An Act amending the act of November 10, 1999 (P.L.491, No.45), known as the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act, in Uniform Construction Code, further providing for adoption by regulations.
Summary
HB307 amends Pennsylvania’s Construction Code Act to require the Department of Labor and Industry to adopt regulations setting a minimum width for parking access aisles associated with disability parking spaces. For any new access aisle created on or after the bill’s effective date, the required width would be 96 inches. The bill also directs that existing access aisles narrower than 96 inches be brought up to that width when parking lots are relined during normal maintenance cycles after the effective date.
The bill defines an access aisle as the marked no-parking area adjacent to a disabled parking space that provides room for a person using a wheelchair, wheelchair lift, or other mobility device. It would take effect 60 days after enactment and would operate through the state’s Uniform Construction Code regulatory framework, meaning the department would be responsible for promulgating the implementing regulations.
Impact
HB307 would change the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act by adding a new regulatory requirement for accessible parking design. It would affect the Department of Labor and Industry’s rulemaking authority under the Uniform Construction Code and would impose a specific dimensional standard—96 inches—for new and, over time, existing access aisles at parking facilities. The practical impact would fall on municipalities, property owners, developers, and parking lot operators that construct, reline, or maintain parking spaces reserved for individuals with disabilities.
Sentiment
Based on the bill text and the absence of recorded committee debate or votes in the provided materials, the bill appears to be a straightforward accessibility measure with an affirmative policy purpose. Its focus on improving usable space for wheelchair users and others with mobility devices suggests generally favorable intent and likely support from disability-access advocates. No opposing viewpoints are documented in the provided record.
Contention
No specific contention is documented in the supplied transcripts or vote history. Potential points of concern, if raised in future debate, would likely involve compliance costs for property owners, the feasibility of retrofitting existing parking lots during routine relining, and whether a uniform 96-inch standard is appropriate for all facilities. However, the provided materials do not show any recorded opposition or amendments.
In preliminary provisions, further providing for review of updated sections and adoption of updated sections into Uniform Construction Code and providing for pause of review of 2024 ICC codes, review of existing codes and creation of alternative economic standards to reduce construction costs and for resumption of 2027 and successor ICC code review; and, in Uniform Construction Code, further providing for revised or successor codes.