The Commissioner of Insurance adopts amendments to §34.303, concerning standards for state fire marshal inspections without changes to the proposed text as published in the July 25, 2003, issue of the Texas Register (28 TexReg 5786) and will not be republished.

The amendment to §34.303 is necessary to replace the currently adopted Life Safety Code 2000 with the most recent version, the 2003 edition. The updated edition was republished to reformat all exceptions into numbered or lettered paragraphs and to reformat some paragraphs with multiple requirements to comply with the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Manual of Style.

The amendment to §34.303 directs the use of the NFPA 101-2003, Life Safety Code, by the state fire marshal as the standards for the inspection of buildings and premises pursuant to Government Code §417.

No comments were received.

The amendment is adopted under the Government Code §417.008 and Insurance Code §36.001. Government Code §417.008 allows the commissioner to adopt by rule any appropriate standard developed by a nationally recognized standards-making association under which the state fire marshal may enforce this section regarding right of entry and examination and correction of dangerous conditions. Insurance Code §36.001 authorizes the Commissioner of Insurance to adopt rules necessary and appropriate to implement the duties and powers of the Texas Department of Insurance.