An Act To Streamline the Regulatory Process for Commercial Building Construction Projects
Emergency preamble. Whereas, acts and resolves of the Legislature do not become effective until 90 days after adjournment unless enacted as emergencies; and
Whereas, construction projects require a variety of permits from a variety of permitting agencies; and
Whereas, consolidating the permitting review to a single authority will expedite the review process and thereby improve the regulatory environment in this State and improve the efficiency of State Government; and
Whereas, currently some municipalities review commercial construction projects for compliance with building, plumbing, zoning and electrical code and those municipalities exercise the principle authority for issuing construction permits in this State; and
Whereas, some municipalities currently enforce the Life Safety Code of the National Fire Protection Association for residential construction; and
Whereas, the Office of the State Fire Marshal conducts plan reviews for compliance with the Life Safety Code of the National Fire Protection Association for commercial construction; and
Whereas, some municipalities are well positioned to serve as the Life Safety Code of the National Fire Protection Association permitting authority for commercial construction in this State; and
Whereas, in the judgment of the Legislature, these facts create an emergency within the meaning of the Constitution of Maine and require the following legislation as immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and safety; now, therefore,
Sec. 1. 25 MRSA §2448, as repealed and replaced by PL 1983, c. 232, §1 and amended by PL 2003, c. 689, Pt. B, §6 and PL 2007, c. 324, §17, is further amended to read:
§ 2448. Construction permit; when required
No A property owner, agent or representative of the owner may not construct, alter or change the use of any structure to become a public building without first obtaining from the Commissioner of Public Safety or from a municipality designated pursuant to section 2448-A a permit therefor for that purpose. A request for a permit shall must be accompanied by a true copy of the plans and specifications for that construction, reconstruction or change of use. The commissioner shall issue a permit only if the plans comply with statutes and lawful regulations promulgated rules adopted to reduce fire hazards.
The term "public building" shall include includes any building or structure constructed, operated or maintained for use by the general public, which shall include includes, but is not be limited to, all buildings or portions of buildings used for a schoolhouse, hospital, convalescent, nursing or boarding home to be licensed by the Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Licensing and Regulatory Services; theater or other place of public assembly, mercantile occupancy over 3,000 square feet, hotel, motel or business occupancy of 2 or more stories; or any building to be state owned state-owned or operated state-operated.
The term "true copy" means an accurate representation by dimensioned plans and specifications of the final construction documents.
Sec. 2. 25 MRSA §2448-A is enacted to read:
§ 2448-A. Municipal review of development
The Commissioner of Public Safety, referred to in this section as "the commissioner," may register municipalities for authority to issue permits required by section 2448 under the following conditions. For purposes of this section, "municipal reviewing authority" has the same meaning as defined in Title 30-A, section 4366, subsection 7.
(1) Notice to the commissioner upon receipt of an application, including a description of the project;
(2) Notice of issuance and denial to the applicant and commissioner, including the reason for denial;
(3) Public notification of the application and any hearings; and
(4) Procedures for public hearing.
The Department of Public Safety shall publish on its publicly accessible website a list of those municipalities that are registered pursuant to this subsection.
A failure of the commissioner to act within the 30-day period following receipt of the application for a permit or within 30 days of receipt of any amendment to the application constitutes a decision not to exercise jurisdiction as provided in subsection 9.
Sec. 3. 25 MRSA §2450, as amended by PL 2007, c. 699, §12, is further amended to read:
§ 2450. Examinations by Department of Public Safety
The Commissioner of Public Safety shall adopt, in accordance with requirements of the Maine Administrative Procedure Act, a schedule of fees for the examination of all plans for construction, reconstruction or repairs submitted to the Department of Public Safety. The fee schedule for new construction or new use is 5¢ per square foot for occupied spaces and 2¢ per square foot for bulk storage occupancies, except that a fee for review of a plan for new construction by a public school may not exceed $450. The fee schedule for reconstruction, repairs or renovations is based on the cost of the project and may not exceed $450, except as provided in section 2450-A. The Except for projects reviewed by a municipality pursuant to section 2448-A, the fees must be credited to a special revenue account to defray expenses in carrying out this section. Any balance of the fees may not lapse, but must be carried forward as a continuing account to be expended for the same purpose in the following fiscal years. For projects reviewed by a municipality that include occupied spaces, a 1¢ fee per square foot must be remitted to the Department of Public Safety and a 4¢ fee per square foot must be paid to the municipality.
A municipality is prohibited from charging a developer a fee that is in excess of the 4¢ fee per square foot for fire code permits. This limitation does not prohibit a municipality from charging fees for other construction-related permits.
Emergency clause. In view of the emergency cited in the preamble, this legislation takes effect when approved.
SUMMARY
This bill provides for the delegation of fire code permitting authority from the Department of Public Safety, Office of the State Fire Marshal to municipalities.
The bill amends the law concerning certain public building projects for which the Department of Public Safety provides plan reviews.
The bill amends the laws concerning project permits to allow the option of municipal review for those projects.
The bill creates a new section of law that outlines the circumstances that need to be satisfied before the Commissioner of Public Safety may delegate permitting authority to a municipality.
The bill also amends the law in order to adjust the payment of the current 5¢ plan review fee that is paid to the Department of Public Safety. It requires that if a municipality issues the permit, the municipality receives the 4¢ fee per square foot and the Department of Public Safety receives the 1¢ fee per square foot of the proposed project. There is no additional cost to the developer under this section.