(a)
(1) Neither the state or any county, city, township, village, or private entity shall construct, add to, alter, retrofit, or remodel any public structure unless the structural elements are designed to resist the anticipated forces of the designated seismic zone in which the structure is located.
(2)
(A) Design loads and seismic design requirements shall be, as a minimum, those listed in the Chapter of Structure Loads and referenced chapters from the Arkansas Fire Prevention Code.
(B)
(i) Buildings or other structures classified as Category I or Category II occupancies as described in Table 1604.5, Arkansas Fire Prevention Code, Volume II, 2012 Edition, or in American Society of Civil Engineers Standard 7-10, Table 1.5-1, that are constructed for manufacturing or industrial occupancy or for public works may be designed using the mapped ground motion response accelerations for a ten-percent probability of exceeding the design seismic event in a fifty-year period based on United States Geological Survey data, instead of the mapped ground motion response accelerations for a two-percent or other probability of exceeding the design seismic event in a fifty-year period as set out in the Arkansas Fire Prevention Code, 2012 Edition, or subsequent editions of the Arkansas Fire Prevention Code if the alternate design standard has been properly adopted by ordinance in the locality in which the building or other structure is to be constructed.
(ii) Under subdivision (a)(2)(B)(i) of this section, SDS shall equal SMS and SD1 shall equal SM1 in lieu of the two-thirds adjustment indicated in Equation 16-39 and Equation 16-40 of the Arkansas Fire Prevention Code, Volume II, 2012 Edition, and the design seismic base shear V in any given direction shall be not less than that determined in accordance with Section 1607, Standard Building Code, 1997 Edition.
(iii) As used in subdivision (a)(2)(B)(ii) of this section, “SDS”, “SMS”, “SD1”, and “SM1” mean the same as defined in the Arkansas Fire Prevention Code, Volume II, 2012 Edition.
(b)
(1) All construction plans for public buildings and structures shall comply with the Arkansas Architectural Act, § 17-15-101 et seq.
(2) The design of structural elements of public buildings and structures shall be performed by a professional engineer as defined in § 17-30-101 who is competent in seismic structural design according to current standards of technical competence.
(3) The structural plans of each public building or structure shall bear the engineer's Arkansas seal and signature and a statement of reference to what seismic zone the structure is designed to satisfy.
(4) Educational and institutional structures in Seismic Hazard Exposure Group III shall have nonstructural interior components, such as bookshelves, light fixtures, shelving, hot water tanks, oxygen tanks, etc., to meet earthquake resistant guidelines.