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been revoked.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.