HB 521

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

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