Senate Bill sb1296c1
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Florida Senate - 2003 CS for SM 1296
By the Committee on Rules and Calendar; and Senator Saunders
305-2171-03
1 Senate Memorial No. ____
2 A memorial to the Congress of the United
3 States, urging Congress to include in its
4 economic-stimulus legislation tax incentives
5 for building owners who upgrade their
6 firesafety systems consistent with the
7 firesafety provisions of the National Fire
8 Protection Association's Life Safety Code in
9 existing high-rise buildings.
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11 WHEREAS, providing a firesafe environment for our
12 nation's citizens and visitors is an obligation shared by
13 federal, state, and local governments, and
14 WHEREAS, to fulfill this role, local governments adopt
15 and enforce model building and fire codes promulgated by
16 code-development authorities, and
17 WHEREAS, following two major high-rise fires, MGM Grand
18 Hotel in Las Vegas (85 deaths) and the Dupont Plaza Hotel in
19 San Juan (97 deaths), national code-development authorities
20 focused on high-rise buildings because of the potential for
21 major loss of life and untenable fire-suppression conditions,
22 and
23 WHEREAS, independent studies have found that fire
24 departments cannot respond fast enough to prevent flashover on
25 upper floors of a high-rise building, and
26 WHEREAS, the National Fire Protection Association's
27 Life Safety Code is nationally accepted and, through adoption
28 by state or local government, is used in all 50 states as a
29 firesafety standard, and
30 WHEREAS, the Life Safety Code has contained special
31 firesafety requirements for high-rise buildings since its 1991
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Florida Senate - 2003 CS for SM 1296
305-2171-03
1 edition, and Florida has adopted the current edition of the
2 Life Safety Code, and
3 WHEREAS, protecting Florida's economic foundation and
4 infrastructure is a paramount mission of the Florida
5 Legislature, and the negative economic impact of a tragic fire
6 in high-rise residential structures can be documented by
7 looking at declining tourism following the MGM Grand Hotel
8 fire in Las Vegas and the Dupont Plaza Hotel in San Juan, and
9 WHEREAS, enforcing high-rise firesafety standards for
10 existing buildings causes hardships for building owners,
11 particularly condominium owners living on fixed incomes, and
12 WHEREAS, providing tax incentives for building owners
13 that upgrade firesafety systems in existing high-rise
14 buildings is consistent with President Bush's economic
15 stimulus objectives, NOW, THEREFORE,
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17 Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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19 That the Congress of the United States is requested to
20 include in its economic-stimulus legislation tax incentives
21 for building owners who upgrade their firesafety systems
22 consistent with the firesafety provisions of the National Fire
23 Protection Association's Life Safety Code in existing
24 high-rise buildings and that the effective dates for this
25 incentive be January 1, 2002, through December 31, 2014.
26 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be
27 dispatched to the President of the United States, to the
28 President of the United States Senate, to the Speaker of the
29 United States House of Representatives, and to each member of
30 the Florida delegation to the United States Congress.
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Florida Senate - 2003 CS for SM 1296
305-2171-03
1 STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
2 Senate Memorial 1296
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4 Corrects the word "Firesafety" in "National Firesafety
Protection Association" to "Fire".
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