HB 923

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to regulation of hoisting equipment used
3	in construction, demolition, or excavation work; creating
4	s. 489.1138, F.S.; defining the terms "hoisting
5	equipment," "mobile crane," and "tower crane"; requiring
6	an applicant for a building permit to submit certain
7	information to a local building official; requiring radio
8	communications between certain crane operators; requiring
9	certain preparations for a hurricane or high-wind event;
10	requiring a preparedness plan for certain cranes;
11	requiring that hoisting equipment be secured in a
12	specified manner under certain circumstances; providing
13	penalties for violation of the act by certain licensed
14	contractors; preempting regulation of hoisting equipment
15	and persons operating the equipment to the state;
16	providing that the act does not apply to the regulation of
17	elevators; providing an effective date.
18
19	WHEREAS, cranes, derricks, hoists, elevators, and conveyors
20	used in construction, demolition, or excavation work are
21	currently regulated under federal rules adopted by the
22	Occupational Safety and Health Administration in 29 C.F.R. parts
23	1910 and 1926, and
24	WHEREAS, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration
25	has conducted a thorough and exhaustive review of these rules in
26	an effort to better protect against the hazards presented by
27	these types of hoisting equipment, and
28	WHEREAS, the review conducted by the Occupational Safety
29	and Health Administration was undertaken in consultation with
30	many of the most knowledgeable engineering, construction, and
31	safety experts in the nation and in the world, and
32	WHEREAS, this review has culminated in the production of
33	proposed rules setting forth comprehensive and detailed new
34	regulations applicable to cranes, derricks, hoists, elevators,
35	and conveyors, and to the operators of these types of hoisting
36	equipment, as published in the Federal Register on October 9,
37	2008, and
38	WHEREAS, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration
39	should be commended and supported in these efforts, and
40	WHEREAS, cranes, derricks, hoists, elevators, and conveyors
41	are routinely transported across city, county, and state lines,
42	making uniform federal regulation of these types of hoisting
43	equipment and their operators essential to commerce, to
44	Florida's economic competitiveness, and to minimizing
45	construction costs in our state, and
46	WHEREAS, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration
47	has recently entered into a strategic alliance with the
48	Associated Builders and Contractors of Florida, the South
49	Florida Chapter of the Associated General Contractors of
50	America, the Construction Association of South Florida, and the
51	Florida Crane Owners Council to improve crane safety, NOW,
52	THEREFORE,
53
54	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
55
56	Section 1.  Section 489.1138, Florida Statutes, is created
57	to read:
58	489.1138  Regulation of hoisting equipment used in
59	construction, demolition, or excavation work.--
60	(1)  As used in this section, the term:
61	(a)  "Hoisting equipment" means power-operated cranes,
62	derricks, hoists, elevators, and conveyors used in construction,
63	demolition, or excavation work that are regulated by the
64	Occupational Safety and Health Administration under 29 C.F.R.
65	parts 1910 and 1926.
66	(b)  "Mobile crane" means a type of hoisting equipment
67	incorporating a cable-suspended latticed boom or hydraulic
68	telescoping boom designed to be moved between operating
69	locations by transport over a roadway. The term does not include
70	a mobile crane with a boom length of less than 25 feet or a
71	maximum rated load capacity of less than 15,000 pounds.
72	(c)  "Tower crane" means a type of hoisting equipment using
73	a vertical mast or tower to support a working boom in an
74	elevated position, where the working boom can rotate to move
75	loads laterally either by rotating at the top of the mast or
76	tower or by the rotation of the mast or tower itself, whether
77	the mast or tower base is fixed in one location or ballasted and
78	moveable between locations.
79	(2)  An applicant for a building permit for construction,
80	demolition, or excavation work involving the use of a tower
81	crane or mobile crane must submit to the local building official
82	of the appropriate county, municipality, or other political
83	subdivision:
84	(a)  A site plan accurately identifying the location of the
85	crane, clearances from above-ground power lines, the location of
86	adjacent buildings, and the structural foundation of the crane.
87	(b)  Documentation of compliance with the requirements of
88	all governmental authorities related to operation of the crane
89	on the work site, including compliance with the lighting
90	requirements of the Federal Aviation Administration.
91	(3)  When two or more tower cranes or mobile cranes are
92	operating within the same swing radius, there must be at all
93	times a clear, independent, and operable channel of radio
94	communications between the persons operating the cranes.
95	(4)(a)  When a tower crane or mobile crane is located on a
96	work site, a hurricane and high-wind event preparedness plan for
97	the crane must be available for inspection at the site.
98	(b)  In preparation for a hurricane or high-wind event,
99	hoisting equipment must be secured in the following manner:
100	1.  All hoisting equipment must be secured in compliance
101	with manufacturer recommendations relating to hurricane and
102	high-wind events, including any recommendations relating to the
103	placement, use, and removal of advertising banners and rigging.
104	2.  Tower crane turntables must be lubricated before the
105	event.
106	3.  Fixed booms on mobile cranes must be laid down whenever
107	feasible.
108	4.  Booms on hydraulic cranes must be retracted and stored.
109	5.  The counterweights of any hoists must be locked below
110	the top tie-in.
111	6.  Tower cranes must be set in the weathervane position.
112	7.  All rigging must be removed from hoist blocks.
113	8.  All power at the base of tower cranes must be
114	disconnected.
115	(5)  A person licensed under this part who intentionally
116	violates this section is subject to discipline under ss. 455.227
117	and 489.129.
118	(6)  This section preempts any local act, law, ordinance,
119	or regulation, including, but not limited to, a local building
120	code or building permit requirement, of a county, municipality,
121	or other political subdivision that pertains to the regulation
122	of hoisting equipment and persons operating the equipment in the
123	state.
124	(7)  This section does not apply to the regulation of
125	elevators under chapter 399.
126	Section 2.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.

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