Mississippi counties, cities could receive authority over state building permit codes

The Mississippi House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a bill that could remove state regulations for counties and cities on building permit processes and laws, which licensed contractors and property owners use for approval on construction projects.

House Bill 331, while met with several Democratic and Republican challenges, passed 81 to 29 through the House. If the bill passes through both legislative chambers, it would give counties and cities the right to pick and choose their own building permit regulations and processes.

The bill would also allow those local governments to remove licensing requirements from contractors also seeking to obtain those permits, as well as remove certain permits from being necessary.

“This allows counties to adopt or not to adopt or not to impose any building restrictions, any building codes, deregulation that the state law and the federal law courts will allow,” County Affairs Committee chair Larry Byrd, R, said.

Byrd told his fellow House members the bill’s main purpose is to give those county and city governments more legislative independence on construction laws and building codes.

He said that counties and cities would have to adopt their own resolutions to part from state set regulations after the July 1 if the bill passes.

Byrd later told the Clarion Ledger that whatever those local governments decide, any building permit process would still be subject to public record via local building departments. Building permits typically include names of property owners, licensed contractors, project addresses, scope and the dollar amount for the work. Permits are approved by local government officials such as building inspectors.

Before the bill passed, several lawmakers asked Byrd how the bill could affect federal regulations on building codes, the implications on real estate brokers and insurance companies and even whether contractors would require any licensing before being approved for projects.

“When you have insurance on a building or your home, it has to be rolled up to codes and standards,” Rep. Chris Bell, D, said. “What you're saying is to forget that and bypass that, and not allow (insurance coverage) to happen?”

Byrd said that would be up to the local governments, and that the bill’s passage would also not affect federal regulations. For example, any project requiring permitting by a federal agency, such as projects in flood plains, would still have the same requirements.

Another lawmaker, Jill Ford, R, of Madison County, asked if realtors would now need to disclose whether a house or commercial space is up to code in counties or cities that don’t require them to be.

Byrd’s answer? It would be up to the local government’s call.

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“If you want those sorts of regulations on properties, you’d go to the board of supervisors or your mayor or board of alderman and have them make that a requirement in your county or city,” Byrd said.

A defender of the bill, Willie Bailey, D, of Washington County, said the bill could allow for more qualified contractors to work projects without having licenses or permits required by current state codes.

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“I'm telling you, it is very difficult in some counties to find licensed contractors to do things that you want done now,” Bailey said. “If you want to build a lot of development in the small counties, then the law he is trying to change, it (allows) that. It has nothing to do with getting rid of building codes.”

The bill will now be considered by a Senate committee before possibly going to the floor for a vote.

Grant McLaughlin covers state government for the Clarion Ledger. He can be reached at gmclaughlin@gannett.com or 972-571-2335.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Building permits bill passes MS House