HB1628: relative to compliance with fire safety and state building code requirements by municipalities.

HB 1628-FN-LOCAL – AS INTRODUCED

2012 SESSION

12-2625

10/03

HOUSE BILL 1628-FN-LOCAL

AN ACT relative to compliance with fire safety and state building code requirements by municipalities.

SPONSORS: Rep. Mirski, Graf 10; Rep. Chandler, Carr 1; Rep. Merrow, Carr 3; Rep. Duarte, Rock 1; Rep. Flanagan, Hills 5; Rep. B. Patten, Carr 4; Rep. Matt Quandt, Rock 13; Rep. Reagan, Rock 1; Rep. Lambert, Hills 27; Rep. E. Smith, Ches 4; Sen. Sanborn, Dist 7; Sen. Gallus, Dist 1

COMMITTEE: Commerce and Consumer Affairs

ANALYSIS

This bill provides that changes to fire codes and fire safety measures by the state fire marshal as well as changes to the state building code may be complied with by municipalities at the expenditure levels and by the means determined by each municipality.

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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.

Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]

Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

12-2625

10/03

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twelve

AN ACT relative to compliance with fire safety and state building code requirements by municipalities.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

1 Fire Code; Safety Measures; Local Expenditures. Amend RSA 153:24 to read as follows:

153:24 Penalty for Violation of Regulations.

I. Whoever shall violate any rule or regulation of the state fire marshal issued pursuant to RSA 153:5 or RSA 153:14, I, shall be guilty of a violation if a natural person, or guilty of a misdemeanor if any other person. Each offense shall constitute a separate violation. All penalties, fees, or forfeitures collected under the provisions of this chapter shall be paid into the treasury of the state.

II. Because the adoption and implementation of a code or rule under RSA 153:5 or RSA 153:14, I may not impose an expenditure requirement on a political subdivision of the state in violation of Part I, Article 28-a of the New Hampshire Constitution, the compliance with a code or rule, or a required standard or procedure therein, by a municipality, including equipment purchases, shall be at the expenditure levels and by the means determined by each municipality.

2 New Paragraph; State Building Code; Local Expenditures. Amend RSA 155-A:2 by inserting after paragraph XI the following new paragraph:

XII. Because the adoption and implementation of code requirements and rules under this chapter may not impose an expenditure requirement on a political subdivision of the state in violation of Part I, Article 28-a of the New Hampshire Constitution, the compliance with a code or rule, or a required standard or procedure therein, including equipment purchases, by a municipality shall be at the expenditure levels and by the means determined by each municipality.

3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.

LBAO

12-2625

11/17/11

HB 1628-FN-LOCAL - FISCAL NOTE

AN ACT relative to compliance with fire safety and state building code requirements by municipalities.

FISCAL IMPACT:

The Department of Safety and the New Hampshire Municipal Association state this bill will have an indeterminable effect on local expenditures. There will be no fiscal impact on state, county, or local revenue, or state or county expenditures.

METHODOLOGY:

The Department of Safety and the New Hampshire Municipal Association state this bill provides that changes to the state fire codes and rules and the state building code may be complied with by municipalities at the expenditure levels and by the means determined by each municipality. The Department of Safety states to the extent municipalities choose to adhere to such changes and those changes carry a cost, local expenditures will increase by an indeterminable amount, although it cannot predict what that cost would be. The New Hampshire Municipal Association states while the intention of this bill is to prevent an unfunded mandate on local governments, it still believes it is unclear whether or not the bill actually limits a municipalities’ responsibility to comply with the fire safety and building codes. This uncertainty is the reason the Association cannot estimate the fiscal impact.