The Florida Senate

489.109  Fees.--

(1)  The board, by rule, shall establish reasonable fees to be paid for applications, certification and renewal, registration and renewal, and recordmaking and recordkeeping. The fees shall be established as follows:

(a)  With respect to an applicant for a certificate, the initial application fee may not exceed $150, and, if an examination cost is included in the application fee, the combined amount may not exceed $350. The initial certification fee and the renewal fee may not exceed $200. However, any applicant who seeks certification under this part by taking a practical examination must pay as an examination fee the actual cost incurred by the department in developing, preparing, administering, scoring, score reporting, and evaluating the examination, if the examination is conducted by the department.

(b)  With respect to an applicant for registration, the initial application fee may not exceed $100, and the initial registration fee and the renewal fee may not exceed $200.

(c)  The board, by rule, may establish delinquency fees, not to exceed the applicable renewal fee for renewal applications made after the expiration date of the certificate or registration.

(d)  The board, by rule, may establish a fee for transfer of a certificate of authority from one business organization to another, not to exceed the applicable renewal fee.

(e)  The board, by rule, shall impose a renewal fee for an inactive status certificate or registration, not to exceed the renewal fee for an active status certificate or registration. Neither the inactive certification fee nor the inactive registration fee may exceed $50. The board, by rule, may provide for a different fee for inactive status where such status is sought by a building code administrator, plans examiner, or inspector certified pursuant to part XII of chapter 468 who is employed by a local government and is not allowed by the terms of such employment to maintain a certificate on active status issued pursuant to this part.

(f)  The board, by rule, shall impose an additional late fee on a delinquent status certificateholder or registrant when such certificateholder or registrant applies for active or inactive status.

(g)  The board, by rule, shall impose an additional fee, not to exceed the applicable renewal fee, which reasonably reflects the costs of processing a certificateholder's or registrant's request to change licensure status at any time other than at the beginning of a licensure cycle.

(2)  The board shall establish fees that are adequate to ensure the continued operation of the board. Fees shall be based on department estimates of the revenue required to implement this part and the provisions of law with respect to the regulation of the construction industry.

(3)  In addition to the fees provided in subsection (1) for application and renewal for certification and registration, all certificateholders and registrants must pay a fee of $4 to the department at the time of application or renewal. The funds must be transferred at the end of each licensing period to the Department of Education to fund projects relating to the building construction industry or continuing education programs offered to persons engaged in the building construction industry in Florida. The board shall, at the time the funds are transferred, advise the Department of Education on the most needed areas of research or continuing education based on significant changes in the industry's practices or on the most common types of consumer complaints or on problems costing the state or local governmental entities substantial waste. The board's advice is not binding on the Department of Education. The Department of Education must allocate 50 percent of the funds to a graduate program in building construction in a Florida university and 50 percent of the funds to all accredited private and state universities and community colleges within the state offering approved courses in building construction, with each university or college receiving a pro rata share of such funds based upon the number of full-time building construction students enrolled at the institution. The Department of Education shall ensure the distribution of research reports and the availability of continuing education programs to all segments of the building construction industry to which they relate. The Department of Education shall report to the board in October of each year, summarizing the allocation of the funds by institution and summarizing the new projects funded and the status of previously funded projects.

History.--ss. 4, 17, ch. 79-200; ss. 2, 3, ch. 81-318; ss. 5, 20, 21, ch. 88-156; s. 35, ch. 88-205; s. 1, ch. 89-5; s. 62, ch. 89-162; s. 31, ch. 89-374; s. 4, ch. 91-429; s. 58, ch. 92-149; s. 7, ch. 93-166; s. 258, ch. 94-119; s. 4, ch. 97-228; s. 12, ch. 99-254.