Florida Senate - 2012          (Corrected Copy)    CS for SB 992
       
       
       
       By the Committee on Community Affairs; and Senators Bennett and
       Dean
       
       
       
       578-02170-12                                           2012992c1
    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 or to airspace height
   19         restrictions; providing an effective 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, or
  120  regulation, including, but not limited to, a local building code
  121  or building permit requirement, of a county, municipality, or
  122  other political subdivision that pertains to the regulation of
  123  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 or to airspace height restrictions
  127  in chapter 333.
  128         Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.