1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to public safety; requiring installation of 
  1.3             automatic sprinkler systems in certain existing 
  1.4             high-rise buildings; proposing coding for new law in 
  1.5             Minnesota Statutes, chapter 299F. 
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  [299F.365] [FIRE SAFETY SPRINKLERS IN EXISTING 
  1.8   HIGH-RISE BUILDINGS.] 
  1.9      Subdivision 1.  [REQUIREMENTS.] This section applies to an 
  1.10  existing building in which at least one story used for human 
  1.11  occupancy is at least 75 feet or more above the lowest level of 
  1.12  fire department vehicle access.  An automatic fire safety 
  1.13  sprinkler system must be installed in those portions of the 
  1.14  entire existing building in which an automatic fire safety 
  1.15  sprinkler system would be required if the building were 
  1.16  constructed after the effective date of this section.  The 
  1.17  automatic fire safety sprinkler system must comply with 
  1.18  standards in the Minnesota uniform fire code and state building 
  1.19  code. 
  1.20     Subd. 2.  [EXEMPTIONS.] (a) Subdivision 1 does not apply to 
  1.21  an area used exclusively for telecommunications equipment and 
  1.22  associated generator and power equipment and under exclusive 
  1.23  control of a telecommunications provider if: 
  1.24     (1) the area is separated from the remainder of the 
  1.25  building by construction equivalent to a one-hour fire resistant 
  2.1   wall and two-hour floor/ceiling assemblies; and 
  2.2      (2) the area has an automatic fire detection and alarm 
  2.3   system to respond to visible and invisible particles of 
  2.4   combustion and transmit an alarm and comply with standards in 
  2.5   the Minnesota uniform fire code and state building code. 
  2.6      (b) Subdivision 1 does not apply to: 
  2.7      (1) a monument or war memorial that is included in the 
  2.8   national register of historic places or the Minnesota state 
  2.9   register of historic sites and structures; 
  2.10     (2) an airport control tower or control room; 
  2.11     (3) an open parking structure; 
  2.12     (4) a building used for agricultural purposes; 
  2.13     (5) a manufacturing facility that is required to meet the 
  2.14  fire safety standards adopted by the Occupational Safety and 
  2.15  Health Administration in Code of Federal Regulations, title 29, 
  2.16  part 1910, subpart L; 
  2.17     (6) electric generation and distribution facilities 
  2.18  operated by a public utility as defined in section 216B.02, 
  2.19  subdivision 4, a municipal utility, and a cooperative electric 
  2.20  association; 
  2.21     (7) elevator equipment rooms and elevator shafts; or 
  2.22     (8) areas utilized for surgery, surgical recovery, 
  2.23  emergency backup power systems, and electrical closets within 
  2.24  facilities licensed under chapter 144. 
  2.25     (c) Subdivision 1 does not apply to a residential building 
  2.26  in which at least 70 percent of the dwelling units are owner 
  2.27  occupied. 
  2.28     (d) The commissioner, or the state fire marshal as the 
  2.29  commissioner's designee, may grant extensions for the times 
  2.30  prescribed in subdivision 3 or 4 for the submission of plans or 
  2.31  completion of work, or both, if the applicant for extension 
  2.32  demonstrates an appropriate effort and a genuine inability to 
  2.33  comply with the time prescribed. 
  2.34     (e) When there are practical difficulties involved in 
  2.35  complying with the times prescribed in subdivision 3 or 4, the 
  2.36  commissioner, or the state fire marshal as the commissioner's 
  3.1   designee, may vary or modify the times upon application of a 
  3.2   building owner or the owner's representative, provided that the 
  3.3   spirit and intent of the law are observed and public welfare and 
  3.4   safety are ensured. 
  3.5      (f) The commissioner shall grant extensions to public 
  3.6   housing agencies and other owners of publicly subsidized housing 
  3.7   where lack of capital improvement funds reasonably precludes 
  3.8   compliance with the times prescribed in subdivisions 3 and 4. 
  3.9      Subd. 3.  [REPORTING.] By January 1, 1997, the owner of a 
  3.10  building subject to subdivision 1 shall submit to the state fire 
  3.11  marshal a letter stating the owner's intention to comply with 
  3.12  this act and providing a schedule for completion. 
  3.13     Subd. 4.  [TRANSITION.] (a) Within three years of the 
  3.14  effective date of this section there must be water supplies for 
  3.15  the fire safety sprinkler system to all floors of the buildings 
  3.16  subject to subdivision 1.  Installation of operational automatic 
  3.17  fire safety sprinkler systems or an accepted equivalent 
  3.18  alternative method must comply with the following schedule: 
  3.19  Years after effective date  Percent of nonexempt portions of
  3.20                              building with operational automatic
  3.21                              sprinkler system or protected by an
  3.22                                  accepted alternative method
  3.23              6 years                      25 percent
  3.24              9 years                      50 percent
  3.25             12 years                      75 percent
  3.26             15 years                     100 percent
  3.27     (b) As an alternative to the schedule in paragraph (a), a 
  3.28  person or entity that owns more than one building subject to 
  3.29  this section may comply with this section by following the 
  3.30  schedule in this paragraph: 
  3.31  Years after effective date  Percent of buildings owned by
  3.32                              person or entity with 
  3.33                              operational automatic sprinkler
  3.34                              system protected by an 
  3.35                              accepted alternative method
  3.36              6 years                      25 percent
  4.1               9 years                      50 percent
  4.2              12 years                      75 percent
  4.3              15 years                     100 percent
  4.4      (c) For office buildings and individual spaces within 
  4.5   office buildings having documented leases that presently extend 
  4.6   beyond six years after the effective date, an extension of an 
  4.7   additional one year must be added to each phase of the time 
  4.8   table in paragraph (a) for completion. 
  4.9      (d) The following requirements are the responsibility of 
  4.10  the authorized licensed sprinkler contractor and apply where 
  4.11  existing class I, class II, or class III standpipes are used to 
  4.12  provide a combined standpipe system: 
  4.13     (1) during the installation of sprinkler systems, no 
  4.14  standpipe or fire pump may be made inoperative unless the local 
  4.15  fire department is given 24-hour prior notice; 
  4.16     (2) if the building contains two or more standpipes, at 
  4.17  least one standpipe must be maintained so that water can be 
  4.18  discharged through piping, valves, hose outlets, and allied 
  4.19  equipment to extinguish a fire; 
  4.20     (3) if a building contains only one standpipe riser, 
  4.21  modifications to the system must be conducted after normal 
  4.22  working hours; and 
  4.23     (4) appropriate temporary signage must be provided at all 
  4.24  fire department connections on the building, indicating the 
  4.25  operational status of the sprinkler system. 
  4.26     Subd. 5.  [RULES.] The commissioner of public safety may 
  4.27  adopt rules for:  the application of fire safety sprinkler 
  4.28  systems in existing high-rise buildings under this section; 
  4.29  exemptions permitted by this section; reporting of compliance by 
  4.30  owners; and scheduling of installation of fire safety sprinkler 
  4.31  systems or alternate methods.  The commissioner of public safety 
  4.32  shall explore alternative sources of funding for those buildings 
  4.33  in need of retrofit.  The commissioner shall coordinate with the 
  4.34  housing finance agency director for such alternative sources of 
  4.35  funding. 
  4.36     Subd. 6.  [EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS.] This section does not 
  5.1   supersede the Minnesota state building code or Minnesota uniform 
  5.2   fire code. 
  5.3      Sec. 2.  [WORKING GROUP.] 
  5.4      The commissioner of public safety shall appoint a working 
  5.5   group to advise the commissioner on implementation of section 1, 
  5.6   including specifically the adoption of rules, and to advise the 
  5.7   commissioner on appeals.  The group must include a 
  5.8   representative from:  the state fire marshal's office, the 
  5.9   department of administration, the Minnesota state fire chiefs 
  5.10  association, a chapter of the Minnesota building owners and 
  5.11  managers association, the Minneapolis public housing authority, 
  5.12  the Minnesota multi-housing association, the Minnesota hotel and 
  5.13  motel association, the fire marshals association of Minnesota, 
  5.14  professional engineers or licensed architects, and the general 
  5.15  public. 
  5.16     Sec. 3.  [HOUSING BUDGET PRIORITIES.] 
  5.17     Section 1 does not affect the existing capital improvement 
  5.18  budget priorities of public housing facilities in Minnesota.