CONTACT YOUR SENATOR

If you know your State Senator's name, please skip the next two paragraphs and select your Senator from the drop-down menu.

In order to determine your State Senator, you will need to know your Zip+4. If you do not know your Zip+4 (you can usually find this on some business mail that you have received), then you can click here and we'll pop-up a window for you to easily find it.

Now that you have your Zip+4, you can proceed. Click here to pull up the "Find Your Legislator" window. Enter your nine digit zip code, and hit the Search button. The next screen will show you your State Senator's name.

Please fill in all of the fields below, as they are REQUIRED. Finally, click the "Send Email" button, and we'll send the letter, personalized by you, directly to your State Senator.

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Sample Letter

February 4, 2012

The Honorable (Senator's name will go here)
Pennsylvania Senate
Harrisburg, PA 17120

Dear Senator (Senator's last name will go here):

I would like to take a minute to make you aware of the damaging effects the 2009 Construction Codes will have on consumers and businesses, and I urge you to support legislation giving consumers and businesses a three-year reprieve.

New home sales have hit a nine-month low. These are some of the lowest residential construction numbers we've seen in U.S. history, and economic forecasters do not anticipate an uptick in demand until well into next year.

Homebuilding in Pennsylvania remains in a deep recession. Clearly, now is an especially bad time to impose unnecessary building code regulations that add substantially to a new home's cost.

The General Assembly needs to review how we develop building codes in Pennsylvania to better control these escalating costs. For instance, there are other states that do not automatically adopt the new international building codes every three years, and I think this is a change that should be considered for Pennsylvania. As of today, Pennsylvania is the only state that has adopted the new codes.

A report from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) about the impact of government regulation of housing finds that each $1,000 increase in the cost of a new, median-priced home forces 246,021 prospective buyers out of the marketplace. Using this statistic, this year's $13,000 increase in the cost of a new, median-priced home will force nearly 3.2 million prospective buyers out of the marketplace.

A number of organizations are proposing that Pennsylvania's 2006 building codes be extended for three years to allow adequate time for interested groups to discuss how the code development process can be improved to deliver quality homes at affordable prices. Those organizations include the Pennsylvania Builders Association, the Pennsylvania Association of Realtors, the Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors, the Manufactured Housing Association, the Pennsylvania Municipal Authorities Association, the Pennsylvania Modular Building Systems Association and the Pennsylvania Log Home Council.

Some of the high-impact changes in the 2009 building code are found in the energy provisions of the IRC and IECC. Structurally, new design and construction requirements regarding wall bracing and lateral deck supports will add additional costs. I have included a list of what these concerned organizations have identified as the highest impact changes and their estimated costs for the average single-family home.

  • Increased energy requirements — estimate —$2,062
  • Electrical and mechanical — estimate — $1,908.
  • Structural — estimate —$1,198
  • Fire sprinklers — 2,270 s.f = $7,922
  • Total estimated cost of 2009 building code requirements: $13,090

  • Consider, too, that for homes on wells, typical costs are even higher because of the potential need for additional components such as storage tanks and larger pumps. Owners of homes on well water need to consider how the sprinklers will operate if the power goes out or if water pressure is a problem — and solutions, like extra water tanks, pumps and generators, are costly and could drive up the cost by $1,000 or more.
    • Inadequate water pressure in municipal water systems in some older Pennsylvania communities may fail to operate sprinkler systems.
  • Fire sprinkler design — $400-$800 average cost = $600 in possible additional costs.

Given the slow economy, now is an especially bad time to add more government regulations on new homebuilding, which will increase costs for local governments, builders and Pennsylvania consumers at a time when all three groups are stretched financially.

I ask that you please vote in support of rolling back the 2009 codes to the 2006 version for three years until we can get our businesses back on their feet and find a more efficient way of handling these building code changes.

Sincerely,
(Your Name)
(Your Company Name)
(Your Address)
(Your City), (Your State) (Your Zip Code)
(Your Telephone Number)
(Your Email Address)