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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
H.C.R. NO. |
184 |
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TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2009 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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HOUSE CONCURRENT
RESOLUTION
Requesting the State Building Code Council to adopt standards and criteria to allow the use of bamboo as an accepted construction material under the State Building Code.
WHEREAS, bamboo is a renewable, sustainable, and popular material for fencing, flooring, and furniture, but can also be used as timber for construction of buildings; and
WHEREAS, treated bamboo forms a very hard wood that is lightweight, resilient, long-lasting, and exceptionally durable and can be used in tropical climates for construction of housing, construction scaffolding, and as a substitute for steel reinforcing rods in concrete construction; and
WHEREAS, at least thirty-three houses in Maui, all with conditional permits from the county, have been recently constructed from bamboo plywood and beams and were designed to exceed all required building code standards for Hawaii; and
WHEREAS, the commercial cultivation of bamboo also happens to be an environmentally sound replacement for the declining sugar and pineapple industries in helping preserve Hawaii's agricultural heritage, and bamboo research centers and plantations are being established in Hawaii, especially on Oahu, Kauai, and the Big Island; and
WHEREAS, the State Building Code Council has the duty to establish a comprehensive state building code, and part of that duty involves making necessary or desirable state amendments to the model codes; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fifth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2009, the Senate concurring, that the State Building Code Council is requested to adopt standards and criteria to allow the use of bamboo as an accepted construction material under the State Building Code; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the State Building Code Council is requested to submit a report of its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature not later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2010; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Chairperson of the State Building Code Council and the Comptroller.
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OFFERED BY: |
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State Building Code