the following:

(1) Recommend to the board of building standards a building code for residential buildings. The committee shall recommend a code that it may model on a residential building code a national model code organization issues, with adaptations necessary to implement the code in this state. If the board of building standards decides not to adopt a code the committee recommends, the committee shall revise the code and resubmit it until the board adopts a code the committee recommends as the state residential building code;

(2) Advise the board regarding the establishment of standards for certification of building officials who enforce the state residential building code;

(3) Assist the board in providing information and guidance to residential contractors and building officials who enforce the state residential building code;

(4) Advise the board regarding the interpretation of the state residential building code;

(5) Provide other assistance the committee considers necessary;

(6) Provide the board with a written report of the committee's findings for each consideration required by division (D) of this section.

(D) The committee shall not make its recommendation to the board pursuant to divisions (C) (1), (2), and (4) of this section until the advisory committee has considered all of the following:

(1) The impact that the state residential building code may have upon the health, safety, and welfare of the public;

(2) The economic reasonableness of the residential building code;

(3) The technical feasibility of the residential building code;

(4) The financial impact that the residential building code may have on the public's ability to purchase affordable housing.

(E) The advisory committee may provide the board with any rule the committee recommends to update or amend the state residential building code or any rule that the committee recommends to update or amend the state residential building code after receiving a petition described in division (A) (2) of section 3781.12 of the Revised Code.

(F) Members of the advisory committee shall receive no salary for the performance of their duties as members, but shall receive their actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties as members of the advisory committee and shall receive a per diem for each day in attendance at an official meeting of the committee, to be paid from the industrial compliance operating fund in the state treasury, using fees collected in connection with residential buildings pursuant to division (F)(2) of section 3781.102 of the Revised Code and deposited in that fund.

(G) The advisory committee is not subject to sections 101.82 to 101.87 of the Revised Code.

(H) Serving as a member of the residential construction advisory committee does not constitute holding a public office or position of employment under the laws of this state and service on the committee does not constitute grounds for removing a committee member from a public office or position of employment.

Amended by 131st General Assembly File No. TBD, HB 471, §1, eff. 12/19/2016.

Amended by 129th General AssemblyFile No.127, HB 487, §101.01, eff. 9/10/2012.

Amended by 129th General AssemblyFile No.28, HB 153, §101.01, eff. 9/29/2011.

Amended by 128th General AssemblyFile No.9, HB 1, §101.01, eff. 10/16/2009.

Effective Date: 05-27-2005; 09-29-2005