SENATE FLOOR VERSION - SB160 SFLR Page 1 (Bold face denotes Committee Amendments) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 SENATE FLOOR VERSION March 6, 2025 SENATE BILL NO. 160 By: Weaver An Act relating to construction industries; amending 59 O.S. 2021, Section s 1000.20, 1000.21, 1000.23, and 1000.25, which relate to the Oklahoma Uniform Building Code Commission Act; updating statutory references; modifying certain membership requirements; modifying certain training; modifying certain powers and duties of Commission; authorizing assessment of certain fees; directing deposit of fees; requiring establishment of certain p lan; requiring promulgation of rules ; providing for electronic submission of certain report; updating statutory references; updating statutory language; and providing an effective date . BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA: SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 59 O.S. 2021, Section 1000.20, is amended to read as follows: Section 1000.20. Sections 1000.20 through 1000.29 1000.30 of this title shall be known and may be cited as the “Oklahoma Uniform Building Code Commission Ac t”. SECTION 2. AMENDATORY 59 O.S. 2021, Section 1000.21, is amended to read as follows: Section 1000.21. A. 1. There is hereby created the Oklahoma Uniform Building Code Commission within the Construction Industries SENATE FLOOR VERSION - SB160 SFLR Page 2 (Bold face denotes Committee Amendments) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Board which shall consist of thirteen (13) members, eleven of whom shall be appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate as follows: a. one member who is a general contractor from a statewide organization that represents residential construction, b. one member who is a general contractor from a statewide organization that represents commercial construction, c. one member who is a contractor from a statewide organization that represents electrical contractors, d. one member who is a contractor fr om a statewide organization that represents plumbing contractors, e. one member who is a contractor from a statewide organization that represents heating and cooling contractors, f. one member who is a licensed electrical engineer from a state-recognized professional engineering firm, g. one member who is a local -level regulator/inspector who is a member of a statewide organization that is exempt from taxation under federal law and desig nated pursuant to the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, 26 U.S.C., Section 170(a), who has represented municipalities and had statutory SENATE FLOOR VERSION - SB160 SFLR Page 3 (Bold face denotes Committee Amendments) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 functions for municipalities for at least fifteen (15) years prior to November 1, 2005 ten (10) years, h. one member who is a Certified Building Official certified building official employed by a political subdivision, i. one member who is a licensed architect from a statewide organization that represents architects, j. one member who is from the insurance industry with knowledge of building codes and experience in p roperty loss mitigation, and k. one member who is a licensed mechanical engineer from a state-recognized professional engineering firm. 2. The members shall be appointed for staggered terms of four (4) years. The initial appointment of the members added by this act shall be made within ninety (90) days of the effective date of this act. A full term of office for purposes of determining term limits provided in subsection C of this sect ion shall be the completion of a full four-year term of appointment. B. The remaining two members of the Commission shall be the State Fire Marshal, or a designee, and an appointee of the Construction Industries Board. C. Appointed members shall continue in office until a successor is appointed by the Governor, notwithstand ing the term limitations. No appointed member shall serve more than two consecutive full four - SENATE FLOOR VERSION - SB160 SFLR Page 4 (Bold face denotes Committee Amendments) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 year terms; provided, such a member shall be eligible to serve until a successor is appoin ted, and such member may be reappointed after a two-year absence from the Commission. The Governor shall fill all vacancies and unexpired terms in the same manner as the original appointment of the member whose position is to be filled. No initial appointment to a term of less than four (4) years or any partial-term appointment to fill a vacancy or unexpired term of another member shall be counted for purposes of determining term limits. An appointed member may be removed by the Governor for cause. D. Whenever a member of the Commission is absent from more than one-half (1/2) of all meetings of the governing body, regular and special, held within any period of twelve (12) consecutive months, the member shall thereupon cease to hold office by operation of law. SECTION 3. AMENDATORY 59 O.S. 2021, Sec tion 1000.23, is amended to read as follows: Section 1000.23. A. The Oklahoma Uniform Building Code Commission shall have the power and the duty to review and adopt all building codes and standards for residential and commercial construction to be used b y all entities within this state. Codes and standards adopted by the Commission shall be the minimum standards for residential and commercial construction in this state. B. All public projects shall abide by such minimum standards and requirements; provi ded, nothing in the Oklahoma Uniform Building SENATE FLOOR VERSION - SB160 SFLR Page 5 (Bold face denotes Committee Amendments) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Code Commission Act shall prevent or take away from state agencies the authority to enact and enforce requirements containing higher standards and requirements than such minimum standards and requirements. C. Municipalities and other political subdivisions shall abide by such minimum standards and requirements; provided, nothing in the Oklahoma Uniform Building Code Commission Act shall prevent or take away from such municipalities and other political subdivisi ons the authority to enact and enforce requirements containing higher standards and requirements than such minimum standards and requirements. D. The Oklahoma Uniform Building Code Com mission shall have the power and duty to establish a continuing education training and certification process for all residential and commercial building construction industry personnel affected by the codes adopted by the Commission including, but not limited to, code inspectors. The Commission shall establish regional train ing for the purpose of training the county and municipal inspectors in the Uniform Building Code officials, design professionals, and trades workers . The regional training shall be off ered at no cost to the participant state-licensed building code officia ls and shall be funded from the funds received pursuant to Section 1000.25 of this title. A fee may be assessed to all participants other than state -licensed building code officials. When assessed, the fee shall be limited to any cost SENATE FLOOR VERSION - SB160 SFLR Page 6 (Bold face denotes Committee Amendments) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 directly associated with the training and shall be remitted to the State Treasury pursuant to the Oklahoma Uniform Building Code Commission Act. Such fees shall be deposited in the Oklahoma Uniform Building Code Commission Revolving Fund and shall be used solely for the purposes of the Oklahoma Uniform Building Code Commission Act. Each inspector code official operating in this state on behalf of any state agency or any municipal or county office may complete regional training and be issued a certification for inspections certificate of completion by the Oklahoma Uniform Building Code Commission on and after January 1, 2015 . The training and certification applications, qualifications and procedures shall be promulgated by rules of the Commission. The Commission may establish forms and procedures to implement and administer the provisions of this section. E. The Commission shall establish a workforce development plan for the purpose of increasing the number of available code officials in this state. The Commission shall pr omulgate rules on the workforce development applications, qualifications, forms, and procedures to implement and administer the provisions of this section. SECTION 4. AMENDATORY 59 O.S. 2021, Section 1000.25, is amended to read as follows: Section 1000.25. A. The Oklahoma Uniform Building Code Commission shall establish a system of fees to be charged for the SENATE FLOOR VERSION - SB160 SFLR Page 7 (Bold face denotes Committee Amendments) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 issuance and renewal of any construction permits issued by any agency, municipality, or other political subdivision of this state. B. This provision is subject to the following limitations: 1. No schedule of fees may be established or amended by the Commission except during such times as the Legislature i s in session; provided, the Commission may establish or amend a schedul e of fees at a time when the Legislature is not in session if the fees or schedule of fees has been specifically authorized by the Legislature pursuant to paragraphs 2 and 3 and 4 of this subsection. The Commission must follow the procedures required by A rticle I of the Administrative Procedures Act for adoption of rules in establishing or amending any such schedule of fees; 2. The Commission shall charge fees for building construction permits and renewal of such permits issued by any state agency, municipality, or other political subdivision of this state which authorized work governed by codes within the purview of the Commission only within the following ranges: a. For for issuance of permit not to exceed $5.00 , and b. For for renewal of permit not to e xceed $5.00; 3. Fees shall be remitted to the Oklahoma Uniform Building Code Commission within thirty (30) days after the end of the preceding calendar month. The Oklahoma Uniform Bui lding Code Commission shall report electronically to the Governor, Pres ident Pro Tempore of the SENATE FLOOR VERSION - SB160 SFLR Page 8 (Bold face denotes Committee Amendments) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Senate and the Speaker of the House semiannually its collections for the six (6) months preceding the report; 3. 4. Fees shall be collected by any state agency, municipality or other political subdivision issuing construction perm its within this state. The fees shall be deposited in an account created by the collecting entity for that purpose; 4. 5. The state agency, municipality or other political subdivision shall remit the monies in the account on a monthly basis directly to the State Treasury for deposit in the Oklahoma Uniform Building Code Commission Revolving Fund created pursuant to Section 1000.28 of this title. Along with the deposits required by this paragraph, each state agency, municipality or other political subdivision shall also submit a report stating the total amount of funds collected and the total number of fees imposed during the preceding month. The report shall be made on computerized or manual disposition reports as provided by rule of the Commission; 5. 6. Any state agency, municipality or other political subdivision collecting and remitting fees pursuant to this section may levy a fee up to fifty cents ($0.50) for every construction permit or renewal permit issued. These monies shall be deposited into an account for the sole use of the state agency, municipality or other political subdivision. The state agency, municipality or other political subdivision shall state the total amount of funds SENATE FLOOR VERSION - SB160 SFLR Page 9 (Bold face denotes Committee Amendments) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 collected and the total number of fees imposed to the State Tr easury in the report required by paragraph 4 5 of this subsection; 6. 7. It shall be the responsibility of the state agency, municipality or other political subdivision to account for and ensure the correctness and accuracy of payments made to the State Treasury pursuant to this title; 7. 8. Funds collected by a state agency, municipality or other political subdivision and remitted to the State Treasury pursuant to the Oklahoma Uniform Building Code Commission Act shall be deposited in the Oklahoma Unifor m Building Code Commission Revolving Fund and shall be used solely for the purposes of the Oklahoma Uniform Building Code Commission Act; and 8. 9. Nothing in this act the Oklahoma Uniform Building Code Commission Act shall prevent the Oklahoma Uniform Bu ilding Code Commission from offering incentives for prompt payment. SECTION 5. This act shall become effective November 1, 2025. COMMITTEE REPORT BY: COMMITTEE ON BUSIN ESS AND INSURANCE March 6, 2025 - DO PASS