BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 3810

By: Paul

Land & Resource Management

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

It has been noted that the current statewide municipal residential building code, the International Residential Code that existed on May 1, 2001, has not been updated in several years. C.S.H.B. 3810 seeks to adopt the International Residential Code that existed on May 1, 2012, as the state's municipal residential building code.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

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.

ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 3810 amends the Local Government Code to change the version of the International Residential Code adopted under state law as a municipal residential building code in Texas from the code that existed on May 1, 2001, to the code that existed on May 1, 2012. The bill provides that local amendments made to that code by a municipality may add, modify, or remove requirements set by the code. The bill prohibits a municipality from adopting a local amendment to the code unless the municipality holds a public hearing on the amendment before adoption and adopts the amendment by ordinance. These provisions do not affect specified state law regarding the installation of a fire sprinkler protection system. The bill's changes apply only to residential construction, remodeling, alteration, or repair that begins under an agreement made on or after January 1, 2020, or that begins, in the absence of an agreement, on or after that date. The bill requires municipalities, before that date, to establish rules and take other necessary actions to implement the bill's changes. That requirement takes effect September 1, 2019.

EFFECTIVE DATE

Except as otherwise provided, January 1, 2020.

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE

While C.S.H.B. 3810 may differ from the original in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.

The substitute includes a provision establishing that certain of the bill's provisions do not affect provisions of applicable state law regarding the installation of certain fire sprinkler protection systems.