A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO STREAMLINE ISSUANCE OF CERTIFICATES OF COMPLIANCE WITH BUILDING CODES AND TO PREVENT UNNECESSARY DELAY DUE TO REPETITIVE REINSPECTIONS.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 160D‑1104(d), as enacted by S.L. 2019‑111, reads as rewritten:
"(d)	Except as provided in G.S. 160D‑1115 and G.S. 160D‑1207, a local government may not adopt or enforce a local ordinance or resolution or any other policy that requires regular, routine inspections of buildings or structures constructed in compliance with the North Carolina Residential Code for One‑ and Two‑Family Dwellings in addition to the specific inspections required by the North Carolina Building Code without first obtaining approval from the North Carolina Building Code Council. The North Carolina Building Code Council shall review all applications for additional inspections requested by a local government and shall, in a reasonable manner, approve or disapprove the additional inspections. This subsection does not limit the authority of the local government to require inspections upon unforeseen or unique circumstances that require immediate action. In performing the specific inspections required by the North Carolina Residential Building Code, the inspector shall conduct all inspections requested by the permit holder for each scheduled inspection visit. For each requested inspection, the inspector shall inform the permit holder of instances in which the work inspected is incomplete or otherwise fails to meet the requirements of the North Carolina Residential Code for One‑ and Two‑Family Dwellings or the North Carolina Building Code. When a subsequent inspection is conducted to verify completion or correction of instances of Code noncompliance, any additional violations of the Residential Code or the Building Code noted by the inspector that (i) are outside the scope of the subsequent inspection and (ii) fall within an area or aspect of work for which a final inspection has already been conducted, the inspection department shall not charge an additional fee nor delay issuance of a temporary certificate of compliance pending completion of additional inspections to verify completion or correction of those additional violations. Nothing in this subsection is intended to prevent the local government from requiring suitable security to ensure code compliance as set forth in G.S. 160D‑1116."
SECTION 2.  This act becomes effective January 1, 2022, and applies to inspections associated with permits applied for on or after that date.