HB 1653-FN – AS INTRODUCED
2006 SESSION
05/10
HOUSE BILL 1653-FN
AN ACT requiring handrails on stairways in public buildings.
SPONSORS: Rep. Ginsburg, Hills 20
COMMITTEE: Public Works and Highways
This bill requires handrails on both sides of the stairway in all occupied public buildings.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
06-2727
05/10
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Six
AN ACT requiring handrails on stairways in public buildings.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Accessibility of Public Buildings. Amend RSA 155-A:5 to read as follows:
155-A:5 Accessibility of Public Buildings. Notwithstanding RSA 155-A:2[,]:
I. All new buildings constructed by the state or any of its agencies, and all new schools, halls, theaters, or other public buildings in this state in which more than 100 people can be assembled shall be required to provide at least one entrance and exit designed so that the public areas of the entire building are accessible to persons with disabilities.
II. Any occupied public building shall have handrails on both sides of stairways located within the building.
2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
LBAO
06-2727
12/6/05
HB 1653-FN - FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT requiring handrails on stairways in public buildings.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Department of Administrative Services, New Hampshire Municipal Association and Association of Counties state this bill will increase state, county, and local expenditures by an indeterminable amount in FY 2007. This bill will have no fiscal impact on state, county, and local revenue.
METHODOLOGY:
The Department of Administrative Services states an outside engineering firm would be required to investigate every state-owned occupied building to develop scope of work, and ensure that life safety codes are not violated. The Department states costs would include engineering costs to survey existing buildings for scope of work, document non-compliant conditions for bid, and material and installation costs for the additional handrails. Assuming 50 non-compliant stairs, the Department estimates engineering costs would total $300,000, and construction costs would total $80,000, resulting in a total cost of $380,000.
The New Hampshire Municipal Association states this bill will impose an indeterminable cost on municipalities as they assume there are a number of stairways in public buildings that do not have handrails on both sides. The number of such stairways, the length of those stairways, and the cost to construct the additional handrails cannot be determined at this time.
The Association of Counties states this bill would require all county buildings to have handrails on both sides of stairways located within the building. The Association has not completed a survey of how many staircases might be affected by this legislation. However, to the extent that this bill requires the addition of handrails or other building modifications, it will increase county expenditures.