WHEREAS, the State of Maine is committed to recognizing that our growth, strength and safety depend on the essential role of our homes, buildings and infrastructure; and

WHEREAS, we reaffirm our unwavering commitment and dedication to ensuring that all residents of our state have access to safe, affordable, and quality housing, recognizing that stable housing is fundamental to individual well-being, strong families and thriving communities; and

WHEREAS, our confidence in the resilience of these buildings that make up our communities is achieved through the building safety and fire prevention officials, architects, engineers, builders, laborers, electricians, plumbers and other trades in the construction industry who work year-round to ensure safe construction to protect the public from hazards such as hurricanes, tornadoes, blizzards, wildland fires, floods and earthquakes; and

WHEREAS, these professionals are dedicated members of organizations like the International Code Council, which brings together local, state, territorial, tribal and federal officials who are experts in the built environment to create and implement the highest-quality codes and safety standards to protect us in the buildings where we live, learn, work and play; and

WHEREAS, Building Safety Month reminds us about the critical role of our communities' largely unknown protectors of public safety – our code officials – who assure us of safe, sustainable and affordable buildings that are essential to our prosperity; and

WHEREAS, "Built to Last," the theme for Building Safety Month 2026, encourages us all to get involved and raise awareness about building safety on a personal, local and global scale; and

WHEREAS, each year, in observance of Building Safety Month, people all over the world are asked to consider the commitment to improving building safety, resilience and economic investment at home and in the community, and to acknowledge the essential service provided to all of us by local, state, tribal, territorial, and federal building safety and fire prevention departments in protecting lives and property;

NOW, THEREFORE, be it resolved that I, Janet T. Mills, Governor of the State of Maine, do hereby proclaim the month of May 2026 as

Building Safety Month

throughout the State of Maine, and I encourage all citizens to recognize this observance.

In testimony whereof, I have caused the Great Seal of the State to be hereunto affixed GIVEN under my hand at Augusta this thirteenth day of April Two Thousand Twenty-Six