Establishes the "Building Permit Reform Act"

SECOND REGULAR SESSION
HOUSE BILL NO. 1851
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBL Y
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENT A TIVE HEWKIN.
5273H.01I JOSEPH ENGLER, Chief Clerk
AN ACT
T o amend chapter 67, RSMo, by adding thereto one new section relating to the building
permit reform act.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Chapter 67, RSMo, is amended by adding thereto one new section, to be
2 known as section 67.488, to read as follows:
67.488. 1. This section shall be known and may be cited as the "Building Permit
2 Reform Act".
3 2. For purposes of this section, the term "exempt homeowner" means a res ident,
4 noncorporate owner of a detached, single-family res idence.
5 3. (1) No political subdivision shall r equir e an exempt homeowner to obtain any
6 license, certification, or pr ofessional reg istration or submit to any examination or testing
7 as a condition of applying for or using a building or construction permit, pr ovided all
8 work is performed by the owner or other curren t res ident.
9 (2) If an exempt homeowner transfers ownership of the pr operty within one year
10 of completing any work performed under the pr ovisions of this subsection, the r elevant
11 political subdivision is permitted to assess a one-time administrative fee in an amount
12 not to exceed five thousand dollars. The homeowner shall be informed of this potential
13 administrative fee at the time of permit application.
14 (3) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to proh ibit the enforcem ent of
15 any applicable building codes or r elevant inspections as otherwise r equired by
16 ordinance or law .
EXPLANA TION — Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in the above bill is not enacted and is
intended to be omitted from the law . Matter in bold-face type in the above bill is proposed language.
17 (4) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to pro hibit an owner fr om
18 hiring a contractor otherwise authorized by law to perform work on behalf of the owner .
19 (5) The pr ovisions of this subsection shall not apply to:
20 (a) Any structur e being rent ed, leased, subleased, or otherwise occupied outside
21 of the owner's principal res idence;
22 (b) Any gas appliance installation or r epair or any work that req uires the
23 installation or modification of any device or delivery system that utilizes a combustible
24 fuel source; or
25 (c) The act of making a direc t connection to publicly pro vided water or sewer
26 service, or the modification to such existing connections at the point of service.
27 4. No political subdivision shall r equir e any permit, license, variance, or other
28 type of prior appr oval for an exempt homeowner to perform any of the following
29 activities, prov ided all work is performed by the owner or other curr ent res ident:
30 (1) Replacing an existing electric appliance with a substantially similar one,
31 pr ovided no major additions or modifications to existing building wiring ar e performed;
32 (2) Replacing an existing sink, faucet, or dishwasher , provi ded no major
33 modifications to existing building plumbing are performed;
34 (3) Repairing, rep lacing, or installing gypsum board, plaster , or any other
35 nonstructural interior wall covering or cladding; and
36 (4) Repairing, repl acing, or installing carpet, tile, vinyl, or other floor coverings.
37 5. Any political subdivision that fails to perform an inspection under a permit
38 within ten business days of a re quest made by an exempt homeowner shall r efund fifty
39 per cent of any charges assessed for the permit. If the inspection is not performed within
40 twenty business days fro m the initial req uest, the political subdivision shall waive the
41 inspection req uirements and allow the exempt homeowner to procee d as if the exempt
42 homeowner had passed the inspection.
43 6. No exempt homeowner shall be charged a fee to extend or r enew an expiring
44 building or construction permit, pr ovided the permit is not allowed to expir e prior to
45 r enewal. No limit shall be placed on the number of extensions or ren ewals of permits
46 issued to exempt homeowners unless the work being performed is visible fr om
47 neighboring prop erties or adjacent street s. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed
48 to pro hibit a political subdivision fr om req uiring job sites with uncompleted work to be
49 maintained in a state that does not pose an imminent thr eat to public health or safety .
50 7. No exempt homeowner shall be assessed a fine or fee for work done without a
51 permit in an amount gr eater than double the charge that would have been assessed if the
52 permit had been issued at the time the unpermitted work was discover ed.
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53 8. No exempt homeowner shall be req uired to destro y , rem ove, or substantially
54 alter any structur e or part of a structur e upon which work was pre viously done without
55 permits unless the political subdivision having jurisdiction can demonstrate thr ough
56 photographic or similar objective evidence that the work performed did not meet
57 applicable building codes or safety standards in place at the time the work was
58 performed.
59 9. (1) No political subdivision shall issue a stop-work order , citation, penalty , or
60 r equir ement for rem ediation for any ordinance or building code violation discover ed
61 during an inspection if the violation found is outside the scope of work that was
62 r equested to be inspected.
63 (2) Nothing in this subsection shall be interpret ed to pr ohibit the pr oduction of a
64 r eport detailing such violations found, pr ovided the rep ort is provi ded dir ectly to the
65 homeowner for informational purposes only and is not reta ined or otherwise utilized or
66 distributed by the political subdivision or its agents.
67 10. Any exempt homeowner who applies for any building or construction permit
68 and subsequently fails an inspection performed pursuant to such permit shall be
69 informed in writing as to the reas ons the inspection was deemed a failure and the actions
70 r equir ed to be taken to pass a follow-up inspection.
71 1 1. No exempt homeowner shall be assessed a charge to r einspect previ ously
72 inspected work for an amount that exceeds the cost of the initial permit or inspection
73 unless a period of over ninety days has elapsed since the original inspection.
74 12. If the state or any of its political subdivisions enacts a statute, ordinance, or
75 administrative rule that incorporates by ref eren ce any third-party standard or code
76 otherwise subject to copyright pr otection, the state or political subdivision res ponsible
77 for the statute, ordinance, or administrative rule shall provi de, upon r equest and fre e of
78 charge in a digital or physical format, the third-party standard or code incorporated by
79 r efer ence. Access to a physical format in a temporary or time-limited manner is
80 sufficient to meet the req uirements of this subsection, pr ovided that a physical copy may
81 r emain in the possession of the req uester until the completion of any curr ently permitted
82 work. The state or political subdivision shall pay all costs associated with pro viding the
83 third-party standard or code, except that the state or political subdivision may
84 alternatively declar e by executive or administrative act that the pr ovisions of the
85 standard or code incorporated by r eference shall be rep ealed and not enforc ed until
86 such re peal is achieved.
87 13. Notwithstanding any other pro vision of law to the contrary , no agent of a
88 political subdivision shall have the authority to enter into a private res idence for the
89 purpose of performing a safety inspection or investigation into municipal or code
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90 violations without first securing permission fr om the pr operty owner or the owner's
91 designee or a warrant fr om a court of competent jurisdiction.
92 14. Nothing in this section shall be construed to r equir e any political subdivision
93 to enact any building codes or standards wher e none curre ntly exist.
✔
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