Governor Ralph Northam issued a proclamation declaring May as Building Safety Month in Virginia. On May 29, the Governor recognized Virginia’s building and fire community professionals with a special ceremony held at the Institute for Contemporary Art at Virginia Commonwealth University and highlighted the importance of building and fire safety in creating vibrant and sustainable communities in the Commonwealth. Virginia is beginning its three-year code development cycle for the 2018 Virginia codes, and in response to Governor Northam’s Executive Order Twenty-Four, the code development process will require each code change proposal submitted to include a “resiliency statement” indicating whether the proposal will increase or decrease resiliency and how. In addition, there will be a strong focus on building technology and innovation, as well as increasing energy efficiency in buildings.