Repeal of the Storm Shelter Building Code Requirements Under Consideration
The Minnesota legislature is considering repealing a recently adopted building code requiring storm shelter spaces and considerations be included in school facilities built or renovated after 2020. The building code in question is ICC 500, which was adopted by the Department of Labor & Industry in 2018, effective for schools built and renovated after 2020 in southern Minnesota counties.
SF 3750 and HF 4028 have been introduced to repeal this code requirement. School officials from the impacted areas have argued that the mandate is onerous and misguided as most major weather events like tornados happen in summertime months and late afternoon and evening times, both periods of which students are not present in school facilities. Furthermore, the building code for schools without ICC 500 standards is sufficient to withstand an F3 tornado, and school officials are constantly monitoring severe weather events. The discussion highlights the balance between practical safety measures and regulatory mandates.
SF 3750 advanced from the Senate’s Labor committee last week and now goes to the State & Local Government committee. Many thanks to Sen. Mary Kunesh for her authorship of the bill, and Rep. Ben Bakeberg in the House of Representatives. Doug Storbeck, Superintendent of Granada Huntly East Chain Schools, spoke and a Minnesota Rural Education Association Board member, spoke in support of the bill.
The Department of Labor and Industry testified their neutrality on the bill. The American Institute of Architects offered nuanced testimony but indicated they would prefer to keep the mandate in place.
Watch the Senate Labor Hearing below.
Thank You Testifiers
Supporting the bill were testifiers representing MREA, MASBO, MASMS, MSBA and MASA:
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Doug Storbeck, Superintendent of Granada Huntley East Chain (GHEC) Public Schools
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Tracey Fiereck, Director of Business Services Sauk Rapids-Rice Public Schools
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Christopher Kampa, Director of Finance and Operations, Cambridge-Isanti Public Schools
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Ron Pagel, School Board member at Dover-Eyota Public Schools