Week 7 and 8 Update: Florida Legislative Session 2023

2023 Florida Legislative Session

Week 7 – 8 Update

By Dallas Thiesen, FSPA Sr. Dir. Of Government Affairs

There is only one week to go in the 2023 Florida Legislative Session. In the last two weeks FSPA has been working intensely on SB 1364 and HB 1333, a pair of “Interstate License Mobility” bills that gained traction late into the session and are likely to pass and be approved this year. These bills take the extreme step of requiring ALL Florida licensing boards to issue a Florida Occupational License based solely on the applicant’s current out of state occupational license with a similar scope of work to a Florida License with no examination if the following criteria are met:

1.    The applicant’s out of state license is current and valid.

2.    The applicant has held the license for more than one year.

3.    The applicant took an exam or met education and training requirements to receive the out of state license.

4.    The applicant’s out of state license is in good standing.

5.    The applicant does not have any disqualifying criminal records.

6.    The applicant’s out of state license has not been revoked.

7.    The applicant’s out of state license has not been surrendered due to negligence or misconduct.

8.    The applicant does not have any pending complaints against their out of state license.

While this bill would have been unlikely to affect swimming pool and spa contractors since no State in the country issues an equivalent license to a Florida swimming pool and spa contractor license, FSPA worked with bill sponsors and legislative leaders to amend these bills. Through FSPA’s work, these bills have been amended to require that anyone seeking a Florida swimming pool and spa contractor license based on a currently held out of state license must take the appropriate swimming pool trades exam and complete two hours of swimming pool education, one in swimming pool electrical requirements and one on the Florida Building Code for swimming pools. This amendment ensures that the status quo in swimming pool contractor licensing is maintained and all applicants for licensure must pass the building trades exam.

There are several other bills to watch including water safety bills, an update on the statute of limitations for construction claims, and stricter requirements on building officials when reviewing building permit plans. FSPA will be tracking the progress of these bills, the description and status of all bills that FSPA is tacking are below.

2023 Bills to Watch

Child Water Safety Requirements

SB 74 by Sen. Ana Maria Rodriguez

HB 1541 by Rep. Chambliss

Requires childcare facilities that provide access to swimming pools or bathing places to have the parents or guardians of children attest in writing whether the child is able to swim or is at risk of injury or death when swimming. Requires that facilities provide US Coast Guard Type II or III personal flotation devices for children unable to swim or at risk of death or injury from swimming when near or interacting with public bathing places or swimming pools. Swim schools are exempted from these requirements.

Status:          

Water Safety

SB 84 by Sen. Ana Maria Rodriguez

Requiring a state park to have a certified lifeguard on duty at designated swimming areas within the park during certain timeframes; requiring the Department of Environmental Protection to install a water rescue station at each designated swimming area; requiring comprehensive age-appropriate and developmentally appropriate 9-12 instruction on water safety, etc.

Status:

Statute of Limitations for Claims on Improvements to Real Property

SB 360 by Judiciary Committee

HB 85 by Regulatory Reform Subcommittee

Specifies that the Statute of limitations for claims based on improvements to real property starts at the issuance of certificate of occupancy, certificate of completion, or date of abandonment of the project whichever is earliest. The statute of limitations is set for four (4) years generally but limits latent claims based on defect not immediately discoverable at the time of completion to seven (7) years.

Status:

Residential Building Permits

SB 682 by Sen. Nick DiCeglie

HB 671 by Rep. Esposito

Requires local building departments to reduce building permit fees by 75% if a contractor or homeowner elects to use private provider plan review. Reduces the amount of time in which a building department must notify a permit applicant of deficiencies in the application from 10 days to 3 days.

Building Permit Applications to Local Governments

HB 765 by Rep.  Roth

Revises the electronic permit application requirements to include mobile submissions, requires building departments to notice upcoming expiration of permits, requires local governments to list all available permits and necessary documents for permits on their website.

Status:

Building Construction

SB 512 by Sen. Ed Hooper

HB 89 by Rep. Randal Maggard

Revises definition of term "class A air-conditioning contractor" to include an expanded electrical scope of work; prohibits building officials from making substantive changes to building plans after permit has been issued; provides exceptions; requires building officials to provide certain information to contractors and property owners; provides that building officials are subject to disciplinary action for failure to meet the information requirements.

Status:          

Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services

SB 1150 by Sen. Blaise Ingoglia

HB 1307 by Rep. Lawrence McClure

Revises the definitions of “Category I liquefied petroleum gas dealer” and “Category V LP gas installer” to include the design of LP and natural gas systems.

Status:          

Interstate-Mobility and Universal-Recognition Occupational Licensing Act

SB 1364 by Sen. Collins

SB 1366 by Sen. Collins

HB 1333 by Rep. Koster

Requires DBPR Licensing Boards to recognize equivalent out of state occupation licenses for Florida occupational licensing. Allows the board to determine license equivalency via rule. With an amendment by FSPA all applicants for a swimming pool and spa contractor license under this bill must take the appropriate swimming pool trades exam.

Local Occupational Licensing Act

SB 1584 by Sen. Keith Perry

SB 1570 by Sen. Ed Hooper

HB 1625 by Rep. Mooney

HB 1383 by Rep. Trabulsy

Extends the local licensing preemption effective date to July 1, 2024 and requires the CILB to establish certain state specialty licenses by July 1, 2024. Will not effect swimming pool and spa contractor licenses.

If you have any questions on these bills or other government affairs issues, please reach out to FSPA Senior Director of Government Affairs Dallas Thiesen at Dallas@FloridaPoolPro.com.