Tiny house communities bill amended to allow student builders

SB 5383, concerning the creation of tiny house communities, passed out of its House committee in an amended form. To see what was included in the previous version, see our previous article.

The amended version makes the following changes:

• Removes the requirement that tiny houses be built in accordance with Appendix Q of the International Resident Code;
• Instead, requires the State Building Code Council to adopt codes specific to tiny houses by December 31, 2019; and
• Adds a provision that authorizes schools and training programs for students to contract with community service and nonprofit organizations to build tiny houses for low income housing, without regard to competitive bidding laws, if the students participating in the building of the tiny houses are in:
  • Training in a community and technical college construction or construction management program;
  • A career and technical education program;
  • An apprenticeship preparation program; or
  • Training under a construction career exploration program for high school students administered by a nonprofit organization.

SB 5383 is awaiting a House floor vote.