Section 3731.02. Fire marshal rules and enforcement - building code standards for SRO facilities

(A) The state fire marshal shall make such rules as are necessary to carry out this chapter, which shall include, but are not limited to, rules establishing requirements to renew a license issued under this chapter and fees for licensure and renewal and for inspections of hotels. Except as provided in division (G) of section 3731.12 of the Revised Code, the state fire marshal and the assistant state fire marshals shall enforce this chapter.

(B) Except as otherwise provided in this division and divisions (C) and (D) of this section, the board of building standards shall adopt, pursuant to section 3781.10 of the Revised Code, rules that specify that the building code standards for SRO facilities shall be use group R-2. Any facility operating prior to October 16, 1996, in the nature of an SRO facility that met the building code standards for an SRO facility prior to that date, whether previously licensed as a hotel or not, and after October 16, 1996, licensed as an SRO facility under section 3731.03 of the Revised Code, shall be permitted under the rules to have a building code standard of either use group R-1 or use group R-2 if the facility meets the requirements for those use groups as specified in the Ohio building code adopted pursuant to section 3781.10 of the Revised Code. The requirements of this division apply to an SRO facility that holds a license as an SRO facility on September 12, 2008, unless any of the following events occur on or after September 12, 2008:

(1) The owner of the SRO facility constructs or alters the facility.

(2) The owner of the SRO facility surrenders the license issued to that facility.

(3) The owner of the SRO facility changes the use or occupancy of that facility.

(4) The license issued to that SRO facility under this chapter is revoked or is not renewed.

(C) If any of the events described in divisions (B)(1) to (4) of this section occur, the owner of the structure shall comply with division (D) of this section to obtain a new license to operate as an SRO facility.

(D) Beginning on September 12, 2008, the state fire marshal shall not issue a new license to operate a facility as an SRO facility, and shall not renew such a license issued under this division, unless the SRO facility is constructed providing individual sleeping rooms for each guest; has, on a per-room or a communal basis within each building to be licensed as an SRO facility, permanent provisions for living, eating, cooking, and sanitation; and is constructed in accordance with the requirements specified for SRO facilities and is approved by the building official having jurisdiction over that facility to be an SRO facility. An SRO facility subject to this division shall only operate with, and shall properly maintain, individual sleeping rooms for each guest and shall only operate with, and shall properly maintain, on a per-room or communal basis, permanent provisions available to all guests for living, eating, cooking, and sanitation.

(E) The state fire marshal may, pursuant to division (A) of this section, adopt rules establishing a fire code and sanitary standards compliance incentive program for persons required to procure a license for a hotel under section 3731.03 of the Revised Code. The rules may include provisions for the creation of a "Safe Stay Hotel" designation by the state fire marshal, the standards a licensed hotel must meet to achieve and maintain that designation, the procedures the state fire marshal shall use to publish and maintain a registry of hotels receiving that designation, and any monetary incentives offered by the state fire marshal to encourage a licensed hotel to achieve and maintain that designation. At a minimum, no hotel may be designated as a "Safe Stay Hotel" or maintain such a designation unless it meets the fire code and sanitary compliance standards established pursuant to this section for a continuous period of at least twenty-four months.

Nothing in this division shall be construed to limit the power of this state, the department of commerce, the state fire marshal, or any other political subdivision of the state to administer and enforce any other sections of this chapter or any other applicable laws, rules, and regulations. Nothing in this division shall be construed to require the state fire marshal to designate a hotel as a "Safe Stay Hotel" or require the state fire marshal to award a monetary incentive to a hotel in any manner that is inconsistent or in conflict with the rules adopted under this section or any other applicable laws, rules, or regulations.

Amended by 130th General Assembly File No. TBD, HB 486, §1, eff. 9/16/2014.

Effective Date: 10-16-1996; 04-04-2007; 2008 SB237 09-12-2008