House Bill hb0903c1

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2002              CS/HB 903

        By the Council for Smarter Government and Representative
    Betancourt





  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to professions; amending s.

  3         455.271, F.S.; providing general authority for

  4         the reinstatement of licenses that have become

  5         void; amending s. 473.313, F.S., relating to

  6         the reinstatement of certain public accountancy

  7         licenses that have become void, to conform;

  8         amending s. 489.111, F.S.; deleting certain

  9         educational course requirements for purposes of

10         qualifying for licensure by examination as a

11         construction contractor; amending s. 489.116,

12         F.S.; providing for the reinstatement of

13         certain contracting licenses that have become

14         void; providing an effective date.

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16  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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18         Section 1.  Subsection (6) of section 455.271, Florida

19  Statutes, is amended to read:

20         455.271  Inactive and delinquent status.--

21         (6)(a)  A delinquent status licensee must affirmatively

22  apply with a complete application, as defined by rule of the

23  board, or the department when there is no board, for active or

24  inactive status during the licensure cycle in which a licensee

25  becomes delinquent. Failure by a delinquent status licensee to

26  become active or inactive before the expiration of the current

27  licensure cycle shall render the license void null without any

28  further action by the board or the department. Any subsequent

29  licensure shall be as a result of applying for and meeting all

30  requirements imposed on an applicant for new licensure.

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  1         (b)  Notwithstanding paragraph (a), the board or the

  2  department, if there is no board, may, at its discretion,

  3  reinstate the license of an individual whose license has

  4  become void if the individual has made a good faith effort to

  5  comply with this section but has failed to comply because of

  6  illness or unusual hardship. The individual must apply to the

  7  board or the department, if there is no board, for

  8  reinstatement in a manner prescribed by rules of the board or

  9  the department, if there is no board, and shall pay an

10  application fee in an amount determined by rule. The board or

11  the department, if there is no board, shall require that such

12  individual meet all continuing education requirements

13  prescribed by law, pay appropriate licensing fees, and

14  otherwise be eligible for renewal of licensure under this

15  chapter.

16         Section 2.  Subsection (4) of section 473.313, Florida

17  Statutes, is amended to read:

18         473.313  Inactive status.--

19         (4)  Notwithstanding the provisions of s. 455.271, The

20  board may, at its discretion, reinstate the license of an

21  individual whose license has become null and void if the

22  individual has made a good faith effort to comply with this

23  section but has failed to comply because of illness or unusual

24  hardship. The individual must shall apply to the board for

25  reinstatement in a manner prescribed by rules of the board and

26  shall pay an application fee in an amount determined by rule

27  of the board. The board shall require that such an individual

28  meet all continuing education requirements as provided in s.

29  473.312, pay appropriate licensing fees, and otherwise be

30  eligible for renewal of licensure under this chapter.

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  1         Section 3.  Subsection (2) of section 489.111, Florida

  2  Statutes, is amended to read:

  3         489.111  Licensure by examination.--

  4         (2)  A person shall be eligible for licensure by

  5  examination if the person:

  6         (a)  Is 18 years of age;

  7         (b)  Is of good moral character; and

  8         (c)  Meets eligibility requirements according to one of

  9  the following criteria:

10         1.  Has received a baccalaureate degree from an

11  accredited 4-year college in the appropriate field of

12  engineering, architecture, or building construction and has 1

13  year of proven experience in the category in which the person

14  seeks to qualify. For the purpose of this part, a minimum of

15  2,000 person-hours shall be used in determining full-time

16  equivalency.

17         2.  Has a total of at least 4 years of active

18  experience as a worker who has learned the trade by serving an

19  apprenticeship as a skilled worker who is able to command the

20  rate of a mechanic in the particular trade or as a foreman who

21  is in charge of a group of workers and usually is responsible

22  to a superintendent or a contractor or his or her equivalent,

23  provided, however, that at least 1 year of active experience

24  shall be as a foreman.

25         3.  Has a combination of not less than 1 year of

26  experience as a foreman and not less than 3 years of credits

27  for any accredited college-level courses; has a combination of

28  not less than 1 year of experience as a skilled worker, 1 year

29  of experience as a foreman, and not less than 2 years of

30  credits for any accredited college-level courses; or has a

31  combination of not less than 2 years of experience as a

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  1  skilled worker, 1 year of experience as a foreman, and not

  2  less than 1 year of credits for any accredited college-level

  3  courses. For the number of years of credits for any accredited

  4  college-level courses, the applicant shall show completion of

  5  an equal number of courses in the appropriate field of

  6  engineering, architecture, or building construction. All

  7  junior college or community college-level courses shall be

  8  considered accredited college-level courses.

  9         4.a.  An active certified residential contractor is

10  eligible to take the building contractors' examination if he

11  or she possesses a minimum of 3 years of proven experience in

12  the classification in which he or she is certified.

13         b.  An active certified residential contractor is

14  eligible to take the general contractors' examination if he or

15  she possesses a minimum of 4 years of proven experience in the

16  classification in which he or she is certified.

17         c.  An active certified building contractor is eligible

18  to take the general contractors' examination if he or she

19  possesses a minimum of 4 years of proven experience in the

20  classification in which he or she is certified.

21         5.a.  An active certified air-conditioning Class C

22  contractor is eligible to take the air-conditioning Class B

23  contractors' examination if he or she possesses a minimum of 3

24  years of proven experience in the classification in which he

25  or she is certified.

26         b.  An active certified air-conditioning Class C

27  contractor is eligible to take the air-conditioning Class A

28  contractors' examination if he or she possesses a minimum of 4

29  years of proven experience in the classification in which he

30  or she is certified.

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  1         c.  An active certified air-conditioning Class B

  2  contractor is eligible to take the air-conditioning Class A

  3  contractors' examination if he or she possesses a minimum of 1

  4  year of proven experience in the classification in which he or

  5  she is certified.

  6         6.a.  An active certified swimming pool servicing

  7  contractor is eligible to take the residential swimming pool

  8  contractors' examination if he or she possesses a minimum of 3

  9  years of proven experience in the classification in which he

10  or she is certified.

11         b.  An active certified swimming pool servicing

12  contractor is eligible to take the swimming pool commercial

13  contractors' examination if he or she possesses a minimum of 4

14  years of proven experience in the classification in which he

15  or she is certified.

16         c.  An active certified residential swimming pool

17  contractor is eligible to take the commercial swimming pool

18  contractors' examination if he or she possesses a minimum of 1

19  year of proven experience in the classification in which he or

20  she is certified.

21         d.  An applicant is eligible to take the swimming

22  pool/spa servicing contractor's examination if he or she has

23  satisfactorily completed 60 hours of instruction in courses

24  related to the scope of work covered by that license and

25  approved by the Construction Industry Licensing Board by rule

26  and has at least 1 year of proven experience related to the

27  scope of work of such a contractor.

28         Section 4.  Subsections (6), (7), and (8) of section

29  489.116, Florida Statutes, are renumbered as subsections (7),

30  (8), and (9), respectively, and a new subsection (6) is added

31  to said section, to read:

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2002              CS/HB 903

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  1         489.116  Inactive and delinquent status; renewal and

  2  cancellation notices.--

  3         (6)  Notwithstanding subsections (4) and (5), the board

  4  may, at its discretion, reinstate the license of an individual

  5  whose license has become void if the individual has made a

  6  good faith effort to comply with this section but has failed

  7  to comply because of illness or unusual hardship. The

  8  individual must apply to the board for reinstatement in a

  9  manner prescribed by rules of the board and shall pay an

10  application fee in an amount determined by rule of the board.

11  The board shall require that such individual meet all

12  continuing education requirements as provided in s. 489.115,

13  pay appropriate licensing fees, and otherwise be eligible for

14  renewal of licensure under this chapter.

15         Section 5.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2002.

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