05 LC 19
6389
Senate
Bill 21
By:
Senators Butler of the 55th, Henson of the 41st, Brown of the 26th, Reed of the
35th, Seay of the 34th and others
A
BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
AN ACT
To
amend Chapter 2 of Title 25 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating
to the regulation of fire and other hazards to persons and property generally,
so as to provide that after July 1, 2005, each new dwelling or dwelling unit
shall be equipped with a carbon monoxide detector or alarm; to provide for
standards; to provide for enforcement; to provide a penalty; to provide for
other related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other
purposes.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION
1.
Chapter
2 of Title 25 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to the
regulation of fire and other hazards to persons and property generally, is
amended by inserting at the end thereof a new Code Section 25-2-41 to read as
follows:
"25-2-41.
(a)
On and after July 1, 2005, every new dwelling and every new dwelling unit within
an apartment building, house, condominium, townhouse, motel, hotel, or dormitory
shall be equipped with a carbon monoxide detector or alarm which bears the label
of a nationally recognized testing laboratory approved by the state fire marshal
and which complies with the most recent Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (UL)
Standard 2034 or its equivalent.
(b)(1)
The provisions of this Code section may be enforced by local building and fire
code officials in the case of residential buildings which are not covered by
Code Section 25-2-13; provided, however, that this Code section shall not
establish a special duty on said officials to inspect such residential
facilities for compliance with this Code section; provided, further, that
inspections shall not be conducted for the purpose of determining compliance
with this Code section absent reasonable cause to suspect other building or fire
code violations. The jurisdiction enforcing this Code section shall retain any
fines collected pursuant to this subsection.
(2)
Any occupant who fails to maintain a carbon monoxide detector or alarm in a
dwelling, dwelling unit, or other facility listed in subsection (a) of this Code
section in good working order as required in this Code section shall be subject
to a maximum fine of $25.00, provided that a warning shall be issued for a first
violation.
(c)
Failure to maintain a carbon monoxide detector in good working order in a
dwelling, dwelling unit, or other facility listed in subsection (a) of this Code
section in violation of this Code section shall not be considered evidence of
negligence, shall not be considered by the court on any question of liability of
any person, corporation, or insurer, shall not be any basis for cancellation of
coverage or increase in insurance rates, and shall not diminish any recovery for
damages arising out of the ownership, maintenance, or occupancy of such
dwelling, dwelling unit, or other facility listed in subsection (a) of this Code
section."
SECTION
2.
All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.