HB 1093CS

CHAMBER ACTION



2The Committee on Appropriations recommends the following:
3
4     Committee Substitute
5     Remove the entire bill and insert:
6
A bill to be entitled
7An act relating to electrical and alarm system
8contracting; amending s. 489.517, F.S.; requiring
9certificateholders and registrants to have continuing
10education in preventing false alarms; amending s. 489.518,
11F.S.; revising qualifications for burglar alarm system
12agents; removing an exemption from training requirements
13for persons who only perform sales; authorizing employment
14as an alarm system agent or burglar alarm system agent
15under supervision for a specified period, pending
16completion of training and the criminal background check;
17providing the format, the validity period, and renewal
18requirements for burglar alarm system agent identification
19cards; requiring an updated criminal background check of
20each burglar alarm system agent who renews certification;
21providing continuing education requirements for burglar
22alarm system agents; amending s. 489.5185, F.S.; revising
23qualifications for fire alarm system agents; requiring an
24updated criminal background check of each fire alarm
25system agent who renews certification; requiring fire
26alarm system agents to have continuing education in
27preventing false alarms; providing an effective date.
28
29Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
30
31     Section 1.  Paragraph (b) of subsection (4) of section
32489.517, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
33     489.517  Renewal of certificate or registration; continuing
34education.--
35     (4)
36     (b)  Of the 14 classroom hours of continuing education
37required, at least 7 hours must be on technical subjects, 1 hour
38on workers' compensation, 1 hour on workplace safety, and 1 hour
39on business practices, and for alarm system contractors and
40electrical contractors engaged in alarm system contracting, 2
41hours on false alarm prevention.
42     Section 2.  Section 489.518, Florida Statutes, is amended
43to read:
44     489.518  Alarm system agents.--
45     (1)  A licensed electrical or alarm system contractor may
46not employ a person to perform the duties of a burglar alarm
47system agent unless the person:
48     (a)  Is at least 18 years of age or has evidence of a
49court-approved declaration of emancipation.
50     (b)  Has successfully completed a minimum of 14 12 hours of
51training, to include basic alarm system electronics in addition
52to related training including CCTV and access control training,
53with at least 2 hours of training in the prevention of false
54alarms. Such training shall be from a board-approved provider,
55and the employee or applicant for employment shall provide proof
56of successful completion to the licensed employer. The board
57shall by rule establish criteria for the approval of training
58courses and providers and may by rule establish criteria for
59accepting alternative nonclassroom education on an hour-for-hour
60basis. The board shall approve providers that conduct training
61in other than the English language. The board shall establish a
62fee for the approval of training providers or courses, not to
63exceed $60. Qualified employers may conduct training classes for
64their employees, with board approval.
65     (c)  Has not been convicted within the last 3 years of a
66crime that directly relates to the business for which employment
67is being sought. Although the employee is barred from operating
68as an alarm system agent for 3 years subsequent to his or her
69conviction, the employer shall be supplied the information
70regarding any convictions occurring prior to that time, and the
71employer may at his or her discretion consider an earlier
72conviction to be a bar to employment as an alarm system agent.
73To ensure that this requirement has been met, a licensed
74electrical or alarm contractor must obtain from the Florida
75Department of Law Enforcement a completed fingerprint and
76criminal background check for each applicant for employment as a
77burglar alarm system agent or for each individual currently
78employed on the effective date of this act as a burglar alarm
79system agent.
80     (d)  Has not been committed for controlled substance abuse
81or been found guilty of a crime under chapter 893 or a similar
82law relating to controlled substances in any other state within
83the 3-year period immediately preceding the date of application
84for employment, or the effective date of this act for an
85individual employed as a burglar alarm system agent on that
86date, unless he or she establishes that he or she is not
87currently abusing any controlled substance and has successfully
88completed a rehabilitation course.
89     (2)(a)  Persons who perform only monitoring or sales are
90not required to complete the training required for burglar alarm
91system agents.
92     (b)  Persons who perform only monitoring at an out-of-state
93location are not required to comply with background check
94requirements.
95     (c)  Persons who perform proprietary burglar alarm system
96agent duties for only a single employer, and who do not offer
97alarm system contracting services to the public, are not
98required to comply with background check requirements.
99     (d)  A state-certified electrical contractor, a state-
100certified alarm system contractor, a state-registered alarm
101system contractor, a journeyman electrician licensed by any
102local jurisdiction, or an alarm technician licensed by a local
103jurisdiction that requires an examination and experience or
104training as licensure qualifications, is not required to
105complete the training required for burglar alarm system agents.
106A state-registered electrical contractor is not required to
107complete the training required for burglar alarm system agents,
108so long as he or she is only doing electrical work up to the
109alarm panel.
110     (e)  A nonsupervising employee working as a helper or
111apprentice under the direct, on-site, continuous supervision of
112a state-certified electrical contractor, a state-registered
113electrical contractor, a state-certified alarm system
114contractor, a state-registered alarm system contractor, a
115journeyman electrician licensed by any local jurisdiction, an
116alarm technician licensed by a local jurisdiction that requires
117an examination and experience or training as licensure
118qualifications, or a qualified alarm system agent is not
119required to complete the training otherwise required and is not
120required to be 18 years of age or older.
121     (3)  An applicant for employment as an alarm system agent,
122or an individual employed as a burglar alarm system agent on the
123effective date of this act, may commence or continue employment
124pending the completion of the required training and the results
125of the background check required by this section for a period
126not to exceed 90 60 days after the date of application for
127employment, or 90 60 days after the effective date of this act
128for individuals currently employed as burglar alarm system
129agents. However, the person must work under the direction and
130control of a sponsoring licensed electrical or burglar alarm
131system contractor pending the completion of the training and the
132criminal background check. If an applicant or an individual
133employed on the effective date of this act does not complete the
134training or receive a satisfactory criminal background check
135within the 90-day 60-day period, the employment must be
136terminated immediately.
137     (4)(a)  A licensed electrical or alarm system contractor
138shall furnish each of its burglar alarm system agents with an
139identification card.
140     (b)  The identification card shall be designed in a board-
141approved format. The card must shall include a picture of the
142agent, must and shall specify at least the name of the holder of
143the card and the name and license number of the contractor, and
144must shall be signed by the contractor and by the holder of the
145card. Each identification card is valid for a period of 2 years
146after the date of issuance. The identification card must shall
147be in the possession of each burglar alarm system agent while
148engaged in burglar alarm system agent duties.
149     (c)(b)  Each person to whom an identification card has been
150issued shall be responsible for the safekeeping thereof and
151shall not loan, or allow any other person to use or display, the
152identification card.
153     (d)  Each identification card must be renewed every 2 years
154and in a board-approved format to show compliance with the 6
155hours of continuing education necessary to maintain
156certification as a burglar alarm system agent.
157     (e)  Each licensed electrical or alarm system contractor
158must obtain an updated criminal background check from the
159Department of Law Enforcement for each burglar alarm system
160agent who renews certification.
161     (5)  Each burglar alarm system agent must receive 6 hours
162of continuing education on burglar alarm system installation and
163repair and false alarm prevention every 2 years from a board-
164approved sponsor of training and through a board-approved
165training course.
166     (6)(5)  Failure to comply with any of the provisions of
167this section shall be a disciplinable offense against the
168contractor pursuant to s. 489.533.
169     Section 3.  Section 489.5185, Florida Statutes, is amended
170to read:
171     489.5185  Fire alarm system agents.--
172     (1)  A certified unlimited electrical contractor or
173licensed fire alarm contractor may not employ a person to
174perform the duties of a fire alarm system agent unless the
175person:
176     (a)  Is at least 18 years of age or has evidence of a
177court-approved declaration of emancipation.
178     (b)  Has successfully completed a minimum of 14 18 hours of
179initial training, to include basic fire alarm system technology
180in addition to related training in National Fire Protection
181Association (NFPA) codes and standards and access control
182training, with at least 2 hours of training in the prevention of
183false alarms. Such training must be from a board-approved
184provider, and the employee or applicant for employment must
185provide proof of successful completion to the licensed employer.
186The board, by rule, shall establish criteria for the approval of
187training courses and providers. The board shall approve
188qualified providers that conduct training in other than the
189English language. The board shall establish a fee for the
190approval of training providers, not to exceed $200, and a fee
191for the approval of courses at $25 per credit hour, not to
192exceed $100 per course.
193     (c)  Has not been convicted within the last 3 years of a
194crime that directly relates to the business for which employment
195is being sought. Although the employee is barred from operating
196as a fire alarm system agent for 3 years subsequent to his or
197her conviction, the employer shall be supplied the information
198regarding any convictions occurring prior to that time, and the
199employer may at his or her discretion consider an earlier
200conviction to be a bar to employment as a fire alarm system
201agent. To ensure that this requirement has been met, a certified
202unlimited electrical contractor or licensed fire alarm
203contractor must obtain from the Florida Department of Law
204Enforcement a completed fingerprint and criminal background
205check for each applicant for employment as a fire alarm system
206agent or for each individual currently employed on the effective
207date of this act as a fire alarm system agent.
208     (d)  Has not been committed for controlled substance abuse
209or been found guilty of a crime under chapter 893 or any similar
210law relating to controlled substances in any other state within
211the 3-year period immediately preceding the date of application
212for employment, or immediately preceding the effective date of
213this act for an individual employed as a fire alarm system agent
214on that date, unless the person establishes that he or she is
215not currently abusing any controlled substance and has
216successfully completed a rehabilitation course.
217     (2)(a)  Any applicant for employment as a fire alarm system
218agent, or any individual employed as a fire alarm system agent
219on the effective date of this act, who has completed alarm
220system agent or burglar alarm system agent training prior to the
221effective date of this act in a board-certified program is not
222required to take additional training in order to comply with the
223initial training requirements of this section.
224     (b)  A state-certified electrical contractor, a state-
225certified fire alarm system contractor, a state-registered fire
226alarm system contractor, a journeyman electrician licensed by
227any local jurisdiction, or an alarm technician licensed by a
228local jurisdiction that requires an examination and experience
229or training as licensure qualifications is not required to
230complete the training required for fire alarm system agents. A
231state-registered electrical contractor is not required to
232complete the training required for fire alarm system agents, so
233long as he or she is only doing electrical work up to the alarm
234panel.
235     (c)  A nonsupervising employee working as a helper or
236apprentice under the direct, onsite, continuous supervision of a
237state-certified electrical contractor, a state-registered
238electrical contractor, a state-certified fire alarm system
239contractor, a state-registered fire alarm system contractor, a
240journeyman electrician licensed by any local jurisdiction, an
241alarm technician licensed by a local jurisdiction that requires
242an examination and experience or training as licensure
243qualifications, or a qualified fire alarm system agent is not
244required to complete the training otherwise required and is not
245required to be 18 years of age or older.
246     (d)  A burglar alarm system agent employed by a licensed
247fire alarm contractor or certified unlimited electrical
248contractor who has fulfilled all requirements of s. 489.518
249prior to the effective date of this act is not required to
250complete the initial training required by this section for fire
251alarm system agents.
252     (e)  Persons who perform only monitoring are not required
253to complete the training required for fire alarm system agents.
254     (3)  An applicant for employment as a fire alarm system
255agent may commence employment, or an individual employed as a
256fire alarm system agent on the effective date of this act may
257continue employment, pending completion of both the training and
258the fingerprint and criminal background checks required by this
259section, for a period not to exceed 90 days after the date of
260application for employment or 90 days after the effective date
261of this act for individuals employed as fire alarm system agents
262on that date. However, the person must work under the direction
263and control of a sponsoring certified unlimited electrical
264contractor or licensed fire alarm contractor until completion of
265both the training and the fingerprint and criminal background
266checks. If an applicant or an individual employed on the
267effective date of this act does not complete the training or
268receive satisfactory fingerprint and criminal background checks
269within the 90-day period, the employment must be terminated
270immediately.
271     (4)(a)  A certified unlimited electrical contractor or
272licensed fire alarm contractor must furnish each of his or her
273fire alarm system agents with an identification card.
274     (b)  The card shall follow a board-approved format, to
275include a picture of the agent; shall specify at least the name
276of the holder of the card and the name and license number of the
277certified unlimited electrical contractor or licensed fire alarm
278contractor; and shall be signed by both the contractor and the
279holder of the card. Each identification card shall be valid for
280a period of 2 years after the date of issuance. The
281identification card must be in the possession of the fire alarm
282system agent while engaged in fire alarm system agent duties.
283     (c)  Each person to whom an identification card has been
284issued is responsible for the safekeeping thereof, and may not
285loan, or allow any other person to use or display, the
286identification card.
287     (d)  Each identification card must be renewed every 2 years
288and in a board-approved format to show compliance with the 6
289hours of continuing education necessary to maintain
290certification as a fire alarm system agent.
291     (e)  Each licensed electrical or alarm system contractor
292must obtain an updated criminal background check from the
293Department of Law Enforcement for each fire alarm system agent
294who renews certification.
295     (5)  Each fire alarm system agent must receive 6 hours of
296continuing education on fire alarm system installation and
297repair and false alarm prevention every 2 years from a board-
298approved sponsor of training and through a board-approved
299training course.
300     (6)  Failure to comply with any of the provisions of this
301section shall be grounds for disciplinary action against the
302contractor pursuant to s. 489.533.
303     Section 4.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2004.


CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.