Bill Text: FL S0616 | 2019 | Regular Session | Comm Sub
Bill Title: Engineering
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-04-30 - Laid on Table, companion bill(s) passed, see CS/CS/HB 827 (Ch. 2019-86), CS/CS/HB 7103 (Ch. 2019-165) [S0616 Detail]
Download: Florida-2019-S0616-Comm_Sub.html
Florida Senate - 2019 CS for CS for CS for SB 616
By the Committees on Rules; Community Affairs; and Innovation,
Industry, and Technology; and Senators Perry and Hutson
595-04834-19 2019616c3
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to engineering; amending s. 455.271,
3 F.S.; deleting a provision requiring a delinquent
4 status licensee to apply for active or inactive
5 status; requiring rulemaking to authorize licensees
6 whose licenses are void to apply for reinstatement;
7 amending s. 471.008, F.S.; revising the Board of
8 Professional Engineers’ rulemaking authority; amending
9 s. 471.013, F.S.; revising the prerequisites for a
10 person to take an examination that determines whether
11 she or he is qualified to practice in this state as an
12 engineer; deleting an obsolete provision; amending s.
13 471.015, F.S.; revising licensure certification
14 requirements to include active engineering experience
15 and a minimum age; revising requirements for licensure
16 by endorsement by the board; providing that the time
17 period in which a licensure application must be
18 granted or denied is tolled if an applicant is
19 required to make a personal appearance before the
20 board; authorizing the board to deny a license if such
21 an applicant fails to appear before the board within a
22 specified timeframe; amending s. 471.019, F.S.;
23 requiring the board to adopt rules relating to a
24 reinstatement process for void licenses; revising
25 continuing education requirements for reactivating a
26 license; amending s. 471.025, F.S.; requiring a
27 successor engineer to be able to independently re
28 create certain work when seeking to reuse certain
29 documents; specifying that a successor engineer
30 assumes full professional and legal responsibility by
31 signing or affixing his or her seal to assumed
32 documents; releasing the engineer who previously
33 sealed the documents from any professional
34 responsibility or civil liability for her or his work
35 that is assumed by a successor engineer; defining the
36 term “successor engineer”; amending s. 553.79, F.S.;
37 requiring that structural inspections on a threshold
38 building be performed during new construction or
39 during certain repair or restoration projects;
40 amending s. 553.791, F.S.; revising notice
41 requirements for certain building code inspection
42 services by private providers; decreasing the amount
43 of time a local building official has to take certain
44 actions after receiving a permit application and
45 affidavit from a private provider; prohibiting a local
46 building official from prohibiting a private provider
47 from performing any inspection outside the local
48 building official’s normal operating hours; providing
49 an effective date.
50
51 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
52
53 Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subsection (6) of section
54 455.271, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
55 455.271 Inactive and delinquent status.—
56 (6)(a) A delinquent status licensee must affirmatively
57 apply with a complete application, as defined by rule of the
58 board, or the department if there is no board, for active or
59 inactive status during the licensure cycle in which a licensee
60 becomes delinquent. Failure by a delinquent status licensee to
61 become active or inactive before the expiration of the current
62 licensure cycle shall render the license void without any
63 further action by the board or the department. The board, or the
64 department if there is no board, shall adopt rules allowing a
65 licensee whose license is void to apply for reinstatement.
66
67 This subsection does not apply to individuals subject to
68 regulation under chapter 473.
69 Section 2. Section 471.008, Florida Statutes, is amended to
70 read:
71 471.008 Rulemaking authority.—The board has authority to
72 adopt rules pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to:
73 (1) Implement provisions of this chapter or chapter 455
74 which confer conferring duties upon it.
75 (2) Ensure competence in the practice of engineering.
76 (3) Ensure accuracy, completeness, and quality in the
77 engineering products provided.
78 Section 3. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section
79 471.013, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
80 471.013 Examinations; prerequisites.—
81 (1)(a) A person shall be entitled to take an examination
82 for the purpose of determining whether she or he is qualified to
83 practice in this state as an engineer if the person is of good
84 moral character and:
85 1. Is a graduate from an approved engineering curriculum of
86 4 years or more in a school, college, or university which has
87 been approved by the board and has a record of 4 years of active
88 engineering experience of a character indicating competence to
89 be in responsible charge of engineering; or
90 2. Is a graduate of an approved engineering technology
91 curriculum of 4 years or more in a school, college, or
92 university which has been approved by the board within the State
93 University System, having been enrolled or having graduated
94 prior to July 1, 1979, and has a record of 4 years of active
95 engineering experience of a character indicating competence to
96 be in responsible charge of engineering; or
97 3. Has, in lieu of such education and experience
98 requirements, 10 years or more of active engineering work of a
99 character indicating that the applicant is competent to be
100 placed in responsible charge of engineering. However, this
101 subparagraph does not apply unless such person notifies the
102 department before July 1, 1984, that she or he was engaged in
103 such work on July 1, 1981.
104
105 The board shall adopt rules providing for the review and
106 approval of schools or colleges and the courses of study in
107 engineering in such schools and colleges. The rules must shall
108 be based on the educational requirements for engineering as
109 defined in s. 471.005. The board may adopt rules providing for
110 the acceptance of the approval and accreditation of schools and
111 courses of study by a nationally accepted accreditation
112 organization.
113 Section 4. Subsections (2), (3), and (6) of section
114 471.015, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
115 471.015 Licensure.—
116 (2)(a) The board shall certify for licensure any applicant
117 who has submitted proof satisfactory to the board that he or she
118 is at least 18 years of age and who:
119 1. Satisfies the requirements of s. 471.013(1)(a)1. and has
120 a record of 4 years of active engineering experience of a
121 character indicating competence to be in responsible charge of
122 engineering; or
123 2. Satisfies the requirements of s. 471.013(1)(a)2. and has
124 a record of 6 years of active engineering experience of a
125 character indicating competence to be in responsible charge of
126 engineering s. 471.013.
127 (b) The board may refuse to certify any applicant who has
128 violated any of the provisions of s. 471.031.
129 (3) The board shall certify as qualified for a license by
130 endorsement an applicant who:
131 (a) Qualifies to take the fundamentals examination and the
132 principles and practice examination as set forth in s. 471.013,
133 has passed a United States national, regional, state, or
134 territorial licensing examination that is substantially
135 equivalent to the fundamentals examination and principles and
136 practice examination required by s. 471.013, and has satisfied
137 the experience requirements set forth in paragraph (2)(a) and s.
138 471.013; or
139 (b) Holds a valid license to practice engineering issued by
140 another state or territory of the United States, if the criteria
141 for issuance of the license were substantially the same as the
142 licensure criteria that existed in this state at the time the
143 license was issued.
144 (6) The board may require a personal appearance by any
145 applicant for licensure under this chapter. Any applicant of
146 whom a personal appearance is required must be given adequate
147 notice of the time and place of the appearance and provided with
148 a statement of the purpose of and reasons requiring the
149 appearance. If an applicant is required to appear, the time
150 period within which a licensure application must be granted or
151 denied is tolled until such time as the applicant appears.
152 However, if the applicant fails to appear before the board at
153 either of the next two regularly scheduled board meetings, the
154 application for licensure may be denied.
155 Section 5. Section 471.019, Florida Statutes, is amended to
156 read:
157 471.019 Reactivation.—The board shall prescribe by rule a
158 reinstatement process for void licenses which includes
159 establishing appropriate continuing education requirements for
160 reactivating a license. The continuing education requirements
161 for reactivating a license for a licensed engineer may not
162 exceed the continuing education requirements prescribed pursuant
163 to s. 471.017 12 classroom hours for each year the license was
164 inactive.
165 Section 6. Subsection (4) is added to section 471.025,
166 Florida Statutes, to read:
167 471.025 Seals.—
168 (4) A successor engineer seeking to reuse documents
169 previously sealed by another engineer must be able to
170 independently re-create all of the work done by the original
171 engineer. A successor engineer assumes full professional and
172 legal responsibility by signing and affixing his or her seal to
173 the assumed documents. Such documents must be treated as though
174 they were the successor engineer’s original product, and the
175 original engineer is released from any professional
176 responsibility or civil liability for prior work assumed by the
177 successor engineer. For the purposes of this subsection, the
178 term “successor engineer” means an engineer who is using or
179 relying upon the work, findings, or recommendations of the
180 engineer who previously sealed the pertinent documents.
181 Section 7. Paragraph (a) of subsection (5) of section
182 553.79, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
183 553.79 Permits; applications; issuance; inspections.—
184 (5)(a) During new construction or during repair or
185 restoration projects in which the structural system or
186 structural loading of a threshold building is being modified,
187 the enforcing agency shall require a special inspector to
188 perform structural inspections on the a threshold building
189 pursuant to a structural inspection plan prepared by the
190 engineer or architect of record. The structural inspection plan
191 must be submitted to and approved by the enforcing agency before
192 the issuance of a building permit for the construction, repair,
193 or restoration of a threshold building. The purpose of the
194 structural inspection plan is to provide specific inspection
195 procedures and schedules so that the building can be adequately
196 inspected for compliance with the permitted documents. The
197 special inspector may not serve as a surrogate in carrying out
198 the responsibilities of the building official, the architect, or
199 the engineer of record. The contractor’s contractual or
200 statutory obligations are not relieved by any action of the
201 special inspector. The special inspector shall determine that a
202 professional engineer who specializes in shoring design has
203 inspected the shoring and reshoring for conformance with the
204 shoring and reshoring plans submitted to the enforcing agency. A
205 fee simple title owner of a building, which does not meet the
206 minimum size, height, occupancy, occupancy classification, or
207 number-of-stories criteria which would result in classification
208 as a threshold building under s. 553.71(12), may designate such
209 building as a threshold building, subject to more than the
210 minimum number of inspections required by the Florida Building
211 Code.
212 Section 8. Subsections (4) and (5), paragraphs (a), (b),
213 and (c) of subsection (7), and subsection (9) of section
214 553.791, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
215 553.791 Alternative plans review and inspection.—
216 (4) A fee owner or the fee owner’s contractor using a
217 private provider to provide building code inspection services
218 shall notify the local building official at the time of permit
219 application, or by 2 p.m. local time, 2 no less than 7 business
220 days prior to the first scheduled inspection by the local
221 building official or building code enforcement agency for a
222 private provider performing required inspections of construction
223 under this section, on a form to be adopted by the commission.
224 This notice shall include the following information:
225 (a) The services to be performed by the private provider.
226 (b) The name, firm, address, telephone number, and
227 facsimile number of each private provider who is performing or
228 will perform such services, his or her professional license or
229 certification number, qualification statements or resumes, and,
230 if required by the local building official, a certificate of
231 insurance demonstrating that professional liability insurance
232 coverage is in place for the private provider’s firm, the
233 private provider, and any duly authorized representative in the
234 amounts required by this section.
235 (c) An acknowledgment from the fee owner in substantially
236 the following form:
237
238 I have elected to use one or more private providers to
239 provide building code plans review and/or inspection
240 services on the building or structure that is the
241 subject of the enclosed permit application, as
242 authorized by s. 553.791, Florida Statutes. I
243 understand that the local building official may not
244 review the plans submitted or perform the required
245 building inspections to determine compliance with the
246 applicable codes, except to the extent specified in
247 said law. Instead, plans review and/or required
248 building inspections will be performed by licensed or
249 certified personnel identified in the application. The
250 law requires minimum insurance requirements for such
251 personnel, but I understand that I may require more
252 insurance to protect my interests. By executing this
253 form, I acknowledge that I have made inquiry regarding
254 the competence of the licensed or certified personnel
255 and the level of their insurance and am satisfied that
256 my interests are adequately protected. I agree to
257 indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the local
258 government, the local building official, and their
259 building code enforcement personnel from any and all
260 claims arising from my use of these licensed or
261 certified personnel to perform building code
262 inspection services with respect to the building or
263 structure that is the subject of the enclosed permit
264 application.
265
266 If the fee owner or the fee owner’s contractor makes any changes
267 to the listed private providers or the services to be provided
268 by those private providers, the fee owner or the fee owner’s
269 contractor shall, within 1 business day after any change, update
270 the notice to reflect such changes. A change of a duly
271 authorized representative named in the permit application does
272 not require a revision of the permit, and the building code
273 enforcement agency shall not charge a fee for making the change.
274 In addition, the fee owner or the fee owner’s contractor shall
275 post at the project site, prior to the commencement of
276 construction and updated within 1 business day after any change,
277 on a form to be adopted by the commission, the name, firm,
278 address, telephone number, and facsimile number of each private
279 provider who is performing or will perform building code
280 inspection services, the type of service being performed, and
281 similar information for the primary contact of the private
282 provider on the project.
283 (5) After construction has commenced and if the local
284 building official is unable to provide inspection services in a
285 timely manner, the fee owner or the fee owner’s contractor may
286 elect to use a private provider to provide inspection services
287 by notifying the local building official of the owner’s or
288 contractor’s intention to do so by 2 p.m. local time, 2 no less
289 than 7 business days prior to the next scheduled inspection
290 using the notice provided for in paragraphs (4)(a)-(c).
291 (7)(a) No more than 20 30 business days after receipt of a
292 permit application and the affidavit from the private provider
293 required pursuant to subsection (6), the local building official
294 shall issue the requested permit or provide a written notice to
295 the permit applicant identifying the specific plan features that
296 do not comply with the applicable codes, as well as the specific
297 code chapters and sections. If the local building official does
298 not provide a written notice of the plan deficiencies within the
299 prescribed 20-day 30-day period, the permit application shall be
300 deemed approved as a matter of law, and the permit shall be
301 issued by the local building official on the next business day.
302 (b) If the local building official provides a written
303 notice of plan deficiencies to the permit applicant within the
304 prescribed 20-day 30-day period, the 20-day 30-day period shall
305 be tolled pending resolution of the matter. To resolve the plan
306 deficiencies, the permit applicant may elect to dispute the
307 deficiencies pursuant to subsection (13) or to submit revisions
308 to correct the deficiencies.
309 (c) If the permit applicant submits revisions, the local
310 building official has the remainder of the tolled 20-day 30-day
311 period plus 5 business days to issue the requested permit or to
312 provide a second written notice to the permit applicant stating
313 which of the previously identified plan features remain in
314 noncompliance with the applicable codes, with specific reference
315 to the relevant code chapters and sections. If the local
316 building official does not provide the second written notice
317 within the prescribed time period, the permit shall be issued by
318 the local building official on the next business day.
319 (9) A private provider performing required inspections
320 under this section shall provide notice to the local building
321 official of the date and approximate time of any such inspection
322 no later than the prior business day by 2 p.m. local time or by
323 any later time permitted by the local building official in that
324 jurisdiction. The local building official may not prohibit the
325 private provider from performing any inspection outside of the
326 local building official’s normal operating hours, including
327 before and after normal business hours, on weekends, or on
328 holidays. The local building official may visit the building
329 site as often as necessary to verify that the private provider
330 is performing all required inspections. A deficiency notice must
331 be posted at the job site by the private provider, the duly
332 authorized representative of the private provider, or the
333 building department whenever a noncomplying item related to the
334 building code or the permitted documents is found. After
335 corrections are made, the item must be reinspected by the
336 private provider or representative before being concealed.
337 Reinspection or reaudit fees shall not be charged by the local
338 jurisdiction as a result of the local jurisdiction’s audit
339 inspection occurring before the performance of the private
340 provider’s inspection or for any other administrative matter not
341 involving the detection of a violation of the building code or a
342 permit requirement.
343 Section 9. This act shall take effect October 1, 2019.
