| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to reactive drywall; creating the |
| 3 | Legislative Task Force on Reactive Drywall; providing for |
| 4 | membership; requiring the task force to evaluate health |
| 5 | risks, collect data, and make recommendations to the |
| 6 | Governor and Legislature regarding reactive drywall; |
| 7 | abolishing the task force on a certain date; requiring a |
| 8 | person who inspects homes for corrosion of metals |
| 9 | associated with reactive drywall to inspect certain items |
| 10 | for corrosion; requiring a person who removes reactive |
| 11 | drywall or corroded appliances to provide the homeowner |
| 12 | with a remediation plan; requiring the remediation plan to |
| 13 | provide for inspections after the removal of drywall; |
| 14 | requiring a facility for the disposal of construction and |
| 15 | demolition debris or a Class III landfill to develop a |
| 16 | management plan to segregate or refuse to accept drywall; |
| 17 | requiring a facility for the disposal of construction and |
| 18 | demolition debris or a Class III landfill that accepts |
| 19 | drywall to apply soil cover to the drywall at least |
| 20 | weekly; requiring the Florida Building Commission to adopt |
| 21 | rules limiting the amount of sulfur and strontium |
| 22 | compounds that may be contained in drywall; providing an |
| 23 | effective date. |
| 24 |
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| 25 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 26 |
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| 27 | Section 1. Legislative Task Force on Reactive Drywall.- |
| 28 | (1) There is created the Legislative Task Force on |
| 29 | Reactive Drywall, a task force as defined in s. 20.03, Florida |
| 30 | Statutes. |
| 31 | (2) The task force shall consist of the following ex |
| 32 | officio members: |
| 33 | (a) A representative of the Florida Building Commission, |
| 34 | who shall be appointed by the Secretary of Community Affairs. |
| 35 | (b) The State Surgeon General or his or her designee. |
| 36 | (c) A representative of the Rinker School of Building |
| 37 | Construction at the University of Florida, who shall be |
| 38 | appointed by the president of the university. |
| 39 | (3) The task force shall also consist of the following |
| 40 | public members, appointed jointly by the President of the Senate |
| 41 | and the Speaker of the House of Representatives: |
| 42 | (a) A member having professional or occupational expertise |
| 43 | in the building industry. |
| 44 | (b) A member having professional expertise in the |
| 45 | manufacturing of drywall. |
| 46 | (c) A member having professional expertise in the banking |
| 47 | industry. |
| 48 | (d) A member who is a consumer advocate having experience |
| 49 | in issues relating to reactive drywall. |
| 50 | (e) A member who is the director of a county health |
| 51 | department or a designee of the director from an area of the |
| 52 | state affected by reactive drywall. |
| 53 | (f) A member who is a physician having experience in |
| 54 | respiratory diseases caused by industrial exposure. |
| 55 | (g) A member who is a scientist having experience in |
| 56 | environmental toxicology. |
| 57 | (h) A member who is an attorney having experience in |
| 58 | product liability litigation. |
| 59 | (i) A member who is a home inspector or building inspector |
| 60 | having experience in inspecting homes or buildings for reactive |
| 61 | drywall. |
| 62 | (j) A member who is a homeowner who has or had a home |
| 63 | containing reactive drywall. |
| 64 | (k) A member who is a code enforcement officer from a |
| 65 | county that is heavily impacted by reactive drywall. |
| 66 | (l) A member who is responsible for the operation of a |
| 67 | landfill that accepts construction debris. |
| 68 | (m) A member who is an officer of a property insurer |
| 69 | having expertise in reactive drywall. |
| 70 | (n) A member who is a realtor having expertise in the sale |
| 71 | of homes or buildings containing reactive drywall. |
| 72 | (o) A member who is a property appraiser or the property |
| 73 | appraiser's designee from a county that is heavily impacted by |
| 74 | reactive drywall. |
| 75 | (p) A member who is an officer of a drywall manufacturer |
| 76 | or other industry representative. |
| 77 |
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| 78 | The President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of |
| 79 | Representatives shall appoint all of the public members within |
| 80 | 45 days after this section takes effect. |
| 81 | (4) The members of the task force shall designate one of |
| 82 | the public members as the chair of the task force. The |
| 83 | representative of the Florida Building Commission shall serve as |
| 84 | vice chair. Members of the task force shall serve without |
| 85 | compensation, but are entitled to reimbursement for per diem and |
| 86 | travel expenses under s. 112.061, Florida Statutes. |
| 87 | (5) The Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government |
| 88 | Accountability shall provide administrative support to the task |
| 89 | force. |
| 90 | (6) The Legislative Task Force on Reactive Drywall is |
| 91 | created to evaluate the health risks to property owners from the |
| 92 | installation of reactive drywall and to develop a methodology to |
| 93 | mitigate the impacts to property and public health resulting |
| 94 | from the installation, removal, and remediation of structures in |
| 95 | which the drywall was installed. The task force shall collect |
| 96 | data, which shall include, but need not be limited to, |
| 97 | statistics relating to the number of complaints filed regarding |
| 98 | reactive drywall, the number of lawsuits filed against |
| 99 | installers of reactive drywall, the number and types of health |
| 100 | issues resulting from the use of reactive drywall, and the costs |
| 101 | associated with remediation and repair of property contaminated |
| 102 | by reactive drywall. The task force shall use the data to: |
| 103 | (a) Recommend amendments to the Florida Building Code |
| 104 | establishing standards for drywall content. |
| 105 | (b) Develop a uniform remediation standard for use by |
| 106 | property owners in repairing damage caused by the installation |
| 107 | and removal of reactive drywall. |
| 108 | (c) Develop a remediation and certification program having |
| 109 | uniform standards for certification to be used by persons hired |
| 110 | to remediate and repair damage to property. The task force shall |
| 111 | consider for inclusion in the uniform standards existing |
| 112 | methodologies that are used to repair and replace reactive |
| 113 | drywall. |
| 114 | (d) Develop a recommendation for the disposal of reactive |
| 115 | drywall that is removed from damaged property. |
| 116 | (e) Recommend new laws or rules relating to reactive |
| 117 | drywall. |
| 118 | (7) The task force shall hold its first meeting by August |
| 119 | 30, 2010, or within 60 days after this section takes effect, |
| 120 | whichever is earlier, and shall complete its work by December |
| 121 | 31, 2010. The task force shall submit a detailed report of its |
| 122 | findings and recommendations to the Governor, the President of |
| 123 | the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives by |
| 124 | February 1, 2011. |
| 125 | (8) The Legislative Task Force on Reactive Drywall is |
| 126 | abolished July 1, 2011. |
| 127 | Section 2. Home inspection for corrosion of metals |
| 128 | associated with reactive drywall.-A person who conducts a home |
| 129 | inspection for corrosion of metals associated with reactive |
| 130 | drywall must, at a minimum, inspect the air conditioning coil; |
| 131 | electrical wiring, including fire alarm wiring; gas water heater |
| 132 | and other gas-fueled appliances; and other appliances that are |
| 133 | fixtures of the home. |
| 134 | Section 3. Remediation planning for homes having drywall |
| 135 | contaminated by sulfur or strontium compounds.-A contractor, |
| 136 | engineer, or architect who removes drywall contaminated with |
| 137 | sulfur or strontium compounds or appliances corroded by sulfur |
| 138 | or strontium compounds must provide the homeowner with a |
| 139 | remediation plan before commencing the remediation. The |
| 140 | remediation plan must permit the person who owns or controls the |
| 141 | property to have a home inspection to inspect electrical wiring, |
| 142 | mechanical fixtures, appliances, or any system in which copper |
| 143 | is a component and which could not be inspected before the |
| 144 | removal of the reactive drywall. |
| 145 | Section 4. Disposal of reactive drywall.-A facility for |
| 146 | the disposal of construction and demolition debris or Class III |
| 147 | landfill must develop a management plan to segregate or refuse |
| 148 | to accept loads that are predominantly or exclusively drywall |
| 149 | and direct such loads to a Class I landfill. A facility for the |
| 150 | disposal of construction and demolition debris or Class III |
| 151 | landfill that accepts loads that are predominantly or |
| 152 | exclusively drywall must apply at least 6 inches of cover soil |
| 153 | over the drywall at least weekly. |
| 154 | Section 5. By January 1, 2012, the Florida Building |
| 155 | Commission shall adopt rules establishing maximum amounts of |
| 156 | sulfur and strontium compounds that may be contained in drywall. |
| 157 | The rules shall limit the amount of sulfur and strontium |
| 158 | compounds to levels that do not cause malodorous odors, adverse |
| 159 | health effects, and corrosion of metals commonly used in |
| 160 | buildings and appliances. In developing rules, the commission |
| 161 | shall consider the recommendations of the Legislative Taskforce |
| 162 | on Reactive Drywall. |
| 163 | Section 6. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law. |