(a) Every building and portion of a building must be capable of sustaining all dead and live loads in accordance with accepted engineering practices and standards.
(b) Special provisions must be made in the design of buildings in regions where local experience shows loss of life or extensive damage to buildings resulting from hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, or floods.
(c) The facility is responsible for employing qualified personnel in the preparation of plan designs and engineering and in the construction of the facility to ensure that all structural components are adequate, safe, and meet the applicable construction requirements.
(d) The design of the structural system must be done by or under the direction of a professional structural engineer who is currently licensed by the Texas Board of Professional Engineers according to state law.
(e) The parts of the plans, details, and specifications covering the structural design must bear the legible seal of the engineer on the original drawings from which the prints are made.
(f) A building must be constructed according to the locally adopted building code. NFPA 101 must be used for fire safety requirements. Discrepancies between the codes must be called to the attention of HHSC for resolution.
(g) In the absence of a locally-adopted building code, a building must meet the requirements of a nationally recognized model building code. NFPA 101 must be used for fire safety requirements.
(h) Each building must be classified as to building construction type for fire resistance rating purposes according to NFPA 220 and NFPA 101.
(i) Enclosures of vertical openings between floors must meet NFPA 101.
(j) All interior walls, partitions, and roof structure in buildings of fire resistive and noncombustible construction must be according to NFPA 101.
(k) Building insulation materials, unless sealed on all sides and edges in an approved manner, must have a flame spread rating of 25 or less when tested according to ASTM E84 or UL 723.

Source Note: The provisions of this §554.359 adopted to be effective March 22, 2018, 43 TexReg 1646; transferred effective January 15, 2021, as published in the Texas Register December 11, 2020, 45 TexReg 8871