§ 371. Statement of legislative findings and purposes. 1. The
legislature hereby finds and declares that:

a. The present level of loss of life, injury to persons, and damage to
property as a result of fire demonstrates that the people of the state
have yet to receive the basic level of protection to which they are
entitled in connection with the construction and maintenance of
buildings;

b. There does not exist for all areas of the state a single, adequate,
enforceable code establishing minimum standards for fire protection and
construction, maintenance and use of materials in buildings. Instead,
there exists a multiplicity of codes and requirements for various types
of buildings administered at various levels of state and local
government. There are, in addition, extensive areas of the state in
which no code at all is in effect for the general benefit of the people
of the state;

c. The present system of enforcement of fire protection and building
construction codes is characterized by a lack of adequately trained
personnel, as well as inconsistent qualifications for personnel who
administer and enforce those codes;

d. Whether because of the absence of applicable codes, inadequate code
provisions or inadequate enforcement of codes, the threat to the public
health and safety posed by fire remains a real and present danger for
the people of the state; and

e. The multiplicity of fire protection and building construction code
requirements poses an additional problem for the people of the state
since it increases the cost of doing business in the state by
perpetuating multiple requirements, jurisdictional overlaps and business
uncertainties, and, in some instances, by artificially inducing high
construction costs.

2. The legislature declares that it shall be the public policy of the
state of New York to:

a. Immediately provide for a minimum level of protection from the
hazards of fire in every part of the state;

b. Provide for the promulgation of a uniform code addressing building
construction and fire prevention in order to provide a basic minimum
level of protection to all people of the state from hazards of fire and
inadequate building construction. In providing for such a uniform code,
it is declared to be the policy of the state of New York to:

(1) reconcile the myriad existing and potentially conflicting
regulations which apply to different types of buildings and occupancies;

(2) recognize that fire prevention and fire prevention codes are
closely related to the adequacy of building construction codes, that the
greatest portion of a building code's requirements are fire safety
oriented, and that fire prevention and building construction concerns
should be the subject of a single code;

(3) recognize that the decarbonization of new and existing buildings
is closely related to the state's clean energy and climate agenda as
described in the New York climate leadership and community protection
act set forth in chapter one hundred six of the laws of two thousand
nineteen, and that the uniform code shall enable the state's clean
energy objectives;

(4) place public and private buildings on an equal plane with respect
to fire prevention and adequacy of building construction;

(5) require new and existing buildings alike to keep pace with
advances in technology concerning fire prevention and building
construction, including, where appropriate, that provisions apply on a
retroactive basis; and

(6) provide protection to both residential and non-residential
buildings;

c. Insure that the uniform code be in full force and effect in every
area of the state;

d. Encourage local governments to exercise their full powers to
administer and enforce the uniform code; and

e. Provide for a uniform, statewide approach to the training and
qualification of personnel engaged in the administration and enforcement
of the uniform code.