W. Va. Code R. § 103-6-8

Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 50, December 13, 2024
Section 103-6-8 - Local Code Enforcement Departments; Annual Reports
8.1. Any municipality, county, or local governmental entity, adopting and enforcing the State Building Code shall have a designated Code Enforcement Department.
8.1.a. A Code Enforcement Department must employ a certified Code Official as the administrator of the organization. The Code Official may supervise one or more Deputy Code Officials, and other administrative and technical staff employed by the Code Enforcement Department.
8.1.b. Each inspector, during the inspection, shall maintain and have readily available the current provisions in paper or electronic format of the appropriate standard for the relevant discipline available for review. The Code Official is responsible for ensuring that this is done, and that the inspector shall inform the building owner or agent, in writing, of the specific violation of the code by number and or title.
8.2. A person may not be employed or serve as a code official, code plans examiner or inspector unless that person is certified in his or her respective category by the State Fire Commission.
8.2.a. Any certified law enforcement officer(s) employed by a local jurisdiction may be permitted to enforce provisions of the property maintenance code pertaining to general property maintenance issues (high grass, rubbish, and garbage, etc.) without certification. However, such officer(s) may not cite violations relating to any structure(s) intended for human occupancy.
8.3. The Code Official shall submit an annual report to the State Fire Marshal indicating the number of employees in their respective code enforcement department, their job title, whether the employee is or is not certified by the State Fire Commission in their respective discipline, as well as a verification that the entity has adopted the current version of the State Building Code. The municipality, county, or local governmental entity, shall also report what ICC codes are being enforced respectively.
8.4. This annual report shall be filed with the State Fire Marshal no later than the thirtieth day of June of each year.
8.5. Conflict of Interest. No employee or person who contracts for services within the jurisdictional area of a Code Enforcement Department shall perform services for any department which would require that person or employee to exercise authority or make an evaluation of any work furnished by him or by a private contractor that employs him or with which he has a financial interest. Further, such employee or person shall not engage in conduct that is prohibited or considered a conflict of interest pursuant to the respective ICC code.
8.6. The State Fire Marshal may deny, suspend, or revoke, any certification or application for certification for any violation of this section.

W. Va. Code R. § 103-6-8