File No. 191

House of Representatives, March 24, 2015

The Committee on Public Safety and Security reported through REP. DARGAN of the 115th Dist., Chairperson of the Committee on the part of the House, that the bill ought to pass.

AN ACT CONCERNING DEMOLITION LICENSURE AND DEMOLITION PERMITS.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:

Section 1. Section 29-402 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):

(a) As used in this part, the term "license" includes the whole or part of any permit which the Department of Administrative Services issues under authority of the general statutes, and which (1) requires persons to place their names on a list maintained by the department before they can engage in the business of demolition of buildings, (2) requires a person to demonstrate competence by examination or other means, and (3) may be revoked or suspended by the department for cause.

(b) No person shall engage in the business of demolition of buildings without a license obtained from the Department of Administrative Services. An applicant for an initial license shall file an application with the Department of Administrative Services, furnish evidence of expertise and financial responsibility and pay a fee of four hundred forty dollars for a class B license and nine hundred forty dollars for a class A license. Each license shall be valid for twelve months from date of issuance and shall be renewable on application of the licensee upon payment of an annual fee of two hundred fifty dollars for a class B license and seven hundred fifty dollars for a class A license. The department may refuse to issue any such license for cause, and may revoke or refuse to renew any such license for failure to carry out and conform to the provisions of this part or to any regulations adopted hereunder, or for any violation of title 22a. No person shall be refused a license or a renewal thereof, and no license shall be revoked, without an opportunity for a hearing conducted by the Department of Administrative Services in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54.

(c) The provisions of this section shall not apply to (1) a person who is engaged in the [disassembling] disassembly, transportation and reconstruction of historic buildings for historical purposes, [or] in the demolition of farm buildings, [or] in the renovation, alteration or reconstruction of a single-family residence or in the disassembly of nonstructural building materials of a building for the purpose of reusing or recycling such building materials, (2) the removal of underground petroleum storage tanks, (3) the burning of a building or structure as part of an organized fire department training exercise, or (4) the demolition of a single-family residence or outbuilding by an owner of such structure if it does not exceed a height of thirty feet, provided (A) the owner shall be present on site while such demolition work is in progress and shall be held personally liable for any injury to individuals or damage to public or private property caused by such demolition, and (B) such demolition shall be permitted only with respect to buildings which have clearance from other structures, roads or highways equal to or greater than the height of the structure subject to demolition. The local building official may require additional clearance when deemed necessary for safety.

Sec. 2. Section 29-406 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):

(a) No person shall demolish any building, structure or part thereof without obtaining a permit for the particular demolition undertaking from the building official of the town, city or borough wherein such building or part thereof is located. No person shall be eligible to receive a permit under this section unless such person furnishes [written notice] to the building official: (1) Written notice of financial responsibility in the form of a certificate of insurance specifying demolition purposes and providing liability coverage for bodily injury of at least one hundred thousand dollars per person with an aggregate of at least three hundred thousand dollars, and for property damage of at least fifty thousand dollars per accident with an aggregate of at least one hundred thousand dollars; [each such certificate shall provide that the town or city and its agents shall be saved harmless from any claim or claims arising out of the negligence of the applicant or his agents or employees in the course of the demolition operations;] (2) written notice in the form of a certificate of notice executed by all public utilities having service connections within the premises proposed to be demolished, stating that such utilities have severed such connections and service; [and] (3) written notice that [he] such person is the holder of a current valid license issued under the provisions of section 29-402, as amended by this act, [except in the case of (A) a person who is engaged in the disassembling, transportation and reconstruction of historic buildings for historical purposes or who is engaged in the demolition of farm buildings or in the renovation, alteration or reconstruction of a single-family residence, or (B) an owner who is engaged in the demolition of a single-family residence or outbuilding,] or is exempted from such license requirement as provided in subsection (c) of [section 29-402] said section; and (4) a written declaration by such person that the town or city and its agents shall be saved harmless from any claim or claims arising out of the negligence of the applicant or the applicant's agents or employees in the course of the demolition operations. No permit shall be issued under this section unless signed by the owner and the demolition contractor. Each such permit shall contain a printed intention on the part of the signers to comply with the provisions of this part.

(b) In addition to the powers granted pursuant to this part, any town, city or borough may impose, by ordinance, a waiting period of not more than one hundred eighty days before granting any permit for the demolition of any building or structure or any part thereof, except when the demolition permit is required for the removal of a structure acquired by the Department of Transportation for a transportation project.

The following Fiscal Impact Statement and Bill Analysis are prepared for the benefit of the members of the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and explanation and do not represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber thereof for any purpose. In general, fiscal impacts are based upon a variety of informational sources, including the analyst's professional knowledge. Whenever applicable, agency data is consulted as part of the analysis, however final products do not necessarily reflect an assessment from any specific department.


OFA Fiscal Note

State Impact: None

Municipal Impact: None

Explanation

The bill exempts people who disassemble a building's nonstructural material for reuse and recycling from demolition-related licensure, permitting, and insurance requirements. The bill is not expected to affect the total number of licenses issued by the Department of Administrative Services (DAS).

The bill also requires an applicant for a demolition permit to furnish a separate written declaration, instead of attesting on the required demolition insurance certificate, that the municipality where the demolition is taking place will be held harmless from claims arising out of negligence. As the Office of the State Building Inspector waived this requirement in September of 2014, there is no fiscal impact.

The Out Years

There is no out year fiscal impact.

OLR Bill Analysis

HB 6914

AN ACT CONCERNING DEMOLITION LICENSURE AND DEMOLITION PERMITS.

SUMMARY:

This bill exempts from demolition-related licensure, permitting, and insurance requirements people who disassemble a building's nonstructural material for reuse and recycling. It thereby expands the type of activities exempt from these requirements.

It requires an applicant for a demolition permit to furnish a separate written declaration, instead of attesting on the required demolition insurance certificate, that the town where the demolition is taking place will be held harmless from claims arising out of the negligence of the applicant or his or her agents or employees during the demolition.

The bill also makes technical changes.

EFFECTIVE DATE: Upon passage

LICENSURE AND PERMITTING EXEMPTIONS

With limited exceptions, people engaged in the demolition business must get a (1) license from the Department of Administrative Services and (2) permit from the municipality where the building or structure is located. Current law exempts people engaged in certain activities from these requirements. The bill adds the disassembling of nonstructural building material for reuse and recycling to the following exempt activities:

1. disassembly, transport, and reconstruction of historic buildings for historical purposes; demolition of farm buildings; or renovation, alteration, or reconstruction of single-family homes;

2. removal of underground petroleum storage tanks,

3. burning buildings or structures as part of an organized fire department training exercise; or

4. demolition of single-family dwellings or outbuildings by owners if the dwelling or structure does not exceed a height of 30 feet, provided the (a) owner is present during the demolition and is held personally liable for any personal injury or property damage caused by the demolition, and (b) buildings have clearance from other structures, roads, or highways equal to or greater than the height of the structure subject to demolition. The local building official may require additional clearance for safety.

SAVE HARMLESS AND WRITTEN DECLARATION

By law, an applicant for a demolition permit must provide written notice of financial responsibility in the form of an insurance certificate that (1) specifies it is for demolition purposes and (2) provides specified minimum liability coverage for bodily injury and property damage. Under current law, the certificate must hold the town harmless from any claim arising out of the negligence of the applicant or the applicant's agents or employees during the demolition. This conflicts with Public Act 14-74, which prohibits an insurance certificate from including any warranty that the underlying policy complies with the insurance or indemnification requirements of a contract. The bill resolves this conflict by instead, requiring that the applicant make a separate written declaration to this effect.

COMMITTEE ACTION

Public Safety and Security Committee

Joint Favorable