The Florida Senate

“Department” means the Department of Health.

“Public swimming pool” or “public pool” means a watertight structure of concrete, masonry, or other approved materials which is located either indoors or outdoors, used for bathing or swimming by humans, and filled with a filtered and disinfected water supply, together with buildings, appurtenances, and equipment used in connection therewith. A public swimming pool or public pool shall mean a conventional pool, spa-type pool, wading pool, special purpose pool, or water recreation attraction, to which admission may be gained with or without payment of a fee and includes, but is not limited to, pools operated by or serving camps, churches, cities, counties, day care centers, group home facilities for eight or more clients, health spas, institutions, parks, state agencies, schools, subdivisions, or the cooperative living-type projects of five or more living units, such as apartments, boardinghouses, hotels, mobile home parks, motels, recreational vehicle parks, and townhouses.

“Private pool” means a facility used only by an individual, family, or living unit members and their guests which does not serve any type of cooperative housing or joint tenancy of five or more living units.

“Public bathing place” means a body of water, natural or modified by humans, for swimming, diving, and recreational bathing, together with adjacent shoreline or land area, buildings, equipment, and appurtenances pertaining thereto, used by consent of the owner or owners and held out to the public by any person or public body, irrespective of whether a fee is charged for the use thereof. The bathing water areas of public bathing places include, but are not limited to, lakes, ponds, rivers, streams, artificial impoundments, and waters along the coastal and intracoastal beaches and shores of the state.

“Portable pool” means a pool or spa, and related equipment systems of any kind, which is designed or intended to be movable from location to location.

Private pools and water therapy facilities connected with facilities connected with hospitals, medical doctors’ offices, and licensed physical therapy establishments shall be exempt from supervision under this chapter.

A private pool used for instructional purposes in swimming shall not be regulated as a public pool.

Any pool serving a residential child care agency registered and exempt from licensure pursuant to s. 409.176 shall be exempt from supervision or regulation under this chapter related to construction standards if the pool is used exclusively by the facility’s residents and if admission may not be gained by the public.

The department may grant variances from any rule adopted under this chapter pursuant to procedures adopted by department rule.

The department may adopt and enforce rules, which may include definitions of terms, to protect the health, safety, or welfare of persons using public swimming pools and bathing places. The department shall review and revise such rules as necessary, but not less than biennially. Sanitation and safety standards shall include, but not be limited to, matters relating to structure; appurtenances; operation; source of water supply; bacteriological, chemical, and physical quality of water in the pool or bathing area; method of water purification, treatment, and disinfection; lifesaving apparatus; measures to ensure safety of bathers; and measures to ensure the personal cleanliness of bathers.

The department may not establish by rule any regulation governing the design, alteration, modification, or repair of public swimming pools and bathing places which has no impact on the health, safety, and welfare of persons using public swimming pools and bathing places. Further, the department may not adopt by rule any regulation governing the construction, erection, or demolition of public swimming pools and bathing places. It is the intent of the Legislature to preempt those functions to the Florida Building Commission through adoption and maintenance of the Florida Building Code. The department shall provide technical assistance to the commission in updating the construction standards of the Florida Building Code which govern public swimming pools and bathing places. Further, the department is authorized to conduct plan reviews, to issue approvals, and to enforce the special-occupancy provisions of the Florida Building Code which apply to public swimming pools and bathing places in conducting any inspections authorized by this chapter. This subsection does not abrogate the authority of the department to adopt and enforce appropriate sanitary regulations and requirements as authorized in subsection (1).

As used in this section, the term “beach waters” means the waters along the coastal and intracoastal beaches and shores of the state, and includes salt water and brackish water.

The department may adopt and enforce rules to protect the health, safety, and welfare of persons using the beach waters of the state. The rules must establish health standards and prescribe procedures and timeframes for bacteriological sampling of beach waters.

The department may issue health advisories if the quality of beach waters fails to meet standards established by the department. The issuance of health advisories related to the results of bacteriological sampling of beach waters is preempted to the state.

When the department issues a health advisory against swimming in beach waters on the basis of finding elevated levels of fecal coliform or enterococci bacteria in a water sample, the department shall concurrently notify the municipality or county in which the affected beach waters are located, whichever has jurisdiction, and the local office of the Department of Environmental Protection, of the advisory. The local office of the Department of Environmental Protection shall promptly investigate wastewater treatment facilities within 1 mile of the affected beach waters to determine if a facility experienced an incident that may have contributed to the contamination and provide the results of the investigation in writing or by electronic means to the municipality or county, as applicable.

Contingent upon legislative appropriation to the department in the amount of $600,000 nonrecurring, the department will perform a 3-year study to determine the water quality at beaches throughout the state. The study will be performed in all counties that have public-access saltwater and brackish water beaches.

The department shall assign to county health departments that are staffed with qualified engineering personnel the functions of reviewing applications and plans for the construction, development, or modification of public swimming pools or bathing places; of conducting inspections for and issuance of initial operating permits; and of issuing all permits. If the county health department is not assigned the functions of application and plan review and the issuance of initial operating permits, the department shall be responsible for such functions. The department shall make the determination concerning the qualifications of county health department personnel to perform these functions and may make and enforce such rules pertaining thereto as it shall deem proper.

After the initial operating permit is issued, the county health departments shall assume full responsibility for routine surveillance of all public swimming pools and bathing places, including responsibility for a minimum of two routine inspections annually, complaint investigations, enforcement procedures, reissuance of operating permits, and renewal of operating permits.

The department may assign the responsibilities and functions specified in this section to any multicounty independent special district created by the Legislature to perform multiple functions, to include municipal services and improvements, to the same extent and under the same conditions as provided in subsections (1) and (2), upon request of the special district.

The Governor shall appoint an advisory review board which shall meet as necessary or at least quarterly, to recommend agency action on variance request, rule and policy development, and other technical review problems. The board shall be comprised of the following:

The purpose of the advisory review board is to promote better relations, understanding, and cooperation between such industries and the department; to review and make recommendations regarding department product approval standards; to suggest means of better protecting the health, welfare, or safety of persons using the services offered by such industries; and to give the department the benefit of the knowledge and experience of the board concerning the industries and individual businesses affected by the laws and rules administered by the department.

Members shall be reimbursed for travel expenses incurred in connection with service on the advisory review board pursuant to s. 112.061.

Any person or public body desiring to construct, develop, or modify any public swimming pool or bathing place shall file an application for a construction plans approval with the department on application forms provided by the department and shall accompany such application with:

If the proposed construction of, development of, or modification of a public swimming pool or bathing place meets standards of public health and safety as defined in this chapter and rules adopted hereunder, the department shall grant the application for the construction plans approval within 30 days after receipt of a complete submittal. If engineering plans submitted are in substantial compliance with the standards aforementioned, the department may approve the plans with provisions for corrective action to be completed prior to issuance of the operating permit.

If the proposed construction, development, or modification of a public swimming pool or bathing place fails to meet standards of public health and safety as defined in this chapter and rules adopted hereunder, the department shall deny the application for construction plans approval pursuant to the provisions of chapter 120. Such denial shall be issued in writing within 30 days and shall list the circumstances for denial. Upon correction of such circumstances, an applicant previously denied permission to construct, develop, or modify a public swimming pool or bathing place may reapply for construction plans approval.

An approval of construction plans issued by the department under this section becomes void 1 year after the date the approval was issued if the construction is not commenced within 1 year after the date of issuance.

It is unlawful for any person or public body to operate or continue to operate any public swimming pool or bathing place without a valid permit from the department, such permit to be obtained in the following manner:

Operating permits shall not be required for coastal or intracoastal beaches.

Operating permits shall not be transferable from one name or owner to another. When the ownership or name of an existing public swimming pool or bathing place is changed and such establishment is operating at the time of the change with a valid permit from the department, the new owner of the establishment shall apply to the department, upon forms provided by the department, for a reissuance of the existing permit.

Each such operating permit shall be renewed annually and the permit must be posted in a conspicuous place.

An owner or operator of a public swimming pool, including, but not limited to, a spa, wading, or special purpose pool, to which admittance is obtained by membership for a fee shall post in a prominent location within the facility the most recent pool inspection report issued by the department pertaining to the health and safety conditions of such facility. The report shall be legible and readily accessible to members or potential members. The department shall adopt rules to enforce this subsection. A portable pool may not be used as a public pool.

The department is authorized to establish a schedule of fees to be charged by the department or by any authorized county health department as detailed in s. 514.025 for the review of applications and plans to construct, develop, or modify a public swimming pool or bathing place, for the issuance of permits to operate such establishments, and for the review of variance applications for public swimming pools and bathing places. Fees assessed under this chapter shall be in an amount sufficient to meet the cost of carrying out the provisions of this chapter.

The fee schedule shall be: for original construction or development plan approval, not less than $275 and not more than $500; for modification of original construction, not less than $100 and not more than $150; for an initial operating permit, not less than $125 and not more than $250; and for review of variance applications, not less than $240 and not more than $400. The department shall assess the minimum fees provided in this subsection until a fee schedule is promulgated by rule of the department.

Any person or public body operating a public swimming pool or bathing place shall pay to the department an annual operating permit fee based on pool or bathing place aggregate gallonage, which shall be: up to and including 25,000 gallons, not less than $75 and not more than $125; and in excess of 25,000 gallons, not less than $160 and not more than $265, except for a pool inspected pursuant to s. 514.0115(2)(b) for which the annual fee shall be $50.

Fees collected by the department in accordance with this chapter shall be deposited into the Public Swimming Pool and Bathing Place Trust Fund for the payment of costs incurred in the administration of this chapter. Fees collected by county health departments performing functions pursuant to s. 514.025 shall be deposited into the County Health Department Trust Fund. Any fee collected under this chapter is nonrefundable.

The department may not charge any fees for services provided under this chapter other than those fees authorized in this section. However, the department shall prorate the initial annual fee for an operating permit on a half-year basis.

The department may deny an application for a permit, suspend or revoke a permit issued to any person or public body, or impose an administrative fine upon the failure of such person or public body to comply with the provisions of this chapter or the rules adopted hereunder.

The department may impose an administrative fine, which shall not exceed $500 for each violation, for the violation of this chapter or the rules adopted hereunder and for the violation of any of the provisions of chapter 386. Notice of intent to impose such fine shall be given by the department to the alleged violator. Each day that a violation continues may constitute a separate violation.

In determining the amount of fine to be imposed, if any, for a violation, the following factors shall be considered:

All amounts collected pursuant to this section shall be deposited into the Public Swimming Pool and Bathing Place Trust Fund or into the County Health Department Trust Fund, whichever is applicable.

Under conditions specified by rule, the department may close a public pool that is not in compliance with this chapter or the rules adopted under this chapter.

Any person working as a swimming instructor or lifeguard at a public swimming pool must be certified by the American Red Cross, the Y.M.C.A., or other nationally recognized aquatic training programs. Swimming instructors must be currently certified in swimming instruction, first aid, and cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Lifeguards must be currently certified in lifeguarding, first aid, and cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

In addition to any other remedies available to the department, the department may sue to enjoin the operation of any public swimming pool that uses any swimming instructor or lifeguard in violation of subsection (1).

The department shall adopt rules necessary to implement this section which shall include, but not be limited to, defining the terms “swimming instructor,” “lifeguard,” and “nationally recognized aquatic training program.”