Senate Bill sb2670c1
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Florida Senate - 2006 CS for SB 2670
By the Committee on Regulated Industries; and Senator Crist
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1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to building assessment and
3 remediation; creating pt. XV of ch. 468, F.S.,
4 relating to regulation of mold assessment and
5 mold remediation; providing legislative intent;
6 providing definitions; providing requirements
7 for practice of mold assessment or mold
8 remediation; providing exemptions; providing
9 for prohibited acts and penalties; providing
10 insurance requirements; providing for contracts
11 to perform mold assessment or mold remediation;
12 providing a statute of limitations; providing a
13 grandfather clause; creating pt. XVI of ch.
14 468, F.S., relating to regulation of home
15 inspection services; providing definitions;
16 providing requirements for practice; providing
17 exemptions; providing prohibited acts and
18 penalties; requiring liability insurance;
19 exempting certain persons from duty to provide
20 repair cost estimates; providing a statute of
21 limitations; exempting persons currently
22 providing certain home inspections from
23 regulation under the act; providing an
24 effective date.
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26 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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28 Section 1. Part XV of chapter 468, Florida Statutes,
29 consisting of sections 468.83, 468.831, 468.832, 468.833,
30 468.834, 468.835, 468.836, 468.837, and 468.838, is created to
31 read:
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1 468.83 Legislative intent.--It is the intent of the
2 Legislature pursuant to s. 11.62 that professions and
3 occupations covered by this part be regulated in a manner that
4 does not unnecessarily restrict entry into such professions or
5 occupations. The Legislature finds that this part provides a
6 measure of protection for homeowners by providing education,
7 experience, and testing requirements for persons in such
8 professions or occupations necessary to protect homeowners'
9 investments in their homes.
10 468.831 Definitions.--As used in this part, the term:
11 (1) "Mold" means an organism of the class fungi that
12 causes disintegration of organic matter and produces spores,
13 and includes any spores, hyphae, and mycotoxins produced by
14 mold.
15 (2) "Mold assessment" means:
16 (a) An investigation or survey of a dwelling or other
17 structure to provide the owner or occupant with information
18 regarding the presence, identification, or evaluation of mold;
19 (b) The development of a mold-management plan or
20 mold-remediation protocol; or
21 (c) The collection or analysis of a mold sample.
22 (3) "Mold assessor" means any person who performs or
23 directly supervises a mold assessment.
24 (4) "Mold remediation" means the removal, cleaning,
25 sanitizing, demolition, or other treatment, including
26 preventive activities, of mold or mold-contaminated matter
27 that was not purposely grown at that location; however, such
28 removal, cleaning, sanitizing, demolition, or other treatment,
29 including preventive activities, may not be work that requires
30 a license under chapter 489 unless performed by a person who
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1 is licensed under that chapter or the work complies with that
2 chapter.
3 (5) "Mold remediator" means any person who performs
4 mold remediation. A mold remediator may not perform any work
5 that requires a license under chapter 489 unless the mold
6 remediator is also licensed under that chapter or complies
7 with that chapter.
8 468.832 Requirements for practice.--
9 (1) A person may not work as a mold assessor or mold
10 remediator unless he or she has evidence of, or works under
11 the direct supervision of a person who has evidence of, the
12 following:
13 (a)1. For a mold remediator, at least a 2-year degree
14 in microbiology, engineering, architecture, industrial
15 hygiene, occupational safety, or a related field of science
16 from an accredited institution, along with a minimum of 1 year
17 of documented field experience in a field related to mold
18 remediation, or a high school diploma, a GED, or the
19 equivalent with a minimum of 2 years of documented field
20 experience in a field related to mold remediation.
21 2. For a mold assessor, at least a 2-year degree in
22 microbiology, engineering, architecture, industrial hygiene,
23 occupational safety, or a related field of science from an
24 accredited institution, along with a minimum of 1 year of
25 documented field experience in conducting microbial sampling
26 or investigations, or a high school diploma, a GED, or the
27 equivalent with a minimum of 2 years of documented field
28 experience in conducting microbial sampling or investigations.
29 (b) A certification related to performing mold
30 assessment or mold remediation, respectively. Such
31 certification may be issued by a not-for-profit industry
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1 association, society, or certification body or by a college or
2 university that offers mold assessment or mold remediation
3 training or education, respectively. Qualified certification
4 programs shall be accredited by a nationally recognized
5 independent accrediting entity that sets programs and
6 standards that comply with American Society for Testing and
7 Materials Standard E1929-98, Standard Practice for Assessment
8 of Certification Programs for Environmental Professionals:
9 Accreditation Criteria, or the equivalent.
10 (2) A business entity may not provide or offer to
11 provide mold assessment or mold remediation services unless
12 the business entity satisfies all of the requirements of this
13 part.
14 468.833 Exemptions.--
15 (1) The following persons are not required to comply
16 with this part with regard to any mold assessment:
17 (a) A residential property owner who performs mold
18 assessment on his or her own property.
19 (b) A person who performs mold assessment on property
20 owned or leased by the person, the person's employer, or an
21 entity affiliated with the person's employer through common
22 ownership, or on property operated or managed by the person's
23 employer or an entity affiliated with the person's employer
24 through common ownership. This exemption does not apply if the
25 person, employer, or affiliated entity engages in the business
26 of performing mold assessment for the public.
27 (c) An employee of a mold assessor while directly
28 supervised by the mold assessor.
29 (d) Individuals or business organizations that are not
30 specifically engaged in mold assessment but are acting within
31 the scope of the respective licenses required under chapter
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1 471, part I of chapter 481, chapter 482, or chapter 489, are
2 acting on behalf of an insurer under part VI of chapter 626,
3 or are individuals in the manufactured housing industry who
4 are licensed under chapter 320.
5 (e) An authorized employee of the United States, this
6 state, or any municipality, county, or other political
7 subdivision, or public or private school, who meets the
8 requirements of s. 468.832 and who is conducting mold
9 assessment within the scope of that employment, as long as the
10 employee does not hold out for hire or otherwise engage in
11 mold assessment.
12 (2) The following persons are not required to comply
13 with this part with regard to any mold remediation:
14 (a) A residential property owner who performs mold
15 remediation on his or her own property.
16 (b) A person who performs mold remediation on property
17 owned or leased by the person, the person's employer, or an
18 entity affiliated with the person's employer through common
19 ownership, or on property operated or managed by the person's
20 employer or an entity affiliated with the person's employer
21 through common ownership. This exemption does not apply if the
22 person, employer, or affiliated entity engages in the business
23 of performing mold remediation for the public.
24 (c) An employee of a mold remediator while directly
25 supervised by the mold remediator.
26 (d) Individuals or business organizations that are not
27 specifically engaged in mold remediation but that are acting
28 within the scope of the respective licenses required under
29 chapter 471, part I of chapter 481, chapter 482, or chapter
30 489, are acting on behalf of an insurer under part VI of
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1 chapter 626, or are individuals in the manufactured housing
2 industry who are licensed under chapter 320.
3 (e) An authorized employee of the United States, this
4 state, or any municipality, county, or other political
5 subdivision, or public or private school, who meets the
6 requirements of s. 468.832 and who is conducting mold
7 remediation within the scope of that employment, as long as
8 the employee does not hold out for hire or otherwise engage in
9 mold remediation.
10 468.834 Prohibited acts; penalties.--
11 (1) A mold assessor, a company that employs a mold
12 assessor, or a company that is controlled by a company that
13 also has a financial interest in a company employing a mold
14 assessor may not:
15 (a) Perform or offer to perform any mold assessment
16 without complying with the requirements of this part.
17 (b) Perform or offer to perform any mold remediation
18 to a structure on which the mold assessor or the mold
19 assessor's company provided a mold assessment within the last
20 12 months.
21 (c) Inspect for a fee any property in which the
22 assessor or the assessor's company has any financial or
23 transfer interest.
24 (d) Accept any compensation, inducement, or reward
25 from a mold remediator or mold remediator's company for the
26 referral of any business to the mold remediator or the mold
27 remediator's company.
28 (e) Offer any compensation, inducement, or reward to a
29 mold remediator or mold remediator's company for the referral
30 of any business from the mold remediator or the mold
31 remediator's company.
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1 (f) Accept an engagement to make an omission of the
2 assessment or conduct an assessment in which the assessment
3 itself, or the fee payable for the assessment, is contingent
4 upon the conclusions of the assessment.
5 (2) A mold remediator, a company that employs a mold
6 remediator, or a company that is controlled by a company that
7 also has a financial interest in a company employing a mold
8 remediator may not:
9 (a) Perform or offer to perform any mold remediation
10 without complying with the requirements of this part.
11 (b) Perform or offer to perform any mold assessment as
12 defined in s. 468.831.
13 (c) Remediate for a fee any property in which the mold
14 remediator or the mold remediator's company has any financial
15 or transfer interest.
16 (d) Accept any compensation, inducement, or reward
17 from a mold assessor or mold assessor's company for the
18 referral of any business from the mold assessor or the mold
19 assessor's company.
20 (e) Offer any compensation, inducement, or reward to a
21 mold assessor or mold assessor's company for the referral of
22 any business from the mold assessor or the mold assessor's
23 company.
24 (3) Any person who violates any provision of this
25 section commits:
26 (a) A misdemeanor of the second degree for a first
27 violation, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
28 (b) A misdemeanor of the first degree for a second
29 violation, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
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1 (c) A felony of the third degree for a third or
2 subsequent violation, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s.
3 775.083, or s. 775.084.
4 468.835 Insurance.--
5 (1) Effective January 1, 2007, a mold assessor must
6 maintain general liability and errors and omissions insurance
7 coverage in an amount of not less than $250,000.
8 (2) Effective January 1, 2007, a mold remediator must
9 maintain general liability insurance policy in an amount of
10 not less than $500,000 that includes specific coverage for
11 mold related claims.
12 468.836 Contracts.--A contract to perform mold
13 assessment or mold remediation must be in a document or
14 electronic record, signed or otherwise authenticated by the
15 parties. A mold assessment contract is not required to provide
16 estimates related to the cost of repair of an assessed
17 property. A mold assessment contract is not required to
18 provide estimates.
19 468.837 Statute of limitations.--Chapter 95 governs
20 the time at which an action to enforce an obligation, a duty,
21 or a right arising under this part must be commenced.
22 468.838 Grandfather clause.--The provisions of this
23 part shall become effective upon becoming law and shall allow
24 for a period of 2 years after enactment in which persons
25 currently performing mold assessment or mold remediation as
26 described under this part have to complete the requirements of
27 this part.
28 Section 2. Part XVI of chapter 468, Florida Statutes,
29 consisting of sections 468.841, 468.842, 468.843, 468.844,
30 468.845, 468.846, 468.847, and 468.848, is created to read:
31 468.841 Definitions.--As used in this part, the term:
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1 (1) "Home" means any residential real property, or
2 manufactured or modular home, that is a single-family
3 dwelling, duplex, triplex, quadruplex, condominium unit, or
4 cooperative unit. The term does not include the common areas
5 of condominiums or cooperatives.
6 (2) "Home inspector" means any person who provides or
7 offers to provide a home inspection for a fee or other
8 compensation.
9 (3) "Home inspection" means a limited visual
10 examination of one or more of the readily accessible installed
11 systems and components of a home, including, but not limited
12 to, the structure, electrical system, HVAC system, roof
13 covering, plumbing system, interior components, exterior
14 components, and site conditions that affect the structure, for
15 the purpose of providing a written professional opinion of the
16 condition of the home.
17 468.842 Requirements for practice.--
18 (1) A person may not work as a home inspector unless
19 he or she:
20 (a) Has successfully completed a course of study of
21 not less than 80 hours, which requires a passing score on a
22 psychometrically valid examination in home inspections, and
23 which includes, but is not limited to, each of the following
24 components of a home: structure; electrical system; roof
25 covering; plumbing system; interior components; exterior
26 components; and site conditions that affect the structure, and
27 heating, ventilation, and cooling systems. Courses of study
28 prescribed under this section must be accredited by a
29 nationally recognized third-party independent accrediting
30 entity that sets programs and standards that ensure competence
31 as a home inspector.
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1 (b) Annually completes 8 hours of continuing education
2 related to home inspections.
3 (c) Discloses to the consumer in writing prior to
4 contracting for or commencing a home inspection:
5 1. That the home inspector meets the education and
6 examination requirements of this section.
7 2. That the home inspector maintains the commercial
8 general liability insurance policy as required by this part.
9 3. The scope and any exclusions of the home
10 inspection.
11 4. A statement of experience that includes either the
12 approximate number of home inspections the home inspector has
13 performed for a fee or the number of years of experience as a
14 home inspector.
15 (2) A business entity may not provide or offer to
16 provide home inspection services unless each of the home
17 inspectors employed by the business entity satisfies all the
18 requirements of this part.
19 (3) A business entity may not use, in connection with
20 the name or signature of the business entity, the title " home
21 inspectors" to describe the business entity's services unless
22 each of the home inspectors employed by the business entity
23 satisfies all the requirements of this part.
24 468.843 Exemptions.--The following persons are not
25 required to comply with this part when acting within the scope
26 of practice authorized by such license, except when such
27 persons are conducting, producing, disseminating, or charging
28 a fee for a home inspection or otherwise operating within the
29 scope of this part:
30 (1) A construction contractor licensed under chapter
31 489.
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1 (2) An architect licensed under chapter 481.
2 (3) An engineer licensed under chapter 471.
3 (4) A building code administrator, plans examiner, or
4 building code inspector licensed under part XII of chapter
5 468.
6 (5) A certified real estate appraiser, licensed real
7 estate appraiser, or registered real estate appraiser licensed
8 under part II of chapter 475.
9 (6) An inspector whose report is being provided to,
10 and is solely for the benefit of, the Federal Housing
11 Administration or the Veterans Administration.
12 (7) An inspector conducting inspections for
13 wood-destroying organisms on behalf of a licensee under
14 chapter 482.
15 (8) A firesafety inspector certified under s. 633.081.
16 (9) An insurance adjuster licensed under part VI of
17 chapter 626.
18 (10) An officer appointed by the court.
19 (11) A master septic tank contractor licensed under
20 part III of chapter 489.
21 (l2) A certified energy auditor performing an energy
22 audit of any home or building conducted under chapter 366 or
23 rules adopted by the Public Service Commission.
24 (13) A mobile home manufacturer, dealer, or installer
25 regulated or licensed under chapter 320 and any employees or
26 agents of the manufacturer, dealer, or installer.
27 468.844 Prohibited acts; penalties.--
28 (1) A home inspector, a company that employs a home
29 inspector, or a company that is controlled by a company that
30 has a financial interest in a company employing a home
31 inspector may not:
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1 (a) Perform or offer to perform, prior to closing, for
2 any additional fee, any repairs to a home on which the
3 inspector or the inspector's company has prepared a home
4 inspection report. This paragraph does not apply to a home
5 warranty company that is affiliated with or retains a home
6 inspector to perform repairs pursuant to a claim made under a
7 home warranty contract.
8 (b) Inspect for a fee any property in which the
9 inspector or the inspector's company has any financial or
10 transfer interest.
11 (c) Offer or deliver any compensation, inducement, or
12 reward to the owner of the inspected property, or any broker
13 or agent therefor, for the referral of any business to the
14 inspector or the inspector's company.
15 (d) Accept an engagement to make an omission or
16 prepare a report in which the inspection itself, or the fee
17 payable for the inspection, is contingent upon the conclusions
18 in the report, the preestablished findings, or the close of
19 escrow.
20 (2) Any person who violates any provision of this
21 section commits:
22 (a) A misdemeanor of the second degree for a first
23 violation, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
24 (b) A misdemeanor of the first degree for a second
25 violation, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
26 (c) A felony of the third degree for a third or
27 subsequent violation, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s.
28 775.083, or s. 775.084.
29 468.845 Insurance.--A home inspector must maintain a
30 commercial general liability insurance policy in an amount of
31 not less that $300,000.
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1 468.846 Repair cost estimates.--Home inspectors are
2 not required to provide estimates related to the cost of
3 repair of an inspected property.
4 468.847 Statute of limitations.--Chapter 95 governs
5 when an action to enforce an obligation, duty, or right
6 arising under this part must be commenced.
7 468.848 Grandfather clause.--Until January 1, 2008,
8 notwithstanding any other provision of this part, a person who
9 meets the following criteria may work as a home inspector:
10 (1) Has successfully completed high school or its
11 equivalent or has been in the business of home inspection
12 services for at least 5 years.
13 (2) Has been engaged in the practice of home
14 inspection for compensation for at least 3 years prior to
15 January 1, 2007.
16 (3) Has performed of not fewer than 250 home
17 inspections for compensation.
18 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2006.
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1 STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
2 Senate Bill 2670
3
4 The CS provides that the legislative intent for the regulation
of mold accessors and remediators, and home inspectors be done
5 in a manner that does not unnecessarily restrict entry into
professions or occupations and protects homeowners.
6
It provides that mold assessors and mold remediators be
7 required to work under the direct supervision of someone who
either has a two-year degree in microbiology, engineering,
8 architecture, industrial hygiene, occupational safety, or
related field along with a minimum one year of documented
9 field experience or high school equivalency with two years of
documented field experience or certification related to
10 performing mold assessment or mold remediation issued by a
not-for-profit industry association, society or certification
11 body or college or university that offers training or
education.
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It exempts certain persons, trained professionals, business
13 organizations and government employees from the requirements
of the act.
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It provides for acts that are prohibited and the criminal
15 penalties for failing to comply with the act.
16 It requires that the mold assessor or remediator maintain a
general liability and errors and omissions insurance coverage
17 in an amount of not less than $250,000 and a general liability
insurance policy of not less than $500,000 that includes
18 specific coverage for mold related claims.
19 It requires a contract to perform mold assessment or mold
remediation, a statute of limitations and grandfathering
20 provisions.
21 It deletes the provision that provided that home inspectors
are not regulated by any state agency but violations of the
22 section constitute a deceptive and unfair trade practice.
23 It provides a grandfather clause for practicing home
inspectors that meet certain criteria until January 1, 2008.
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