Regina Hanshaw — Executive Secretary

Regina Hanshaw is the Executive Secretary for the Ohio Board of Building Standards. Prior to her appointment as Executive Secretary in 2009, Ms. Hanshaw acted as in house legal counsel for the Division of Industrial Compliance in the Department of Commerce where she provided assistance to the State’s building department, boiler and elevator sections, and the Ohio Construction Industry Licensing Board. Ms. Hanshaw also previously served as Staff Attorney for the Summit County Council where she worked on county legislative and policy matters with a particular focus on land use. She received her BA from Ohio University and JD from the University of Akron School of Law.

Board Members

Board Office and Staff Contacts

Duties of Board

The Board's membership is established by statute and is comprised of fifteen members appointed by the Governor with the  advice and consent of the Senate for specific terms pursuant to Section 3781.07 of the Ohio Revised Code as follows: a  public member, two architects, a mechanical engineer, a structural engineer, an attorney-at-law, a general contractor, a  member representing the fire service, a member representing Ohio manufacturers knowledgeable in construction materials, a member representing industrialized unit manufacturers, two members representing residential construction contractors, one member with experience in advanced or renewable energy, one member with experience in energy conservation, and a mayor of a municipal corporation with a certified building department.

History of BBS

The Ohio legislature first authorized construction regulation in 1911 through legislative action, and although very limited, it covered various aspects of construction, repair, sanitation, and fire protection. In 1955 the legislature authorized adoption of a state building code by administrative, rather than legislative, procedure and designated the Board of Building Standards as the responsible administrative agency. Ohio wrote and maintained its own building code, the Ohio Building Code, using the Board of Building Standards, the Board’s staff, and a few outside consultants. The state legislature specifically exempted 1-, 2-, 3-family dwellings and agricultural buildings.

In 1973, the Ohio Building Officials Association (OBOA) requested the Board of Building Standards to adopt a national model code in place of the Ohio Building Code (OBC). The OBC had originally been developed by the Board in conjunction with several professors at Case Western University and the University of Akron in the 1950's. OBOA made this request because the Board had not continued to update the building code since 1971. After receiving the request, the Board decided that it would explore having the Building Construction Laboratory at Ohio State University update the existing code.

In 1976, there was a change in administrations. OBOA again requested the Board to adopt one of the national model building codes. The Board instructed staff to compare the ICBO uniform code, the BOCA national code, and the SBCCI southern standard code. In 1977, the Board held a series of open hearings (hearings open to the public, but not mandated by the Ohio Administrative Procedures Act) to get input from the building construction industry and from the code enforcement agencies. In 1978, the Board decided to use the BOCA National Building and Mechanical Model Codes. Staff changed those sections of the basic model codes that conflicted with the Ohio Revised Code (statutory law) to bring it into compliance with the General Assembly’s legislation. Rule filings were then done in accordance with Sections 119.03 and 119.04, Ohio Revised Code, and a public hearing was held. After public hearing, the Board adopted the BOCA codes as the Ohio Basic Building Codes on September 29,1978. The Board set an effective date of July 1, 1979, for the OBBC.

The July 1, 1979, effective date was set to allow the building construction industry, design professionals, and enforcement agencies to familiarize and educate themselves concerning the code. The Board also made several major changes to the original adoption in May and June, 1979, as a result of industry input. The enforcement agency at the state level (Ohio has a dual enforcement system; i.e., local governments have the option of being certified to enforce the state code and, if they don’t, a state agency does the enforcement) allowed plans to be submitted between July 1, 1979, and September 30,1979, under either OBC (the outgoing code) or under OBBC, the new code. This allowed for a smooth transition.

Since that time the Ohio Board of Building Standards has adopted model building code requirements based upon BOCA model codes, which were subsequently replaced by the International Code Council (ICC) family of model codes in the mid 1990’s through early 2000. Upon adoption, the Board modifies the model codes to be consistent with Ohio law. The resulting modified model codes complete the Ohio family of building, mechanical, and plumbing codes. The adoption history for the codes has been as shown in the table below.

Functions of the Board of Building Standards

• Formulate , adopt, and amend the Building, Mechanical, Plumbing, Elevator, Boiler, and Pressure Piping Codes.
• Certify municipal, county, and township building departments to exercise enforcement authority and to accept and approve plans and specifications, and make inspections and to inspect power, refrigerating, hydraulic, heating, oxygen and other gaseous piping, and liquefied petroleum gas piping systems.
• Conduct hearings, make investigations as deemed necessary or desirable in the discharge of its duties.

Timeline