The Florida Senate

489.503  Exemptions.--This part does not apply to:

(1)  Any employee of a certificateholder, registrant, or business organization authorized to engage in contracting who is acting within the scope of the license held by that certificateholder or registrant and with the knowledge and permission of the licenseholder. However:

(a)  If the employer is not a certificateholder or registrant in that type of contracting, and the employee performs any of the following, the employee is not exempt:

1.  Holds himself or herself or his or her employer out to be licensed or qualified by a licensee;

2.  Leads the consumer to believe that the employee has an ownership or management interest in the company; or

3.  Performs any of the acts which constitute contracting.

(b)  The legislative intent of this subsection is to place equal responsibility on the unlicensed business and its employees for the protection of the consumers in contracting transactions.

For the purpose of this part, "employee" is defined as a person who receives compensation from, and is under the supervision and control of, an employer who regularly deducts the F.I.C.A. and withholding tax and provides workers' compensation, all as prescribed by law.

(2)  An authorized employee of the United States, this state, or any municipality, county, irrigation district, reclamation district, or any other municipal or political subdivision of this state, except school boards, the ¹Board of Regents, and community colleges, unless for the purpose of performing routine maintenance or repair or construction not exceeding $200,000 to existing installations, as long as the employee does not hold himself or herself out for hire or otherwise engage in contracting except in accordance with his or her employment. If the construction, remodeling, or improvement exceeds $200,000, school boards, the ¹Board of Regents, and community colleges, shall not divide the project into separate components for the purpose of evading this section.

(3)  An officer appointed by a court when he or she is acting within the scope of his or her office as defined by law or court order.

(4)  Public utilities, on construction, maintenance, and development work performed by their forces and incidental to their business.

(5)  The sale or installation of any finished products, materials, or articles of merchandise which are not actually fabricated into, and do not become a permanent fixed part of, the structure. This subsection shall not be construed to limit the exemptions provided in subsection (6).

(6)  An owner of property making application for permit, supervising, and doing the work in connection with the construction, maintenance, repair, and alteration of and addition to a single-family or duplex residence for his or her own use and occupancy and not intended for sale or an owner of property when acting as his or her own electrical contractor and providing all material supervision himself or herself, when building or improving a farm outbuilding or a single-family or duplex residence on such property for the occupancy or use of such owner and not offered for sale or lease, or building or improving a commercial building with aggregate construction costs of under $75,000 on such property for the occupancy or use of such owner and not offered for sale or lease. In an action brought under this subsection, proof of the sale or lease, or offering for sale or lease, of more than one such structure by the owner-builder within 1 year after completion of same is prima facie evidence that the construction was undertaken for purposes of sale or lease. This subsection does not exempt any person who is employed by such owner and who acts in the capacity of a contractor. For the purpose of this subsection, the term "owner of property" includes the owner of a mobile home situated on a leased lot. To qualify for exemption under this subsection, an owner shall personally appear and sign the building permit application and must satisfy local permitting agency requirements, if any, proving that the owner has a complete understanding of the owner's obligations under the law as specified in the disclosure statement in this section. If any person violates the requirements of this subsection, the local permitting agency shall withhold final approval, revoke the permit, or pursue any action or remedy for unlicensed activity against the owner and any person performing work that requires licensure under the permit issued. The local permitting agency shall provide the owner with a disclosure statement in substantially the following form:

State law requires electrical contracting to be done by licensed electrical contractors. You have applied for a permit under an exemption to that law. The exemption allows you, as the owner of your property, to act as your own electrical contractor even though you do not have a license. You may install electrical wiring for a farm outbuilding or a single-family or duplex residence. You may install electrical wiring in a commercial building the aggregate construction costs of which are under $75,000. The home or building must be for your own use and occupancy. It may not be built for sale or lease. If you sell or lease more than one building you have wired yourself within 1 year after the construction is complete, the law will presume that you built it for sale or lease, which is a violation of this exemption. You may not hire an unlicensed person as your electrical contractor. Your construction shall be done according to building codes and zoning regulations. It is your responsibility to make sure that people employed by you have licenses required by state law and by county or municipal licensing ordinances.

(7)  Any construction, alteration, improvement, or repair carried on within the limits of any site the title to which is in the United States or any construction, alteration, improvement, or repair on any project when federal law supersedes this part.

(8)  Any construction or operation incidental to the construction or repair of irrigation and drainage ditches; regularly constituted irrigation districts; reclamation districts; or clearing or other work on the land in rural districts for fire prevention purposes or otherwise, except when performed by a certificateholder under this part.

(9)  A registered architect or engineer acting within the scope of his or her practice, or any person exempted by the law regulating architects or engineers, including persons doing design work as specified in s. 481.229(1)(b).

(10)  Any person who only furnishes materials or supplies without fabricating them into, or consuming them in the performance of, the work of the contractor.

(11)  The installation of alarm systems on motor vehicles and boats.

(12)  Any person as defined and licensed under chapter 527 while engaged in work regulated under that chapter.

(13)  Any person defined and licensed as a fire protection system contractor under chapter 633, while engaged in work as a fire protection system contractor.

(14)(a)  The installation of, repair of, alteration of, addition to, or design of electrical wiring, fixtures, appliances, thermostats, apparatus, raceways, and conduit, or any part thereof, when those items are for the purpose of transmitting data, voice communications, or commands as part of a cable television, community antenna television, or radio distribution system. The scope of this exemption is limited to electrical circuits and equipment governed by the applicable provisions of Articles 725 (Classes 2 and 3 circuits only), 770, 800, 810, and 820 of the National Electrical Code, current edition, or 47 C.F.R. part 68.

(b)  The installation of, repair of, alteration of, addition to, or design of electrical wiring, fixtures, appliances, thermostats, apparatus, raceways, and conduit, or any part thereof, when those items are for the purpose of transmitting data, voice communications, or commands as part of a system of telecommunications, including computers, telephone customer premises equipment, or premises wiring. The scope of this exemption is limited to electrical circuits and equipment governed by the applicable provisions of Articles 725 (Classes 2 and 3 circuits only), 770, 800, 810, and 820 of the National Electrical Code, current edition, or 47 C.F.R. part 68. A company certified under chapter 364 is not subject to any local ordinance that requires a permit for work performed by its employees related to low voltage electrical work, including related technical codes and regulations. The exemption in this paragraph shall apply only if such work is requested by the company's customer, is required in order to complete phone service, is incidental to provision of telecommunication service as required by chapter 364, and is not the subject of a competitive bid. The definition of "employee" established in subsection (1) applies to this exemption and does not include subcontractors.

(15)  The provision, installation, testing, routine maintenance, factory-servicing, or monitoring of a personal emergency response system, as defined in s. 489.505, by an authorized person who:

(a)  Is an employee of, or a volunteer supervised by an employee of, a health care facility licensed by the Agency for Health Care Administration;

(b)  Performs services for the Department of Elderly Affairs;

(c)  Performs services for the Department of Children and Family Services under chapter 410; or

(d)  Is an employee of or an authorized representative or distributor for the producer of the personal emergency response system being monitored.

(16)  The monitoring of a personal emergency response system, as defined in s. 489.505, by a charitable, not-for-profit corporation acting in accordance with a contractual agreement with the Agency for Health Care Administration or one of its licensed health care facilities, the Department of Elderly Affairs, or the Department of Children and Family Services, providing that the organization does not perform any other service requiring certification or registration under this part. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to provide any of the agencies mentioned in this subsection the authority to develop rules, criteria, or policy pursuant to this subsection.

(17)  The monitoring of an alarm system without fee by a direct employee of a law enforcement agency or of a county, municipal, or special district fire department or by a law enforcement officer or fire official acting in an official capacity.

(18)  The monitoring of an alarm system by a direct employee of any state or federally chartered financial institution, as defined in s. 655.005(1)(h), or any parent, affiliate, or subsidiary thereof, so long as:

(a)  The institution is subject to, and in compliance with, s. 3 of the Federal Bank Protection Act of 1968, 12 U.S.C. s. 1882;

(b)  The alarm system is in compliance with all applicable firesafety standards as set forth in chapter 633; and

(c)  The monitoring is limited to an alarm system associated with:

1.  The commercial property where banking operations are housed or where other operations are conducted by a state or federally chartered financial institution, as defined in s. 655.005(1)(h), or any parent, affiliate, or subsidiary thereof; or

2.  The private property occupied by the institution's executive officers, as defined in s. 655.005(1)(f),

and does not otherwise extend to the monitoring of residential systems.

(19)  The monitoring of an alarm system of a business by the direct employees of that business, so long as:

(a)  The alarm system is the exclusive property of, or is leased by, the business;

(b)  The alarm system complies with all applicable firesafety standards as set forth in chapter 633; and

(c)  The alarm system is designed to protect only the commercial premises leased by the business endeavor or commercial premises owned by the business endeavor and not leased to another.

This exemption is intended to allow businesses to monitor their own alarm systems and is not limited to monitoring a single location of that business. However, it is not intended to enable the owner of any apartment complex, aggregate housing, or commercial property to monitor alarm systems on property leased or rented to the residents, clients, or customers thereof.

(20)  Contracting for repair, maintenance, remodeling, or improvement by any person licensed under part I of chapter 475 while acting as the owner's agent pursuant to that license, where all work requiring a contractor is performed by a contractor who has a current, valid certificate or registration issued under this part to perform such work, and where the aggregate contract for labor, materials, and all other items is less than $5,000; however, this exemption does not apply:

(a)  If the maintenance, repair, remodeling, or improvement is a part of a larger or major operation, whether undertaken by the same or a different contractor, or in which a division of the operation is made in contracts of amounts less than $5,000 for the purpose of evading this part or otherwise.

(b)  To a person who advertises that he or she is qualified to engage in contracting.

(21)  Alarm system inspections, audits, or quality assurance services performed by a nationally recognized testing laboratory that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has recognized as meeting the requirements of 29 C.F.R. s. 1910.7.

(22)  Any person who installs or repairs lightning rods or related systems.

History.--ss. 12, 17, ch. 79-272; ss. 2, 3, ch. 81-318; ss. 2, 14, ch. 87-254; ss. 1, 21, 23, ch. 88-149; s. 4, ch. 89-343; s. 36, ch. 90-228; ss. 1, 10, ch. 91-119; s. 42, ch. 91-137; s. 4, ch. 91-429; s. 8, ch. 92-55; s. 65, ch. 92-149; s. 270, ch. 94-119; s. 8, ch. 94-284; s. 34, ch. 95-145; s. 1, ch. 96-298; s. 73, ch. 96-388; s. 1132, ch. 97-103; s. 40, ch. 98-250; s. 35, ch. 98-419; s. 233, ch. 99-8; s. 23, ch. 99-254; s. 36, ch. 2000-372; s. 3, ch. 2006-154; s. 2, ch. 2006-283.

¹Note.--Abolished by s. 3, ch. 2001-170.