Florida Senate - 2019                          SENATOR AMENDMENT
       Bill No. CS/CS/HB 7103, 2nd Eng.
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì105244ÄÎ105244                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
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                 Floor: WD/2R          .                                
             05/02/2019 11:41 AM       .                                
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       Senator Brandes moved the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment to Amendment (155860) (with title
    2  amendment)
    3  
    4         Between lines 413 and 414
    5  insert:
    6         Section 9. Paragraph (l) of subsection (2) of section
    7  718.112, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
    8         718.112 Bylaws.—
    9         (2) REQUIRED PROVISIONS.—The bylaws shall provide for the
   10  following and, if they do not do so, shall be deemed to include
   11  the following:
   12         (l) Firesafety.An association must ensure reasonable
   13  compliance with the Florida Fire Prevention Code. For purposes
   14  of this paragraph, the term “reasonable compliance” means the
   15  ability to select an alternative solution to ensure that the
   16  property meets the level of fire safety required by the Florida
   17  Fire Prevention Code. As to a residential condominium building
   18  that is a high-rise building as defined under the Florida Fire
   19  Prevention Code, the association may either retrofit a fire
   20  sprinkler system or an engineered life safety system as
   21  specified in the Florida Fire Prevention Code Certificate of
   22  compliance.A provision that a certificate of compliance from a
   23  licensed electrical contractor or electrician may be accepted by
   24  the association’s board as evidence of compliance of the
   25  condominium units with the applicable fire and life safety code
   26  must be included. Notwithstanding chapter 633 or of any other
   27  code, statute, ordinance, administrative rule, or regulation, or
   28  any interpretation of the foregoing, an association, residential
   29  condominium, or unit owner is not obligated to retrofit the
   30  common elements, association property, or units of a residential
   31  condominium with a fire sprinkler system or an engineered life
   32  safety system in a building that has been certified for
   33  occupancy by the applicable governmental entity if the unit
   34  owners have voted to forego such retrofitting by the affirmative
   35  vote of two-thirds a majority of all voting interests in the
   36  affected condominium. The local authority having jurisdiction
   37  may not require completion of retrofitting with a fire sprinkler
   38  system or an engineered life safety system before January 1,
   39  2024 2020. By December 31, 2016, a residential condominium
   40  association that is not in compliance with the requirements for
   41  a fire sprinkler system and has not voted to forego retrofitting
   42  of such a system must initiate an application for a building
   43  permit for the required installation with the local government
   44  having jurisdiction demonstrating that the association will
   45  become compliant by December 31, 2019.
   46         1. A vote to forego retrofitting may be obtained by limited
   47  proxy or by a ballot personally cast at a duly called membership
   48  meeting, or by execution of a written consent by the member, and
   49  is effective upon recording a certificate attesting to such vote
   50  in the public records of the county where the condominium is
   51  located. The association shall mail or hand deliver to each unit
   52  owner written notice at least 14 days before the membership
   53  meeting in which the vote to forego retrofitting of the required
   54  fire sprinkler system or engineered life safety system is to
   55  take place. Within 30 days after the association’s opt-out vote,
   56  notice of the results of the opt-out vote must be mailed or hand
   57  delivered to all unit owners. Evidence of compliance with this
   58  notice requirement must be made by affidavit executed by the
   59  person providing the notice and filed among the official records
   60  of the association. After notice is provided to each owner, a
   61  copy must be provided by the current owner to a new owner before
   62  closing and by a unit owner to a renter before signing a lease.
   63         2. If there has been a previous vote to forego
   64  retrofitting, a vote to require retrofitting may be obtained at
   65  a special meeting of the unit owners called by a petition of at
   66  least 10 percent of the voting interests. Such a vote may only
   67  be called once every 3 years. Notice shall be provided as
   68  required for any regularly called meeting of the unit owners,
   69  and must state the purpose of the meeting. Electronic
   70  transmission may not be used to provide notice of a meeting
   71  called in whole or in part for this purpose.
   72         3. As part of the information collected annually from
   73  condominiums, the division shall require condominium
   74  associations to report the membership vote and recording of a
   75  certificate under this subsection and, if retrofitting has been
   76  undertaken, the per-unit cost of such work. The division shall
   77  annually report to the Division of State Fire Marshal of the
   78  Department of Financial Services the number of condominiums that
   79  have elected to forego retrofitting.
   80         4. Notwithstanding s. 553.509, a residential association
   81  may not be obligated to, and may forego the retrofitting of, any
   82  improvements required by s. 553.509(2) upon an affirmative vote
   83  of a majority of the voting interests in the affected
   84  condominium.
   85         5. This paragraph does not apply to timeshare condominium
   86  associations, which shall be governed by s. 721.24.
   87  
   88  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
   89  And the title is amended as follows:
   90         Between lines 493 and 494
   91  insert:
   92         amending s. 718.112, F.S.; requiring that condominium
   93         association bylaws provide requirements for the
   94         association’s reasonable compliance with the Florida
   95         Fire Prevention Code; defining the term “reasonable
   96         compliance”; specifying authorized means of compliance
   97         for certain residential condominiums; deleting a
   98         requirement for association bylaws to contain a
   99         certain certificate of compliance provision; revising
  100         unit and common elements required to be retrofitted;
  101         revising provisions relating to an association vote to
  102         forego retrofitting; extending the date before which a
  103         local authority having jurisdiction may not require
  104         completion of a condominium’s retrofitting with a fire
  105         sprinkler system or an engineered life safety system;
  106         providing applicability;