SLC C.S.H.B. 3376 75(R)BILL ANALYSIS LAND & RESOURCE MANAGEMENT C.S.H.B. 3376 By: Hamric 5-2-97 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND Currently, Harris County is required to apply for and obtain building permits from the City of Houston for all work performed by the County within the City. This puts undo hardships upon the County when building within the city limits of Houston. Often times the County must pull an employee from a job to drive downtown to get the required permit, which on occasion means a complete shutdown of a project or a work crew being forced into inactivity while waiting for the individual to return. In addition, it sometimes takes weeks to get the particular plans approved by the City, even though Harris County Engineering has stated that the plans meet city specifications. These are all unnecessary delays that cost the taxpayers of Harris County thousands of dollars every year. It is also important to note that the State of Texas and the United States of America are specifically exempt as a matter of law from compliance with the City of Houston Building Code and the requirements of a building permit for all construction projects. As political subdivisions of the State of Texas, counties should also be exempt from such requirements. PURPOSE CSHB 3376 allow large counties to build or renovate county-owned buildings or facilities within the city limits of a municipality without being required to receive a building permit from the municipality. This would apply only when the work performed is done by the county's personnel or by county personnel acting as general contractor. This bill does not exempt a county from complying with a municipality's building code standards when performing construction or renovation work. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency or institution. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Chapter 212, Subchapter Z, Local Government Code, by adding Section 212.903, as follows: Sec. 212.903. CONSTRUCTION AND RENOVATION WORK ON COUNTYOWNED BUILDING OR FACILITIES IN CERTAIN COUNTIES. (a) This section applies only to counties with a population of 2.8 million or more. (b) Provides that a municipality is not authorized to require a county to either notify a municipality or obtain a building permit for any new construction or renovation work performed within the limits of the municipality. This applies only to county-owned buildings or facilities and only to work done by that county's personnel or by county personnel acting as general contractor. Any such construction or renovation work must be inspected by a professional engineer or architect. A municipality may require a building permit if construction or renovation work performed on county-owned buildings or facilities is to be done by private general contractors. (c) Counties choosing to do their own work on their own buildings or facilities under this section are not exempt from complying with the municipality's building code standards. SECTION 2. Effective Date. September 1, 1997. SECTION 3. Emergency Clause. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE HB 3376, as originally filed, was not drafted by the Legislative Council. The committee substitute to HB 3376 is a Legislative Council draft and is identical to the original bill.