The Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety released Monday a new report which provides an analysis of residential building codes in the 18 hurricane-prone coastal states along the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Coast.
The report gives South Carolina a rating of 84, placing it at No. 5 for meeting goals among coastal states.
"Rating the States: An Assessment of Residential Building Codes and Enforcement Systems for Life Safety and Property Protection in Hurricane Prone Regions" is an inaugural state-by-state assessment of individual state performance in developing and promulgating a residential building code system, which uses modern building codes, coupled with strong enforcement related activities to enhance the protection of buildings.
Joining South Carolina at top billing is Florida, Virginia, New Jersey and Massachusetts. The state beat out Louisiana, North Carolina and Georgia.
"The report goes beyond just evaluating each state’s code system," said Julie Rochman, IBHS president and CEO. "The report offers each state the detailed information and tools it needs to improve its building code process to better protect its citizens. It also gives interested citizens useful information so that they can understand the need for, and demand, better building codes."
The report combines IBHS' engineering expertise and regulatory research to examine the three main elements of a state’s building code system: Code adoption and enforcement, code official training and certification and licensing requirements for construction trades.
According to IBHS, the state began the process to adopt the 2009 International Codes, but legislation was passed that has prevented the adoption from being completed. As a result, the state has decided to skip the 2009 edition and instead begin to review and adopt the 2012 edition of the International Codes. Currently, South Carolina adopted and enforces the 2006 International Residential Code. Consequently, South Carolina does not require some wind provisions that are in the 2009 edition of the International Residential code.
