Florida Senate - 2015                                     SB 708
       
       
        
       By Senator Simpson
       
       
       
       
       
       18-00810-15                                            2015708__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to code enforcement officers; amending
    3         s. 162.04, F.S.; revising the definition of the term
    4         “code enforcement officer”; amending s. 162.21, F.S.;
    5         providing educational requirements for code
    6         enforcement officers; providing for certification upon
    7         successful passage of minimum standards training
    8         course and examination; requiring certain currently
    9         employed officers to pass a basic skills examination
   10         within a specified period; specifying timeframes
   11         within which standards training courses must be
   12         passed; requiring postcertification training by code
   13         enforcement officers at specified intervals; providing
   14         an effective date.
   15          
   16  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   17  
   18         Section 1. Subsection (2) of section 162.04, Florida
   19  Statutes, is amended to read:
   20         162.04 Definitions.—As used in ss. 162.01-162.13, the term:
   21         (2) “Code enforcement officer inspector” means any
   22  authorized agent or employee of the county or municipality whose
   23  duty it is to enforce codes and ordinances enacted by the county
   24  or municipality and who meets the requirements of s. 162.21(2)
   25  within 1 year after his or her date of hire assure code
   26  compliance.
   27         Section 2. Subsection (2) of section 162.21, Florida
   28  Statutes, is amended to read:
   29         162.21 Enforcement of county or municipal codes or
   30  ordinances; penalties.—
   31         (2)(a) A county or a municipality may designate certain of
   32  its employees or agents as code enforcement officers. The
   33  training and qualifications of the employees or agents for such
   34  designation shall be determined by the county or the
   35  municipality. Employees or agents who may be designated as code
   36  enforcement officers include may include, but are not limited
   37  to, code inspectors, law enforcement officers, animal control
   38  officers, or firesafety inspectors. Designation as a code
   39  enforcement officer does not provide the code enforcement
   40  officer with the power of arrest or subject the code enforcement
   41  officer to the provisions of ss. 943.085-943.255.
   42         (b) A code enforcement officer must successfully complete a
   43  nationally recognized, 40-hour minimum standards training
   44  course. The course must include either instruction in report
   45  writing, legal aspects of code enforcement, property ownership,
   46  ethics, communication skills, and principles and practices of
   47  code enforcement or instruction in the topics contained in the
   48  fundamentals of code enforcement course provided by the Florida
   49  Association of Code Enforcement. A code enforcement officer who
   50  successfully completes a nationally recognized, 40-hour minimum
   51  standards training course and passes an examination shall be
   52  issued a certificate.
   53         1. A code enforcement officer hired on or after October 1,
   54  2015, has up to 1 year after his or her date of hire to pass the
   55  nationally recognized minimum standards training course provided
   56  in this paragraph.
   57         2. An employee or agent of a county or municipality
   58  designated as a code enforcement officer before October 1, 2015,
   59  who is not certified as of that date is not required to complete
   60  the nationally recognized minimum standards training course.
   61  However, such employee or agent must pass a basic skills
   62  examination before October 1, 2016. The basic skills examination
   63  shall be created and provided by the Florida Association of Code
   64  Enforcement and shall assess an employee’s or agent’s knowledge
   65  of this chapter and relevant Florida constitutional provisions.
   66         (c) A code enforcement officer must successfully complete
   67  an additional 16 hours of postcertification training every 2
   68  years to maintain state certification. Postcertification
   69  training may include instruction in legal aspects of code
   70  enforcement, administrative aspects of code enforcement, officer
   71  safety, or other relevant courses approved by the Florida
   72  Association of Code Enforcement.
   73         (d) Nothing in This subsection does not amend, alter, or
   74  contravene section amends, alters, or contravenes the provisions
   75  of any state-administered retirement system or any state
   76  supported retirement system established by general law.
   77         Section 3. This act shall take effect October 1, 2015.