Housing

P Passed

P HB1795
Uniform Statewide Building Code; inspection of elevators. Requires the local building department to inspect, and enforce the building code for, elevators with the exception of elevators in single and two-family homes and townhouses. Currently, the inspection of elevators is discretionary with local building departments.
Patron - Jones, D.C.

P HB1964
Uniform Statewide Building Code; violations. Provides that each day a violation of the Building Code continues after conviction or the court-ordered abatement period has expired shall constitute a separate offense. The bill also eliminates the requirement that minimum fines be applicable only to convictions for building code violations which cause a building or structure to be unsafe or unfit for human habitation.
Patron - DeBoer

P HB2026
Spot blight abatement. Deletes the list of localities authorized to place a lien on property for repair or disposal of blighted property and grants such authority to all localities.
Patron - Grayson

P HB2462
Building code violations. Allows a locality to provide by ordinance for the imposition of an enhanced penalty, in addition to those penalties described in § 36-106, for any person who is convicted of three or more building code violations for separate offenses relating to health and safety during a 10-year period. The enhanced penalty shall be a jail term not to exceed 10 days and a fine not to exceed $2,500, either or both.
Patron - Bryant

P HB2571
Fire suppression devices in colleges and universities. Allows an eight-story residence hall which is 28 years old and has a square footage of 60,843 feet, belonging to a private institution located in Hampton Roads, to delay until January 1, 2000, its compliance with the requirement that all dormitories be equipped with automatic sprinkler systems by September 1, 1999, regardless of when such buildings were constructed.
Patron - Christian

P HB2577
Virginia Removal or Rehabilitation of Derelict Structures Fund. Creates a fund to make grants to localities for acquisition, demolition, removal, rehabilitation or repair of derelict structures which are causing a blight upon the neighborhoods in which they are located. Each grant is limited to $200,000 and requires a 100 percent local match. The Fund shall be administered by the Board of Housing and Community Development.
Patron - Baskerville

P HB2595
Uniform Statewide Building Code; violations. Provides that if a violation of the Building Code remains uncorrected at the time of conviction, the court shall order the violator to abate or remedy the violation. Current law requires such action only for violations concerning residential units.
Patron - Jones, D.C.

P HB2639
Housing; spot blight abatement. Authorizes all localities to (i) recover the costs of any repair or disposal of blighted property from the owner of the property, (ii) have a lien on all property so repaired or acquired under an approved plan to recover the cost of improvements made by the locality or the cost of disposal of the property, or (iii) in lieu of (i) and (ii), declare blighted property a nuisance. This bill is identical to SB 1242.
Patron - Devolites

P SB830
Uniform Statewide Building Code; inspection of elevators. Requires the local building department to inspect, and enforce the building code for, elevators with the exception of elevators in single and two-family homes and townhouses. Currently, the inspection of elevators is discretionary with local building departments.
Patron - Potts

P SB1242
Housing; spot blight abatement. Authorizes all localities to (i) recover the costs of any repair or disposal of blighted property from the owner of the property, (ii) have a lien on all property so repaired or acquired under an approved plan to recover the cost of improvements made by the locality or the cost of disposal of the property, or (iii) in lieu of (i) and (ii), declare blighted property a nuisance. This bill is identical to HB 2639.
Patron - Lambert

P SB1288
Uniform Statewide Building Code; violations. Provides that if a violation of the Building Code remains uncorrected at the time of conviction, the court shall order the violator to abate or remedy the violation. Current law requires such action only for violations concerning residential units.
Patron - Watkins


F Failed

F HB2218
Parking signs. Reduces the maximum allowable height of signs identifying parking spaces reserved for the use of persons with disabilities from seven feet measured to the bottom of the signs to seven feet measured to the top of the sign; clarifies that local government and local building officials cannot prohibit use of signs allowed by statute.
Patron - Behm

F HB2496
Uniform Statewide Building Code; appointment of a receiver. Allows any city with a population of at least 100,000 to petition the court for the appointment of a receiver when (i) the owner of a building containing two or more residential units has been cited for a violation of the Building Code which has not been remedied within 30 days of the notice of violation and (ii) the violation directly affects the health or safety of the occupants of the residential units.
Patron - McEachin

F HB2508
Housing; powers of housing authorities; limitations. Provides that real property identified by a housing authority for redevelopment shall be acquired by the housing authority within 18 months after announcement of the redevelopment plan. In addition, the bill provides that if a housing authority decides against acquiring real property identified for redevelopment, it shall reimburse the owner of such property his reasonable expenses related to the proposed acquisition of his property, upon request.
Patron - Drake

F HB2533
Uniform Statewide Building Code; penalties for violation. Provides that each day a building code violation continues after the requisite notice of violation period has expired shall constitute a separate offense. The bill also makes the minimum fine schedule (or enhanced punishment provisions) apply to all building code violations and not just those violations relating to buildings unsafe or unfit for human habitation. This bill has been incorporated into HB 1964.
Patron - Drake

F HB2573
Uniform Statewide Building Code; enforcement. Provides that permits for construction shall become invalid pursuant to the Building Code if (i) the work authorized by the permit is not commenced within six months after the issuance of the permit, (ii) the work authorized by the permit is suspended or abandoned for a period of six months after the time of commencing the work, or, (iii) in projects where a final inspection is required, the permit holder fails to notify the inspection authority within six months of the completion of the work authorized by the permit.
Patron - Behm

F SB1279
Live In Our Community Police Housing Program. Establishes the Live In Our Community Police Housing Program to promote community-policing throughout the Commonwealth. The program is designed to prevent crime and promote neighborhood safety and security by encouraging law-enforcement officers to live in economically distressed communities and become active residents of the community. Such communities must be a part of an area covered by a community-policing program. Homes will be offered at significant discounts to qualified police officers who are full-time employees of federal, state, or local law-enforcement agencies through an inventory of homes maintained by the Department of Housing and Community Development and the Virginia Housing Development Authority. This bill is a recommendation of the Joint Subcommittee Studying the Status and Needs of African-American Males in Virginia.
Patron - Edwards

F SB1328
Altering or damaging a properly functioning smoke detector; penalty. Makes it a Class 3 misdemeanor to intentionally, without the permission of the owner, damage, destroy, remove, or render inoperative any properly functioning smoke detector device required by the Uniform Statewide Building Code to be installed in any multi-family residential building, state-owned building, college or university building, juvenile care facility, hospital, nursing home or adult day care facility.
Patron - Whipple


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