Virtual inspection authorization clears first round

A bill that would authorize virtual inspections of certain residential buildings advanced from general file Jan. 27.

Under LB441, introduced by Omaha Sen. Ashlei Spivey, any state agency, county, city or village that requires an inspection as part of a building permit could allow for virtual inspection by an authorized inspector under certain conditions.

Spivey said the measure is intended to modernize the building inspection process while preserving safety and accountability. It would not require local governments to use virtual inspections, she added.

“This is not a mandate, it does not lower standards and it does not replace the judgment of inspectors or permitting authorities,” Spivey said.

The inspection would have to be of an area of a residential building that is less than three stories in height and under 10,000 square feet.

In most cases, Spivey said, the inspection would have to be conducted live with both the individual requesting or holding the permit and the inspector. Inspections required for building permits of a nonstructural nature could be conducted using video or photo documentation for any reinspection.

An Urban Affairs Committee amendment, adopted 43-0, would further limit the option for virtual inspections to single-family or two-family residential buildings meeting the proposed height and area requirements.

LB441 as introduced would have required the individual requesting or holding the building permit to provide a list of personnel who are completing the work. Under the committee amendment, the required list would have to include only licensed or registered personnel completing the work to be virtually inspected.

The original bill also would require that certain inspection records be made available to the public. Under the committee amendment, the personnel list would not be included in that requirement.

Spivey introduced an amendment, adopted 45-0, that replaced the bill. It incorporates the changes included in the committee amendment and also removes the requirement that inspection records be made public, which she said raised privacy concerns.

Under her amendment, any state agency or local government that uses virtual inspections would not be required to publicize the personnel list.

Spivey offered another amendment, adopted 40-0, to require that only licensed or registered contractors be included in the required list.

Elkhorn Sen. R. Brad von Gillern supported the amendment, saying the change would further alleviate privacy concerns by ensuring that only the contractor completing the work to be inspected would be included in the list, not all of the contractor’s personnel.

LB441 advanced to select file on a vote of 45-0.