35-9-121.1. Health care facilities; jurisdiction; delegation; rules.

(a) The department of health has jurisdiction over all aspects of construction and remodeling, except electrical installation, of any state licensed health care facility as defined in W.S. 35-2-901.

(b) The fire safety code requirements for the construction and remodeling of any state licensed health care facility shall meet the minimum requirements established in the National Fire Protection Association 101 Life Safety Code or any other code required to meet federal fire and life safety certification. If any code requirements for federal certification conflict with the code of any other state or local governmental entity, the code required for federal certification shall prevail.

(c) The department of health shall promulgate rules and regulations for all aspects of construction and remodeling of health care facilities except electrical installation. For aspects of construction and remodeling included in codes adopted by the council pursuant to W.S. 35-9-106, the rules and regulations shall be based on and not exceed the standards of these codes except where federal certification requirements dictate otherwise.

(d) Upon written request from any county or municipality, the department of health shall delegate plan review and inspection responsibilities to the county or municipality that has personnel who are certified pursuant to the applicable code. The department of health shall transfer jurisdiction and authority by letter. The department of health shall notify the governing body of the municipality or county of the minimum standards and requirements under this section and W.S. 16-6-501 and 16-6-502. The following shall apply:

(i) Any municipality or county may issue a certificate of occupancy for a health care facility. The certificate shall reference any code applied to the construction or remodeling of the facility;

(ii) A municipality or county which has enforcement authority under this subsection shall create its own appeals board to determine the suitability of alternate materials and types of construction.

(e) After construction or remodeling of any health care facility, the department of health shall have jurisdiction over the fire and life safety inspections required for federal certification.