Florida Senate - 2013                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. SB 1252
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Barcode 465200                          
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                  Comm: RCS            .                                
                  03/21/2013           .                                
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       The Committee on Community Affairs (Simpson) recommended the
       following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Delete lines 459 - 535
    4  and insert:
    5         Section 16. Section 553.992, Florida Statutes, is amended
    6  to read:
    7         553.992 Adoption of rating system criteria.—The Department
    8  of Business and Professional Regulation shall adopt, update, and
    9  maintain, and administer a statewide criteria for a uniform
   10  building energy-efficiency rating system to implement the
   11  provisions of this part and amendments thereto in accordance
   12  with the procedures of chapter 120 and shall, upon the request
   13  of any builder, designer, rater, or owner of a building, issue
   14  nonbinding interpretations, clarifications, and opinions
   15  concerning the application and use of the building energy
   16  efficiency energy rating system under rules that the department
   17  adopts in accordance with chapter 120. Department rules must
   18  prohibit a sole provider from conducting functions relating to
   19  the building energy-efficiency rating system, including energy
   20  rating, energy testing, certification of energy raters, and
   21  training.
   22         Section 17. Section 553.993, Florida Statutes, is amended
   23  to read:
   24         553.993 Definitions.—For purposes of this part:
   25         (1) “Acquisition” means to gain the sole or partial use of
   26  a building through a purchase agreement.
   27         (2) “Builder” means the primary contractor who possesses
   28  the requisite skill, knowledge, and experience, and has the
   29  responsibility, to supervise, direct, manage, and control the
   30  contracting activities of the business organization with which
   31  she or he is connected and who has the responsibility to
   32  supervise, direct, manage, and control the construction work on
   33  a job for which she or he has obtained the building permit.
   34  Construction work includes, but is not limited to, foundation,
   35  framing, wiring, plumbing, and finishing work.
   36         (3) “Building energy-efficiency rating system” means a
   37  whole building energy evaluation system established by the
   38  Residential Energy Services Network, the Commercial Energy
   39  Services Network, the Building Performance Institute, or the
   40  Florida Solar Energy Center, or a nationally recognized rating
   41  system approved by the department.
   42         (4)(3) “Designer” means the architect, engineer, landscape
   43  architect, builder, interior designer, or other person who
   44  performs the actual design work or under whose direct
   45  supervision and responsible charge the construction documents
   46  are prepared.
   47         (5) “Energy auditor” means a trained and certified
   48  professional who conducts energy evaluations of an existing
   49  building and uses tools to identify the building’s current
   50  energy usage and the condition of the building and equipment.
   51         (6) “Energy-efficiency rating” means an unbiased indication
   52  of a building’s relative energy efficiency based on consistent
   53  inspection procedures, operating assumptions, climate data, and
   54  calculation methods.
   55         (7) “Energy rater” means an individual certified by this
   56  state to perform building energy-efficiency ratings for the
   57  building type and in the rating class for which the rater is
   58  certified.
   59         (8)(4) “New building” means commercial occupancy buildings
   60  permitted for construction after January 1, 1995, and
   61  residential occupancy buildings permitted for construction after
   62  January 1, 1994.
   63         (9)(5) “Public building” means a building comfort
   64  conditioned for occupancy that is owned or leased by the state,
   65  a state agency, or a governmental subdivision, including, but
   66  not limited to, a city, county, or school district.
   67         Section 18. Section 553.995, Florida Statutes, is amended
   68  to read:
   69         553.995 Energy-efficiency ratings for buildings.—
   70         (1) The building energy-efficiency rating system must shall
   71  at a minimum:
   72         (a) Provide a uniform rating scale of the efficiency of
   73  buildings based on annual energy usage.
   74         (a)(b) Take into account local climate conditions,
   75  construction practices, and building use.
   76         (b)(c) Be compatible with standard federal rating systems
   77  and state building codes and standards, where applicable, and
   78  shall satisfy the requirements of s. 553.9085 with respect to
   79  residential buildings and s. 255.256 with respect to state
   80  buildings.
   81         (2) Building The energy-efficiency rating systems system
   82  adopted by the department must shall provide a means of
   83  analyzing and comparing the relative energy efficiency of
   84  buildings upon the sale of new or existing residential, public,
   85  or commercial buildings.
   86         (3) The department shall establish a voluntary working
   87  group of persons interested in the building energy-efficiency
   88  rating system or energy efficiency, including, but not limited
   89  to, such persons as electrical engineers, mechanical engineers,
   90  architects, public utilities, energy raters, and builders. The
   91  interest group shall advise the department in the adoption,
   92  administration, and oversight development of the building
   93  energy-efficiency rating system and shall assist the department
   94  in the implementation of the rating system by coordinating
   95  educational programs for designers, builders, businesses, and
   96  other interested persons to assist compliance and to facilitate
   97  incorporation of the rating system into existing practices.
   98         (4) The department shall approve develop a training and
   99  certification program to certify raters. In addition to the
  100  department, ratings may be conducted by any local government or
  101  private entity, provided that the appropriate persons have
  102  completed the necessary training and have been certified by the
  103  department. The Department of Management Services shall rate
  104  state-owned or state-leased buildings, if provided that the
  105  appropriate persons have completed the necessary training and
  106  have been certified by the Department of Business and
  107  Professional Regulation. A state agency that which has building
  108  construction regulation authority may rate its own buildings and
  109  those it is responsible for, if the appropriate persons have
  110  completed the necessary training and have been certified by the
  111  Department of Business and Professional Regulation. The
  112  Department of Business and Professional Regulation may charge a
  113  fee not to exceed the costs for the training and certification
  114  of raters. The department shall by rule set the appropriate
  115  charges for raters to charge for energy ratings, not to exceed
  116  the actual costs.
  117  
  118  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
  119         And the title is amended as follows:
  120         Delete lines 51 - 52
  121  and insert:
  122         553.993, F.S.; providing definitions; amending