Section 106. Accessibility Advisory Board.
(a) Creation and composition.--
(1) There is hereby created an Accessibility Advisory Board which shall be composed of 11 members, seven of which shall be appointed by the secretary. At least six members of the advisory board shall be public members, three of whom shall be persons with physical disabilities, one shall be an architect registered in Pennsylvania, one shall be a member of the business community, and one shall be a representative of the multifamily housing industry. One member shall be a municipal official. The chairman and minority chairman of the standing committees of the Senate and the House of Representatives having jurisdiction under the act of June 25, 1982 (P.L.633, No.181), known as the Regulatory Review Act, to review Uniform Construction Code regulations, or their designees, shall be members. All members of the advisory board, except the members of the General Assembly, shall serve for a term of four years and until their successors are appointed. ((1) amended May 6, 2026, P.L.202, No.16)
(2) The members of the advisory board shall be paid traveling expenses and other necessary expenses and may receive a per diem compensation at a rate to be determined by the secretary for each day of actual service in the performance of their duties under this act.
(3) Meetings of the advisory board shall be called by the secretary. A quorum of the advisory board shall consist of four members.
(4) The initial advisory board shall be the body constituted under the former provisions of section 3.1 of the act of September 1, 1965 (P.L.459, No.235), entitled, as amended, "An act requiring that certain buildings and facilities adhere to certain principles, standards and specifications to make the same accessible to and usable by persons with physical handicaps, and providing for enforcement."
(5) Any member absent from three consecutive voting meetings may be dismissed and the vacancy shall be filled in the same manner as the appointment of the absent member, unless the secretary, upon written request from the member, finds the member should be excused from a meeting because of illness, the death of a family member, military service or another legitimate reason acceptable to the secretary. ((5) added May 6, 2026, P.L.202, No.16)
(b) Advice on regulation.--The advisory board shall review all proposed regulations under this act and shall offer comment and advice to the secretary on all issues relating to accessibility by persons with physical disabilities, including those which relate to the enforcement of the accessibility requirements.
(c) Recommendations for modifications.--The advisory board shall review all applications from individual projects for modifications of the provisions of Chapter 11 (Accessibility) of the Uniform Construction Code and any other accessibility requirements contained in or referenced by the Uniform Construction Code and shall advise the secretary regarding whether modification should be granted or whether compliance by existing facilities with provisions of Chapter 11 (Accessibility) of the Uniform Construction Code and any other accessibility requirements contained in or referenced by the Uniform Construction Code is technically infeasible.
(d) Review of accessibility code.--The advisory board shall review the accessibility code and submit a report to the secretary with sections of the accessibility code that are specified for adoption or modification. The review process shall be conducted as follows:
(1) The advisory board shall commence review of the updated accessibility code sections 21 months following the publication of a new edition of the ICC codes, beginning with the 2024 ICC codes.
(2) Each updated accessibility code section subject to review shall be examined by applying all of the following criteria:
(i) The impact that the section may have upon the health, safety and welfare of the public, particularly individuals with disabilities.
(ii) The economic and financial impact of the section, including the impact on the end consumer.
(iii) The technical feasibility of the section.
(3) The advisory board shall review the updated accessibility code sections as follows:
(i) A 120-day period to receive comments from the general public shall commence within 30 days of the advisory board's review under paragraph (1). The department shall transmit notice of the initiation of the public comment period to the Legislative Reference Bureau for publication in the next available issue of the Pennsylvania Bulletin and shall post notice on the publicly accessible Internet website of the department.
(ii) All public comments shall be submitted on a form created by the advisory board. Each comment shall relate to a single updated accessibility code section. The comment shall, at a minimum, specify the updated accessibility code section to which the comment relates, state whether the updated section shall be adopted, rejected or modified and specify the rationale for the recommended action based on the criteria specified in paragraph (2). A proposed modification shall meet or exceed the standards of the section in effect or being reviewed and the proposed modification shall be within the standards under review.
(iii) All public comments submitted in accordance with subparagraph (ii) shall be published in accordance with subparagraph (i).
(iv) After the conclusion of the public comment period specified in subparagraph (i), the advisory board shall hold one or more in-person or virtual public hearings to receive additional public comment.
(v) The advisory board shall hold one or more official meetings to decide whether to adopt, reject or modify the updated accessibility code sections in accordance with the following:
(A) Updated accessibility code sections that did not receive public comment to reject or modify shall be adopted by a majority vote of advisory board members. The advisory board may consider updated accessibility code sections in a single vote.
(B) Updated accessibility code sections that received public comment to reject or modify shall be voted on individually and shall require a vote of at least seven advisory board members for adoption or modification.
(vi) The advisory board shall submit a report to the secretary within 24 months of the commencement of the review process by the advisory board with sections of the updated accessibility codes that are specified for adoption or modification.
((d) added May 6, 2026, P.L.202, No.16)
Compiler's Note: Section 4 of Act 16 of 2026 provided that all regulations are abrogated to the extent of any inconsistency with Act 16.