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REPORT OF THE <br />COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC WORKS AND MASS TRANSIT <br />DATE: July 7, 2020 - Re: Comm. No. 989/Bill-No. 179 <br />PLACE: Council Chambers <br />Hilo, Hawaii <br />TIME: 11:20 a.m. - <br />Council Chair and Members <br />Hawaii County Council <br />Hilo, Hawaii 96720 <br />Your Committee on Public Works and Mass Transit, to which was referred Bill No. 179, reports as <br />follows: <br />Bill No. 179 was transmitted by Communication No. 989 from Public Works Director David Yamamoto, <br />dated June 17, 2020, and introduced by Committee Chair Susan L.K. Lee Loy at the request of the <br />Administration. <br />Committee members met by videoconference, and persons giving oral testimony spoke remotely from <br />conference rooms in Hilo and in Kailua-Kona, in compliance with emergency rules mandating social <br />distancing and prohibiting large gatherings of people. <br />This bill comprises the second part of a comprehensive overhaul of the County's construction codes. <br />The first part concluded in February 2020 with the approval of Ordinance No. 2020-10, which adopted <br />with amendments the International Energy Conservation Code of 2015 (PWMTC Report No. 20). <br />Bill No. 179 accomplishes the following: 1) Repeals Chapter 5, Building Code; 2) Repeals Chapter 9, <br />Electrical Code; 3) Repeals Chapter 17, Plumbing Code; 4) Adopts a new Chapter 5, Construction <br />Administrative Code; 5) Adopts a new Chapter 5A, Building Code; 6) Adopts a new Chapter 5D, <br />Electrical Code; 7) Adopts a new Chapter 5E, Energy Conservation Code; and 8) Adopts a new <br />Chapter 5F, Plumbing Code. <br />The new Chapter 5 takes administrative provisions from the repealed chapters, consolidates and <br />coordinates definitions, corrects references to applicable statutes, and establishes a common, simplified <br />fee structure. Chapter 5A incorporates by reference the International Building Code, 2006 Edition, <br />migrates amendments, includes existing appendices, from the former Chapter 5, and adds a new <br />Appendix Y for tiny houses. Chapter 5D incorporates by reference the National Electrical Code, 2017 <br />Edition, as adopted by the State. Chapter 5E incorporates by reference the International Energy <br />Conservation Code, 2015 Edition, and migrates the amendments previously adopted in Ordinance <br />No. 2020-10. Chapter 5F incorporates by reference the Uniform Plumbing Code 2012 Edition, as <br />adopted by the State, adopts amendments, and includes appendices. <br />The overall structure of the reorganized chapters allows for the adoption of new codes and updates to <br />codes in a way that is coherent, logical, and consistent, and allows for the issuance of a single building <br />permit instead of several permits with inconsistent requirements spread among multiple chapters. <br />PWMTC Report No.: 23 <br />