Senate Bill sb0404er

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  1                                 

  2         An act relating to the housing and construction

  3         industry; amending s. 468.609, F.S.; providing

  4         additional eligibility requirements for a

  5         person to take the examination for

  6         certification as a building code inspector or

  7         plans examiner; revising a reference to the

  8         organization administering certain

  9         examinations; amending s. 468.617, F.S.;

10         authorizing certain limited certificateholders

11         to provide services to specified jurisdictions;

12         amending s. 468.619, F.S.; providing for the

13         application of the building code enforcement

14         officials' bill of rights to certain

15         disciplinary investigations and proceedings;

16         amending s. 468.621, F.S.; providing for

17         disciplinary proceedings for violations

18         involving failure to follow building code or

19         permit requirements, obstructing an

20         investigation, and accepting services at a

21         noncompetitive rate from any person whose work

22         is under the enforcement authority of the

23         official, under certain circumstances; amending

24         s. 468.627, F.S.; providing requirements for

25         continuing education in ethics; requiring a new

26         certificateholder to provide proof of

27         completion of certain curriculum courses;

28         removing provisions relating to an option of

29         taking an equivalency test in lieu of taking

30         core curriculum classes; amending s. 489.115,

31         F.S.; requiring applicants for initial issuance


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 1         of a certificate or registration as a

 2         contractor to submit to criminal history

 3         records checks; requiring the Department of

 4         Business and Professional Regulation to submit

 5         the requests for criminal history records check

 6         to the Department of Law Enforcement; requiring

 7         the Department of Law Enforcement to return the

 8         results to the department; authorizing the

 9         Construction Industry Licensing Board to deny

10         licensure to certain applicants; specifying

11         matters the board must consider concerning

12         licensure; prohibiting the denial of licensure

13         based solely on a felony conviction or the

14         status of the civil rights of the applicant;

15         specifying that guidelines for determining

16         financial stability may include minimum

17         requirements for net worth, cash, and bonding;

18         providing that a portion of financial

19         requirements may be met by completing specified

20         coursework; creating s. 553.382, F.S.;

21         authorizing the placement of residential

22         manufactured buildings that are certified by

23         the Department of Community Affairs on certain

24         mobile home lots; providing for application of

25         state law governing mobile home park lot

26         tenancies to any such housing unit placed on a

27         mobile home lot; requiring the written approval

28         of the owner of a mobile home park before the

29         placement of any such housing unit on a mobile

30         home lot; providing for taxation of such

31         housing units as mobile homes; providing for


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 1         payments to the Florida Mobile Home Relocation

 2         Trust Fund under certain circumstances;

 3         amending s. 489.113, F.S.; prohibiting the

 4         prevention of a licensed engineer or architect

 5         from contracting directly with a licensed

 6         contractor for the preparation of plans,

 7         specifications, or a master design manual when

 8         making an application for a building permit;

 9         prohibiting the requirement of site-specific

10         drawings, specifications, or plans for certain

11         structures; authorizing local code enforcement

12         agencies to accept or reject plans prepared by

13         certain persons; defining the term "master

14         design manual"; providing requirements

15         regarding the preparation of such manuals;

16         requiring that a master design manual contain

17         certain information; requiring that such

18         manuals be peer reviewed by a licensed engineer

19         or architect who meets certain criteria;

20         requiring that the reviewer be identified in

21         the manual; providing that a licensed engineer

22         or architect is not required for the

23         preparation or use of certain design guides;

24         exempting certain existing warehouses from

25         requirements in the Florida Building Code

26         concerning fire protection under certain

27         conditions; providing an effective date.

28  

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

30  

31  


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 1         Section 1.  Subsection (2) and paragraph (a) of

 2  subsection (5) of section 468.609, Florida Statutes, are

 3  amended to read:

 4         468.609  Administration of this part; standards for

 5  certification; additional categories of certification.--

 6         (2)  A person may take the examination for

 7  certification as a building code inspector or plans examiner

 8  pursuant to this part if the person:

 9         (a)  Is at least 18 years of age.

10         (b)  Is of good moral character.

11         (c)  Meets eligibility requirements according to one of

12  the following criteria:

13         1.  Demonstrates 5 years' combined experience in the

14  field of construction or a related field, building code

15  inspection, or plans review corresponding to the certification

16  category sought;

17         2.  Demonstrates a combination of postsecondary

18  education in the field of construction or a related field and

19  experience which totals 4 years, with at least 1 year of such

20  total being experience in construction, building code

21  inspection, or plans review;

22         3.  Demonstrates a combination of technical education

23  in the field of construction or a related field and experience

24  which totals 4 years, with at least 1 year of such total being

25  experience in construction, building code inspection, or plans

26  review; or

27         4.  Currently holds a standard certificate as issued by

28  the board and satisfactorily completes a building code

29  inspector or plans examiner training program of not less than

30  200 hours in the certification category sought. The board

31  


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 1  shall establish by rule criteria for the development and

 2  implementation of the training programs; or.

 3         5.  Demonstrates a combination of the completion of an

 4  approved training program in the field of building codes

 5  inspection or plan review and a minimum of 2 years' experience

 6  in the field of building codes inspection, plan review, fire

 7  code inspections and fire plans review of new buildings as a

 8  fire safety inspector certified under s. 633.081(2), or

 9  construction. The approved training portion of this

10  requirement shall include proof of satisfactory completion of

11  a training program of not less than 300 hours which is

12  approved by the board in the chosen category of building codes

13  inspection or plan review in the certification category sought

14  with not less than 20 hours of instruction in state laws,

15  rules, and ethics relating to professional standards of

16  practice, duties, and responsibilities of a certificateholder.

17  The board shall coordinate with the Building Officials

18  Association of Florida, Inc., to establish by rule the

19  development and implementation of the training program.

20         (d)  After the Building Code Training Program is

21  established under s. 553.841, demonstrates successful

22  completion of the core curriculum approved by the Florida

23  Building Commission, appropriate to the licensing category

24  sought.

25         (5)(a)  To obtain a standard certificate, an individual

26  must pass an examination approved by the board which

27  demonstrates that the applicant has fundamental knowledge of

28  the state laws and codes relating to the construction of

29  buildings for which the applicant has building code

30  administration, plans examination, or building code inspection

31  responsibilities.  It is the intent of the Legislature that


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 1  the examination approved for certification pursuant to this

 2  part be substantially equivalent to the examinations

 3  administered by the International Code Council Southern

 4  Building Code Congress International and the Council of

 5  American Building Officials.

 6         Section 2.  Subsection (4) is added to section 468.617,

 7  Florida Statutes, to read:

 8         468.617  Joint building code inspection department;

 9  other arrangements.--

10         (4)  Nothing in this part prohibits any building code

11  inspector, plans examiner, or building code administrator

12  holding a limited certificate who is employed by a

13  jurisdiction within a small county as defined in s. 339.2818

14  from providing building code inspection, plans review, or

15  building code administration services to another jurisdiction

16  within a small county.

17         Section 3.  Subsection (10) is added to section

18  468.619, Florida Statutes, to read:

19         468.619  Building code enforcement officials' bill of

20  rights.--

21         (10)  This bill of rights applies to disciplinary

22  investigations and proceedings against licenses issued under

23  this part and disciplinary investigations and proceedings

24  relating to the official duties of an enforcement official.

25  This bill of rights does not apply to disciplinary

26  investigations and proceedings against other licenses that the

27  enforcement official holds or disciplinary investigations and

28  proceedings unrelated to the enforcement official's official

29  duties.

30  

31  


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 1         Section 4.  Paragraphs (f) and (g) of subsection (1) of

 2  section 468.621, Florida Statutes, are amended, and paragraphs

 3  (k) and (l) are added to that subsection, to read:

 4         468.621  Disciplinary proceedings.--

 5         (1)  The following acts constitute grounds for which

 6  the disciplinary actions in subsection (2) may be taken:

 7         (f)  Making or filing a report or record that which the

 8  certificateholder knows to be false, or knowingly inducing

 9  another to file a false report or record, or knowingly failing

10  to file a report or record required by state or local law, or

11  knowingly impeding or obstructing such filing, or knowingly

12  inducing another person to impede or obstruct such filing.

13         (g)  Failing to properly enforce applicable building

14  codes or permit requirements within this state which the

15  certificateholder knows are applicable or by committing

16  willful misconduct, gross negligence, gross misconduct,

17  repeated negligence, or negligence resulting in a significant

18  danger to life or property.

19         (k)  Obstructing an investigation or providing or

20  inducing another to provide forged documents, false forensic

21  evidence, or false testimony to a local or state board or

22  member thereof or to a licensing investigator.

23         (l)  Accepting labor, services, or materials at no

24  charge or at a noncompetitive rate from any person who

25  performs work that is under the enforcement authority of the

26  enforcement official and who is not an immediate family member

27  of the enforcement official. The term "immediate family

28  member" includes a spouse, child, parent, sibling,

29  grandparent, aunt, uncle, or first cousin of the person or the

30  person's spouse or any person who resides in the primary

31  residence of the enforcement official.


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 1         Section 5.  Subsections (5) and (6) of section 468.627,

 2  Florida Statutes, are amended to read:

 3         468.627  Application; examination; renewal; fees.--

 4         (5)  The certificateholder shall provide proof, in a

 5  form established by board rule, that the certificateholder has

 6  completed at least 14 classroom hours of at least 50 minutes

 7  each of continuing education courses during each biennium

 8  since the issuance or renewal of the certificate, including

 9  the specialized or advanced coursework approved by the Florida

10  Building Commission, as part of the Building Code Training

11  Program established pursuant to s. 553.841, appropriate to the

12  licensing category sought. A minimum of 3 of the required 14

13  classroom hours must be on state law, rules, and ethics

14  relating to professional standards of practice, duties, and

15  responsibilities of the certificateholder. The board shall by

16  rule establish criteria for approval of continuing education

17  courses and providers, and may by rule establish criteria for

18  accepting alternative nonclassroom continuing education on an

19  hour-for-hour basis.

20         (6)  Each certificateholder shall provide to the board

21  proof of completion of the core curriculum courses, or passing

22  the equivalency test of the Building Code Training Program

23  established by s. 553.841, within 2 years after commencement

24  of the program. Each new certificateholder shall provide to

25  the board proof of completion of the core curriculum courses

26  of the building code training program established in s.

27  553.841 within the first 2-year period after initial

28  licensure. Continuing education hours spent taking such core

29  curriculum courses shall count toward the number required for

30  license renewal. A licensee who passes the equivalency test in

31  


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 1  lieu of taking the core curriculum courses shall receive full

 2  credit for core curriculum course hours.

 3         Section 6.  Present subsection (6) of section 489.115,

 4  Florida Statutes, is renumbered as subsection (7) and amended,

 5  present subsection (7) of that section is renumbered as

 6  subsection (8), and a new subsection (6) is added to that

 7  section, to read:

 8         489.115  Certification and registration; endorsement;

 9  reciprocity; renewals; continuing education.--

10         (6)  An applicant for initial issuance of a certificate

11  or registration shall submit to a statewide criminal history

12  records check through the Department of Law Enforcement. The

13  Department of Business and Professional Regulation shall

14  submit the requests for the criminal history records check to

15  the Department of Law Enforcement for state processing, and

16  the Department of Law Enforcement shall return the results to

17  the department to determine if the applicant meets

18  certification or registration requirements. If the applicant

19  has been convicted of a felony, the board may deny licensure

20  to the applicant based upon the severity of the crime, the

21  relationship of the crime to contracting, or the potential for

22  public harm. The board shall also, in denying or approving

23  licensure, consider the length of time since the commission of

24  the crime and the rehabilitation of the applicant. The board

25  may not deny licensure to an applicant based solely upon a

26  felony conviction or the applicant's failure to provide proof

27  of restoration of civil rights.

28         (7)(6)  An initial applicant shall, along with the

29  application, and a certificateholder or registrant shall, upon

30  requesting a change of status, submit to the board a credit

31  report from a nationally recognized credit agency that


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 1  reflects the financial responsibility of the applicant or

 2  certificateholder or registrant.  The credit report required

 3  for the initial applicant shall be considered the minimum

 4  evidence necessary to satisfy the board that he or she is

 5  financially responsible to be certified, has the necessary

 6  credit and business reputation to engage in contracting in the

 7  state, and has the minimum financial stability necessary to

 8  avoid the problem of financial mismanagement or misconduct.

 9  The board shall, by rule, adopt guidelines for determination

10  of financial stability, which may include minimum requirements

11  for net worth, cash, and bonding for Division I

12  certificateholders of no more than $20,000 and for Division II

13  certificateholders of no more than $10,000. Fifty percent of

14  the financial requirements may be met by completing a 14-hour

15  financial responsibility course approved by the board.

16         Section 7.  Section 553.382, Florida Statutes, is

17  created to read:

18         553.382  Placement of certain housing.--Notwithstanding

19  any other law or ordinance to the contrary, in order to expand

20  the availability of affordable housing in this state, any

21  residental manufactured building that is certified under this

22  chapter by the Department of Community Affairs may be placed

23  on a mobile home lot in a mobile home park, recreational

24  vehicle park, or mobile home condominium, cooperative, or

25  subdivision. Any such housing unit placed on a mobile home lot

26  is a mobile home for purposes of chapter 723 and, therefore,

27  all rights, obligations, and duties under chapter 723 apply,

28  including the specifics of the prospectus. However, a housing

29  unit subject to this section may not be placed on a mobile

30  home lot without the prior written approval of the park owner.

31  Each housing unit subject to this section shall be taxed as a


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 1  mobile home under s. 320.08(11) and is subject to payments to

 2  the Florida Mobile Home Relocation Fund under s. 723.06116.

 3         Section 8.  Subsection (9) of section 489.113, Florida

 4  Statutes, is amended to read:

 5         489.113  Qualifications for practice; restrictions.--

 6         (9)(a)  Nothing in This part does not shall be

 7  construed to prevent any contractor from acting as a prime

 8  contractor where the majority of the work to be performed

 9  under the contract is within the scope of his or her license

10  or and from subcontracting to other licensed contractors that

11  remaining work which is part of the project contracted.

12         (b)  This part, chapter 471, chapter 481, or any other

13  provision of law does not:

14         1.  Prevent any licensed engineer or architect from

15  contracting directly with a licensed contractor for the

16  preparation of plans, specifications, or a master design

17  manual addressing structural designs used to make an

18  application for building permits.

19         2.  Require a licensed engineer or architect, when

20  preparing drawings, specifications, plans, or master design

21  manuals for use by any licensed contractor, to prepare

22  site-specific drawings, specifications, or plans for the

23  design and construction of single-family and two-family

24  dwellings; swimming pools, spas, or screened enclosures; or

25  any other structure not exceeding 1,200 square feet or one

26  story in height. For the purpose of issuing building permits,

27  local building officials shall accept such drawings,

28  specifications, or plans when submitted by any licensed

29  contractor. Upon good cause shown, local government code

30  enforcement agencies may accept or reject plans prepared by

31  


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 1  persons licensed under chapter 471, chapter 481, or this

 2  chapter.

 3  

 4  As used in this section, the term "master design manual" means

 5  a restrictive design manual intended to be used to design,

 6  permit, and construct structures as described in this section.

 7  Any such manual must be prepared by a licensed engineer or

 8  architect and specifically detail the limits of its use,

 9  including, but not limited to, the structure type, size,

10  materials, loading conditions, time limits, applicable codes,

11  and associated criteria. The manual must also detail the

12  required training for the contractor, engineer, or architect

13  using the manual. All master design manuals must be peer

14  reviewed by an independent licensed engineer or architect

15  having no financial interest in the development of the manual

16  or the construction of structures pursuant to the manual. The

17  engineer or architect conducting the peer review must be

18  identified in the manual.

19         (c)  Notwithstanding anything in this chapter or any

20  other provision of law, a licensed engineer or architect is

21  not required for the preparation or use of any design guide

22  adopted by the Florida Building Commission as part of the

23  building code pursuant to s. 553.73.

24         Section 9.  If an existing warehouse is expanded, the

25  addition must comply with the requirements in chapter 9 of the

26  Florida Building Code; however, the existing warehouse need

27  not be updated to meet those requirements so long as it is in

28  compliance with the Florida Building Code, 2001 edition, and

29  with requirements concerning automatic sprinkler systems in

30  section 903 of the Florida Building Code.

31         Section 10.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2007.


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