Amendment
Bill No. CS/CS/CS/SB 408
Amendment No. 657665
CHAMBER ACTION
Senate House
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1Representative Artiles offered the following:
2
3     Amendment to Amendment (399507)
4     Remove lines 2851-2925 and insert:
5     (g)(b)  "Sinkhole" means a landform created by subsidence
6of soil, sediment, or rock as underlying strata are dissolved by
7groundwater. A sinkhole forms may form by collapse into
8subterranean voids created by dissolution of limestone or
9dolostone or by subsidence as these strata are dissolved.
10     (i)(c)  "Sinkhole loss" means structural damage to the
11covered building, including the foundation, caused by sinkhole
12activity. Contents coverage and additional living expenses shall
13apply only if there is structural damage to the covered building
14caused by sinkhole activity.
15     (h)(d)  "Sinkhole activity" means settlement or systematic
16weakening of the earth supporting the covered building such
17property only if the when such settlement or systematic
18weakening results from contemporaneous movement or raveling of
19soils, sediments, or rock materials into subterranean voids
20created by the effect of water on a limestone or similar rock
21formation.
22     (e)  "Professional engineer" means a person, as defined in
23s. 471.005, who has a bachelor's degree or higher in engineering
24with a specialty in the geotechnical engineering field. A
25professional engineer must also have geotechnical experience and
26expertise in the identification of sinkhole activity as well as
27other potential causes of structural damage to the structure.
28     (f)  "Professional geologist" means a person, as defined in
29by s. 492.102, who has a bachelor's degree or higher in geology
30or related earth science and with expertise in the geology of
31Florida. A professional geologist must have geological
32experience and expertise in the identification of sinkhole
33activity as well as other potential geologic causes of
34structural damage to the structure.
35     (j)  "Structural damage" means a covered building,
36regardless of the date of its construction, has experienced the
37following:
38     1.  Interior floor displacement or deflection in excess of
39acceptable variances as defined in ACI 117-90 or the Florida
40Building Code, which results in settlement related damage to the
41interior such that the interior building structure or members
42become unfit for service or represents a safety hazard as
43defined within the Florida Building Code;
44     2.  Foundation displacement or deflection in excess of
45acceptable variances as defined in ACI 318-95 or the Florida
46Building Code, which results in settlement related damage to the
47primary structural members or primary structural systems that
48prevents those members or systems from supporting the loads and
49forces they were designed to support to the extent that stresses
50in those primary structural members or primary structural
51systems exceeds one and one-third the nominal strength allowed
52under the Florida Building Code for new buildings of similar
53structure, purpose, or location;
54     3.  Damage that results in listing, leaning, or buckling of
55the exterior load bearing walls or other vertical primary
56structural members to such an extent that a plumb line passing
57through the center of gravity does not fall inside the middle
58one-third of the base as defined within the Florida Building
59Code;
60     4.  Damage that results in the building, or any portion of
61the building containing primary structural members or primary
62structural systems, being significantly likely to imminently
63collapse because of the movement or instability of the ground
64within the influence zone of the supporting ground within the
65sheer plane necessary for the purpose of supporting such
66building as defined within the Florida Building Code; or
67     5.  Damage occurring on or after October 15, 2005, that
68qualifies as "substantial structural damage" as defined in the
69Florida Building Code.
70     (c)  "Primary structural member" means a structural element
71designed to provide support and stability for the vertical or
72lateral loads of the overall structure.
73     (d)  "Primary structural system" means an assemblage of


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