Sen. Coore seeks to close loophole on emergency communications for renovated buildings

Sen. Coore presented Senate Bill 259 to the Corrections and Public Safety Committee, saying the bill would extend existing in‑building emergency communications requirements to renovated or modified buildings that exceed 25,000 square feet and would require a grid acceptance test (GAD) with at least 95% coverage.

Eric Wagner, director with the Division of Communications, described the GAD as a pass/fail test the division administers and said the fire marshal decides whether to issue the certificate of occupancy. "The GAD is used to measure the reliability of an in‑building communication system..." Wagner told the committee and added that variances exist for certain excluded areas such as stairwells and cell blocks.

Sen. Coore and other members cited examples where existing construction issues could have been caught by testing; the bill’s sponsors also proposed removing obsolete language establishing a 2010 advisory committee and said they will introduce an amendment to change the building‑modification threshold to a definition based on 40% or more of the total floor area being modified. The sponsor also said the bill’s effective date would move to Feb. 1, 2027, to give owners and designers time to comply.

Scott Kidner, representing the Commercial Industrial Realty Council, said the industry is neutral but asked for clearer definitions of "renovation" and how the law will affect architects and engineers in planning and design. No committee vote was recorded on SB259 at this hearing.