Update on Tamper-Resistant Code Adoption
Author: NEMA
Published on: August 27 2009
Category: Industry News

With 30 states having completed adoption processes for the 2008 National Electrical Code® (NEC), support for section 406.11, which requires tamper-resistant receptacles to be installed in new homes, has been overwhelmingly positive.

Twenty-nine of the 30 states have adopted the 2008 NEC with the tamper-resistant Code intact. These include: Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Washington and Wyoming. Alabama, Illinois and Texas jurisdictions are enforcing the Code at local levels. Wisconsin adopted the Code last year, but put a delay on implementation until Jan. 1, 2010.

In addition, 14 states are presently considering NEC adoption.

To date, only Indiana has rejected section 406.11, and electrical safety advocates hope the decision might be overturned when the state’s residential code is revised. Officials in Georgia, Kentucky and Ohio initially resisted the tamper-resistant Code adoption, but the decisions were overturned after considering feedback from electrical experts, medical professionals and local citizens.

The officials in those 29 states should be commended for embracing a greater level of child electrical safety. But the real credit goes to the local representatives of supportive organizations like the American Burn Association, Safe Kids USA, the National Association of State Fire Marshals, the International Association of Electrical Inspectors, the National Electrical Contractors Association, and Electrical Safety Foundation International. Without their help, the Code adoption status at “half-time” probably wouldn’t be the same.