Bill Text: NY A08616 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

---

Bill Title: Relates to the content of rules and regulations to be promulgated by the Secretary of State with respect to minimum staffing levels for agencies enforcing the minimum standards under the New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code Act.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-12 - referred to governmental operations [A08616 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A08616-Introduced.html

---

                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          8616

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    January 12, 2024
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  ZEBROWSKI  --  read once and referred to the
          Committee on Governmental Operations

        AN ACT to amend the executive  law,  in  relation  to  minimum  staffing
          levels for agencies enforcing the minimum standards under the New York
          State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code Act

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Legislative intent.  The legislature enacted the  New  York
     2  State  Uniform  Fire  Prevention  and  Building  Code Act ("the Act") to
     3  prevent loss of life, injury to persons, and damage  to  property  as  a
     4  result  of  fire and to provide a basic level of protection to which the
     5  people are entitled in connection with the construction and  maintenance
     6  of  buildings.  These people include, importantly, the first responders:
     7  firefighters, police, and EMTs, who are  required  to  enter  structures
     8  with  which they are unfamiliar and sometimes navigate them in hazardous
     9  conditions such as smoke and fire.
    10    The legislature has further determined it to be a public  policy  that
    11  there  must  be  a minimum level of protection from the hazards of fire,
    12  and a uniform set of minimum standards across the state.
    13    Also, the legislature has determined  that  local  governments  should
    14  exercise their full powers to administer and enforce the uniform code.
    15    It  has,  however,  come  to the attention of the legislature, that in
    16  some jurisdictions, the agencies  responsible  for  enforcement  of  the
    17  minimum standards are understaffed and cannot keep up with the mandatory
    18  inspections  and  inspections related to complaints, and the issuance of
    19  building permits and the follow up inspections and  enforcement  actions
    20  needed  to implement the Act.  Failure to have adequate staffing has led
    21  to ineffective enforcement of the Act and increases in the  dangers  the
    22  Act is intended to prevent.
    23    § 2. Paragraph b of subdivision 1 of section 381 of the executive law,
    24  as  amended  by  chapter  560 of the laws of 2010, is amended to read as
    25  follows:
    26    b. [number and qualifications of staff,  including  requirements  that
    27  inspectors  be  certified  pursuant to this chapter,] commencing January

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD13784-01-3
        A. 8616                             2

     1  first, two  thousand  twenty-five,  and  every  subsequent  third  year,
     2  setting  the  number and qualifications of staff, including requirements
     3  that inspectors be certified pursuant to this article,  for  each  local
     4  government's  inspectors, deputy fire inspectors, plan reviewers, certi-
     5  fied enforcement officials, fire inspectors or other relevant personnel,
     6  in any local government charged with administration and  enforcement  of
     7  the  uniform  building  and  fire  prevention code, sufficient to ensure
     8  adequate compliance with this article based upon an index or calculation
     9  that takes into account the average number of the following  within  the
    10  state agency's jurisdiction, for each calendar year over the prior three
    11  years:
    12     i.  structures  subject  to  fire  safety,  property  maintenance, or
    13  special inspections;
    14    ii.  fire  safety,  property  maintenance,  or   special   inspections
    15  performed;
    16    iii. commercial and residential building permit applications received,
    17  reviewed, and approved or denied;
    18    iv. operating permits received, reviewed, and approved or denied;
    19    v. construction or operating inspections performed;
    20    vi. plans, specifications, and construction documents approved;
    21    vii. notices of violation and individual violations issued;
    22    viii. unsafe structures declared;
    23    ix. fire or explosion notifications received; and
    24    x.  enforcement  actions, civil or criminal, commenced in any court or
    25  tribunal.
    26    § 3.  This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day  after  it  shall
    27  have  become  a  law.    Effective  immediately, the addition, amendment
    28  and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation
    29  of this act on  its  effective  date  are  authorized  to  be  made  and
    30  completed on or before such effective date.