Tom,

There are many building codes standards out there. (E'teleki has much more experience in the industry than I do, so anytime he wants to correct or add to what I say, I would welcome it.)

There are basically 3 National Codes:

UBC Uniform Building Code

BNBC Basic National Building Code (also known as BOCA, but not sure what the difference is)

SBCCI Standard Building Code Congress International

There is also CABO which is a combination of those other codes.

In my area, and I believe throughout the western states we use UBC 1997. The States then add ammendments which supercede the original code. It is the responsibility of the designer to keep up-to-date with state ammendments to the building code. On top of that cities and counties can ammend the code as well, but in my experience is uncommon. It is up to the city's building department to flag such infractions at the permit review process. They may issue a building permit after the designer has made changes according to the interpretation of the inspector, or may issue it with an order to make the change-order.

Cities and counties will ussually have standards which they require. Curb, sidewalk and street standards are important, so that they are always uniform, no matter who builds it or when it is built.

There are some codes which have been adopted by national mandate, such as th American Disability Act or ADA.

Each state has the constitutional right to designate it's own building codes and licensing requirements. That is why there are so many and it is often confusing. However i wouldn't expect builders in Alabama to have to follow the same snow loads as we have in Idaho or vice versa. That is why its a good thing that each individual state as well as county and city keeps it's right to choose and ammend the code as it sees fit. If a state wanted to they could create their own building code, but I don't know of any states that have.

Licensing Architects, Engineers, Doctors, contractors, etc etc is a similar beurocratic headache. It is a necessary one though where safety is of importance. The state is protecting her citizens by requiring these professionals to be licensed under her controls. I don't see where this could be considered political, but it could be construed as that I guess.

Cheers,

Steve G.