Date: 01/29/2009

Final
BILL SUMMARY for HB09-1080

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY

Votes: View--> Action Taken:
Refer House Bill 09-1080 to the Committee of the WPASS



03:51 PM -- House Bill 09-1080

Representative Marostica, prime sponsor, presented House Bill 09-1080 concerning a grant of qualified immunity to building code officials rendering assistance during a disaster emergency. The bill grants qualified immunity from civil action to a building code official who, while acting in his or her official capacity, assists during a state of disaster emergency. A building code official is defined to mean an individual maintaining a certification in good standing by the International Code Council or similar association of building code officials.

Representative Marostica talked about his experience in the aftermath of the Windsor tornado in 2008. The committee discussed the fact that this bill adds building code officials to a current list of entities covered by the Colorado Governmental Immunity Act. These individuals will still be held responsible for gross misconduct, but this bill provides some measure of protection to them as they go about their business.

03:59 PM -- Greg Wheeler, Colorado chapter of the International Code Council (ICC) and the Colorado Municipal League (CML), spoke in support of the bill. Mr. Wheeler discussed the chapter's response to the 2008 Windsor tornado. They went through 696 buildings in a day and a half and tagged buildings with major structural damage. Other buildings were slightly damaged, while still others were almost undamaged. He talked about the various permits for repair that were issued. He discussed other disasters the chapter has responded to around Colorado in the last 20 years. Mr. Wheeler responded to questions from the committee about the kind of training and expertise that individuals certified by the ICC are required to have. Most of the members are architects or engineers, although several other trades are certified as building code inspectors. The committee discussed training and expertise for some time.

04:14 PM -- Erin Goff, Colorado Municipal League, appeared to respond to questions from the committee regarding the provision of the bill concerning abrogation of the Colorado Governmental Immunity Act. CML asked that the provision be included as an abundance of caution.
BILL:HB09-1080
TIME: 04:16:28 PM
MOVED:Gardner B.
MOTION:Refer House Bill 09-1080 to the Committee of the Whole with a favorable recommendation. The motion passed on a vote of 10-0, with 1 excused.
SECONDED:Roberts
VOTE
Apuan
Excused
Court
Yes
Gardner B.
Yes
King
Yes
Miklosi
Yes
Pace
Yes
Roberts
Yes
Ryden
Yes
Waller
Yes
McCann
Yes
Levy
Yes
Final YES: 10 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS