Minnesota Session Laws - 1990, Regular Session

  

                         Laws of Minnesota 1990 

                        CHAPTER 414-H.F.No. 2393 
           An act relating to consumer protection; regulating 
          automatic garage door systems in residential 
          buildings; providing standards; providing penalties 
          and remedies; amending Minnesota Statutes 1989 
          Supplement, section 16B.61, subdivision 3; proposing 
          coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 325F.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
    Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1989 Supplement, section 
16B.61, subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
    Subd. 3.  [SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS.] (a)  [SPACE FOR COMMUTER 
VANS.] The code must require that any parking ramp or other 
parking facility constructed in accordance with the code include 
an appropriate number of spaces suitable for the parking of 
motor vehicles having a capacity of seven to 16 persons and 
which are principally used to provide prearranged commuter 
transportation of employees to or from their place of employment 
or to or from a transit stop authorized by a local transit 
authority.  
     (b)  [SMOKE DETECTION DEVICES.] The code must require that 
all dwellings, lodging houses, apartment houses, and hotels as 
defined in section 299F.362 comply with the provisions of 
section 299F.362.  
     (c)  [DOORS IN NURSING HOMES AND HOSPITALS.] The state 
building code may not require that each door entering a sleeping 
or patient's room from a corridor in a nursing home or hospital 
with an approved complete standard automatic fire extinguishing 
system be constructed or maintained as self-closing or 
automatically closing.  
     (d)  [CHILD CARE FACILITIES IN CHURCHES.] A licensed day 
care center serving fewer than 30 preschool age persons and 
which is located in a below ground space in a church building is 
exempt from the state building code requirement for a ground 
level exit when the center has more than two stairways to the 
ground level and its exit.  
     (e)  [FAMILY AND GROUP FAMILY DAY CARE.] The commissioner 
of administration shall establish a task force to determine 
occupancy standards specific and appropriate to family and group 
family day care homes and to examine hindrances to establishing 
day care facilities in rural Minnesota.  The task force must 
include representatives from rural and urban building code 
inspectors, rural and urban fire code inspectors, rural and 
urban county day care licensing units, rural and urban family 
and group family day care providers and consumers, child care 
advocacy groups, and the departments of administration, human 
services, and public safety. 
     By January 1, 1989, the commissioner of administration 
shall report the task force findings and recommendations to the 
appropriate legislative committees together with proposals for 
legislative action on the recommendations. 
     Until the legislature enacts legislation specifying 
appropriate standards, the definition of Group R-3 occupancies 
in the state building code applies to family and group family 
day care homes licensed by the department of human services 
under Minnesota Rules, chapter 9502. 
     (f)  [MINED UNDERGROUND SPACE.] Nothing in the state 
building codes shall prevent cities from adopting rules 
governing the excavation, construction, reconstruction, 
alteration, and repair of mined underground space pursuant to 
sections 469.135 to 469.141, or of associated facilities in the 
space once the space has been created, provided the intent of 
the building code to establish reasonable safeguards for health, 
safety, welfare, comfort, and security is maintained. 
    (g)  [ENCLOSED STAIRWAYS.] No provision of the code or any 
appendix chapter of the code may require stairways of existing 
multiple dwelling buildings of two stories or less to be 
enclosed. 
    (h)  [DOUBLE CYLINDER DEAD BOLT LOCKS.] No provision of the 
code or appendix chapter of the code may prohibit double 
cylinder dead bolt locks in existing single-family homes, 
townhouses, and first floor duplexes used exclusively as a 
residential dwelling.  Any recommendation or promotion of double 
cylinder dead bolt locks must include a warning about their 
potential fire danger and procedures to minimize the danger. 
    (i)  [RELOCATED RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS.] A residential 
building relocated within or into a political subdivision of the 
state need not comply with the state energy code or section 
326.371 provided that, where available, an energy audit is 
conducted on the relocated building. 
    (j)  [AUTOMATIC GARAGE DOOR OPENING SYSTEMS.] The code must 
require all residential buildings as defined in section 2 to 
comply with the provisions of sections 2 and 3.  
    Sec. 2.  [325F.82] [DEFINITIONS.] 
    Subdivision 1.  [SCOPE.] For the purposes of section 3, the 
terms defined in this section have the meanings given them.  
    Subd. 2.  [AUTOMATIC GARAGE DOOR OPENING SYSTEM.] 
"Automatic garage door opening system" means a system of devices 
and equipment that automatically opens and closes a garage door. 
    Subd. 3.  [GARAGE.] "Garage" means a building, or a portion 
of a building, designed or used for the storage, repair, or 
keeping of a motor vehicle. 
    Subd. 4.  [RESIDENTIAL BUILDING.] "Residential building" 
means a building such as a home or apartment for one or more 
families or persons that includes an attached or unattached 
garage.  
    Sec. 3.  [325F.83] [REGULATION OF AUTOMATIC GARAGE DOOR 
OPENING SYSTEMS.] 
    Subdivision 1.  [MANUFACTURING, SALES, PURCHASES, REPAIRS, 
OR INSTALLATIONS OF SYSTEMS.] (a) No person shall manufacture, 
sell, offer for sale, purchase, or install in this state an 
automatic garage door opening system for residential buildings 
that does not comply with subdivision 3.  
     (b) No person shall service or repair an automatic garage 
door opening system for residential buildings that does not 
comply with subdivision 3, paragraph (a).  This paragraph does 
not prevent the servicing or repair of an automatic garage door 
opening system if the system will be in compliance with 
subdivision 3, paragraph (a), after the repair or service. 
    Subd. 2.  [DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF RESIDENTIAL 
BUILDINGS.] No residential building shall be designed or built 
in this state unless all automatic garage door opening systems 
comply with subdivision 3.  
    Subd. 3.  [MINIMUM STANDARDS.] (a) No later than January 1, 
1991, all automatic garage door opening systems subject to 
subdivision 1 or 2 must conform to the applicable requirements 
of Underwriters Laboratories, Inc., Standards for Safety-UL 325, 
third edition, as revised May 4, 1988. 
    (b) No later than January 1, 1993, all automatic garage 
door opening systems subject to subdivision 1 or 2 must include 
an attached edge sensor, safety beam, or similar device that 
when activated causes a closing door to open and prevents an 
open door from closing.  This device is to be designed and built 
so that a failure of the device prevents the door from closing.  
    Subd. 4.  [MANUFACTURER'S LABELING REQUIREMENTS.] On and 
after January 1, 1991, a manufacturer selling or offering for 
sale automatic garage door opening systems in this state shall 
clearly identify on the container and on the system, the month 
and year the system was manufactured, and its conformance with 
UL 325, as required under subdivision 3, paragraph (a).  
    Subd. 5.  [OCCUPANT TO INFORM OWNER.] For all residential 
buildings where the occupant is not the owner, the occupant has 
a duty to inform the owner of a nonfunctioning or malfunctioning 
reversing device or mechanism in an automatic garage door 
opening system within 24 hours of discovery of the problem.  
    Subd. 6.  [REMEDIES AND PENALTIES.] A person who is found 
to have violated this section is subject to the penalties and 
remedies, including a private right of action, as provided in 
section 8.31. 
    Subd. 7.  [LOCAL REGULATION.] The governing body of a local 
unit of government may adopt, by ordinance, rules for the 
installation and maintenance of automatic garage door opening 
systems that are more restrictive than the standards imposed by 
this section.  Rules adopted pursuant to this subdivision may be 
enforced through a truth-in-housing inspection.  
    Subd. 8.  [APPLICATION OF OTHER LAW.] For the purposes of 
section 541.051, an automatic garage door opening device is not 
an improvement to real property. 
    Presented to the governor April 5, 1990 
    Signed by the governor April 9, 1990, 10:13 a.m.