2013 Connecticut General Statutes
Title 29 - Public Safety and State Police
Chapter 541 - Building, Fire and Demolition Codes. Fire Marshals and Fire Hazards. Safety of Public and Other Structures
Section 29-251c - Development of training and educational programs. Code Training and Education Board of Control. Regulations. Reporting of funds received; expenditures.

(a) As used in subsections (a) to (c), inclusive, of this section “prior approval of the Code Training and Education Board of Control” means approval by the board of a fiscal year budget prepared by the Commissioner of Construction Services. The commissioner shall develop a program to sponsor (1) training and educational programs in the mechanics and application of the State Building Code and the Fire Safety Code conducted for any municipal or state code official, or any candidate for such positions, and (2) continuing educational programs in the mechanics and application of the State Building Code and the Fire Safety Code for any architect, engineer, landscape architect, interior designer, builder, contractor or superintendent of construction doing business in this state, and shall determine the equipment necessary to sponsor such training and educational programs.

(b) There is established the Code Training and Education Board of Control which shall promote code training and education. No funds shall be expended for the purposes listed in subsection (a) of this section without prior approval of the Code Training and Education Board of Control. The board shall consist of seven members as follows: (1) Three members of the Building Code Training Council, one each of whom shall be appointed by the speaker, majority leader and minority leader of the House of Representatives, (2) three members of the Fire Marshal Training Council, one each of whom shall be appointed by the president pro tempore, majority leader and minority leader of the Senate, and (3) one architect, engineer, landscape architect, interior designer, builder, contractor or superintendent of construction doing business in this state, who shall be appointed by the Commissioner of Construction Services. The members of the board shall continue in office for the term of three years from the first day of July next succeeding their appointment. Vacancies on the board shall be filled by the original appointing authority for the balance of the unexpired term.

(c) The commissioner shall establish a program of education and training in the mechanics and application of the State Building Code and the Fire Safety Code conducted for any municipal or state code official, or any candidate for such positions, and a continuing educational program in the mechanics and application of the State Building Code and the Fire Safety Code for any architect, engineer, landscape architect, interior designer, builder, contractor or superintendent of construction doing business in this state.

(d) The Commissioner of Construction Services may apply for any federal or private funds or contributions available for training and education of code officials or other persons eligible to receive training under subsections (a) to (c), inclusive, of this section. Not later than July 1, 2000, the Commissioner of Construction Services, with the approval of the Building Code Training Council and the Fire Marshal Training Council, shall adopt regulations in accordance with chapter 54 to establish an administrative process to adjust as necessary (1) the amount of the education fee to be assessed by the State Building Inspector pursuant to section 29-252a and each municipal building official pursuant to section 29-263, and (2) the portion of the fees collected which may be retained by each municipal building department for administrative costs. The education fee shall be adjusted downward or upward, as the case may be, when necessary, but not more than annually, to reflect the actual cost of the training and educational programs and the continuing educational programs established in subsections (a) to (c), inclusive, of this section and the educational programs required in subsections (a) and (b) of section 29-262, except that no such fee may be increased by more than four cents in any one year. The portion of fees which may be retained for administrative costs shall be adjusted downward or upward, as the case may be, when necessary, but not more than annually, to reflect the actual costs incurred in collecting such fees, except that the fees to be retained for administrative costs may not be less than one cent or greater than three cents per thousand dollars of the value of the construction declared in the building permit application.

(e) The Commissioner of Construction Services shall annually submit a report of the amount of funds received pursuant to subsection (d) of this section, or of any other funds received by the commissioner for the purposes of code training and education under this section, to the cochairpersons and ranking members of the joint standing committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to finance, revenue and bonding and appropriations. All direct expenses incurred in the conduct of the code training and educational programs, or of the operation, maintenance and repair of facilities, food services and other auxiliary services incurred in the conduct of the code training and educational programs, shall be charged, and any cost of equipment for code training and educational programs may be charged, against the funds appropriated for the code training and educational programs on order of the Comptroller. Any balance of receipts after expenditures shall be retained by the commissioner and shall be used solely for the code training and educational programs under this section and for the acquisition, as provided in section 4b-21, alteration and repairs of real property for educational facilities, provided repairs, alterations or additions to educational facilities costing fifty thousand dollars or less shall require the approval of the Commissioner of Construction Services and capital projects costing over fifty thousand dollars shall require the approval of the General Assembly, or when the General Assembly is not in session, of the Finance Advisory Committee. Funds appropriated to or received by the Commissioner of Construction Services for the code training and educational programs shall also be used for (1) (A) the operation, maintenance and repair of auxiliary services facilities, and (B) any other activities related to training and educational programs in the mechanics and application of the State Building Code and the Fire Safety Code conducted for any municipal or state code official, or any candidate for such positions, and (2) continuing educational programs in the mechanics and application of the State Building Code and the Fire Safety Code for any architect, engineer, landscape architect, interior designer, builder, contractor or superintendent of construction doing business in this state. No funds shall be used for the purposes of this section without prior approval of the Code Training and Education Board of Control, established pursuant to subsection (b) of this section.

(P.A. 98-233, S. 1, 2, 8; P.A. 99-209, S. 1, 4; P.A. 04-150, S. 3; P.A. 07-110, S. 2; P.A. 11-8, S. 11–13; 11-51, S. 90.)

History: P.A. 98-233 effective July 1, 1999; P.A. 99-209 added Subsec. (e), requiring annual report of funds received and setting forth authorized expenditures, effective July 1, 1999; P.A. 04-150 amended Subsec. (d) to require that education fee be adjusted downward or upward to reflect the actual cost of the educational programs required in Sec. 29-262(a) and (b); P.A. 07-110 amended Subsec. (d) to change references from a percentage of the fee to a certain number of cents of the fee, effective July 1, 2008; P.A. 11-8 made technical changes in Subsecs. (a), (c) and (e), effective May 24, 2011; pursuant to P.A. 11-51, “Commissioner of Public Safety” and “Commissioner of Public Works” were changed editorially by the Revisors to “Commissioner of Construction Services”, effective July 1, 2011.