ORS Chapter 455 — Building Code

ORS 455.030. Rulemaking; notice; content; code distribution; amendment process. (1) Subject to any requirement for approval by the appropriate advisory boards, the Director of the Department of Consumer and Business Services may adopt, amend or repeal rules for carrying out the responsibilities of the Department of Consumer and Business Services to develop, implement, administer and enforce a program that relates to the state building code or a specialty code. Except as otherwise provided by this section, the director shall be subject to ORS chapter 183 in the adoption, amendment or repeal of regulations authorized by, and in the issuance of orders in contested cases arising under, this chapter. (2)(a) In addition to the notice requirements of ORS 183.335, notice of a public hearing on adoption, amendment or repeal of a specialty code shall be given to the governing bodies of all municipalities and the Department of Early Learning and Care for any specialty code that may affect a child care provider. Notice shall state that copies of the proposed action may be obtained from the department. (b) The notice of proposed rule change shall include a finding by the advisory board that the added cost, if any, is necessary to the health and safety of the occupants or the public or necessary to conserve scarce resources. (c) The director shall maintain a roster of individuals who wish to be notified of any changes to or interpretations of the Low-Rise Residential Dwelling Code. Subscribers to the list may be charged a reasonable amount necessary to defray the cost of maintaining the list and advising the subscribers of changes in the code. (3) The director is not required to publish or distribute those parts of a specialty code of regulations adopted by reference. However, the director shall publish with a specialty code and annually thereafter a list of places where copies of those parts of the specialty code adopted by reference may be obtained together with the approximate cost thereof. The director shall file one copy of the rule with the Secretary of State. All standards referred to in any specialty code or any of the modifications thereto need not be so filed. All standards and specialty codes referred to in the specialty code shall be kept on file and available for inspection in the offices of the department. (4) Any interested person may propose amendments to the state building code, which proposed amendments may be either applicable to all municipalities or, where it is alleged and established that conditions exist within a municipality or some municipalities that are not generally found within other municipalities, amendments may be restricted in application to such municipalities. Amendments proposed to the state building code under this subsection shall be in conformity with the policy and purpose prescribed by ORS 455.020. The justification and the particular circumstances requiring the proposed amendments shall be fully stated in the proposal. The director shall submit all proposed amendments to the appropriate advisory board. The board shall review and report its recommendations to the director on the amendments within 180 days after the date of submission by the director. (5) The director, with the approval of the advisory board, may adopt or modify and adopt any amendments proposed to the director under subsection (4) of this section. The director shall, within 30 days after the date of receipt of the recommendations of the advisory board, notify the person proposing the amendments of the adoption, modification and adoption or denial of the proposed amendments. Upon adoption, a copy of each amendment shall be distributed to the governing bodies of all municipalities affected thereby. (6) The director shall from time to time make or cause to be made investigations, or may accept authenticated reports from authoritative sources, concerning new materials or modes of construction intended for use in the construction of buildings or structures, or intended for use in other activity regulated by the state building code, and shall, where necessary, propose amendments to the code setting forth the conditions under which the materials or modes may be used, in accordance with the standards and procedures of this chapter.