§ 30-3-7 — Administration and enforcement of chapter

(a) (1) Except for buildings under the jurisdiction of the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia, all buildings subject to the jurisdiction of the Safety Fire Commissioner pursuant to Code Section 25-2-12 and subsection (c) of Code Section 25-2-13 shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the Safety Fire Commissioner for purposes of enforcement of this chapter. (2) With respect to any such building, the Safety Fire Commissioner shall have the following powers and duties: (A) No such building shall be built in this state by any private person or corporation or public entity unless it conforms to the requirements of Code Sections 30-3-3 and 30-3-5 and its plans and specifications have been approved by the Commissioner as provided in this subparagraph. All plans and specifications shall identify the architect or engineer who prepared them in a manner acceptable to the Commissioner. The Commissioner shall approve the plans and specifications only if they conform to the requirements of this chapter. The Commissioner shall not require any additional fee for each submission of plans or specifications other than the standard fee required by Code Section 25-2-4.1 . No local governing authority shall issue any building permit for any building subject to this subsection without proof of the approval required by this subparagraph; (B) In any case where the Commissioner denies approval under subparagraph (A) of this paragraph or an exemption under subparagraph (C) of this paragraph, the rights and remedies of the person submitting the same shall be those provided by Chapter 2 of Title 33; (C) Upon a showing that full compliance with any particular requirement or requirements is impractical or not necessary to accomplish the purposes of this chapter, the Commissioner may exempt a building from full compliance with the requirement or requirements and approve plans and specifications which do not conform, or which only partially conform, to the requirement or requirements. (b) The board of regents shall be responsible for the administration and enforcement of this chapter with respect to all buildings and facilities under its jurisdiction. No construction plans for any such building or facility shall be approved by the board of regents for any construction within the University System of Georgia unless the building or facility conforms to Code Sections 30-3-3 and 30-3-5 and unless the architect or engineer responsible for preparation of said plans and specifications affixes that person's seal on such plans. The affixing of the seal of an architect or engineer to said plans shall constitute a certification that to the best of that person's knowledge, information, and belief they have been prepared in conformity with Code Sections 30-3-3 and 30-3-5 . A certificate of compliance may be displayed on said plans in lieu of the architect's or engineer's seal. The builder, developer, contractor, or building owner following said plans shall require an architect's or engineer's seal or a certificate of compliance to be displayed on the plans before starting construction. (c) Local governing authorities shall be responsible for the administration and enforcement of this chapter with regard to all government and public buildings and facilities which are not under the jurisdiction of the Safety Fire Commissioner or board of regents, pursuant to subsections (a) and (b) of this Code section and which are under the jurisdiction of such local governing authorities. No building permit for any such building or facility shall be approved by any local governing authority for any private person, corporation, partnership, association, or public entity unless the plans and specifications conform to the requirements of Code Sections 30-3-3 and 30-3-5 and unless the architect or engineer responsible for preparation of said plans and specifications affixes that person's seal on such plans. The affixing of the seal of an architect or engineer to said plans shall constitute a certification that to the best of that person's knowledge, information, and belief they have been prepared in conformity with Code Sections 30-3-3 and 30-3-5 . A certificate of compliance may be displayed on said plans in lieu of the architect's or engineer's seal. The builder, developer, contractor, or building owner following said plans shall require such a seal or a certificate of compliance on the plans before starting construction. All construction plans must display such a certificate of compliance, or a seal provided by the architect or engineer, for all construction in local governing jurisdictions which do not require building permits. In all areas where local governing authority building permits are not required, the builder, developer, contractor, or building owner following said plans shall require such an architect's or engineer's seal or a certificate of compliance to be displayed on the plans before starting construction. (d) In the performance of their responsibilities under this chapter, all state rehabilitation agencies and appropriate elected or appointed officials shall be required to cooperate with and assist the Safety Fire Commissioner, the board of regents, and the appropriate local building code officials or local fire department, or any combination thereof, having jurisdiction over the buildings in question. (e) The Safety Fire Commissioner, the board of regents, and the local building code officials or the local fire department, or any combination thereof, having jurisdiction over the buildings in question shall from time to time inform, in writing, professional organizations and others of this chapter and its application. (f) (1) The Safety Fire Commissioner, the board of regents, and the local governing authority having jurisdiction over the buildings in question shall have all necessary powers to require compliance with their rules, regulations, and procedures, and modifications thereof and substitutions therefor, including powers to institute and prosecute proceedings in the superior court to compel compliance, and shall not be required to pay any entry or filing fee in connection with the institution of such proceedings. (2) No person, firm, or corporation shall be subject to a complaint for not complying with the provisions of subparagraph (C) of paragraph (11) of Code Section 30-3-2 unless 90 days have passed since such person, firm, or corporation has been notified by certified mail or statutory overnight delivery of the alleged violation of the provisions of subparagraph (C) of paragraph (11) of Code Section 30-3-2 . Such notification shall include a warning of an impending complaint if the alleged violation is not corrected before the expiration of the 90 day warning period. The 90 day warning period shall not apply to any structure or facility other than parking lots nor to any part of this chapter other than subparagraph (C) of paragraph (11) of Code Section 30-3-2 . (g) The Safety Fire Commissioner, the board of regents, and the local governing authority having jurisdiction over the buildings in question, after consultation with state rehabilitation agencies and other sources as they might determine, are authorized to promulgate such rules, regulations, and procedures as might reasonably be required to implement and enforce their responsibilities under this chapter. Such rules, regulations, and procedures shall not be less restrictive than those established by the Commissioner. (h) The Safety Fire Commissioner, the board of regents, and the local governing authority having jurisdiction over the buildings in question, after consultation with state rehabilitation agencies, are also authorized to waive any of the standards and specifications presently set forth in this chapter and to substitute in lieu thereof standards or specifications consistent in effect to such standards or specifications heretofore adopted by the American Standards Association, Inc.