There is hereby established in the department of enterprise services a state building code council, to be appointed by the governor.
(1) The state building code council shall consist of 15 members:
(a) Two members must be county elected legislative body members or elected executives;
(b) Two members must be city elected legislative body members or mayors;
(c) One member must be a local government building code enforcement official;
(d) One member must be a local government fire service official;
(e) One member must be a person with a physical disability and shall represent the disability community;
(f) One member, who is not eligible for membership on the council in any other capacity, and who has not previously been nominated or appointed to the council to represent any other group, must represent the general public; and
(g) Seven members must represent the private sector or professional organizations as follows:
(i) One member shall represent general construction, specializing in commercial and industrial building construction;
(ii) One member shall represent general construction, specializing in residential and multifamily building construction;
(iii) One member shall represent the architectural design profession;
(iv) One member shall represent the structural engineering profession;
(v) One member shall represent the mechanical engineering profession;
(vi) One member shall represent the construction building trades;
(vii) One member shall represent manufacturers, installers, or suppliers of building materials and components.
(2) At least six of these 15 members shall reside east of the crest of the Cascade mountains.
(3) The council shall include: Two members of the house of representatives appointed by the speaker of the house, one from each caucus; two members of the senate appointed by the president of the senate, one from each caucus; and an employee of the electrical division of the department of labor and industries, as ex officio, nonvoting members with all other privileges and rights of membership. Ex officio members shall not be counted for purposes of quorums, calling special meetings, or voting thresholds.
(4)(a) Terms of office shall be for three years, or for so long as the member remains qualified for the appointment.
(b) The council shall elect a member to serve as chair of the council for one-year terms of office.
(c) Any member who is appointed by virtue of being an elected official or holding public employment shall be removed from the council if he or she ceases being such an elected official or holding such public employment.
(d) Any member who is appointed to represent a specific private sector industry must maintain sufficiently similar private sector employment or circumstances throughout the term of office to remain qualified to represent the specified industry. Retirement or unemployment is not cause for termination. However, if a councilmember appointed to represent a specific private sector industry enters into employment outside of the industry, or outside of the private sector, he or she has been appointed to represent, then he or she must be removed from the council.
(e) Any member who no longer qualifies for appointment under this section may not vote on council actions, but may participate as an ex officio, nonvoting member until a replacement member is appointed. A member must notify the council staff and the governor's office within 30 days of the date the member no longer qualifies for appointment under this section. The governor shall appoint a qualified replacement for the member within 60 days of notice.
(f) Each of the 15 councilmembers appointed by the governor shall hold office until the appointment of a successor, not to exceed 90 days after the term has expired. If no appointment is made to replace the member after 90 days, the member's position shall become vacant. Vacant positions shall not be counted for purposes of quorums, calling special meetings, or voting thresholds.
(5) Before making any appointments to the building code council, the governor shall seek nominations from recognized organizations which represent the entities or interests identified in this section. The governor shall select appointees to represent private sector industries from a list of three nominations provided by the largest trade associations representing the industry unless no names or insufficient qualifying names are put forth by the trade associations. Within three days after a councilmember's term has expired, the council must post a message on the council website informing the stakeholders and members of the public that there is an open council position. The trade associations must provide nominations no later than 30 days after a council position is open. The governor shall appoint a qualified replacement within 60 days after the qualified nominations are received.
(6) Members shall not be compensated but shall receive reimbursement for travel expenses in accordance with RCW
43.03.050 and
43.03.060.
(7) Within one year of employment or appointment, employees of the state building code council and members of the state building code council must receive training on ethics in public service including, but not limited to, provisions of chapter
42.52 RCW.
(8) For purposes of this section, a "professional organization" includes an entity whose members are engaged in a particular lawful vocation, occupation, or field of activity of a specialized nature, including but not limited to associations, boards, educational institutions, and nonprofit organizations.