Commercial building code administration; county authority regarding certain buildings and safety requirements; carbon monoxide detection in commercial residential buildings; examination requirements for marriage and family therapy, professional counseling, and social work credentials; social worker training certificate term; and granting rule-making authority. (FE)

The bill requires the Department of Safety and Professional Services to promulgate rules establishing uniform procedures for a county, city, village, or town (municipality) to administer the commercial building code and prohibits a municipality from enacting or enforcing an ordinance that does not strictly conform to the rules. Under the bill, “administration” includes the process an owner must follow when applying for a permit for constructing, altering, or adding to a public building or a building that is a place of employment.

County authority.

The bill subjects counties to the same prohibitions and requirements under current law that apply to cities, villages, and towns with respect to the following: 1) placement of Christmas trees in the state capitol or a church; 2) standards for constructing, altering, or making additions to public buildings or places of employment; and 3) property maintenance codes.

Carbon monoxide detection.

The bill changes requirements under current law regarding carbon monoxide detectors in “residential buildings," which are public buildings, other than hospitals and nursing homes, that are used for sleeping or lodging purposes. Under current law, with certain exceptions, prior to occupation of a residential building, the owner must install carbon monoxide detectors in the following locations: basements that have a fuel-burning appliance; within 15 feet of sleeping areas that have a fuel-burning appliance or that are immediately adjacent to residential units that have a fuel-burning appliance; rooms that are not used as a sleeping area and that have a fuel-burning appliance; and hallways that lead from residential units that have a fuel-burning appliance. However, if a residential unit is not part of a multiunit building, current law allows the owner to install only one carbon monoxide detector in the unit. The foregoing requirements do not apply to a residential building that does not have any fuel-burning appliances. Also, the requirements do not apply if all of the fuel-burning appliances in a building have sealed combustion units that are either covered by the manufacturer's warranty or are inspected as provided in rules promulgated by the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection or the Department of Safety and Professional Services.

This bill repeals the location requirements described above and imposes requirements that are similar to those under the International Building Code adopted by the International Code Council. Under the bill, if certain conditions are satisfied, the owner of a residential building must provide carbon monoxide detectors for units. As defined under current law and not affected by the bill, a “unit" is the part of a residential building that is occupied as a home, residence, or sleeping place.

The bill requires an owner to provide carbon monoxide detectors for a unit that contains a fuel-burning appliance, which the bill defines as a device that burns fossil or carbon-based fuel and produces carbon monoxide. In addition, subject to specified exceptions, the bill requires an owner to provide carbon monoxide detectors for a unit that satisfies any of the following conditions: 1) the unit is served by a fuel-burning, forced-air furnace; 2) the unit is located in a building that contains a fuel-burning appliance; or 3) the unit is in a building with an attached private garage.

If an owner is required to provide carbon monoxide detectors under the bill, the owner must install them at locations specified in the bill. In units, the bill requires an owner to install carbon monoxide detectors outside each separate sleeping area in the immediate vicinity of the sleeping rooms. In sleeping rooms, the owner must install carbon monoxide detectors if a fuel-burning appliance is located within the sleeping room or within a bathroom attached to the sleeping room.

With two exceptions, the requirements described above apply to residential buildings on the bill's effective date. The first exception applies to a residential building in which all of the fuel-burning appliances are inspected as provided under DATCP or DSPS rules. If a residential building is subject to that exception, the bill's requirements do not apply until approximately 18 months after the bill's effective date. The second exception maintains the exception under current law for a residential building in which all of the fuel-burning appliances have sealed combustion units that are covered under the manufacturer's warranty. Under that exception, the bill's requirements do not apply to such a residential building.

The bill also makes the following changes:

1. The bill allows DSPS and DATCP to inspect buildings under their jurisdiction for compliance with carbon monoxide detection requirements. Current law requires, instead of allows, the inspections.

2. Current law requires building inspectors certified by DSPS to inspect residential buildings for compliance with carbon monoxide detection requirements.

The bill eliminates the reference to building inspectors and allows, instead of requires, a person to make an inspection if he or she is certified under DSPS rules to inspect public buildings, places of employment, or fire detection, prevention, and suppression devices.

3. If an inspector described above gives written notice to a residential building owner that a carbon monoxide detector is not functional, then, within five days of receipt of the notice, the bill requires the owner to provide any maintenance that is necessary to make the carbon monoxide detector functional.

Examinations.

The bill also eliminates certain prerequisite degree requirements to sit for an examination for licensure by the Marriage and Family Therapy, Professional Counseling, and Social Work Examining Board. The bill does not alter the education requirements for licensure by that board but, instead, allows applicants for licensure to take the examination before completion of those education requirements.

Training certificate.

The bill provides that the term for which a social worker training certificate is valid is 24 months. Current law includes an exception that provides for a shorter term based on a certificate holder's receipt of his or her national social worker examination results. The bill eliminates that exception.