Minnesota Session Laws - 1990, Regular Session

  

                         Laws of Minnesota 1990 

                        CHAPTER 531-S.F.No. 2346 
           An act relating to the state building code; 
          accessibility for the physically disabled; 
          establishing an access review board; providing for 
          review of applications for permission to provide 
          accessibility by means of stairway chair lifts; 
          appropriating money; proposing coding for new law in 
          Minnesota Statutes, chapter 471. 
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
    Section 1.  [471.471] [ACCESS REVIEW BOARD.] 
    Subdivision 1.  [MEMBERSHIP.] The access review board 
consists of: 
    (1) a representative of the building code and standards 
division of the department of administration, appointed by the 
commissioner of administration; 
    (2) a representative of the state fire marshal's office, 
appointed by the commissioner of public safety; 
    (3) the commissioner of human rights or the commissioner's 
designee; 
    (4) the commissioner of labor and industry or the 
commissioner's designee; and 
    (5) the chair of the council on disability or the chair's 
designee. 
The board shall elect a chair from among its members.  Terms of 
members coincide with the terms of their appointing authorities 
or, in the case of ex officio members or their designees, with 
the terms of the offices by virtue of which they are members of 
the board.  Compensation of members is governed by section 
15.0575, subdivision 3. 
    Subd. 2.  [STAFF; ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT.] The commissioner 
of administration shall furnish staff, office space, and 
administrative support to the board.  Staff assigned to the 
board must be knowledgeable with respect to access codes, site 
surveys, plan design, and product use and eligibility. 
    Subd. 3.  [DUTIES.] The board shall consider applications 
for waivers from the state building code to permit the 
installation of stairway chair lifts to provide limited 
accessibility for the physically disabled to buildings in which 
the provision of access by means permitted under the state 
building code is not architecturally or financially possible.  
In considering applications, the board shall review other 
possible access options.  The board may approve an application 
for installation of a stairway chair when the board determines 
that the installation would be appropriate and no other means of 
access is possible.  In determining whether to approve an 
application, the board shall consider: 
    (1) the need for limited accessibility when a higher degree 
of accessibility is not required by state or federal law or 
rule; 
    (2) the architectural feasibility of providing a greater 
degree of accessibility than would be provided by the proposed 
device or equipment; 
    (3) the total cost of the proposed device or equipment over 
its projected usable life, including installation, maintenance, 
and replacement costs; 
    (4) the reliability of the proposed device or equipment; 
    (5) the applicant's ability to comply with all recognized 
access and safety standards for installation and maintenance; 
and 
    (6) whether the proposed device or equipment can be 
operated and used without reducing or compromising minimum 
safety standards. 
The board shall consider the applicant's demonstrated inability 
to afford a greater degree of accessibility, but may not give 
greater weight to this factor than to the factors listed in 
clauses (1) to (6).  The board may not approve an application 
unless the applicant guarantees that the device or equipment 
will be installed and operated in accordance with nationally 
recognized standards for such devices or equipment and agrees to 
obtain any permits needed from the agency responsible for 
enforcing those standards. 
    Subd. 4.  [APPLICATION PROCESS.] A person seeking a waiver 
shall apply to the building code and standards division of the 
department of administration on a form prescribed by the board 
and pay a $70 fee.  The division shall review the application to 
determine whether it appears to be meritorious, using the 
standards set out in subdivision 3.  The division shall forward 
applications it considers meritorious to the board, along with a 
list and summary of applications considered not to be 
meritorious.  The board may require the division to forward to 
it an application the division has considered not to be 
meritorious. The board shall issue a decision on an application 
within 90 days of its receipt.  A board decision to approve an 
application must be unanimous.  An application that contains 
false or misleading information must be rejected. 
    Subd. 5.  [LIABILITY.] Board members are immune from 
liability for personal injury or death resulting from the use or 
misuse of a device or equipment installed and operated under a 
waiver granted by the board. 
    Sec. 2.  [APPROPRIATION.] 
    $1,500 is appropriated from the general fund to the 
commissioner of administration to implement section 1, 
subdivision 2. 
    Presented to the governor April 24, 1990 
    Signed by the governor April 26, 1990, 9:58 p.m.