Senate Bill No. 236

(By Senators Wiedebusch, Bowman and Macnaughtan)

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[Introduced March 4, 1997; referred to the Committee
on the Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section thirteen, article twelve, chapter eight of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to allowing a municipality to adopt ordinances requiring modifications of property, dwellings or buildings to bring the structure up to building and fire code standards; property owner or other responsible party to pay costs associated; allowing a lien against the property; and limiting the amount of the lien to the value of the property.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section thirteen, article twelve, chapter eight of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 12. GENERAL AND SPECIFIC POWERS, DUTIES AND ALLIED RELATIONS OF MUNICIPALITIES, GOVERNING BODIES AND MUNICIPAL OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES; SUITS AGAINST MUNICIPALITIES.
ยง8-12-13. Building regulation; general and special codes; state building code.

(a) The governing body of every municipality has plenary power and authority by ordinance or a code of ordinances to:
(1) Regulate the erection, construction, repair or alteration of structures of every kind within the corporate limits of the municipality, prohibit, within specified territorial limits, the erection, construction, repair or alteration of structures of wood or other combustible material, and regulate excavations upon private property;
(2) Regulate electric wiring by prescribing minimum specifications to be followed in the installation, alteration or repair thereof; and
(3) Regulate plumbing by prescribing the minimum specifications to be followed in the installation, alteration or repair of plumbing, including equipment, water and sewer pipe, traps, drains, cesspools and septic tanks.
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a), all existing municipal building codes are void one year after the promulgation of a state building code by the state fire commission as provided in section five-b, article three, chapter twenty-nine of this code.
Upon the voidance of the municipality's existing building code, if the municipality votes to adopt a building code, it must be the state building code promulgated pursuant to section five-b, article three, chapter twenty-nine of this code.
(c) The governing body of every municipality has plenary power and authority by ordinance or a code of ordinances to adopt such the state building code promulgated by the state fire commission.
(d) The governing body of every municipality has plenary power to adopt by ordinance the authority to require the property owner or owners of any dwelling or building, ordered by the municipality or its enforcement agency to take action to make repairs, remove, or otherwise modify the subject property, or by its own initiative, cause action be done to bring the subject property into compliance with the building regulations adopted by the municipality, or by order of the state fire marshal as provided in section sixteen, article three, of chapter twenty-nine of this code, to bring the subject property into compliance with the state fire code. The power and authority shall also includes the right to attach a lien against the real property in question for an amount not to exceed the assessed value of the real property as recorded on the books of the county assessor, or to institute a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against any property owner or responsible parties for costs incurred by the municipality, including reasonable attorney fees and court costs as provided in section sixteen of this article. Prior to institutingenacting any civil action under this section, notification to property owner or other responsible parties shall be given as provided for in section sixteen of this article.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to grant plenary power to municipalities to adopt ordinances requiring property owners to comply with local building and fire codes. The bill allows the municipality to initiate civil actions, and to attach a lien to the property, not to exceed the value of the property itself.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.