DENVER—Concerned over reports that some schools built over the past two decades have never been inspected, lawmakers this week are taking up a bill that would authorize more people to inspect the safety of public school buildings.
The Associated Press reported last year that some local fire officials had not seen a state schools inspector in 20 years. A former state inspector told the AP the state barred him from any inspection that required an overnight trip, making it nearly impossible to check schools on the Western Slope.
According to documents obtained by the AP, fire officials had documented fires that got out of hand, school roofs that collapsed and an elementary school where exposed electrical wiring was found the day before it was scheduled to open. Fortunately, no one was injured, they said.
A state audit found numerous fire and building code violations in architectural drawings for 10 school projects, including insufficient sprinklers, fire walls and exits.
Some of the projects were completed and occupied and others were still under construction. Auditors said the failures presented a serious threat to public safety.
Sen. Jack Taylor, R-Hayden, a member of the audit committee, said he believes school buildings are safe after state lawmakers approved $349,000 last year in emergency funding to hire inspectors.
The bill (House Bill 1027) will be heard Wednesday in the Senate Appropriations Committee.
It would give the Division of Oil and Public Safety, which is responsible for inspecting public school and junior college district buildings, the power to delegate inspections to local building departments or a third-party inspector.
Rep. Victor Mitchell, who sponsored the measure in the House, said Colorado has about 300 school construction projects a year. State law requires the state to certify many of the new buildings, but there aren’t enough state inspectors to do that, he said.
Mitchell, a Castle Rock Republican, said the bill also requires the Department of Public Safety’s Division of Fire Safety to help track building plans.
Other bills coming up this week:
— A bill (Senate Bill 195) that would allow the state to execute people convicted of sexually assaulting children younger than 12 years old. The bill applies to perpetrators who threaten to retaliate against their victims, and who are convicted of a second assault on a child. It will be heard in Senate Appropriations on Friday.
— A bill setting limits on protests in residential neighborhoods (Senate Bill 192). Protesters would have to keep walking along a route about 300 feet long, wouldn’t be able to camp out in front of a house and wouldn’t be able to carry signs larger than 6 square feet. It will be heard Wednesday in the House Judiciary Committee.
