HBA-CBW C.S.H.B. 2411 77(R)BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 2411
By: Ritter
Land & Resource Management
3/30/2001
Committee Report (Substituted)



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Under current law, a municipality in Texas is authorized to adopt building
codes regulating construction within its jurisdiction, but the differing
building codes among municipalities may confuse contractors that work in
multiple municipalities, which may cause delays throughout the construction
process.  Establishing a uniform residential building code may alleviate
the problem. C.S.H.B. 2411 provides for the adoption of the International
Residential Code as a municipal residential building code and the National
Electrical Code and the municipal residential electrical construction code
in Texas. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that rulemaking
authority is expressly delegated to the commissioner of insurance in
SECTION 2  (Section 6A, Article 21.49, Insurance Code) of this bill. 

ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 2411 amends the Local Government Code to adopt the International
Residential Code (IRC) , as it existed on May 1, 2001, as a municipal
residential building code in this state and the National Electrical Code
(NEC), as it existed on May 1, 2001, as the municipal residential
electrical construction code in this state.  The bill provides that the IRC
applies to all construction, alteration, remodeling, enlargement, and
repair of residential structures in a municipality and provides that the
NEC applies to all residential electrical construction applications.  The
bill authorizes a municipality to establish procedures for the
administration and enforcement of the IRC and  to adopt local amendments to
the IRC.  The bill requires a municipality to review and consider
amendments made by the International Code Council to the IRC after May 1,
2001. The bill provides that the IRC does not apply to the installation and
maintenance of electrical wiring and related components. 

The bill amends the Insurance Code to authorize  the commissioner of
insurance (commissioner) by rule to supplement the building specifications
in the plan of operation with the structural provisions of  the IRC after
January 1, 2002, in geographic areas specified by the commissioner. The
bill provides that to obtain a certificate of compliance, a person must
submit an application for windstorm inspection at the Texas Department of
Insurance before beginning to construct, alter, remodel, enlarge, or repair
a structure. 

EFFECTIVE DATE

January 1, 2002. The provision that requires municipalities to establish
rules and take other necessary actions to implement building codes before
January 1, 2002, takes effect September 1, 2001. 

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE

C.S.H.B. 2411 differs from the original bill by adopting the National
Electrical Code (NEC) as the municipal residential electrical construction
code in this state and providing that the International Residential Code
(IRC) does not apply to the installation and maintenance of electrical
wiring and related components. The substitute authorizes the commissioner
of insurance (commissioner) by rule to supplement the building
specifications in the plan of operation with the structural provisions of
the IRC after January 1, 2002. The substitute provides that the definition
of "residential" does not apply to properties with certain characteristics.
The substitute removes provisions which modified the date by which
alterations must be made to a structure to be exempt from inspection by the
State Board of Insurance for compliance.