Share:
House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2019 - 2020
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | January 18, 2019 10:47 AM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Curtis G. Sonney |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | UCC Third Party Inspections |
| Please find attached a copy of legislation that I will be re-introducing from last session (HB 2554) to amend the PA Construction Code Act (Act 45 of 1999) to give property owners the right to utilize any certified code official to conduct required construction inspections in municipalities that have contracted with only one third party agency for enforcement of the Uniform Construction Code (UCC). I believe that this offers a reasonable compromise between those of us in the House that oppose, in general, exclusive third-party enforcement of the UCC, and those who support exclusive administration by third party agencies. It is first important to my legislation will still allow municipalities to contract with one third party agency to administer their UCC enforcement program. All property owners in such a municipality would still have to submit their building plans to the exclusive third-party agency for plan review, and issuance of permits. Ultimately, the exclusive third-party agency would issue a project’s certificate of occupancy. My legislation simply allows a property owner to retain the services of any certified code official to perform the inspections required during the construction process. One of the big complaints by my constituents who live in municipalities with an exclusive third-party agency is poor service with respect to obtaining inspections, and, or, rude treatment by inspectors. There have been instances where inspector simply incompetently interpreted the UCC. It is important to note that all code inspectors are certified by the state, thus they are legally required to enforce the standards of the code. It is important to note that my legislation has no effect on municipalities that have their own indigenous code enforcement program (such as Philadelphia or Pittsburgh), or a joint agreement with another municipality. CS:BH:cmc |
||
| View Attachment | ||
Introduced as HB443