An Act To Strengthen the Maine Uniform Building and Energy Code
Maine Legislature, Session 129, LD 0855
Committee: Labor and Housing
Sponsors: CAIAZZO, MIRAMANT, DENK, FECTEAU, INGWERSEN, KESSLER, RYKERSON, CARSON, CHIPMAN, FARRIN
Amends: 25 MRSA §2372, 25 MRSA §2374, 30-A MRSA §4101-A

Legislative Document
No. 855
H.P. 629
House of Representatives, February 14, 2019
An Act To Strengthen the Maine Uniform Building and Energy 
Code
Reference to the Committee on Labor and Housing suggested and ordered printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative CAIAZZO of Scarborough.
Cosponsored by Senator MIRAMANT of Knox and
Representatives: DENK of Kennebunk, FECTEAU of Biddeford, INGWERSEN of Arundel, 
KESSLER of South Portland, RYKERSON of Kittery, Senators: CARSON of Cumberland, 
CHIPMAN of Cumberland, FARRIN of Somerset.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  25 MRSA §2372, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2011, c. 633, §9, is further 
amended to read:
2.  Staff.  The commissioner may shall appoint or and may remove for cause staff of 
the division, including:
A.  A technical codes coordinator certified in building standards pursuant to Title 
30-A, section 4451, subsection 2-A, paragraph E, who serves as the division director 
and principal administrative and supervisory employee of the board. The technical 
codes coordinator shall attend meetings of the board, keep records of the proceedings 
of the board and direct and supervise the personnel employed to carry out the duties 
of the board, including but not limited to providing technical support and public 
outreach for the adoption of the code, amendments, conflict resolutions and 
interpretations. Technical support and public outreach must include, but may not be 
limited to:
(1) Providing nonbinding interpretation of the code for professionals and the 
general public; and
(2) Establishing and maintaining a publicly accessible website to publish general 
technical assistance, code updates and interpretations and post-training course 
schedules; and
B.  An office specialist to provide administrative support to the division and the 
board.; and
C.  A trainer to coordinate and provide training to municipal building officials, local 
code enforcement officers and 3rd-party inspectors.
Sec. 2.  25 MRSA §2374, as repealed and replaced by PL 2013, c. 424, Pt. A, §12, 
is amended to read:
§2374.  Uniform Building Codes and Standards Fund
The Uniform Building Codes and Standards Fund, referred to in this section as "the 
fund," is established within the Department of Public Safety to fund the activities of the 
division under this chapter and the activities of the board under Title 10, chapter 1103 and 
the Department of Economic and Community Development, Office of Community 
Development under Title 30-A, section 4451, subsection 3-A.  Revenue for this fund is 
provided by the surcharge established by section 2450-A.  The Department of Public 
Safety and the Department of Economic and Community Development, Office of 
Community Development shall together determine an amount to be transferred annually 
from the fund for training and certification under Title 30-A, section 4451, subsection 
3-A to the Maine Code Enforcement Training and Certification Fund established in Title 
30-A, section 4451, subsection 3-B.  The Department of Public Safety shall also deposit 
any permit fees collected under Title 30-A, section 4101-A into the fund.  Any balance of 
the fund may not lapse, but must be carried forward as a continuing account to be 
expended for the same purpose in the following fiscal year.
Sec. 3.  30-A MRSA §4101-A is enacted to read:
§4101-A.  Permit fee
A surcharge of $3 is imposed on each permit issued by a municipality under this 
subchapter. The municipality shall collect the fee when issuing the permit and shall, on a 
schedule established by the Department of Public Safety, remit all fees collected to the 
Department of Public Safety, which shall deposit the fees into the Uniform Building 
Codes and Standards Fund established in Title 25, section 2374.
SUMMARY
This bill requires that the Commissioner of Public Safety appoint a technical codes 
coordinator, an office specialist and a building codes trainer. It also requires that 
municipalities impose a $3 surcharge on building permits and remit those funds to the 
Department of Public Safety to fund the Uniform Building Codes and Standards Fund.