HB 0217 2003
1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to infant cribs; creating s. 501.144,
3	F.S., providing a popular name ; providing definitions;
4	prohibiting commercial users from manufacturing,
5	remanufacturing, retrofitting, selling, contracting to
6	sell or resell, leasing, or subletting specified cribs
7	determined to be unsafe for use by infants; prohibiting
8	transient public lodging establishments from offering or
9	providing for use specified cribs determined to be unsafe
10	for use by infants; providing criteria for determining
11	safety of infant cribs; providing exemptions; providing
12	specified immunity from civil liability; providing
13	penalties; providing that violation of the act constitutes
14	an unfair and deceptive trade practice; authorizing the
15	Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the
16	Department of Business and Professional Regulation, and
17	the Department of Children and Family Services to
18	collaborate with public agencies and private-sector
19	entities to prepare specified public education materials
20	and programs; authorizing the Department of Agriculture
21	and Consumer Services to adopt rules and prescribe forms;
22	amending s. 509.221, F.S.; prohibiting the use of certain
23	cribs in public lodging establishments; reenacting s.
24	509.032, F.S.; providing for regulation and rulemaking by
25	the Division of Hotels and Restaurants of the Department
26	of Business and Professional Regulation; creating s.
27	402.3031, F.S.; prohibiting unsafe cribs in certain
28	facilities; providing for enforcement and rulemaking
29	powers of the Department of Children and Family Services;
30	creating an infant crib safety enforcement demonstration
31	program; providing that crib inspections are not required
32	in certain counties for a specified time; requiring crib
33	inspections in certain counties for a specified time;
34	providing requirements for crib inspections by the
35	Department of Business and Professional Regulation;
36	requiring transient public lodging establishments to
37	provide for inspection of cribs; requiring a report;
38	providing for rulemaking by the Department of Business and
39	Professional Regulation; providing for expiration of the
40	demonstration program; providing effective dates.
41
42	WHEREAS, the disability and death of infants resulting from
43	injuries sustained in crib accidents are a serious threat to the
44	public health, safety, and welfare of the people of the state,
45	and
46	WHEREAS, the design and construction of an infant crib must
47	ensure that it is safe, and a parent or caregiver has a right to
48	believe that an infant crib in use is a safe containment in
49	which to place an infant, and
50	WHEREAS, more than 13,000 infants are injured in unsafe
51	cribs every year, and
52	WHEREAS, prohibiting the manufacture, remanufacture,
53	retrofitting, sale, contracting to sell or resell, leasing, or
54	subletting of unsafe infant cribs, particularly unsafe
55	secondhand, hand-me-down, or heirloom cribs, will reduce
56	injuries and deaths caused by cribs, and
57	WHEREAS, it is the intent of the Legislature to reduce the
58	occurrence of injuries and deaths to infants as a result of
59	unsafe cribs that do not conform to modern safety standards by
60	making it illegal to manufacture, remanufacture, retrofit, sell,
61	contract to sell or resell, lease, or sublet, any full-size or
62	non-full-size crib that is unsafe, and
63	WHEREAS, it is the intent of the Legislature to encourage
64	public and private collaboration in disseminating materials
65	relative to the safety of infant cribs to parents, child care
66	providers, and those individuals who would be likely to sell,
67	donate, or otherwise provide to others unsafe infant cribs, NOW,
68	THEREFORE,
69
70	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
71
72	Section 1. Section 501.144, Florida Statutes, is created
73	to read:
74	501.144 Florida Infant Crib Safety Act.--
75	(1) POPULAR NAME.--This section shall be known as the
76	"Florida Infant Crib Safety Act."
77	(2) DEFINITIONS.--As used in this section, the term:
78	(a) "Commercial user" means a dealer under s. 212.06(2),
79	or any person who is in the business of manufacturing,
80	remanufacturing, retrofitting, selling, leasing, or subletting
81	full-size or non-full-size cribs. The term includes a child care
82	facility, family day care home, large family child care home,
83	and specialized child care facility for the care of mildly ill
84	children, licensed by the Department of Children and Family
85	Services or local licensing agencies.
86	(b) "Crib" means a bed or containment designed to
87	accommodate an infant.
88	(c) "Department" means the Department of Agriculture and
89	Consumer Services.
90	(d) "Full-size crib" means a full-size baby crib as
91	defined in 16 C.F.R. part 1508, relating to requirements for
92	full-size baby cribs.
93	(e) "Infant" means a person less than 35 inches tall and
94	less than 3 years of age.
95	(f) "Non-full-size crib" means a non-full-size baby crib
96	as defined in 16 C.F.R. part 1509, relating to requirements for
97	non-full-size baby cribs.
98	(g) "Transient public lodging establishment" means any
99	hotel, motel, resort condominium, transient apartment,
100	roominghouse, bed and breakfast inn, or resort dwelling, as
101	defined in s. 509.242.
102	(3) PROHIBITED PRACTICES.--
103	(a) A commercial user may not manufacture, remanufacture,
104	retrofit, sell, contract to sell or resell, lease, or sublet a
105	full-size or non-full-size crib that is unsafe for an infant
106	because the crib does not conform to the standards set forth in
107	paragraph (4)(a) or because the crib has any of the dangerous
108	features or characteristics set forth in paragraph (4)(b).
109	(b) A transient public lodging establishment may not offer
110	or provide for use a full-size or non-full-size crib that is
111	unsafe for an infant because the crib does not conform to the
112	standards set forth in paragraph (4)(a) or because the crib has
113	any of the dangerous features or characteristics set forth in
114	paragraph (4)(b). Further, violation of this section by a
115	transient public lodging establishment is a violation of chapter
116	509 and is subject to the penalties set forth in s. 509.261.
117	(c) A violation of this section is a deceptive and unfair
118	trade practice and constitutes a violation of part II of chapter
119	501, the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.
120	(4) PRESUMPTION AS UNSAFE; CRITERIA.--
121	(a) A crib is presumed to be unsafe under this section if
122	it does not conform to all of the following:
123	1. 16 C.F.R. part 1303, relating to ban of lead-containing
124	paint and certain consumer products bearing lead-containing
125	paint; 16 C.F.R. part 1508, relating to requirements for full-
126	size baby cribs; and 16 C.F.R. part 1509,relating to
127	requirements for non-full-size baby cribs.
128	2. American Society for Testing and Materials Voluntary
129	Standards F966-96, F1169-99, and F1822-97.
130	3. Rules adopted by the department which implement the
131	provisions of this subsection.
132	(b) A crib is unsafe if it has any of the following
133	dangerous features or characteristics:
134	1. Corner posts that extend more than 1/16 of an inch.
135	2. Spaces between side slats which are more than 2-3/8
136	inches wide.
137	3. A mattress support that can be easily dislodged from
138	any point of the crib. A mattress segment can be easily
139	dislodged if it cannot withstand at least a 25-pound upward
140	force from underneath the crib. For portable folding cribs, this
141	subparagraph does not apply to mattress supports or mattress
142	segments that are designed to allow the crib to be folded, if
143	the crib is equipped with latches that work to prevent the
144	unintentional collapse of the crib.
145	4. Cutout designs on the end panels.
146	5. Rail-height dimensions that do not conform to the
147	following:
148	a. The height of the rail and end panel as measured from
149	the top of the rail or panel in its lowest position to the top
150	of the mattress support in its highest position is at least 9
151	inches.
152	b. The height of the rail and end panel as measured from
153	the top of the rail or panel in its highest position to the top
154	of the mattress support in its lowest position is at least 26
155	inches.
156	6. Upon completion of assembly, any screw, bolt, or
157	hardware that is loose and not secured.
158	7. Any sharp edge, point, or rough surface or any wood
159	surface that is not smooth and free from splinters, splits, or
160	cracks.
161	8. A tear in mesh or fabric sides of a non-full-size crib.
162	9. With respect to portable folding cribs having central
163	hinges and rail assemblies that move downward when folded,
164	latches that do not automatically engage when placed in the
165	position recommended by the manufacturer for use.
166	10. Crib sheets used on mattresses which are not sized to
167	match the mattress size.
168	(5) EXEMPTIONS; CIVIL IMMUNITY.--
169	(a) A crib that is clearly not intended for use by an
170	infant, including, but not limited to, a toy or display item, is
171	exempt from this section if the crib is accompanied, at the time
172	of manufacturing, remanufacturing, retrofitting, selling,
173	leasing, or subletting, by a notice to be furnished by the
174	commercial user on forms prescribed by the department declaring
175	that the crib is not intended to be used for an infant and is
176	dangerous to use for an infant.
177	(b) A commercial user, other than a child care facility,
178	family day care home, large family child care home, or
179	specialized child care facility for the care of mildly ill
180	children, that has complied with the notice requirements set
181	forth under paragraph (a) is immune from civil liability
182	resulting from the use of a crib, notwithstanding the provisions
183	of this section.
184	(c) When a commercial user leases a crib for use away from
185	the premises of the commercial user, the commercial user is
186	immune from civil liability created by this section resulting
187	from the assembly of the crib by a person other than the
188	commercial user or its agent or resulting from the use of crib
189	sheets that were not provided by the commercial user or its
190	agent.
191	(6) PENALTY.--
192	(a) A commercial user, other than a commercial user
193	subject to the penalties provided in paragraph (b) or paragraph
194	(c), that willfully and knowingly violates subsection (3)
195	commits a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable by a fine
196	of not more than $10,000 and imprisonment for a term of not more
197	than 1 year.
198	(b) A transient public lodging establishment that violates
199	subsection (3)is subject to the penalties set forth in s.
200	509.261.
201	(c) A child care facility, family day care home, large
202	family child care home, or specialized child care facility for
203	the care of mildly ill children which violates subsection (3) is
204	subject to the penalties set forth in ss.402.301-402.319.
205	(7) PUBLIC EDUCATION MATERIALS AND PROGRAMS.--The
206	Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the Department
207	of Business and Professional Regulation, and the Department of
208	Children and Family Services may collaborate with any public
209	agency or private-sector entity to prepare public education
210	materials or programs designed to inform parents, child care
211	providers, commercial users, and any other person or entity that
212	is likely to place unsafe cribs in the stream of commerce of the
213	dangers posed by secondhand, hand-me-down, or heirloom cribs
214	that do not conform to the standards set forth in this section
215	or that have any of the dangerous features or characteristics
216	set forth in this section.
217	(8) RULEMAKING AUTHORITY.--The department may adopt rules
218	under ss.120.536(1) and 120.54 for the administration of this
219	section.
220	Section 2. Subsection (10) is added to section 509.221,
221	Florida Statutes, to read:
222	509.221 Sanitary regulations.--
223	(10) A transient public lodging establishment may not
224	offer or provide for use a full-size or non-full-size crib that
225	is unsafe for an infant because it is not in conformity with the
226	requirements of s. 501.144.
227	Section 3. Section 509.032, Florida Statutes, is reenacted
228	to read:
229	509.032 Duties.--
230	(1) GENERAL.--The division shall carry out all of the
231	provisions of this chapter and all other applicable laws and
232	rules relating to the inspection or regulation of public lodging
233	establishments and public food service establishments for the
234	purpose of safeguarding the public health, safety, and welfare.
235	The division shall be responsible for ascertaining that an
236	operator licensed under this chapter does not engage in any
237	misleading advertising or unethical practices.
238	(2) INSPECTION OF PREMISES.--
239	(a) The division has responsibility and jurisdiction for
240	all inspections required by this chapter. The division has
241	responsibility for quality assurance. Each licensed
242	establishment shall be inspected at least biannually, except for
243	transient and nontransient apartments, which shall be inspected
244	at least annually, and shall be inspected at such other times as
245	the division determines is necessary to ensure the public's
246	health, safety, and welfare. The division shall establish a
247	system to determine inspection frequency. Public lodging units
248	classified as resort condominiums or resort dwellings are not
249	subject to this requirement, but shall be made available to the
250	division upon request. If, during the inspection of a public
251	lodging establishment classified for renting to transient or
252	nontransient tenants, an inspector identifies vulnerable adults
253	who appear to be victims of neglect, as defined in s. 415.102,
254	or, in the case of a building that is not equipped with
255	automatic sprinkler systems, tenants or clients who may be
256	unable to self-preserve in an emergency, the division shall
257	convene meetings with the following agencies as appropriate to
258	the individual situation: the Department of Health, the
259	Department of Elderly Affairs, the area agency on aging, the
260	local fire marshal, the landlord and affected tenants and
261	clients, and other relevant organizations, to develop a plan
262	which improves the prospects for safety of affected residents
263	and, if necessary, identifies alternative living arrangements
264	such as facilities licensed under part II or part III of
265	chapter400.
266	(b) For purposes of performing required inspections and
267	the enforcement of this chapter, the division has the right of
268	entry and access to public lodging establishments and public
269	food service establishments at any reasonable time.
270	(c) Public food service establishment inspections shall be
271	conducted to enforce provisions of this part and to educate,
272	inform, and promote cooperation between the division and the
273	establishment.
274	(d) The division shall adopt and enforce sanitation rules
275	consistent with law to ensure the protection of the public from
276	food-borne illness in those establishments licensed under this
277	chapter. These rules shall provide the standards and
278	requirements for obtaining, storing, preparing, processing,
279	serving, or displaying food in public food service
280	establishments, approving public food service establishment
281	facility plans, conducting necessary public food service
282	establishment inspections for compliance with sanitation
283	regulations, cooperating and coordinating with the Department of
284	Health in epidemiological investigations, and initiating
285	enforcement actions, and for other such responsibilities deemed
286	necessary by the division. The division may not establish by
287	rule any regulation governing the design, construction,
288	erection, alteration, modification, repair, or demolition of any
289	public lodging or public food service establishment. It is the
290	intent of the Legislature to preempt that function to the
291	Florida Building Commission and the State Fire Marshal through
292	adoption and maintenance of the Florida Building Code and the
293	Florida Fire Prevention Code. The division shall provide
294	technical assistance to the commission and the State Fire
295	Marshal in updating the construction standards of the Florida
296	Building Code and the Florida Fire Prevention Code which govern
297	public lodging and public food service establishments. Further,
298	the division shall enforce the provisions of the Florida
299	Building Code and the Florida Fire Prevention Code which apply
300	to public lodging and public food service establishments in
301	conducting any inspections authorized by this part.
302	(e)1. Relating to facility plan approvals, the division
303	may establish, by rule, fees for conducting plan reviews and may
304	grant variances from construction standards in hardship cases,
305	which variances may be less restrictive than the provisions
306	specified in this section or the rules adopted under this
307	section. A variance may not be granted pursuant to this section
308	until the division is satisfied that:
309	a. The variance shall not adversely affect the health of
310	the public.
311	b. No reasonable alternative to the required construction
312	exists.
313	c. The hardship was not caused intentionally by the action
314	of the applicant.
315	2. The division's advisory council shall review
316	applications for variances and recommend agency action. The
317	division shall make arrangements to expedite emergency requests
318	for variances, to ensure that such requests are acted upon
319	within 30 days of receipt.
320	3. The division shall establish, by rule, a fee for the
321	cost of the variance process. Such fee shall not exceed $150 for
322	routine variance requests and $300 for emergency variance
323	requests.
324	(f) In conducting inspections of establishments licensed
325	under this chapter, the division shall determine if each coin-
326	operated amusement machine that is operated on the premises of a
327	licensed establishment is properly registered with the
328	Department of Revenue. Each month the division shall report to
329	the Department of Revenue the sales tax registration number of
330	the operator of any licensed establishment that has on location
331	a coin-operated amusement machine and that does not have an
332	identifying certificate conspicuously displayed as required by
333	s. 212.05(1)(h).
334	(g) In inspecting public food service establishments, the
335	department shall provide each inspected establishment with the
336	food-recovery brochure developed under s. 570.0725.
337	(3) SANITARY STANDARDS; EMERGENCIES; TEMPORARY FOOD
338	SERVICE EVENTS.--The division shall:
339	(a) Prescribe sanitary standards which shall be enforced
340	in public foodservice establishments.
341	(b) Inspect public lodging establishments and public food
342	service establishments whenever necessary to respond to an
343	emergency or epidemiological condition.
344	(c) Administer a public notification process for temporary
345	food service events and distribute educational materials that
346	address safe food storage, preparation, and service procedures.
347	1. Sponsors of temporary food service events shall notify
348	the division not less than 3 days prior to the scheduled event
349	of the type of food service proposed, the time and location of
350	the event, a complete list of food service vendors participating
351	in the event, the number of individual food service facilities
352	each vendor will operate at the event, and the identification
353	number of each food service vendor's current license as a public
354	food service establishment or temporary food service event
355	licensee. Notification may be completed orally, by telephone, in
356	person, or in writing. A public food service establishment or
357	food service vendor may not use this notification process to
358	circumvent the license requirements of this chapter.
359	2. The division shall keep a record of all notifications
360	received for proposed temporary food service events and shall
361	provide appropriate educational materials to the event sponsors,
362	including the food-recovery brochure developed under s.
363	570.0725.
364	3.a. A public food service establishment or other food
365	service vendor must obtain one of the following classes of
366	license from the division: an individual license, for a fee of
367	no more than $105, for each temporary foodservice event in which
368	it participates; or an annual license, for a fee of no more than
369	$1,000, that entitles the licensee to participate in an
370	unlimited number of food service events during the license
371	period. The division shall establish license fees, by rule, and
372	may limit the number of food service facilities a licensee may
373	operate at a particular temporary food service event under a
374	single license.
375	b. Public food service establishments holding current
376	licenses from the division may operate under the regulations of
377	such a license at temporary food service events of 3 days or
378	less in duration.
379	(4) STOP-SALE ORDERS.--The division may stop the sale, and
380	supervise the proper destruction, of any food or food product
381	when the director or the director's designee determines that
382	such food or food product represents a threat to the public
383	safety or welfare. If the operator of a public food service
384	establishment licensed under this chapter has received official
385	notification from a health authority that a food or food product
386	from that establishment has potentially contributed to any
387	instance or outbreak of food-borne illness, the food or food
388	product must be maintained in safe storage in the establishment
389	until the responsible health authority has examined, sampled,
390	seized, or requested destruction of the food or food product.
391	(5) REPORTS REQUIRED.--The division shall send the
392	Governor a written report, which shall state, but not be limited
393	to, the total number of inspections conducted by the division to
394	ensure the enforcement of sanitary standards, the total number
395	of inspections conducted in response to emergency or
396	epidemiological conditions, the number of violations of each
397	sanitary standard, and any recommendations for improved
398	inspection procedures. The division shall also keep accurate
399	account of all expenses arising out of the performance of its
400	duties and all fees collected under this chapter. The report
401	shall be submitted by September 30 following the end of the
402	fiscal year.
403	(6) RULEMAKING AUTHORITY.--The division shall adopt such
404	rules as are necessary to carry out the provisions of this
405	chapter.
406	(7) PREEMPTION AUTHORITY.--The regulation of public
407	lodging establishments and public food service establishments,
408	the inspection of public lodging establishments and public food
409	service establishments for compliance with the sanitation
410	standards adopted under this section, and the regulation of food
411	safety protection standards for required training and testing of
412	food service establishment personnel are preempted to the state.
413	This subsection does not preempt the authority of a local
414	government or local enforcement district to conduct inspections
415	of public lodging and public foodservice establishments for
416	compliance with the Florida Building Code and the Florida Fire
417	Prevention Code, pursuant to ss. 553.80 and 633.022.
418	Section 4. Section 402.3031, Florida Statutes, is created
419	to read:
420	402.3031 Infant crib safety.--A child care facility,
421	family daycare home, large family child care home, or
422	specialized child care facility for the care of mildly ill
423	children may not offer or provide for use a full-size or non-
424	full-size crib that is not in conformity with the requirements
425	of s. 501.144. The department shall enforce this section and may
426	adopt rules under ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 necessary for the
427	administration of this section.
428	Section 5.Infant crib safety enforcement demonstration
429	program.--
430	(1) As used in this section, the term:
431	(a) "Division" means the Division of Hotels and
432	Restaurants of the Department of Business and Professional
433	Regulation.
434	(b) "Transient public lodging establishment" has the
435	meaning ascribed in section 501.144, Florida Statutes.
436	(2) Effective October 1, 2003, through June 30, 2006, the
437	division shall implement an infant crib safety enforcement
438	demonstration program consistent with this section in Broward,
439	Franklin, Miami-Dade, Orange, and Osceola Counties. During the
440	period of the demonstration program, the division is not
441	required to inspect infant cribs for enforcement of section
442	501.144, section 509.032, or section 509.221(10), Florida
443	Statutes, in a county that is not included in the demonstration
444	program.
445	(3) During the period of the demonstration program:
446	(a) Each transient public lodging establishment located in
447	a county included in the demonstration program shall annually
448	file with the division a certificate attesting that each full-
449	size and non-full-size crib offered or provided for use in the
450	establishment has been inspected by a person who is competent,
451	based upon criteria established by the division, to conduct the
452	inspection, and that each crib is in conformity with the
453	requirements of section 501.144, Florida Statutes. The division
454	shall prescribe the forms, timetables, and procedures for filing
455	the certificate.
456	(b) The division shall inspect the full-size and non-full-
457	size cribs offered or provided for use in each transient public
458	lodging establishment located in a county included in the
459	demonstration program. The division shall perform these crib
460	inspections during its routine inspections conducted under
461	section 509.032, Florida Statutes. When performing these crib
462	inspections, the division is not required to inspect every crib
463	at each establishment, but may use selective inspection
464	techniques, including, but not limited to, random sampling.
465	(4) The division shall conduct an evaluation of the
466	effectiveness of the demonstration program. By January 1, 2006,
467	the division shall submit a report on the evaluation to the
468	Governor, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House
469	of Representatives, and the majority and minority leaders of the
470	Senate and the House of Representatives. The report must include
471	an evaluation of compliance by transient public lodging
472	establishments, the time and costs associated with conducting
473	crib inspections, and the barriers to enforcing the Florida
474	Infant Crib Safety Act. The report must also include
475	recommendations as to whether the demonstration program should
476	be continued, expanded, or revised to enhance its administration
477	or effectiveness.
478	(5) The Department of Business and Professional Regulation
479	may adopt rules under sections 120.536(1) and 120.54, Florida
480	Statutes, for the administration of this section.
481	(6) This section expires June 30, 2006.
482	Section 6. This act shall take effect October 1, 2003.
483