Amends TCA Title 47; Title 49; Title 66 and Title 68.

This bill enacts the "Fuel Gas Detector Act," which requires the installation or provision of fuel gas monitors in various types of residential buildings that are rented or leased. For purposes of this bill, a fuel gas detector is a device that: (1) Has an assembly that incorporates a sensor and an alarm that detects elevations in propane, natural gas, or a liquefied petroleum gas; (2) Sounds a warning alarm; (3) Is battery-operated, plugged into an electrical outlet, or hardwired; and (4) Is approved by a nationally recognized independent testing laboratory. This bill requires building owners or landlords, as applicable, to install at least one fuel gas detector in every room containing an appliance fueled by propane, natural gas, or a liquefied petroleum gas, as follows: (1) By December 31, 2023, in each unit in a building of multi-family occupancy, which this bill defines to mean a residential building, where the inhabitants are under a lease agreement, and where multiple separate housing units for residential inhabitants are contained within one building or several buildings within one complex, including: an apartment building, condominium building, or townhouse; or a fraternity house, sorority house, or dormitory facility for an institution of higher education; and (2) In each residential property under a lease agreement and intended for single family use that is built or renovated on or after July 1, 2023. This bill requires a person who, on or after January 1, 2024, acquires by sale or exchange a building described in (1) or (2) to install fuel gas detectors within 30 days of acquisition or occupancy of the building, whichever is later, if fuel gas detectors are not already installed. This bill requires residential landlords to ensure that each fuel gas detector is in working condition each time a new tenant takes occupancy. This bill also requires residential landlords to immediately repair or replace a fuel gas detector upon receipt of a written notice of a deficiency in the detector. This bill generally prohibits persons from knowingly interfering with or making inoperative a fuel gas detector, except that a building owner may temporarily disconnect a fuel gas detector only for construction, maintenance, repair, or rehabilitation activities when such activities are likely to activate the fuel gas detector alarm or make the fuel gas detector inoperable or unsafe. This bill specifies that: (1) A person does not have a claim for relief against a property owner, a property purchaser, an authorized agent of a property owner or purchaser, a person in possession of real property, a closing agent, or a lender for damages resulting from the operation, maintenance, or effectiveness of a fuel gas detector installed in accordance with this bill; and (2) This bill does not create a cause of action against a building owner or landlord who has conducted an inspection of the required fuel gas detectors immediately after installation and has re-inspected the fuel gas detectors prior to occupancy by each new tenant, unless the owner has been given at least 24 hours' actual notice of a defect or failure of a fuel gas detector to operate properly and has failed to act to correct the defect or failure. In jurisdictions that are subject to the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, this bill requires tenants to keep each fuel gas detector within the tenant's unit in working condition by keeping the fuel gas detector connected to the electrical service in the building or keeping charged batteries in a battery-operated fuel gas detector, testing the fuel gas detector periodically, and refraining from disabling the fuel gas detector. The full text of this bill specifies a graduated schedule of civil penalties that the state fire marshal is authorized to impose for violations of this bill. The amount of the penalty depends on the number of prior violations, if any, and the type of structure to which the violation applies. The penalties range from $250 for a first offense involving a single-family residential property to $5,000 for a third or subsequent offense involving a multi-family occupancy, or a hotel, motel, or inn. This bill authorizes the state fire marshal to waive penalties for violations that are corrected within 10 days after issuance of a complaint of violation.