§ 35-9-121 — Local enforcement

(a) The state fire marshal shall delegate complete
authority to municipalities and counties which apply to enforce
and interpret local or state fire, building, existing building
standards or electrical safety standards which meet the
requirements of this section. The state fire marshal shall
notify the governing body of the municipality or county of the
minimum standards and requirements of this act and W.S. 16-6-501
and 16-6-502 and transfer jurisdiction and authority by letter.
Except as provided in W.S. 35-9-119(a)(i) and subsection (b) of
this section, nothing in this section affects the authority of
the state fire marshal or chief electrical inspector regarding
state owned or leased buildings. Local enforcement authority
under this subsection shall be subject to the following
requirements and certification of inspectors:
(i) Before a municipality or county without local
enforcement authority is initially granted local enforcement
authority for fire, building, existing building standards or
electrical standards the state fire marshal shall determine that
the local governing body has adopted minimum standards by
ordinance or resolution that are equivalent to or more stringent
than those applicable standards adopted by the department;
(ii) If a municipality or county that has been
granted local enforcement authority under this subsection fails
to adopt, within six (6) months following the adoption of new
standards by the department, or maintain standards by ordinance
or resolution that at least meet the statewide standards,
enforcement authority shall immediately revert to the
department. It shall be the responsibility of the municipality
or county to notify the department of the repeal of minimum
standards in their jurisdiction;
(iii) If code enforcement authority for fire and
building codes is requested, certification of a fire inspector
or building inspector by the International Code Council or the
International Conference of Building Officials is required for
any inspector employed or contracted after July 1, 2010 to
enforce those codes for the municipality or county;
(iv) If code enforcement authority for the electrical
code is requested:
(A) Certification of an electrical inspector by
the International Code Council or the International Association
of Electrical Inspectors; and
(B) Licensing of an electrical inspector by the
state as a journeyman or master electrician is required.
(v) If a municipality or county that has been granted
local enforcement authority under this subsection fails to
maintain employment of an inspector holding any certification
required by this subsection, enforcement authority shall revert
to the department one hundred twenty (120) days after the last
day the properly certified inspector has left the employment of
the municipality or county. It shall be the responsibility of
the municipality or county to notify the department upon the
termination of employment of any certified inspector required by
this subsection.
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of
this section a local governmental entity is authorized to assume
sole plan review authority, and, in accordance with W.S.
35-9-107(a)(iv), that entity has sole construction inspection
authority on the approved plans and sole authority for periodic
fire and life safety inspections on state owned or leased
buildings. For the purpose of this section, school buildings
shall be construed to be state buildings. If local code
provisions are more stringent than adopted state codes, the
local code prevails. The authority granted to local
governmental entities under this subsection is subject to
certification of local inspectors as follows:
(i) If sole plan review authority is requested,
certification of a plan reviewer by the international conference
of building officials or the International Code Council;
(ii) If code enforcement authority for fire and
building codes is requested, certification of a fire inspector
or building inspector by the International Code Council or the
International Conference of Building Officials;
(iii) If code enforcement authority for the
electrical code is requested:
(A) Certification of an electrical inspector by
the International Code Council or the International Association
of Electrical Inspectors; and
(B) Licensing of an electrical inspector by the
state as a master electrician.
(c) If a municipality or county has assumed enforcement
authority for only one (1) or two (2) of the fire, building and
electrical standards, the municipality or county shall deliver
notice of any project plans submitted to the municipality or
county for approval to the department. The notice of the project
shall be delivered within ten (10) days of receiving plans from
the applicant.
(d) A municipality or county which has enforcement
authority under this section shall create its own appeals boards
to determine the suitability of alternate materials and types of
construction and to interpret and grant variances from adopted
codes or standards. The boards shall be appointed and removed
by the governing body of the municipality or county, but the
person making the decision upon which the appeal is based shall
not be a member of the appeal board.
(e) A decision rendered by the local municipal or county
appeals board pursuant to subsection (d) of this section may be
appealed to the council on fire prevention and electrical safety
in buildings for a final decision. A decision of the council may
be appealed to the appropriate district court.
(f) Any appeal to a local board under subsection (d) of
this section or the council under subsection (e) of this section
shall be heard within thirty (30) days of the request for
appeal.
(g) Nothing in this section prohibits the state fire
marshal from assisting, upon request, a municipality, county or
other local governmental entity in exercising authority granted
to that entity under this section.