Provides relative to allowing municipalities or parishes to adopt certain construction standards

HB 461 amends the State Uniform Construction Code framework by creating a new exception to mandatory state code adoption. The bill enacts R.S. 40:1730.28.6, which authorizes parishes and municipalities to adopt local ordinances requiring that new residential construction, reconstruction, or residential re-roofing projects involving replacement of fifty percent or more of the total roof area comply with FORTIFIED Home standards established by the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety. The legislation modifies R.S. 40:1730.28(A) to recognize this new exception alongside existing exceptions, explicitly establishing that local adoption of FORTIFIED standards remains strictly voluntary and does not mandate any parish or municipality to exceed the State Uniform Construction Code.

Local governments choosing to adopt FORTIFIED standards must incorporate specific verification and notification requirements into their ordinances. Any local ordinance must require that an IBHS-certified evaluator verify the applicable FORTIFIED designation prior to issuance of a certificate of occupancy or completion, establishing a certification checkpoint in the permitting process. Additionally, any parish or municipality adopting such an ordinance must notify the Louisiana State Uniform Construction Code Council at least sixty days before the ordinance becomes effective, providing the state council with advance notice of local adoption decisions and allowing for coordination within the statewide code framework.

The legislation operates within Louisiana's existing building code structure established in R.S. 40:1730 et seq., which provides for a State Uniform Construction Code adopted by the council. The bill preserves the primacy of state code requirements while creating a narrowly tailored carve-out for local resilience standards. By characterizing the authority as strictly optional and explicitly stating it does not require adoption beyond state code unless a local authority affirmatively elects through ordinance, the bill maintains the constitutional distinction between state mandates and local home rule authority while respecting Louisiana's centralized construction code framework.