Maine Legislative Panel Weighs Statewide Building Code

Maine contractors who work in more than one town will have a unified building code to follow rather than rules that vary from one community to another, if a bill before a legislative committee becomes law.

The Business, Research and Economic Development Committee will hold a hearing on the bill Tuesday afternoon.

Maine has a statewide model building code now, but municipalities are free to adopt it or impose their own. A Brookings Institution report says that led to a “crazy quilt” of codes that forces developers to customize projects to each locality, adding costs to their work.

Some groups that have opposed a statewide code in the past are supporting passage this time.

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Information from: Kennebec Journal, http://www.kjonline.com/