State Republicans have decided to direct outrage over the decision to admit illegal immigrants into the community colleges toward Gov. Beverly Perdue.

Senate Republican Leader Phil Berger and state Republican chairman Tom Fetzer have issued statements that seek to accuse Perdue of reversing herself on the issue.

"Despite her repeated claims that she opposes this policy, the Governor’s appointees voted nearly unanimously to enact the policy. This is yet another example of Gov. Perdue’s lack of leadership and peculiar priorities," Fetzer said in his statement.

Perdue says that not only has she not changed her mind, she has told the board members of her opposition to allowing undocumented students into the colleges. 

"Each individual board member clearly understood her views," said Perdue spokeswoman Chrissy Pearson.

Perdue appoints 10 of the board's 21 members. Earlier this week, another state agency, the Building Code Council, voted not to lessen a code requirement for a special circuit breaker after Perdue expressed support for the devices.

When asked if there would be consequences for the Community College board members who changed the policy, Pearson said, "The governor believes the consequences will occur when the General Assembly reconvenes." 

At the request of the governor's office, a state agency delayed action on a change to building codes that could roll back the use of a type of circuit breaker that could help prevent fires.

The chairman of the state Building Code Council said he received a call from the governor's office before the meeting Tuesday telling them not to vote on the change, Kevn Kiley reports. The council will take up the issue in when it meets again in September.

"This is their chance to understand what appears to be a controversial issue," said Dan Tingen, a Wake County homebuilder and the committee's chairman.

The breakers, known as arc fault circuit interrupters, detect fluctuations in current that could indicate a hazardous condition that can cause fires. Changes to the code made last year require the breakers in most rooms in a house. Today's vote would have limited the requirement to only bedrooms.

Committee members said they were unsure of how Tuesday's vote would have gone.

"I think at best the result was a toss-up," Tingen said.

Opponents of the change said the breakers help prevent fires, and are not as expensive as proponents  make them out to be.

Homebuilders and other proponents of the change have said the breakers can cause "nuisance trips" — when the breaker shuts off from household appliances and not a dangerous electrical surge. They said opponents are using the minimum standards to establish cost, and that the amount of money the breakers save are not worth the cost.

The N.C Building Code Council pushed forward a proposal that would relax a rule designed to prevent electrical fires.

The council sets building codes. It's unanimous vote Tuesday starts a process that could eventually weaken a requirement that all new homes have a special circuit breaker. Currently the device is required for bedrooms, Ben Niolet reports.

In January, home builders will be required to use the device throught all new homes.

The petition advanced Tuesday would reverse that new requirement.

Homebuilders say the devices will add to the price of a new home. The breakers cost about $32 at retail. Normal breakers, such as those commonly found in breaker boxes cost a few dollars.

The additional cost to a lower priced and modestly sized home would be around $100. 

Proponents say the devices effectively prevent a common type of electrical fire caused by frayed or damaged wires. Those problems would often be undetectable until a fire started.

The issue will next be sent to a committee of the council. It will be the subject of a public hearing in March.

The council did not debbate the merits of the device Tuesday.

Fire officials and electrical experts called a news conference Thursday to drum up support for a building code change designed to prevent fires.

Raleigh Fire Chief John McGrath said at the news conference at Fire Station  1 in Durham that there are as many as 70,000 electrical fires a year in the U.S. that could be prevented with a special type of circuit breaker, Ben Niolet reports.

"This small device is a very very inexpensive way to prevent a lot of them," McGrath said.

The device, an arc fault circuit interrupter, is now required in bedrooms in new homes. In January it will be required for most rooms in new homes.

The N.C. Building Code Council, which sets building standards, is moving to undo the new requirements. Home builders say the device is too expensive and is an unnecessary protection.

Kim Reitterer, a Charlotte electrical engineer and member of the code council, said the devices would add at most $30 to $60 to the cost of a $150,000 square-foot home.

"This is pennies, or less than pennies, for an important safety device, Reitterer said.

The council meets Monday and Tuesday in Raleigh. Among it's agenda items is a vote that could begin unravelling the new building code.

In January, new homes will be required to have a special circuit breaker that can prevent electrical fires.

The state Building Code Council approved the change to the state's code, saying the devices would add as little as $60 to the cost of a smaller home and as much as a few hundred dollars.

"It all comes down to the value of a single life," said Kim Reitterer, a Charlotte electrical engineer on the council.

But homebuilders are fighting to repeal the requirement, calling it an unnecessary precaution that will make homes more expensive, adding as much as $1,000 to the cost of a 3,000-square-foot home.

The 17 members of the Building Code Council narrowly approved the requirement earlier this year, but a routine bill adopted by the legislature this summer included language ordering them to rethink the decision.

When the council meets early next week, it is scheduled to consider reversing the decision.

It is not clear exactly who in the legislature required the code council to revisit the issue. (N&O)