House approves bill requiring municipalities to ensure building‑inspector availability during business hours

The Utah House on Feb. 24 voted to approve House Bill 420, a bill requiring municipalities that employ at least one full‑time building inspector to ensure the availability of an inspector during regular business hours.

Representative Tilton, sponsor of the bill, said the measure responded to problems contractors faced in municipalities that operate a four‑day work week and sometimes had no inspector available on Fridays. He offered amendment number 2 — submitted with input from the League of Cities and Towns — which was adopted; the amendment clarified that the requirement concerns availability during regular business hours and spelled out exceptions for holidays, vacations, sickness and other commonly accepted reasons, including the requirement that many cities require appointments for inspections.

Representative Wylie, who identified himself as a building inspector for Salt Lake City, declared a conflict of interest and spoke in opposition, calling the bill "a knee‑jerk reaction" to isolated problems and warning against adding bureaucracy to local building departments. Representative Steve Clark spoke in support, saying municipalities should be open to serve the public.

Sponsor Tilton and others said the law would not force full‑day work on Fridays but would require the ability to make an inspection if needed; the clerk reported the final tally as 39 yes, 26 no. The bill will be referred to the Senate for further consideration.

Quotes in this article are drawn from remarks on the floor and attributed to the representatives who made them in the House debate.