LD 2225

APPROVED  CHAPTER
  APRIL 16, 2026  736
  BY GOVERNOR  PUBLIC LAW
  STATE OF MAINE
  _____
  IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD
  TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-SIX
  _____
  S.P. 908 - L.D. 2225
An Act to Support Municipal Enforcement of Residential Construction Laws,
  Codes and Regulations
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
   Sec. 1. 10 MRSA §9722, sub-§6, ¶B, as amended by PL 2019, c. 391, §4, is further
amended by amending subparagraph (8) to read:
        (8) ASHRAE Standard 90.1 Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise
        Residential Buildings; and
   Sec. 2. 10 MRSA §9722, sub-§6, ¶B, as amended by PL 2019, c. 391, §4, is further
amended by amending subparagraph (9) to read:
        (9) Standard Practice for Radon Control Options for the Design and Construction
        of New Low-Rise Residential Buildings published by the American Society for
        Testing and Materials.; and
   Sec. 3. 10 MRSA §9722, sub-§6, ¶B, as amended by PL 2019, c. 391, §4, is further
amended by enacting a new subparagraph (10) to read:
        (10) International Code Council and Modular Building Institute 1200 Standard for
        Off-site Construction: Planning, Design, Fabrication and Assembly.
    Sec. 4. 30-A MRSA §4451, sub-§3, as amended by PL 2025, c. 388, Pt. D, §38, is
further amended to read:
    3. Training and certification of code enforcement officers. In cooperation with
code enforcement officer professional associations, the Maine Community College System,
the Department of Environmental Protection and the Department of Health and Human
Services, except as otherwise provided in paragraph H, the Maine Office of Community
Affairs shall establish a continuing education program for individuals engaged in code
enforcement. This program must provide training in the technical and legal aspects of code
enforcement necessary for certification. The training program must include training to
provide familiarity with the laws and ordinances related to the structure and practice of the
municipal code enforcement office, municipal planning board and appeals board
procedures, application review and permitting procedures, inspection procedures and code
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enforcement techniques, including enforcement of codes regulating industrialized housing.
For the purposes of this subsection, "industrialized housing" means a structure designed to
be used for residential housing that consists of or is constructed using one or more modular
buildings, modular components or panelized systems that is wholly or in substantial part
fabricated or assembled in a manufacturing plant for installation, or assembly and
installation, on a separate building site and has been manufactured in such a manner that
all parts or processes cannot be inspected at the installation site without disassembly of,
damage to or destruction of the structure.
    H. If funding is not available to support the training and certification program
    authorized under this subsection, the Maine Office of Community Affairs shall
    discontinue training and certification activities related to laws and ordinances
    referenced in subsection 2‑A, paragraphs A and B and shall adopt by routine technical
    rules under Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2‑A a program to register code enforcement
    officers that meet training and education qualifications. The Maine Office of
    Community Affairs shall publish the list of persons registered for code enforcement
    who have submitted evidence of required qualifications. Persons registered under this
    paragraph must meet the requirements for training and certification under this
    subchapter. The Maine Office of Community Affairs shall consult with the
    Department of Health and Human Services for the purposes of carrying out training
    and certification activities related to laws and ordinances referenced in subsection 2‑A,
    paragraphs C and D. Within one month of discontinuation of training and certification
    under this paragraph, the Maine Office of Community Affairs shall report to the joint
    standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over appropriations and
    financial affairs and the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction
    over state and local government matters a recommendation for funding the training and
    certification program or for further changes in program requirements.
    Sec. 5. PL 2025, c. 388, Pt. D, §48, sub-§7 is enacted to read:
     7. Notwithstanding the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 5, section 17851, 17851-A,
17851-B or 17851-C or any other provision of law to the contrary, a member whose
position is transferred from the Department of Public Safety, Division of Building Codes
and Standards program to the Maine Office of Community Affairs pursuant to this Part and
who becomes subject to different service retirement benefits qualification requirements as
a result of the transfer is eligible to receive service retirement benefits under the service
retirement benefits qualification requirements and the associated benefit computation
provisions in effect prior to the position being transferred pursuant to this Part.
    Sec. 6. Regionalized code enforcement pilot project. The Maine Office of
Community Affairs, through the Housing Opportunity Program established in the Maine
Revised Statutes, Title 5, section 3241, shall conduct a 3-year pilot project to promote,
incentivize and support the adoption of regionalized approaches to code enforcement by
municipalities. The Maine Office of Community Affairs shall administer the pilot project
and establish guidelines for the administration of the pilot project as follows.
    1. The pilot project must start no later than January 1, 2027 and continue for no more
than 3 years.
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    2. The Maine Office of Community Affairs shall conduct an ongoing evaluation of the
pilot project to determine the efficacy and effect of adopting a regionalized approach to
code enforcement for participating municipalities.
     3. No later than January 15th of each year for the duration of the pilot project, and no
later than 60 days following the end of the pilot project, the Maine Office of Community
Affairs shall submit a report on the status of the pilot project to the joint standing committee
of the Legislature having jurisdiction over building code matters. The final report must
include, but is not limited to, the total number of participating municipalities; the reported
effects of adopting a regionalized approach to code enforcement; any barriers to the success
of the pilot project; and recommendations, including any suggested legislation, for adopting
a regionalized approach to code enforcement.
    Upon receipt of any report required by this section, the joint standing committee of the
Legislature having jurisdiction over building code matters may report out legislation based
on the report to the legislative session in which the report is received.
    Sec. 7. Retroactivity. That section of this Act that enacts Public Law 2025, chapter
388, Part D, section 48, subsection 7 applies retroactively to September 24, 2025.
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