SB1376

Code enforcement includes inspecting premises for hazards such as unsafe buildings, fire or health hazards and nuisance violations. Before SB1376, section 1952.103(c) provided for trainees to work under a registered officer’s supervision without this express employer-based exception. The new exception turns on whether the employer also employs a registered officer—not simply whether a supervisor is absent for the day. It is permission to work unsupervised in that circumstance, not a requirement that the employer abandon supervision. Code-enforcement definition; Prior trainee rule; Final law.

The act does not waive trainee registration, examination, fees or other applicable qualifications. The existing trainee provision covers applicants with less than one year of full-time code-enforcement experience who satisfy its examination and other requirements, and the trainee certificate expires on its first anniversary. SB1376 amends the supervision subsection, not those eligibility and expiration provisions. Trainee eligibility and certificate term; Final law.

HB4765 also amended this section in the same session. The official statutory text as of December 31, 2025 combines the wording and retains SB1376’s no-registered-employee exception. It would be incorrect to read HB4765’s supervision wording alone as silently removing this exception. Related HB4765 final law; Combined statutory text; Final law.

All five versions of SB1376 have the same operative two sections, and the official index lists no amendments. The employer-based exception was present at introduction and survived unchanged. Introduced; Senate committee; Senate-passed; House committee; Final law; Version index; Amendment index.

Compare the published text versions in the official text index. A change is not attributed to a specific amendment here without a verified record.

Employers without a registered officer gain staffing flexibility, and qualifying trainees may carry out code-enforcement work without that supervision. Residents may consequently encounter trainees working independently in the covered circumstances. The law does not quantify staffing savings or determine whether inspection quality will improve or decline. Final law.

The March 17 fiscal note anticipates no significant state or local fiscal impact and assumes state costs can be absorbed using existing resources. It does not estimate individual employers’ savings or trainees’ costs. The act makes no appropriation. Fiscal note; Final law.