HB 25-1030

HB 25-1030 is a Colorado law that ensures building codes adopted by local governments meet or exceed accessibility standards for people with disabilities. This means when counties and cities update their building rules, they must include strong guidelines to make buildings accessible, following the International Building Code and not falling below what's required by federal disability laws. The law applies broadly but exempts single-family homes and some energy-efficient codes. It also requires state oversight to ensure that schools, health facilities, hotels, and other public spaces are made more accessible when their building standards change. Since it has been signed into law, this bill is now in effect and local governments must follow these new guidelines when updating their building codes.

Official Summary

The act requires a board of county commissioners, a governing body of a municipality, or a regional building department operating through an intergovernmental agreement with a board of county commissioners or governing body of a municipality that adopts or substantially amends a building code or updates a building code with a succeeding version of the international building code to ensure that the building code meets or exceeds the accessibility standards in the International Building Code, and the adopted accessibility standards cannot provide less protection than what is required by the federal "Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990". However, this requirement does not apply when energy-efficient building codes are adopted, nor does it apply to one- and 2-family dwellings and townhomes that comply with either the International Residential Code or a local building code whose accessibility standards are equivalent to the standards in the International Residential Code. The act requires the division of fire prevention and control within the department of public safety to ensure that, when certain building codes pertaining to public school and health facilities are substantially amended, the codes meet or exceed accessibility standards in the International Building Code. The act also requires the state housing board to ensure that, when the uniform construction and maintenance standards for hotels, motels, and multiple dwellings in jurisdictions with no local building code are substantially amended, the standards meet or exceed the accessibility standards in the International Building Code. The act also requires the state housing board to ensure that, when the recommendations for uniform housing standards and building codes to the general assembly and local governments are substantially amended, the codes meet or exceed the accessibility standards in the International Building Code. (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

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