§34-15-4. Duty of hotel owners, operators, etc., to maintain conditions, smoke detectors, etc.

(a) Every owner, manager, or operator of a hotel shall maintain the physical and sanitary condition of the structure, its equipment, water supply, and human waste disposal and shall conduct the operations thereof in such manner as to render services and accommodations to travelers in compliance with rules and regulations governing hotels and hotel operation adopted by the State Board of Health.

(b) Every owner, manager, or operator of a hotel shall install and maintain in operating condition a battery or electrically operated smoke detector device in each hotel guest sleeping room. The detectors shall have received an approval from a nationally recognized testing organization.

(c) Hotel owners or operators shall be required to test each smoke detector device at least once each quarter of each calendar year to determine if each detector is in working order.

(d) Any person who is convicted, in a court of proper jurisdiction, of tampering with or removing a smoke detector from a hotel room shall be guilty of a Class C misdemeanor as defined by Title 13A.

(e) Hotel owners or operators who are found to be in non-compliance with this section shall be guilty upon conviction of a Class C misdemeanor as defined by Title 13A.

(Code 1907, §7094; Acts 1919, No. 597, p. 845; Code 1923, §4465; Acts 1935, No. 444, p. 926; Code 1940, T. 24, §2; Acts 1959, No. 412, p. 1046, §1; Acts 1981, No. 81-290, p. 372, §§1, 2.)