2020 Kentucky Revised Statutes Chapter 198B - Housing, buildings, and construction - building code 198B.060 Local enforcement of Uniform State Building Code -- Workers' compensation coverage requirement -- Informal hearing -- Appeal.
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198B.060
Local enforcement of Uniform State Building Code -- Workers'
compensation coverage requirement -- Informal hearing -- Appeal.
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Each local government shall employ a building official or inspector and other code
enforcement personnel as necessary, or shall contract for inspection and code
enforcement services in accordance with subsections (8) and (11) of this section to
enforce the Uniform State Building Code within the boundaries of its jurisdiction,
except that permits, inspections, and certificates of occupancy shall not be
mandatory for single-family residences unless a local government passes an
ordinance requiring inspections of single-family residences.
(a) Local governments shall be responsible for the examination and approval or
disapproval of plans and specifications for churches having a capacity of four
hundred (400) or less persons, and six thousand (6,000) or less square feet of
total floor area, and buildings of no more than three (3) stories in height,
exclusive of attic and basement, which do not contain more than twenty
thousand (20,000) square feet of floor area, and are not intended for
educational, institutional, or high hazard occupancy; or assembly, business, or
industrial occupancy in excess of one hundred (100) persons, except churches
as stated in this subsection, or for use as a frozen food locker plant as defined
in KRS 221.010.
(b) Local governments shall be responsible for the issuance and revocation of
building permits, licenses, certificates, and similar documents which cover
activities within their area of responsibility, and the inspection of all buildings
pursuant to this chapter and the Uniform State Building Code. Each local
government issuing a building or demolition permit or an initial certificate of
occupancy on a new structure shall send a copy of the permit or certificate to
the commissioner for his or her use in maintaining an accurate housing
inventory for Kentucky.
Urban-county governments may determine service districts within their boundaries
within which farm dwellings and other farm buildings, not used in the business of
retail trade or as a place of regular employment for ten (10) or more people, shall be
exempt from the requirements of the Uniform State Building Code. The
determination may be reviewed and altered by the department.
(a) With the exception of single-family dwellings, the department shall be
responsible for the examination and approval or disapproval of plans and
specifications for all buildings which are not the responsibility of local
governments. The department may issue and revoke permits, licenses,
certificates, and similar documents within its area of responsibility, and shall
have concurrent jurisdiction with local governments for the inspection of all
buildings pursuant to this chapter and the Uniform State Building Code.
(b) If the commissioner determines that the local jurisdiction is not adequately
performing any portion of its program, the department may preempt that
portion of a local program, except that the department shall not preempt or
assert jurisdiction for the enforcement of the code on single-family dwellings.
The commissioner shall explain his or her reasons for preemption in writing
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and provide a copy to the local jurisdiction.
(c) The local jurisdiction may appeal the preemption directly to the
commissioner, and the department shall review the appeal according to the
procedures found in subsections (8) to (10) of KRS 198B.070. No preemption
by the commissioner shall take place until a final decision has been issued in
an appeal under this subsection.
(d) If the department preempts any portion of a local program, it shall collect the
fees applicable to that portion of the program.
(a) Any local government may petition the commissioner requesting that
additional plan review functions be allocated to that local government. The
petition shall include evidence of the local government's capability to perform
additional plan review functions.
(b) The commissioner, after review of the petition and supporting evidence, may
grant or deny to the local government any part of a request for additional
responsibility. If the commissioner denies any part of a petition, he or she
shall explain his or her reasons for denial in writing, and provide a copy to the
local government.
(c) A local government may appeal the denial directly to the commissioner, and
the department shall review the appeal according to the procedures found in
subsections (8) to (10) of KRS 198B.070.
(d) If the local government is granted additional responsibility by the
commissioner, the department shall hold concurrent jurisdiction over the
additional responsibility, but the local government shall collect any fees for
functions it performs pursuant to the additional responsibility.
Any local government may also petition the commissioner requesting that plans and
specifications inspection, building inspection, and approval responsibility relating to
the application of local plumbing permits for local installations be allocated to the
local government. The petition shall not be granted unless the local government has
demonstrated to the commissioner that it can perform these functions in accordance
with KRS 198B.050 to 198B.090.
The commissioner shall expedite the review of plans and specifications by assigning
responsibilities and coordinating review activities among the department's various
functional divisions so as to prevent unnecessary duplication in the review of plans
and specifications.
No building shall be constructed in this state until a local building official and an
official representing the department, if the department has jurisdiction, issue a
permit for the construction. Nothing in this subsection shall require a single-family
dwelling to be permitted or inspected unless a local government has established a
building inspection program as set out in this section.
The local building official or the representative of the department shall issue a
permit if the proposed building satisfies the requirements of the Uniform State
Building Code and if the party desiring to construct the building has complied with
all other legal requirements concerning the location and construction of the
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building. The applicant for a building permit, by the act of applying for the permit,
shall be deemed to have consented to inspection by the local government or the
department, of the building during construction and upon the completion of
construction for the purpose of determining that the building is constructed in
compliance with the Uniform State Building Code.
(a) No permit for building, construction, reconstruction, renovation, demolition,
or maintenance or for any activity related to building, construction,
reconstruction, renovation, demolition, or maintenance shall be issued by any
building department or by any political subdivision of the Commonwealth of
Kentucky to any person seeking the permit unless the person shall assure, by
affidavit, that all contractors and subcontractors employed, or that will be
employed, on activity covered by the permit shall be in compliance with
Kentucky requirements for workers' compensation insurance according to
KRS Chapter 342 and unemployment insurance according to KRS Chapter
341.
(b) Any person who fails to comply with the assurances required under paragraph
(a) of this subsection upon such finding by a court of competent jurisdiction,
shall be fined an amount not to exceed four thousand dollars ($4,000) or an
amount equal to the sum of all uninsured and unsatisfied claims brought under
the provisions of KRS Chapter 342 and unemployment insurance claims for
which no wages were reported as required by KRS Chapter 341, whichever is
greater.
(c) The penalty imposed in paragraph (b) of this subsection shall be enforced by
the county attorney for the county in which the violation occurred.
A certified electrical inspector shall be employed by, or contracted for, or contracted
with a local government having responsibility over buildings described in this
section as part of its building inspection program. After a certified electrical
inspector has been provided for by the local government or the department, no
utility shall initiate permanent electrical service to any new building, or any building
which has been moved, until a final certificate of approval has been issued by a
certified electrical inspector. Unless the department shall notify the utility in writing
as to which buildings are subject to department approval, it shall be presumed by
the utility that the building is subject to the jurisdiction of the local government.
However, nothing in this section shall prohibit the supply or use of necessary
electrical services during the construction and testing process.
This section shall apply to industrialized building systems, but destructive
disassembly of industrialized building systems which carry a seal of approval
pursuant to a manufactured building law in the state in which they were
manufactured, which seal of approval is accepted by the department, shall not be
performed in order to conduct the tests or inspections.
No building on which construction was begun nor any industrialized building
system on which site preparation and assembly were begun after the Uniform State
Building Code became effective shall be occupied until the local building official or
a representative of the department issues a certificate of occupancy certifying that
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the building was constructed in conformance with the standards of the Uniform
State Building Code, or assembled or installed in conformance with applicable
instructions. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to require a certificate of
occupancy to be issued for any single-family dwelling unless a local government
has established jurisdiction for the enforcement of the Uniform State Building Code
under this section.
A local government may associate with other local governments, and may seek the
technical assistance of other agencies or area development districts in order to
provide for the local enforcement of the Uniform State Building Code.
Local governments or associations of local governments may contract with a
person, firm, or company to perform the plans and specifications inspection or
building inspection functions required of the local government by the provisions of
this section if:
(a) The person performing the plans and specifications inspection is certified by
the department as having successfully completed the test requirements
provided by KRS 198B.090 to practice as a certified plans and specifications
inspector;
(b) The person performing the building inspection is certified by the department
as having successfully completed the test requirements provided in KRS
198B.090 to practice as a certified building inspector;
(c) The person, firm, or company does not have a conflict of interest between its
plan review or inspection functions and any other employment or business
activities;
(d) The person performing the plumbing inspection is certified by the department
as having successfully completed the requirements provided in KRS 318.140
to practice as a certified plumbing inspector; and
(e) The person, firm, or company does not have a conflict of interest between its
plan review or inspection functions and any other employment or business
activities.
If the department has reason to believe that an inspector is not enforcing, or is
improperly enforcing, the provisions of the Kentucky building codes, it shall
conduct an informal hearing to review the inspector's procedures and return in
written form the required corrections resulting from the hearing to the inspector, or
may take action to suspend or revoke the inspector's certificate.
If the inspector fails to comply within sixty (60) days of a written notification from
the department that specifies the required corrections, the department shall suspend
the inspector's certification until the inspector complies. Any action to suspend or
revoke an inspector's certificate may be appealed to the department, and upon
appeal an administrative hearing shall be conducted in accordance with KRS
Chapter 13B.
Each local government and the department may establish a schedule of fees for the
functions performed under this chapter. The fees shall be designed to fully cover,
but shall not exceed, the cost of the service performed. Fees payable to the
department shall be paid into the State Treasury and credited to a trust and agency
fund to be used by the department in carrying out this chapter. No part of this fund
shall revert to the general fund of the Commonwealth.
Effective: June 29, 2017
History: Amended 2017 Ky. Acts ch. 169, sec. 6, effective June 29, 2017. -- Amended
2010 Ky. Acts ch. 24, sec. 250, effective July 15, 2010. -- Amended 1998 Ky. Acts
ch. 9, sec. 2, effective July 15, 1998. -- Amended 1996 Ky. Acts ch. 318, secs. 82
and 83, effective July 15, 1996. -- Amended 1990 Ky. Acts ch. 174, sec. 1, effective
July 13, 1990. -- Amended 1986 Ky. Acts ch. 381, sec. 1, effective July 15, 1986. -Amended 1984 Ky. Acts ch. 111, sec. 106, effective July 13, 1984. -- Amended 1982
Ky. Acts ch. 308, sec. 3, effective July 15, 1982; and ch. 440, sec. 1, effective July
15, 1982. -- Created 1978 Ky. Acts ch. 117, sec. 6, effective June 17, 1978.
2020-2022 Budget Reference. See State/Executive Branch Budget, 2020 Ky. Acts ch.
92, Pt. I, L, 9, (2) at 899.
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