Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of HB1809

LRB104 10472 HLH 20547 b

104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2025 and 2026
HB1809

Introduced 1/28/2025, by Rep. Katie Stuart

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

20 ILCS 3105/10.09-1
20 ILCS 3105/10.18
20 ILCS 3105/10.20 new
110 ILCS 805/2-13 new

Amends the Capital Development Board Act. Provides that the Capital Development Board shall establish uniform statewide minimum qualification requirements for code inspectors and shall maintain a statewide registry and certification program for qualified inspectors to demonstrate their compliance with the minimum qualification requirements. Provides that any municipal building code or county building code must ensure that all code inspectors meet at least the minimum certification requirements required by the Board for non-building code jurisdictions. Limits home rule powers. Amends the Public Community College Act. Provides that the Illinois Community College Board shall create a specific listing in its directory of programs for courses and programs that prepare students to become code inspectors. Provides that the State Board shall conduct a survey of all community colleges in the State to determine the current and historical enrollment in currently existing building code-related courses.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning State government.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Capital Development Board Act is amended by changing Sections 10.09-1 and 10.18 and by adding Section 10.20 as follows:

(20 ILCS 3105/10.09-1)

Sec. 10.09-1. Certification of inspection.

(a) No person may occupy a newly constructed commercial building or a substantially improved commercial building in a non-building code jurisdiction until:

(1) The property owner or property owner's agent has first contracted for the inspection of the building by an inspector who meets the qualifications established by the Board; and

(2) The qualified inspector files a certification of inspection with the municipality or county having such jurisdiction over the property indicating that the building complies with all of the following:

(A) to the extent they do not conflict with the codes and rules listed in subparagraphs (C) through (F), the current edition or most recent preceding edition of the following codes published by the International Code Council:

(i) the International Building Code, including Appendix G and excluding Chapters 11, 13, and 29;

(ii) the International Existing Building Code;

(B) to the extent it does not conflict with the codes and rules listed in subparagraphs (C) through (F), the current edition or most recent preceding edition of the National Electrical Code published by the National Fire Protection Association;

(C) either:

(i) The Energy Efficient Building Code adopted under Section 15 of the Energy Efficient Building Act; or

(ii) The Illinois Stretch Energy Code adopted under Section 55 of the Energy Efficient Building Act;

(D) the Illinois Accessibility Code adopted under Section 4 of the Environmental Barriers Act;

(E) the Illinois Plumbing Code adopted under Section 35 of the Illinois Plumbing License Law; and

(F) the rules adopted in accordance with Section 9 of the Fire Investigation Act.

(3) Once a building permit is issued, the applicable requirements that are in effect on January 1 of the calendar year when the building permit was applied for, or, where a building permit is not required, on January 1 of the calendar year when construction begins, shall be the only requirements that apply for the duration of the building permit or construction.

(b) (Blank).

(c) Before January 1, 2027, the The qualification requirements of this Section do not apply to building enforcement personnel employed by a municipality or county who are acting in their official capacity. On and after January 1, 2027, the qualification requirements of this Section shall apply to building enforcement personnel employed by a municipality or county who are acting in their official capacity. This subsection is a limitation under subsection (i) of Section 6 of Article VII of the Illinois Constitution on the concurrent exercise by home rule units of powers and functions exercised by the State.

(d) For purposes of this Section:

"Commercial building" means any building other than: (i) a single-family home or a dwelling containing 2 or fewer apartments, condominiums, or townhouses; or (ii) a farm building as exempted from Section 3 of the Illinois Architecture Practice Act of 1989.

"Newly constructed commercial building" means any commercial building for which original construction has commenced on or after July 1, 2011.

"Non-building code jurisdiction" means any area of the State in a municipality or county having jurisdiction that: (i) has not adopted a building code; or (ii) is required to but has not identified its adopted building code to the Board under Section 10.18 of the Capital Development Board Act.

"Qualified inspector" means an individual certified as a commercial building inspector by the International Code Council or an equivalent nationally recognized building inspector certification organization, qualified as a construction and building inspector by successful completion of an apprentice program certified by the United States Department of Labor, or who has filed verification of inspection experience according to rules adopted by the Board for the purposes of conducting inspections in non-building code jurisdictions.

"Substantial damage" means damage of any origin sustained by a structure whereby the cost of restoring the structure to its before-damaged condition would equal or exceed 50% of the market value of the structure before damage occurred.

"Substantially improved commercial building" means, for work commenced on or after January 1, 2025, any commercial building that has undergone any repair, reconstruction, rehabilitation, alteration, addition, or other improvement, the cost of which equals or exceeds 50% of the market value of the structure before the improvement or repair is started. If a commercial building has sustained substantial damage, any repairs are considered substantial improvement regardless of the actual repair work performed. "Substantially improved commercial building" does not include: (i) any project for improvement of a structure to correct existing violations of State or local health, sanitary, or safety code specifications which have been identified by the local code enforcement official and which are the minimum necessary to assure safe living conditions or (ii) any alteration of a historic structure, provided that the alteration will not preclude the structure's continued designation as a historic structure.

(e) Except as provided in Section 15 of the Illinois Residential Building Code Act, new residential construction is exempt from this Section and is defined as any original construction of a single-family home or a dwelling containing 2 or fewer apartments, condominiums, or townhouses.

(f) Local governments may establish agreements with other governmental entities within the State to issue permits and enforce building codes and may hire third-party providers that are qualified in accordance with this Section to provide inspection services.

(g) This Section does not limit the applicability of any other statutorily authorized code or regulation administered by State agencies. These include, without limitation, the codes and regulations listed in subparagraphs (C) through (F) of paragraph (2) of subsection (a).

(h) The changes to this Section made by Public Act 103-510 this amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly shall apply beginning on January 1, 2025.

(Source: P.A. 102-558, eff. 8-20-21; 103-510, eff. 1-1-24; revised 7-24-24.)

(20 ILCS 3105/10.18)

Sec. 10.18. Identification of local building codes.

(a) Any municipality or county adopting a new building code edition must, at least 30 days before the effective date of the building code, identify the model code being adopted, by title and edition, and any local amendments to the Board in writing.

(b) No later than 180 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly, any municipality or county that has adopted and is enforcing a building code must identify the adopted model code, by title and edition, and any local amendments, to the Board in writing.

(c) For each municipality and county subject to this Section, the Board must identify the adopted model code or codes, by title and edition, note if any local amendments were adopted, and identify the date when this information was reported to the Board on the Board's public website.

(d) For the purposes of this Section, "building code" means a model code adopted with or without local amendments to regulate the construction or rehabilitation of structures within the municipality or county. "Building code" does not include any zoning ordinance adopted under Division 13 of Article 11 of the Illinois Municipal Code or Division 5-12 of Article 5 of the Counties Code.

(e) Beginning January 1, 2025, any municipal building code or county building code must:

(1) regulate the structural design of new buildings, other than residential buildings, in a manner that is at least as stringent as the baseline building code;

(2) regulate the structural design of rehabilitation work in existing buildings, other than residential buildings, in a manner that is at least as stringent as the baseline existing building code; and

(3) regulate the structural design of residential buildings in a manner that is at least as stringent as the baseline residential code.

On and after January 1, 2027, any municipal building code or county building code must ensure that all code inspectors meet at least the minimum certification requirements required by the Board for non-building code jurisdictions.

In this subsection:

"Baseline building code" means the edition of the International Building Code, including Appendix G, first published by the International Code Council during the current year or preceding 9 calendar years with the least restrictive provisions for structural design.

"Baseline existing building code" means the edition of the International Existing Building Code first published by the International Code Council during the current year or preceding 9 calendar years with the least restrictive provisions for structural design.

"Baseline residential code" means the edition of the International Residential Code for One- and Two-Family Dwellings first published by the International Code Council during the current year or preceding 9 calendar years with the least restrictive provisions for structural design.

"Residential building" means a single-family home or a dwelling containing 2 or fewer apartments, condominiums, or townhouses.

"Structural design" means the capacity of a newly constructed structure or altered or repaired existing structure, including its foundation, to withstand forces, including, but not limited to, dead loads, live loads, snow loads, wind loads, soil loads and hydrostatic pressure, rain loads, and earthquake loads, and to resist flood damage.

This subsection is a limitation under subsection (i) of Section 6 of Article VII of the Illinois Constitution on the concurrent exercise by home rule units of powers and functions exercised by the State.

(f) On an annual basis, the Board shall send written notification to the corporate authorities of each municipality and county subject to this Section of their obligations under this Section.

(Source: P.A. 103-510, eff. 1-1-24.)

(20 ILCS 3105/10.20 new)

Sec. 10.20. Minimum qualifications; code inspectors.

(a) The Board shall establish uniform statewide minimum qualification requirements for code inspectors and shall maintain a statewide registry and certification program for qualified inspectors to demonstrate their compliance with the minimum qualification requirements.

(b) The qualification requirements shall, at a minimum, require an inspector to (i) be certified as a commercial building inspector by the International Code Council or an equivalent nationally recognized building inspector certification organization, (ii) be qualified as a construction and building inspector by successful completion of an apprentice program certified by the United States Department of Labor, or (iii) file a verification of inspection experience according to rules adopted by the Board for the purposes of conducting inspections.

(c) The Board shall adopt rules to implement this Section no later than January 1, 2027.

Section 10. The Public Community College Act is amended by adding Section 2-13 as follows:

(110 ILCS 805/2-13 new)

Sec. 2-13. Code inspectors.

(a) The State Board shall create a specific listing in its directory of programs for courses and programs that prepare students to become code inspectors.

(b) The State Board shall conduct a survey of all community colleges in the State to determine the current and historical enrollment in currently existing building code-related courses, the potential enrollment in those courses in community college districts that do not have those programs, the cost of the program to each community college that conducts such a program, and the anticipated cost of starting such a program for community colleges that do not have such a program. This survey must be completed no later than January 1, 2027.

(c) The State Board shall use the data collected in subsection (b) to identify areas where new or expanded course offerings for building code inspection and enforcement would be most advantageous, prioritizing areas of the State where is there is no such course offered by a community college within 100 miles. The State Board shall work with community college districts in those areas to create course offerings that prepare students to become code inspectors.