| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to regulation of the construction |
| 3 | industry; amending s. 468.609, F.S.; providing additional |
| 4 | eligibility requirements for a person to take the |
| 5 | examination for certification as a building code inspector |
| 6 | or plans examiner; revising a reference to the |
| 7 | organization administering certain examinations; amending |
| 8 | s. 468.617, F.S.; authorizing certain limited |
| 9 | certificateholders to provide services to specified |
| 10 | jurisdictions; amending s. 468.619, F.S.; providing for |
| 11 | the application of the building code enforcement |
| 12 | officials' bill of rights to certain disciplinary |
| 13 | investigations and proceedings; amending s. 468.621, F.S.; |
| 14 | providing for disciplinary proceedings for violations |
| 15 | involving failure to follow building code or permit |
| 16 | requirements, obstructing an investigation, and accepting |
| 17 | services at a noncompetitive rate from any person whose |
| 18 | work is under the enforcement authority of the official, |
| 19 | under certain circumstances; amending s. 468.627, F.S.; |
| 20 | providing requirements for continuing education in ethics; |
| 21 | requiring a new certificateholder to provide proof of |
| 22 | completion of certain curriculum courses; removing |
| 23 | provisions relating to an option of taking an equivalency |
| 24 | test in lieu of taking core curriculum classes; amending |
| 25 | s. 489.115, F.S.; requiring applicants for initial |
| 26 | issuance of a certificate or registration as a contractor |
| 27 | to submit to criminal history records checks; authorizing |
| 28 | the board to deny licensure to certain applicants; |
| 29 | specifying matters the board must consider concerning |
| 30 | licensure; prohibiting the denial of licensure based |
| 31 | solely on a felony conviction or the status of the civil |
| 32 | rights of the applicant; specifying that guidelines for |
| 33 | determining financial stability may include minimum |
| 34 | requirements for net worth, cash, and bonding; providing |
| 35 | that a portion of financial requirements may be met by |
| 36 | completing specified coursework; providing an effective |
| 37 | date. |
| 38 |
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| 39 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 40 |
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| 41 | Section 1. Subsection (2) and paragraph (a) of subsection |
| 42 | (5) of section 468.609, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: |
| 43 | 468.609 Administration of this part; standards for |
| 44 | certification; additional categories of certification.-- |
| 45 | (2) A person may take the examination for certification as |
| 46 | a building code inspector or plans examiner pursuant to this |
| 47 | part if the person: |
| 48 | (a) Is at least 18 years of age. |
| 49 | (b) Is of good moral character. |
| 50 | (c) Meets eligibility requirements according to one of the |
| 51 | following criteria: |
| 52 | 1. Demonstrates 5 years' combined experience in the field |
| 53 | of construction or a related field, building code inspection, or |
| 54 | plans review corresponding to the certification category sought; |
| 55 | 2. Demonstrates a combination of postsecondary education |
| 56 | in the field of construction or a related field and experience |
| 57 | which totals 4 years, with at least 1 year of such total being |
| 58 | experience in construction, building code inspection, or plans |
| 59 | review; |
| 60 | 3. Demonstrates a combination of technical education in |
| 61 | the field of construction or a related field and experience |
| 62 | which totals 4 years, with at least 1 year of such total being |
| 63 | experience in construction, building code inspection, or plans |
| 64 | review; or |
| 65 | 4. Currently holds a standard certificate as issued by the |
| 66 | board and satisfactorily completes a building code inspector or |
| 67 | plans examiner training program of not less than 200 hours in |
| 68 | the certification category sought. The board shall establish by |
| 69 | rule criteria for the development and implementation of the |
| 70 | training programs; or. |
| 71 | 5. Demonstrates a combination of the completion of an |
| 72 | approved training program in the field of building codes |
| 73 | inspection or plan review and a minimum of 2 years' experience |
| 74 | in the field of building codes inspection, plan review, or |
| 75 | construction. The approved training portion of this requirement |
| 76 | shall include proof of satisfactory completion of a training |
| 77 | program of not less than 300 hours which is approved by the |
| 78 | board in the chosen category of building codes inspection or |
| 79 | plan review in the certification category sought with not less |
| 80 | than 20 hours of instruction in state laws, rules, and ethics |
| 81 | relating to professional standards of practice, duties, and |
| 82 | responsibilities of a certificateholder. The board shall |
| 83 | coordinate with the Building Officials Association of Florida, |
| 84 | Inc., to establish by rule the development and implementation of |
| 85 | the training program. |
| 86 | (d) After the Building Code Training Program is |
| 87 | established under s. 553.841, demonstrates successful completion |
| 88 | of the core curriculum approved by the Florida Building |
| 89 | Commission, appropriate to the licensing category sought. |
| 90 | (5)(a) To obtain a standard certificate, an individual |
| 91 | must pass an examination approved by the board which |
| 92 | demonstrates that the applicant has fundamental knowledge of the |
| 93 | state laws and codes relating to the construction of buildings |
| 94 | for which the applicant has building code administration, plans |
| 95 | examination, or building code inspection responsibilities. It is |
| 96 | the intent of the Legislature that the examination approved for |
| 97 | certification pursuant to this part be substantially equivalent |
| 98 | to the examinations administered by the International Code |
| 99 | Council Southern Building Code Congress International and the |
| 100 | Council of American Building Officials. |
| 101 | Section 2. Subsection (4) is added to section 468.617, |
| 102 | Florida Statutes, to read: |
| 103 | 468.617 Joint building code inspection department; other |
| 104 | arrangements.-- |
| 105 | (4) Nothing in this part prohibits any building code |
| 106 | inspector, plans examiner, or building code administrator |
| 107 | holding a limited certificate who is employed by a jurisdiction |
| 108 | within a small county as defined in s. 339.2818 from providing |
| 109 | building code inspection, plans review, or building code |
| 110 | administration services to another jurisdiction within a county. |
| 111 | Section 3. Subsection (10) is added to section 468.619, |
| 112 | Florida Statutes, to read: |
| 113 | 468.619 Building code enforcement officials' bill of |
| 114 | rights.-- |
| 115 | (10) This bill of rights applies to disciplinary |
| 116 | investigations and proceedings against licenses issued under |
| 117 | this part and disciplinary investigations and proceedings |
| 118 | relating to the official duties of an enforcement official. This |
| 119 | bill of rights does not apply to disciplinary investigations and |
| 120 | proceedings against other licenses that the enforcement official |
| 121 | holds or disciplinary investigations and proceedings unrelated |
| 122 | to the enforcement official's official duties. |
| 123 | Section 4. Paragraphs (f) and (g) of subsection (1) of |
| 124 | section 468.621, Florida Statutes, are amended, and paragraphs |
| 125 | (k) and (l) are added to that subsection, to read: |
| 126 | 468.621 Disciplinary proceedings.-- |
| 127 | (1) The following acts constitute grounds for which the |
| 128 | disciplinary actions in subsection (2) may be taken: |
| 129 | (f) Making or filing a report or record that which the |
| 130 | certificateholder knows to be false, or knowingly inducing |
| 131 | another to file a false report or record, or knowingly failing |
| 132 | to file a report or record required by state or local law, or |
| 133 | knowingly impeding or obstructing such filing, or knowingly |
| 134 | inducing another person to impede or obstruct such filing. |
| 135 | (g) Failing to properly enforce applicable building codes |
| 136 | or permit requirements within this state which the |
| 137 | certificateholder knows are applicable or by committing willful |
| 138 | misconduct, gross negligence, gross misconduct, repeated |
| 139 | negligence, or negligence resulting in a significant danger to |
| 140 | life or property. |
| 141 | (k) Obstructing an investigation or providing or inducing |
| 142 | another to provide forged documents, false forensic evidence, or |
| 143 | false testimony to a local or state board or member thereof or |
| 144 | to a licensing investigator. |
| 145 | (l) Accepting labor, services, or materials at no charge |
| 146 | or at a noncompetitive rate from any person who performs work |
| 147 | that is under the enforcement authority of the enforcement |
| 148 | official and who is not an immediate family member of the |
| 149 | enforcement official. The term "immediate family member" |
| 150 | includes a spouse, child, parent, sibling, grandparent, aunt, |
| 151 | uncle, or first cousin of the person or the person's spouse or |
| 152 | any person who resides in the primary residence of the |
| 153 | enforcement official. |
| 154 | Section 5. Subsections (5) and (6) of section 468.627, |
| 155 | Florida Statutes, are amended to read: |
| 156 | 468.627 Application; examination; renewal; fees.-- |
| 157 | (5) The certificateholder shall provide proof, in a form |
| 158 | established by board rule, that the certificateholder has |
| 159 | completed at least 14 classroom hours of at least 50 minutes |
| 160 | each of continuing education courses during each biennium since |
| 161 | the issuance or renewal of the certificate, including the |
| 162 | specialized or advanced coursework approved by the Florida |
| 163 | Building Commission, as part of the Building Code Training |
| 164 | Program established pursuant to s. 553.841, appropriate to the |
| 165 | licensing category sought. A minimum of 3 of the required 14 |
| 166 | classroom hours must be on state law, rules, and ethics relating |
| 167 | to professional standards of practice, duties, and |
| 168 | responsibilities of the certificateholder. The board shall by |
| 169 | rule establish criteria for approval of continuing education |
| 170 | courses and providers, and may by rule establish criteria for |
| 171 | accepting alternative nonclassroom continuing education on an |
| 172 | hour-for-hour basis. |
| 173 | (6) Each certificateholder shall provide to the board |
| 174 | proof of completion of the core curriculum courses, or passing |
| 175 | the equivalency test of the Building Code Training Program |
| 176 | established by s. 553.841, within 2 years after commencement of |
| 177 | the program. Each new certificateholder shall provide proof of |
| 178 | completion of the core curriculum courses of the building code |
| 179 | training program established in s. 553.841 within the first 2- |
| 180 | year period after initial licensure. Continuing education hours |
| 181 | spent taking such core curriculum courses shall count toward the |
| 182 | number required for license renewal. A licensee who passes the |
| 183 | equivalency test in lieu of taking the core curriculum courses |
| 184 | shall receive full credit for core curriculum course hours. |
| 185 | Section 6. Present subsection (6) of section 489.115, |
| 186 | Florida Statutes, is renumbered as subsection (7) and amended, |
| 187 | present subsection (7) of that section is renumbered as |
| 188 | subsection (8), and a new subsection (6) is added to that |
| 189 | section, to read: |
| 190 | 489.115 Certification and registration; endorsement; |
| 191 | reciprocity; renewals; continuing education.-- |
| 192 | (6) An applicant for initial issuance of a certificate or |
| 193 | registration shall submit to a criminal history records check to |
| 194 | determine moral character. If the applicant has been convicted |
| 195 | of a felony, the board may deny licensure to the applicant based |
| 196 | upon the severity of the crime, the relationship of the crime to |
| 197 | contracting, or the potential for public harm. The board shall |
| 198 | also, in denying or approving licensure, consider the length of |
| 199 | time since the commission of the crime and the rehabilitation of |
| 200 | the applicant. The board may not deny licensure to an applicant |
| 201 | based solely upon a felony conviction or the applicant's failure |
| 202 | to provide proof of restoration of civil rights. |
| 203 | (7)(6) An initial applicant shall, along with the |
| 204 | application, and a certificateholder or registrant shall, upon |
| 205 | requesting a change of status, submit to the board a credit |
| 206 | report from a nationally recognized credit agency that reflects |
| 207 | the financial responsibility of the applicant or |
| 208 | certificateholder or registrant. The credit report required for |
| 209 | the initial applicant shall be considered the minimum evidence |
| 210 | necessary to satisfy the board that he or she is financially |
| 211 | responsible to be certified, has the necessary credit and |
| 212 | business reputation to engage in contracting in the state, and |
| 213 | has the minimum financial stability necessary to avoid the |
| 214 | problem of financial mismanagement or misconduct. The board |
| 215 | shall, by rule, adopt guidelines for determination of financial |
| 216 | stability, which may include minimum requirements for net worth, |
| 217 | cash, and bonding for Division I certificateholders of no more |
| 218 | than $20,000 and for Division II certificateholders of no more |
| 219 | than $10,000. Fifty percent of the financial requirements may be |
| 220 | met by completing a 14-hour financial responsibility course |
| 221 | approved by the board. |
| 222 | Section 7. This act shall take effect July 1, 2007. |