HF4137

Purpose

• Update Minnesota's State Building Code to improve safety and resilience to severe weather by adopting a standardized, climate-adjusted roof and wind-hail system (the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety’s 2025 Fortified Roof High Wind Standard with Hail Supplement).
• Use rulemaking to implement these standards and tailor them to Minnesota conditions.

Main Provisions

• Requirement to adopt the IBHS Fortified Roof High Wind Standard with Hail Supplement as part of the State Building Code, with rules crafted for Minnesota’s climate.
• The commissioner must convene a technical advisory group that includes a representative from IBHS to develop the rules.
• The changes apply to both new construction and reroofing, and they are implemented through rulemaking.

Special Requirements (Section 326B.106 Subd. 4) — Key Provisions

• a) Parking ramps: require an appropriate number of spaces for commuter vans (vehicles carrying 7 to 16 passengers) used for prearranged employee transportation or to access transit stops.
• b) Smoke detection: ensure dwellings, lodging houses, apartment houses, and hotels comply with smoke detection requirements in a related statute.
• c) Doors in nursing homes/hospitals: may not require doors from sleeping/patient rooms to be self-closing if an approved automatic fire extinguishing system is installed.
• d) Child care in churches: licensed day care centers serving fewer than 30 preschoolers located in a church basement with more than two stairs to the ground level may be exempt from the ground-level exit requirement.
• e) Family/group day care: until new state standards are enacted, uses the International Residential Code (as adopted in the State Building Code) for these homes.
• f) Enclosed stairways: existing two-story-or-less multi-dwelling buildings may not be required to enclose stairways.
• g) Double cylinder dead bolt locks: cannot prohibit their use in existing single-family homes, townhouses, or first-floor duplexes used as residences; any promotion of such locks must include a warning about fire dangers and safety steps.
• h) Relocated residential buildings: if moved within the state, they need not follow the State Energy Code or related energy provisions if an energy audit is performed where available.
• i) Automatic garage doors: all residential buildings must comply with energy and safety requirements for automatic garage door openers.
• j) Exterior wood decks, patios, balconies: decking surfaces may be built with heartwood from decay-resistant species (e.g., redwood, cedar) or with treated wood; the specific wood types/grades must be provided to the building official before final approval.
• k) Bioprocess piping: no local permit fees for bioprocess piping; permits managed under the state building code; data about materials and processes are treated as nonpublic.
• l) Ungraded lumber: allowed in geographic areas where the code did not apply as of April 1, 2008, to the same extent as before that date.
• m) Window cleaning safety: the commissioner must use expedited rulemaking to require window cleaning safety features meeting a nationally recognized standard; features are required for all new buildings and for certain alterations to existing buildings when safe cleaning provisions can be added.
• n) Adult-size changing facilities: require adult-size changing facilities as part of the State Building Code.
• o) Roof hardening standard: rules to adopt the IBHS Fortified Roof High Wind Standard with Hail Supplement, tailored to Minnesota, for both new construction and reroofing; a technical advisory group, including an IBHS representative, must develop these rules.

Significant Changes to Existing Law

• Adds a formal mandate to adopt a climate-tailored roof and wind-hail standard (IBHS Fortified Roof) into the State Building Code.
• Expands several safety, accessibility, and modernization requirements (smoke detectors, exit provisions, stairway rules, changing facilities, etc.).
• Introduces exemptions or accommodations for specific situations ( relocated buildings, certain child care settings, certain door mechanisms) and clarifies when energy-code-related requirements apply.
• Establishes a structured rulemaking process, including an expedited path for window cleaning safety standards.

Implementation and Compliance Considerations

• The bill relies on rulemaking by the commissioner, with input from a technical advisory group that includes IBHS.
• Requires alignment with existing state statutes (e.g., sections referencing the State Building Code, energy code, and specific licensing and safety provisions).
• Some provisions introduce exemptions or temporary standards for specific occupancy types and building configurations.

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Relevant Terms - State Building Code - Minnesota Statutes 326B.106 - Fortified Roof High Wind Standard - Hail Supplement - Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS) - Climate-tailored standards - Rulemaking - Technical advisory group - International Residential Code (IRC) - Energy Code / 326B.439 - Relocated residential buildings - Ungraded lumber - Window cleaning safety - Adult-size changing facilities - Automatic garage door openers - Bioprocess piping - Nonpublic data (13.7911)