Committee backs HB85 to require reroof permits, inspections and statewide permit data collection

The House Committee on Commerce on May 13 reported House Bill 85, which would require permits and inspections for reroofing work, allow insurers to accept documentation that may reduce premiums, and create a statewide database of reroof permit records and inspection outcomes.

Sponsor Representative Gadbury told the committee the bill is intended to clarify requirements for reroof permits, improve the existing housing stock, and ensure insurers can verify compliance. Bill supporters said the measure would produce records that insurers and actuaries could use when setting rates.

Bill testimony described operational elements of the program. Bill witness Bill Pousson of South Central Planning said local permitting and inspection systems are already used to capture data and that geotagged photos are already accepted under state law for roof inspections. “This would clarify that, and cause, you know, inspections to occur,” Pousson said, adding that the permitting and inspection data could be shared with the Department of Insurance and mined by firms such as CoreLogic for actuarial purposes.

Randy Noel, a home builder and former Louisiana State Uniform Construction Code Council chair, told the committee, “we are in dire straits with the homeowners insurance in terms of trying to sell our properties,” and argued that capturing roof-permit data and ensuring properly installed roofs will help reduce claim exposure from water intrusion following wind damage.

Committee members discussed how the bill intersects with the existing Fortified Roof program and the costs of evaluators and engineering. A committee exchange noted there are three Fortified standards (bronze, silver, gold) with higher engineering costs at higher levels; a bronze-level fortified analysis was described in testimony as running about $4,000 to $6,000 for engineering and documentation, while the bill would rely primarily on building-code inspections, which the witnesses said align with much of the Fortified design standards.

The committee considered amendment set 2657, which removes a provision that would have required municipalities or parishes to provide individual permit data upon request. Mr. McArthur read the amendment: “This amendment removes a provision requiring a municipality or parish which issues a permit for construction to provide upon request individual permit data.” The committee adopted amendment 2657 with no objections and then, on a motion by Representative Cox, moved HB85 as amended; the committee reported the bill favorably.

Witnesses and the sponsor emphasized that the inspection and permitting framework is intended to collect verifiable data for insurers and to improve long-term housing resilience; the transcript shows committee staff and witnesses discussing existing software systems that already capture permits and inspections and noting coverage of that system across about 95% of the state.