Senate housing committee advances bills to expand state code-enforcement authority amid local-control and contractor concerns

The New York State Senate Committee on Housing, Construction and Community Development on Tuesday advanced several bills that would clarify and, in some cases, expand the Department of State’s authority to administer and enforce the state building and energy codes.

Chair Brian Kavanaugh described the measures as a way to provide “a backstop” where local code enforcement is persistently deficient and said the Secretary of State’s power to step in has been rare in practice but remains necessary in egregious cases. "This bill is intended to deal with... a circumstance where there's a perceived egregious lack of enforcement," Kavanaugh said.

Opponents and several committee members pressed sponsors and staff on specific provisions. Senators asked whether the legislation would allow the Secretary of State to employ private contractors to perform enforcement duties, what qualifications such contractors would need, whether contractors could collect fines or fees, and how conflicts of interest would be avoided. One committee member warned that hiring third-party contractors to enforce codes could create conflicts if those contractors also do construction work in the state.

Kavanaugh responded that the bill authorizes the Department of State to use contractors in limited circumstances and that procurement and conflict-of-interest rules would apply. He also said the department and the codes council already hold statewide expertise and that contracting would follow typical requests for proposals to ensure qualifications and ethical standards.

Committee members also debated related measures aimed at updating code-adoption timelines and language in the energy code. One senator raised concern that a separate bill removes the word "economically" from the phrase "economically reasonable energy conservation techniques," asking whether that change would narrow or broaden the council’s ability to consider cost impacts. Kavanaugh said the committee would seek clarification from the sponsor and that no one intended to eliminate consideration of economic reasonableness.

After discussion, the committee moved and reported the measures to the floor or finance committee for further action. No floor passage occurred at the meeting.

The committee indicated it would follow up with sponsors to clarify language on contractor qualifications, fee authority and the intended scope of economic considerations in energy-code adoption. Next steps are procedural: reported bills will advance through the Senate’s calendar and to committee hearings in the Assembly or to conference as required.