Florida Senate - 2013                              CS for SB 264
       
       
       
       By the Committee on Community Affairs; and Senator Hays
       
       
       
       
       578-01566-13                                           2013264c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to firesafety devices; amending s.
    3         633.025, F.S.; requiring certain battery-operated
    4         smoke alarms to meet specified standards; providing
    5         for applicability; conforming cross-references;
    6         providing an effective date.
    7  
    8  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
    9  
   10         Section 1. Subsections (9), (10), and (11) of section
   11  633.025, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
   12         633.025 Minimum firesafety standards.—
   13         (9) Effective January 1, 2014, any battery-operated smoke
   14  alarm that is newly installed or replaces an existing smoke
   15  alarm must be powered by a nonreplaceable, nonremovable battery
   16  capable of powering the smoke alarm for at least 10 years. This
   17  subsection does not apply to an electrically operated smoke
   18  alarm, a fire alarm system with a smoke detector, a fire alarm
   19  device that connects to a panel, or any similar device that uses
   20  a low-power radio frequency wireless communication signal.
   21         (10)(9) The provisions of the Life Safety Code do shall not
   22  apply to newly constructed one-family and two-family dwellings.
   23  However, fire sprinkler protection may be permitted by local
   24  government in lieu of other fire protection-related development
   25  requirements for such structures. While local governments may
   26  adopt fire sprinkler requirements for one- and two-family
   27  dwellings under this subsection, it is the intent of the
   28  Legislature that the economic consequences of the fire sprinkler
   29  mandate on home owners be studied before the enactment of such a
   30  requirement. After the effective date of this act, any local
   31  government that desires to adopt a fire sprinkler requirement on
   32  one- or two-family dwellings must prepare an economic cost and
   33  benefit report that analyzes the application of fire sprinklers
   34  to one- or two-family dwellings or any proposed residential
   35  subdivision. The report must consider the tradeoffs and specific
   36  cost savings and benefits of fire sprinklers for future owners
   37  of property. The report must include an assessment of the cost
   38  savings from any reduced or eliminated impact fees if
   39  applicable, the reduction in special fire district tax,
   40  insurance fees, and other taxes or fees imposed, and the waiver
   41  of certain infrastructure requirements including the reduction
   42  of roadway widths, the reduction of water line sizes, increased
   43  fire hydrant spacing, increased dead-end roadway length and a
   44  reduction in cul-de-sac sizes relative to the costs from fire
   45  sprinkling. A failure to prepare an economic report shall result
   46  in the invalidation of the fire sprinkler requirement to any
   47  one- or two-family dwelling or any proposed subdivision. In
   48  addition, a local jurisdiction or utility may not charge any
   49  additional fee, above what is charged to a non-fire sprinklered
   50  dwelling, on the basis that a one- or two-family dwelling unit
   51  is protected by a fire sprinkler system.
   52         (11)(10) Before imposing a fire sprinkler requirement on
   53  any one- or two-family dwelling, a local government must provide
   54  the owner of any one- or two-family dwelling a letter
   55  documenting specific infrastructure or other tax or fee
   56  allowances and waivers that are listed in but not limited to
   57  those described in subsection (10) (9) for the dwelling. The
   58  documentation must show that the cost savings reasonably
   59  approximate the cost of the purchase and installation of a fire
   60  protection system.
   61         (12)(11) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (10)
   62  (9), a property owner is shall not be required to install fire
   63  sprinklers in any residential property based upon the use of
   64  such property as a rental property or any change in or
   65  reclassification of the property’s primary use to a rental
   66  property.
   67         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2013.