words rather than multisyllables.) Many objections were raised-'- one of them the added expense of such a projec;:t.1 The codes were run through a computer to determine if it's possible to convey all this technical knowledge in readable English. (It is.) The final law,· which was passed by the State Legislature, provides that the Department of Commerce shall collect donations from interested citizens, in order to pay the cost of publishing the One and Two Family Dwelling Code and the One and Two Family Electrical Code at a ninth grade reading level. The Department shall inform interested citizens about the'project through public service announcements and other nominal cost advertising. When I first heard about this proposal I thought it was a ~onderful·idea. So truly Oregonian, so responsive to the needs of the average citizen. Why hadn't I thought of it myself? When I talked informally about the project with an administrator in the State Building Code Division, soon after the law became effective, I found that his response was far otherwise. Since the Legislature had passed the law, he was probably going to have to carry it out-or at least go through the motions-but he sure wasn't enthusiastic about the idea. One of the continuing problems in any work on reforming building codes is that the people who carry out the codes in practice are insulated from public opinion. The Oregon Legislature passes a law-then, after a six-month session, it disbands for a year and a • half. The legislators go back to their homes and their regular jobs. The bureaucrats who carry out the laws that the Legislature has passed have their own opinions about what should be done. Someone who is building her own home which she intends to live in should 1;,e free to build to suit her own tastes and needs. I think the present state of affairs is that the Legislature has passed the legislation, but it will take a lot of prodding to get the Department of Commerce to act appropriately. Write Jane Huston, 428 Labor & Industries Building, Salem, OR 97310. ' Changes in Advisory Boards The Legislature.also discussed changes in the procedure for the adoption and amendment of the codes. At the present time they are adopted by the Director of the Department of Commerce upon the January 1980 RAIN Page 7 advice of the respective advisory boards. The Structural Co-de Advisory Board, for example, is quite powerful; it amends the Structural Specialty Code and is the final avenue of appeal on any matters related to the Structural Code. Its membership according to law "shall be broadly representative of the industries and professions involved in the development and construction of buildings includi~g representation from building code enforcement agencies, architectural and engin•eering associations, building construction trades, the contracting and manufacturing industries, govem,ing bodies of local governments, fire protection agencies and the general public." There is at present one representative of the general public on an eleven-member board. Every member but one comes from the urban and urbanizing corridor that runs from Portland to Eugene. Broadly representative? The Senate Committee on Housing proposed to create a new Building Code Board of seven members, one from each of the four congressional districts in the state, and'three from the state at large At least two members would not be involved in construction or the building trades, and no more than two members would have the same trade or profession. This reasonable proposal, according to a committee staff member, was opposed by "current advisory board, ·fire prqtection, and trade interests. "·It didn't even _make it out of committee. Conclusions The problems that we find in dealing with the issue o'i building codes are the same problems we find in many other parts of our society. The manufacturers of building materials and other people with a direct economic interest in what building codes say put plenty of money and time and attention into a wording that is favorable to their intere~ts. No one who represents the average person with a paramount interest in low-cost housing, or the innovative builder with a paramount interest in freedom, is"out there lobbying with equivalent time and resources. And though the legislators I met were intellig~nt and responsive beyond my expectations, they only write the laws. The people who put the laws into effect are highly specialized, highly salaried, permanently employed people, and there is at present very little in the structure th.at surrounds them to make them responsive to the needs of the person who intends to build for himself. On the other hand, the situation isn't hopeless. In our county, ~hen enough people got angry enough, we definitely produced real changes. The State Legislature,is beginning to address these questions. At present Josephine County is drafting an owner-builder ordinance and Lane County is informally studying ways of implementing Senate Bill 921. ' There's still a lot of work to do. These-changes in the laws are •only one part, and not the most important part, of the changes that I think need to happen. We need a change in attitude on the part of building officials and building inspectors, so they are more respon-
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