Florida Senate - 2020                                     SB 890
       
       
        
       By Senator Perry
       
       
       
       
       
       8-01115-20                                             2020890__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to local licensing; creating s.
    3         489.1175, F.S.; defining terms; providing that
    4         individuals who hold valid, active local licenses may
    5         work within the scope of such licenses in any local
    6         government jurisdiction without needing to meet
    7         certain additional licensing requirements; requiring
    8         licensees to provide consumers with certain
    9         information; providing that local governments have
   10         disciplinary jurisdiction over such licensees;
   11         requiring local governments to forward any
   12         disciplinary orders to a licensee’s original licensing
   13         jurisdiction for further action; requiring the
   14         Department of Business and Professional Regulation to
   15         create and maintain a local licensing information
   16         system; requiring local governments to provide the
   17         department with specified information; providing an
   18         effective date.
   19          
   20  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   21  
   22         Section 1. Section 489.1175, Florida Statutes, is created
   23  to read:
   24         489.1175 Local licensing; portability.—
   25         (1) As used in this section, the term:
   26         (a) “Noncontractor job scope” means any category of work
   27  that is done to real property and that does not substantially
   28  correspond to the job scope of one of the contractor categories
   29  defined in s. 489.105(3)(a)-(o). The term includes, but is not
   30  limited to, the performance or installation of awnings,
   31  cabinetry, carpentry, caulking, debris removal, driveways,
   32  drywall, fence and decks, flooring, garage doors, glass and
   33  glazing, gunite, gutters and downspouts, hurricane shutters,
   34  insulation, interior remodeling, irrigation, landscaping,
   35  lightning protection systems, masonry, nonelectrical signs,
   36  painting, paving, plastering, stuccoing, tennis courts, vinyl
   37  siding and ornamental or decorative iron, stone, tile, marble,
   38  granite, or terrazzo.
   39         (b) “Local government” means a county or municipality
   40  within this state.
   41         (c) “Local license” means a license, registration, or
   42  similar permit issued and required by a local government for a
   43  noncontractor job scope.
   44         (2)(a) An individual who holds a valid, active local
   45  license may work within the scope of such license in any local
   46  government jurisdiction in addition to the original licensing
   47  jurisdiction without having to obtain an additional local
   48  license, take an additional local license examination, or pay an
   49  additional local license fee. This section does not affect the
   50  ability of any local government to collect business taxes,
   51  subject to s. 205.065.
   52         (b) A licensee who works in the jurisdiction of a local
   53  government under the portability protections of this section
   54  shall provide a consumer who seeks his or her services
   55  information sufficient for the consumer to access the
   56  department’s local licensing information under subsection (4),
   57  so that the consumer may verify his or her license status in the
   58  relevant licensing jurisdiction.
   59         (3) A local government has the same disciplinary
   60  jurisdiction over an individual operating outside his or her
   61  original licensing jurisdiction pursuant to this section as it
   62  has over its own local licensees, including, but not limited to,
   63  the authority to suspend or revoke an individual licensee’s
   64  ability to operate within its jurisdiction. A local government
   65  shall forward any disciplinary orders to an individual’s
   66  original licensing jurisdiction for further action, as
   67  appropriate. The original licensing jurisdiction may take action
   68  against a licensee for being disciplined by another local
   69  licensing jurisdiction or for violating the original licensing
   70  jurisdiction’s noncontractor job scope in another jurisdiction.
   71         (4)(a) The department shall create and maintain an online
   72  local licensing information system whereby the public may review
   73  the licensing status of individuals holding a local license.
   74         (b) A local government that issues a local license must
   75  provide information to the department which is necessary to
   76  maintain the local licensing information system with respect to
   77  the jurisdiction of such local government. Information provided
   78  must include at least the name, business name, address, license
   79  number, and licensing status of the local licensee. A local
   80  government may fulfill this obligation by maintaining its own
   81  website that the department may link to, or by providing the
   82  information at least monthly to the department.
   83         Section 2. This act shall take effect October 1, 2020.