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Committee lays over bill that would repeal outdated Minnesota fire statutes
Summary
Representative Driscoll moved House File 1546, a technical cleanup to repeal statutes that conflict with the state fire code; State Fire Marshal Dan Scribe told the committee the changes direct enforcement to the state fire code and would not reduce safety. The committee laid the bill over for possible inclusion in an omnibus bill.
Representative Driscoll moved House File 1546 before the House Commerce Finance and Policy Committee on March 19, asking the panel to lay the bill over for possible inclusion in a future omnibus policy and finance bill.
The bill would repeal a number of older statutory provisions related to fire safety that, supporters told the committee, no longer apply because modern construction practices and the adopted state fire code govern current practice.
"We are looking to give clarity as to fire safety in Minnesota — to send people to the state fire code versus looking at a variety of different statutes," State Fire Marshal Dan Scribe testified. "Removal of these outdated statutes ... is a clean up effort and it won't lead to any less safety in Minnesota because we follow more stringent practices today with the adoption of the state fire code." Representative Driscoll described the measure as removing statutes that have become "mute" or that conflict with current code and practice.
No members of the public spoke for or against the bill during the hearing, and the committee did not adopt any amendments. The chair announced that HF1546 would be laid over for possible inclusion in the committee's omnibus bill.
The hearing record shows the bill was presented as a technical cleanup rather than as a change to enforcement authority; witnesses and the author emphasized directing questions of compliance to the adopted state fire code rather than to the older statutory language. The committee did not vote to pass the bill to another committee; the formal status recorded during the hearing was layover for possible omnibus inclusion.
