With the 2006 hurricane season rapidly approaching, the Mississippi legislature has passed stronger building code legislation to help protect homes and businesses along the Mississippi Gulf Coast from damage caused by hurricane winds. The legislation, which will affect the five costal counties of Mississippi – Jackson , Harrison , Hancock, Stone and Pearl River – ensures that any newly constructed residential and commercial structures have maximum protection for windows and doors by requiring building standards that mandate protection. Governor Haley Barbour recently signed the legislation.
This legislation was made possible through The Coalition to Build a Safer and Stronger Mississippi, which is made up of more than 30 building industry organizations and associations. The coalition took the lead in developing and encouraging support for the building code legislation that will protect people and their property by ensuring that residential and commercial buildings are built to withstand greater hurricane-force wind, rain and wind-borne debris.
