COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY LEGISLATIVE RESEARCH COMMISSION

GENERAL ASSEMBLY LOCAL MANDATE FISCAL IMPACT ESTIMATE

2000 REGULAR SESSION 1998-99 INTERIM

MEASURE

2000 RS BR / 351 / Amendment: / Committee / Floor
Bill #: / HB 115/HCS
/HFA 1 / Amendment # / 1
SUBJECT/TITLE / Bleacher Safety Act
SPONSOR / Rep. Jim Wayne

MANDATE SUMMARY

Unit of Government: / x / City; / x / County; / x / Urban County Government

Program/

Office(s) Impacted:
Requirement: / x / Mandatory / Optional

Effect on

Powers & Duties / x / Modifies Existing / x / Adds New / Eliminates Existing

PURPOSE/MECHANICS

HB 115/HCS establishes safety standards for public bleachers. House Floor Amendment 1 (HFA1) to HB 115/HCS makes two substantive changes, which are discussed in the Fiscal Explanation section below.

FISCAL EXPLANATION/BILL PROVISIONS / ESTIMATED COST

HFA 1 to the House Committee Substitute (HCS) for HB 115 makes two significant modifications to the HCS, one resulting in a fiscal impact change. First, HFA1 stipulates that the open space between bleacher foot boards, seats and guardrails cannot exceed 4 inches unless approved safety nets are installed underneath public bleachers. The HCS had called for a 31/2-gap in those areas, a dimension more stringent than the 4-inch maximum listed in the Kentucky Building Code and in national bleacher construction standards. Complying with the 4-inch standard would be easier for cities and counties to achieve than the more rigorous 31/2-inch standard, and still coincide with state and national norms.

HFA1 also lessens the fiscal impact seen in the House Committee Substitute. HB 115/HCS has a bleacher inspection requirement. The House Floor Amendment adds the "state fire marshal" to the list of agencies or entities qualified to conduct bleacher inspections at the local level. That list also includes a "qualified and certified building inspector," a "state licensed design professional." The addition of the state fire marshal to the list of inspectors should lessen the fiscal impact seen earlier because, under requirements of the House Committee Substitute, some cities or counties may have had to contract for bleacher inspections. According to an official with the Kentucky League of Cities, "very few" of the roughly 300 fifth-and sixth-class cities in the state have a certified building inspector. The General Inspection Division of the Office of the State Fire Marshall probably would be called on to do the inspections. That division has 23 inspectors, some who work out of their homes throughout the state. The division also has 65 "deputized" fire departments in the state with inspection responsibilities.

DATA SOURCE(S) / Melvin LeCompte and Linda Bussell, LRC staff
Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction's Division of Building Codes Enforcement and State Fire Marshal's Office;
Burt May, Kentucky League of Cities
PREPARER / Lowell Atchley / REVIEW / DATE

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