On April 12, 2011, the Pennsylvania Senate voted to pass House Bill 377 (HB 377). The Senate’s version of the bill contained some changes, and HB 377 was sent back to the House for a concurrence vote. A day later, the House voted to approve the bill as it came out of the Senate. HB 377 is now on its way to Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett for signature.
HB 377, if enacted, will remove the residential sprinkler mandate from the Uniform Construction Code for single- and two-family homes that became effective as of January 1, 2011. It would also require that builders provide homebuyers with the option to install a sprinkler system and inform them of the benefits of sprinklers. If the homebuyer opts not to install sprinklers, the home must be built with extra fireproof material on the floorboards in order to slow the spread of fire. The home building industry highly supports HB 377, while firefighters and insurance professionals are generally opposed to it.
We will keep you posted on the progress of HB 377, but as always please contact us if you have any questions or need further information.