HB 760- Exempting Kansas City from the inspection and certification standards imposed by the Missouri State Elevator Safety Board. The bill was voted DO PASS out of the House Urban Affairs Committee on 03/27/01, but failed to advance due to extraordinary efforts on the part of labor. At the end of the legislative session, the General Assembly passed HB 185 to be signed into law by Governor Holden (who, as of this writing has not signed the bill). The last section of the bill, which is extremely ambiguous, can be interpreted to effectively exempt “private” freight elevators from state inspections. However, the terms “private” and “public”, as they pertain to the use of these elevators, can still be easily called into question. The coalition of owners and the Chamber of Commerce, who have championed the exemption on behalf of building owners, intend to restart this process in fall in order to realize the original intent of exempting all KCMO elevators from state (vs. city) administered inspections.

Adoption of the International Building Code (IBC) is being negotiated with labor in Kansas City, MO. Again, due to strong labor influences, the IBC will be approved by the City Council only if it is implemented along with significant portions of the 1997 Uniform Plumbing Code (UPC) now in effect. What is on the table includes lack of cost effective flexibility (particularly in rehab) with regard to plumbing fixture counts, pipe sizing and materials, and venting requirements. According to Bob Collins, KCMO City Manager, at this time there appears to be some positive movement in negotiating local amendments to the 1997 UPC that would afford the cost effective flexibility required for owners to fully support adoption of these building codes changes.