Fire marshal fee increases amended, advanced

An array of fees charged by the State Fire Marshal would increase under a bill given second-round approval May 9.

LB434, sponsored by Fremont Sen. Dave Wordekemper, would increase fees on more than a dozen licenses, inspections and reviews undertaken by the fire marshal’s office. For example, under the bill, a fireworks display permit would increase from $10 to $100, a retailer license from $25 to $100 and a distributor license from $500 to $1,000.

The bill also would increase the fee for building plan reviews from not more than $500 to not more than $10,000 and double the cap on fire alarm inspection fees from no more than $100 to no more than $200.

Wordekemper offered an amendment on select file that would lower the cap on building plan reviews from not more than $10,000 to not more than $5,000. It also would change the late submittal fee for remodeling or construction project reviews from an amount equal to an additional 50% of the plan review fee to a flat $100 in addition to the plan review fee.

The changes would cut the measure’s highest potential fee in half, Wordekemper said, and address a concern expressed by senators during the first round of debate regarding the plan review late fee. The amendment was adopted 33-0.

An amendment offered by North Platte Sen. Mike Jacobson would strike a provision requiring that fees set by the fire marshal meet the costs of administering a building plan review “and other agency duties.”

He said user fees should not exceed the cost of providing a specific service and that the addition of language allowing the fee to include the cost of “other agency duties” was too “open-ended.”

“The fire marshal should be fully repaid for all their costs — fixed and variable — to do a particular service, but not more than that,” Jacobson said.

Wordekemper opposed the amendment, saying there are many expenses “triggered” by a plan review that fall under the language of other agency duties. The fire marshal should have discretion over how fees generated by the office are used to keep residents safe, he said.

“I don’t believe we should restrict how they use those fees to provide a critical service to Nebraska,” Wordekemper said.

After adopting the Jacobson amendment on a 25-6 vote, the minimum number required, lawmakers advanced LB434 to final reading by voice vote.