Senate advances bill to prevent costly building project delays

MADISON, Wis. — Legislation co-authored by Senator Rob Hutton (R-Brookfield) that gives builders a critical grace period to comply with suddenly imposed new building code regulations was approved with bipartisan support by the Senate on Tuesday.

Earlier this year, a Wisconsin Supreme Court decision overturned legislative oversight of administrative rules, clearing the way for the Department of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS) to implement 2021 International Building Code standards that had been blocked by the Legislature.

All new building plan approvals—even ones already written—are now required to meet the more expensive new standards, risking long-planned projects being sent back to the drawing board, face a costly redesign process or even cancelled altogether.

To ensure hundreds of millions of dollars of active projects are not jeopardized, Assembly Bill 450 provides a sensible grace period for both builders and local approval authorities to adjust to the new regulations. The bill allows projects with plans submitted on or before April 1, 2026, to continue using the current building code that was in place until earlier this fall.

This short-term adjustment period is critical to ensuring a hastily imposed new regulation doesn’t make the state’s housing affordability crisis worse by further limiting housing construction.

“If regulations out of Madison cause building projects across the state to be delayed, cancelled or saddled with tremendous new costs, it will only worsen the affordability crisis Wisconsin families experience firsthand every time they pay their rent,” Hutton said.

Wisconsin needs to build 200,000 more housing units by 2030 just to accommodate growth, and the current housing supply shortage is causing an affordability crisis statewide. In Milwaukee County, the median rent is up nearly 40% in the past five years and it costs nearly $1000 a month for just a small efficiency.

“This bill is primarily about ensuring the severe housing shortage in Wisconsin isn’t worsened by haphazard regulations from Madison,” Hutton said. “I want to thank the bipartisan group of colleagues in the Senate who voted for this sensible proposal.”

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.