AUGUSTA — Homebuilders, engineers and contractors gathered at the State House on Tuesday to protest attempts to gut or eliminate Maine’s Uniform Building and Energy Code, which was adopted last year.

Maine’s code is similar to those in 40 other states. Several pieces of legislation have been drafted to repeal or weaken it, including L.D. 43, “An Act to Repeal the Maine Uniform Building and Energy Code.” That bill is scheduled for a public hearing Thursday before the Legislature’s Labor Committee.

The businesses that joined in Tuesday’s protest called on Gov. Paul LePage and legislators to oppose any rollbacks. They said the code improves Maine’s business climate, reduces energy costs and improves the quality and safety of new homes and commercial buildings.

Speakers provided copies of a letter to LePage signed by some of Maine’s leading building trade associations, representing more than 1,500 businesses.

John O’Dea, president of the Associated General Contractors of Maine, said the code is good for business.

“Having a single code for Maine makes it so much easier to do commercial development in the state,” he said. “We want the governor and legislators to know that this is a positive form of regulation because these are very achievable, measurable standards.”

The state is training and certifying code enforcement officials and third-party inspectors who can certify compliance in towns that choose not to hire municipal code officials. Towns that did not previously have building codes have until July 2012 to choose some method of enforcement.

A new analysis of costs and benefits of the energy portion of the code was described by Ashley Richards, a builder and insulation contractor from Yarmouth. He said the incremental cost of building to the code is less than $3,000, and the code creates net savings through energy reductions starting with the first monthly payment.

Staff Writer Tux Turkel can be contacted at 791-6462 or at: tturkel@pressherald.com

 

Copy the Story Link