Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Construction Codes topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
DLI expands exam proctoring; committee presses agency on plan‑review delays
Summary
The Department of Labor and Industry said it added regional proctors and staff to cut plan‑review backlogs; building and mechanical reviews are about five weeks and plumbing reviews about seven weeks, by department estimate, though some contractors report longer waits.
The committee heard a presentation from the Department of Labor and Industry’s construction codes and licensing division and followed with questions about plan-review timelines and licensing access.
Commissioner Nicole Blissenbach said the licensing unit now has two exam proctors assigned to cover northern and southern portions of the state in addition to the Saint Paul proctor. The department reported proctoring 9,754 licensing exams in 2024, with approximately 6,300 at the Saint Paul office and roughly 3,100 at nonmetro locations.
The construction codes and licensing division licenses and certifies electricians, plumbers, elevator constructors, manufactured home installers, residential building contractors and others, and administers the contractor recovery fund to help homeowners harmed by licensed-contractor fraud.
Several senators pressed DLI on plan-review backlogs. Blissenbach acknowledged delays in plumbing plan review last year and said the department added plan-review staff; in response to a direct question the department estimated plumbing plan-review turnaround at about seven weeks and building and mechanical plan reviews at about five weeks. Greg Matz, assistant director at DLI and state building official, confirmed the five-week estimate for building and mechanical code plan reviews.
Contractors and some senators told the committee they have experienced longer waits—one senator cited a contractor whose July submission was approved only this week—so members asked the agency to return with current, verifiable turnaround metrics and to continue efforts to reduce delay.
The committee also discussed the construction codes fund, which DLI said is funded by licensing fees, permits and inspection revenue; Blissenbach said those fee revenues are appropriated to construction codes and licensing work and will appear in the department’s budget request this session.
