LouisianaHB 11862026 Regular SessionHouseWALLET

BUILDING CODES: Provides relative to the Uniform Construction Code and inspector licensing

Sponsored By: Jacob Jules Landry (Republican)

Signed by Governor

Commerce, Consumer Protection and International AffairsCommerce

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

29 provisions identified: 9 benefits, 8 costs, 12 mixed.

Inspector violations can bring long work bans

The commission can reject false applications, suspend licenses, refuse renewals, issue cease-and-desist orders, or debar inspectors for listed violations. Grounds include unauthorized work, improper approvals, missed inspections or reports, deception, and enforcement beyond the code or commission interpretations. License revocation or deception used to qualify brings a five-year bar on applying for a license. The commission can refuse licenses to debarred entities and, after a hearing, suspend or revoke licenses or bar public-entity inspection work for up to five years. Continuing work after a proper hearing and notice to stop can bring an application bar lasting up to one year from that notice.

New license requirements for building inspectors

The law creates public and private inspector licenses, with general or specialty classifications. General licenses cover all specialties; specialty inspectors must stay within their approved work. Individual applicants must be U.S. citizens or legal residents, and private applicants face background investigations. Private companies need a financial statement showing $10,000 in net worth or an allowed irrevocable letter of credit covering the requirement plus any negative net worth. Private inspectors working for private companies need $500,000 in professional liability insurance; public inspectors employed by public entities are exempt. Business applicants must be registered and in good standing, use legal names rather than trade names, and cannot be government bodies or government-controlled entities.

Private inspectors face fines and collection

After notice and a hearing, the commission can fine private inspectors or companies up to $5,000 per offense. It can also assess administrative costs and attorney fees, issue citations, and seek cease-and-desist orders or injunctions. Assessed amounts are due within 90 days unless another law provides otherwise. Unpaid amounts can lead to license suspension or denial of issuance or renewal. Civil collection can begin after the appeal period ends when no appeal was filed.

Statewide building rules guide construction projects

The commission adopts the latest listed building, existing-building, residential, mechanical, plumbing, fuel gas, energy, and electrical codes. Exclusions cover Building Code Chapters 1 and 27, Existing Building Code Chapter 1, and Residential Code administrative and electrical parts. Appendices require separate adoption under the law's rules. Code review is due within five years of publication, with pauses up to one year after declared disasters, emergencies, pandemics, or acts of God. Inspectors use the local code in effect when the original permit application was submitted. Covered home and business construction must also follow federal flood insurance program standards.

Property owners keep natural gas provider choice

Cities and parishes cannot use codes, plans, permits, fees, or penalties to block an authorized natural gas provider that can serve a property. They can still recover reasonable permit-review, issuance, and inspection costs. They also retain authority over public roads and publicly owned utilities.

Construction applicants avoid duplicate inspection charges

Public entities can arrange for another Louisiana public entity or a licensed private inspector to handle permits and code enforcement. The public entity's governing body sets maximum applicable fees. A public entity cannot charge for an inspection it did not perform when the provider already collected an inspection fee.

Farm and recreation structures get code exemptions

Farm-use and private outdoor recreation structures generally are exempt from local enforcement of these construction-code rules. Homes and structures attached to homes are not exempt. Farm structures must be on a farm for farm use; public livestock areas and structures converted to other uses are excluded. Municipalities above 45,000 residents in the latest federal decennial census can enforce the code for qualifying detached home accessory structures. These must be no larger than 200 square feet and outside hurricane-prone regions with required design winds of at least 130 mph. Local governments can still issue permits for exempt structures.

Homebuilders avoid sprinkler and stamped-plan mandates

The commission, cities, and parishes cannot require fire sprinklers in one- or two-family homes. Cities and parishes also cannot require architect- or engineer-prepared or stamped plans for these homes when they meet the adopted Residential Code's prescriptive standards. These limits remove required building expenses but also prevent a mandatory sprinkler safety requirement.

Conflict rules protect independent building inspections

Public entities must appoint general-licensed building officials for their unincorporated areas, without prohibited construction-business interests in the jurisdiction. Private inspectors cannot inspect projects in which they have a direct or indirect financial interest. Public inspectors cannot also act as licensed contractors or plumbers in the same jurisdiction where they have inspection authority. Inspectors must disclose listed financial, compensation, family, and business ties, including work for project participants within the previous three years. Conflicted inspections and covered decisions must be reassigned, and inspectors must follow state ethics laws.

Officials share building safety enforcement duties

The state fire marshal enforces commission-adopted fire protection, exit, and accessibility rules outside one- and two-family homes. The fire marshal can make letter-of-intent agreements with public entities to enforce construction codes for municipalities or parishes. Public entities may accept the fire marshal's required life-safety and fire-protection decisions, but do not have to. Parish, municipal, and regional planning commission building officials enforce plumbing rules or assign properly licensed inspectors.

Selected industrial and government projects gain exemptions

Work inside secured or fenced facilities in listed industrial sectors is exempt from this chapter's construction-code rules. Covered sectors include specified power, manufacturing, waste, petroleum, pipeline, extraction, and mining-support industries; applicable International Plumbing Code requirements remain. Projects wholly owned by the federal government are also exempt from the chapter. State-owned buildings are exempt from local permits, review, and oversight, while still subject to National Flood Insurance Program flood-zone requirements.

State lawyers gain another fee exception

The law adds construction commission authority to the statutory exceptions allowing contingency or percentage-based fees for state special counsel. Such fees otherwise require express statutory authorization. The rule covers special counsel representing the attorney general or state agencies, boards, and commissions, excluding public colleges and universities. It sets no fee amount.

Building projects can seek hardship alternatives

The state fire marshal can consider practical and unreasonable economic hardships where a city or parish has an enforcement agreement. After the plan's responsible professional appeals, the marshal can allow alternative materials, designs, methods, or equipment consistent with the Building Code. This option excludes one- and two-family homes. Approval is not guaranteed.

Code inspections do not guarantee building quality

Government code enforcement does not guarantee a building's durability, fitness, freedom from defects, or performance. The law treats government enforcement procedures, including failures to act, as discretionary acts under Louisiana's liability law. This covers governmental enforcement agencies, contract employees, officials, and inspectors, and may limit owners' legal remedies.

Permit applicants face fees and exemption paperwork

The commission can add an administrative fee of up to $10 to each local permit. It sets the next calendar year's fee schedule by August 1; local offices send all collected money to the commission. Local offices can waive this fee when regular permit fees are waived during a declared emergency, or for government permits. Applicants claiming the residential construction exemption must submit the board's affidavit before receiving a permit. The local office keeps the affidavit in the permit file.

Capped licensing fees for building inspectors

The commission sets reasonable fees, capped at $100 each for a license or renewal. Caps are $25 each for late renewal, processing, state-license verification, or legal name changes. Classification research, applicant investigations, renewal investigations, and business-structure changes each have a $50 cap. Insurance-lapse penalties are capped at $250 for a first offense and $500 afterward; reinstatement or reactivation is capped at $250. Fees are due before a license is issued or changed and fund only the licensing program; public inspector licensing fees are waived.

Inspectors must keep records and report changes

Inspectors must keep required, unredacted records for five years and provide them within five business days of a commission request. They must keep contact information current, maintain required insurance and qualifications, and keep business registrations active when applicable. Inspectors must report application-information changes to the commission within 30 days. Written notice to the contractors board is also due within 30 calendar days for application changes and criminal, civil, or administrative actions in another jurisdiction involving a licensee or principal. Licenses cannot be transferred, work must use the licensed name, and license changes require meeting qualifications and paying the required fee.

Unlicensed inspectors face criminal penalties

Operating an inspection business or acting as an inspector without an active license is a crime. Inspectors also cannot publicly spread false or misleading claims about someone's license or classification. Upon conviction, the general penalty is up to $500 per violation, up to three months in jail, or both. An unlicensed person causing more than $300 in harm or damage faces $500–$5,000, at least six months in jail, or both. Only the local district attorney can prosecute, and collected fines go to the commission.

Home projects face permit and inspection rules

For work requiring a license, local offices cannot issue permits unless applicants hold the right active contractors-board license. Licensed inspectors must be on site for home and commercial inspections, except roofing, emergency utility reconnections, and reinspections by an inspector who previously visited. For those exceptions, officials may accept location-verified, geotagged photos or videos. Municipalities and parishes issuing construction permits must permit and inspect roof construction and reroofing. One- and two-family homes follow Residential Code Chapters 8 and 9; other buildings follow Building Code Chapter 15.

Manufactured homes get tailored safety rules

Manufactured homes built to federal standards follow federal plumbing rules, not state plumbing rules, for public or private sewer systems. A Louisiana-licensed plumber must still complete and maintain the sewer connection. Local governments that charge a manufactured-home placement fee must inspect the installation. They must check commission installation requirements and Residential Code standards for safe exit paths.

New-home mortgages require occupancy certificate filings

Buyers using a residential mortgage for a newly built home must give the lender the local inspector's occupancy certificate. After receiving it, the lender must file a copy in parish property records, creating a public record. The lender can charge reasonable filing costs, capped at the parish filing charge. Failure to file does not invalidate property transactions. The filing rule ends in a parish that stops enforcing this chapter.

Private inspections bring choices and approval rules

Local governments enforce only the statewide construction code and commission rules, using commission-licensed inspectors. Licensed contractors and homeowners exempt from contractor licensing can hire private inspectors for plan reviews and inspections. A private inspector must have a local service contract or register with a commission number, insurance proof, and certified inspection types. Each report goes to the local certified building official for written approval or denial; rejection must cite the code rule. Registered inspectors get public permit records without individual requests, and people whose reports or plan reviews are denied can appeal locally.

Inspector licensing brings oversight and fee relief

The law creates the Louisiana Uniform Construction Code Commission in the governor's office to license construction-code inspectors. It must license qualified applicants and may provide training and education. It can change license classifications, refuse, suspend, or revoke licenses, and impose fines and costs for violations. Public inspectors pay no licensing fees under this chapter.

Annual inspector renewals include late grace

Inspector licenses expire one year after issuance, and renewal requires meeting requirements, including commission-set continuing education. Inspectors can apply to renew starting 60 days before expiration. Applying within 15 days after expiration avoids both a late fee and a license lapse. A license more than one year past expiration cannot be renewed; the inspector must apply for a new license.

Federal sewage orders control plumbing rules

Federal court orders and consent decrees about building or maintaining public sewage systems override conflicting state plumbing provisions. The order or decree must come from a federal court with authority over the matter. The commission must adopt or amend construction-code provisions to meet those requirements. Those provisions must name the municipalities or parishes where they apply.

Inspector discipline gets deadlines and exceptions

The commission is exempt from disciplinary limits that otherwise apply to professional and occupational boards under R.S. 37:21. It generally cannot start a complaint-based proceeding more than five years after the alleged act or omission. A procedural motion interrupts that period. A related legal action pauses it when the licensee is a party or witness and the complaint concerns the same facts or activities. The deadline does not block emergency suspension needed to protect public health, safety, or welfare.

Inspector records balance privacy and disclosure

The commission can obtain criminal history information from Louisiana's criminal records bureau. Financial statements from private inspector company applications and underlying license-fitness and background records are generally not public. Background information can be shared outside the agency when needed to decide an application, and records can be released in administrative proceedings. Final fitness decisions and their legal grounds remain public. Criminal history records obtained from the state bureau cannot be released publicly.

New construction commission replaces prior rules

The law replaces the prior construction-code framework with the Louisiana Uniform Construction Code Commission. It repeals Title 40's prior Part IV-A, covering R.S. 40:1730.21 through 1730.40.2. Commission members receive up to $75 per day for meetings or approved travel, plus actual expenses. Mileage between their homes and meeting locations uses the Division of Administration's reimbursement rate.

State oversight limits local licensing powers

Cities and parishes can set local procedures for construction-code administration and enforcement. Home rule charters control conflicts concerning local powers, duties, structure, organization, or how powers and functions are divided. State law controls licensing examinations, and stricter local license requirements need commission approval. State licensing bodies can review permit and inspection lists for unlicensed inspectors and contractors. Local permitting offices must provide unredacted inspection, permit, and application records when requested.

Sponsors & Cosponsors

Sponsor

Jacob Jules Landry
Republican • House

Cosponsors

There are no cosponsors for this bill.

Roll Call Votes

All Roll Calls

Yes: 256 • No: 0

House vote • 5/29/2026

Read by title, roll called, yeas 96, nays 0. The Senate amendments, having received two-thirds vote of the elected members, were concurred in.

Yes: 96 • No: 0

Senate vote • 5/26/2026

Rules suspended. The amended bill was read by title, passed by a vote of 37 yeas and 0 nays, and ordered returned to the House. Motion to reconsider tabled.

Yes: 37 • No: 0

House vote • 5/11/2026

Read third time by title, amended, roll called on final passage, yeas 96, nays 0. The bill, having received two-thirds vote of the elected members, was finally passed, title adopted, ordered to the Senate.