2018 Kentucky Revised Statutes CHAPTER 198B - HOUSING, BUILDINGS, AND CONSTRUCTION - BUILDING CODE .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 and provide a copy to the local jurisdiction.
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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
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
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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 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.
(14) 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.
(15) 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.
(16) 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.
(17) 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.
(18) 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.
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