Bill > S1474

Introduced Session

An act relating to private provider building inspection services; amending s. 468.605, F.S.; requiring that the Florida Building Code Administrators and Inspectors Board include a specified number of members who are private providers or who are employed by private provider firms; making technical changes; amending s. 553.74, F.S.; requiring that the Florida Building Commission include a specified number of members who are private providers or who are employed by private provider firms; requiring that the commission include a specified number of members who are licensed contractors that use private providers or private provider firms; encouraging the Private Provider Association of Florida to recommend a list of candidates for consideration; amending s. 553.791, F.S.; revising and defining terms; requiring that building code inspection services provided by a private provider be the subject of an agreement, rather than a written contract, between the provider or provider’s firm and the fee owner or fee owner’s contractor; requiring that the reduced permit fee not exceed the cost incurred by the local jurisdiction, including labor and personnel costs; prohibiting a local jurisdiction from charging additional fees for building inspections if the fee owner or contractor hires a private provider to perform such services; deleting a provision authorizing a local jurisdiction to charge specified administrative fees; requiring a local jurisdiction to immediately provide a private provider, owner, and contractor equal access to all permitting and inspection documents and reports if such access is provided by software that protects exempt records from disclosure; revising the information a fee owner or a fee owner’s contractor must provide to a local building official; revising conditions under which a fee owner or fee owner’s contractor is authorized to use a private provider to provide inspection services; revising the timeframe within which a fee owner or a fee owner’s contractor must notify the local building official of the owner’s or contractor’s intention to use a private provider; prohibiting a local building official from performing specified reviews of plans, drawings, or other related documents determined by a private provider to be in compliance with applicable codes; deleting a provision requiring a local building official to issue a requested permit or provide a specified notice within a certain timeframe; authorizing a local building official to review certain forms and documents only for completeness; requiring a local building official to send written notice of incomplete forms or documents within a specified timeframe; providing that a permit is deemed approved as a matter of law, and requiring the local building official to issue the permit by the next business day, if the local building official fails to provide a specified notice within a specified timeframe; requiring that a duly authorized representative be managed, rather than employed, by a private provider to receive specified benefits; deleting a requirement that a private provider performing required inspections provide notice to the local building official of the approximate date and time of specified inspections; deleting a provision prohibiting a local building official from preventing a private provider from performing any inspection outside a certain timeframe; deleting a provision authorizing a local building official to visit a building site as often as necessary to verify that a private provider is performing required inspections; deleting a provision authorizing a building department to satisfy a requirement that a certain deficiency notice be posted; revising the reinspection fees that a local jurisdiction is prohibited from charging; prohibiting a local building official from visiting a job site without written approval from the private provider doing the work on the site; providing that a local building official is not responsible for the regulatory administration or supervision of building code inspection services performed by a private provider; requiring that a private provider who is, or private provider firm that employs a person licensed as, a licensed building code administrator serve as the local building official for such building code inspection services; providing that such private providers or private provider firms are vested with the authority of the local building official with respect to certain inspection services; prohibiting a local building official from interfering with the actions or activities of such private providers or private provider firms; providing that verification of certain licensure and insurance requirements for a private provider firm’s duly authorized representative is the responsibility of the private provider firm’s management; providing that a local building official is not required to verify compliance or store information of such verification; deleting a requirement that the local building official, under certain circumstances, issue a permit within a specified timeframe; revising a provision authorizing a private provider to perform emergency inspection services; requiring a private provider to record specified inspections on forms provided by the Florida Building Commission, rather than on forms acceptable to the local building official; revising the timeframe within which a private provider must provide an inspection record to the local building official; providing that a private provider is not required to upload notices or inspection results to a website or portal; revising the timeframe within which a local building official may waive the requirement to provide a record of each inspection record; requiring a private provider to prepare a certificate of compliance on a form provided by the commission, rather than on a form acceptable to the local building official; prohibiting a local building official from performing building inspections of construction that a private provider has determined to be compliant with applicable codes; authorizing a local building official to review specified forms and documents only for completeness; revising the timeframe within which a local building official must provide an applicant with a written certificate of occupancy or certificate of completion; authorizing a local building official to deny a permit or a request for a certificate of occupancy or a certificate of completion if required forms or documents are incomplete; deleting a provision authorizing a local enforcement agency, a local building official, or a local government to establish a system of registration to verify compliance with specified licensure and insurance requirements for duly authorized representatives; revising the authority of a local building official to issue a stop-work order for a building project or any portion thereof; revising a prohibition against the auditing by a local building code enforcement agency of the performance of building code inspection services by certain private providers; deleting an exception to the limit on the number of times in a year that a private provider or private provider firm may be audited; requiring that a private provider or private provider firm be given notice within a specified timeframe before being audited; prohibiting local governments, officials, and personnel from prohibiting or discouraging the use of a private provider or a private provider firm; providing that local governments, officials, and personnel are not immune from liability for such prohibition or discouragement or for violations of law or applicable codes; providing that a person or a party may bring an action for damages, declaratory and injunctive relief, and the issuance of extraordinary writs remedies for such violations; authorizing a private provider licensed as a building code administrator to serve as the local building official; authorizing such private providers to issue building permits; requiring that all information from a private provider be provided to the property appraiser for the county or the jurisdiction; requiring that drawings be delivered in their original electronic format; requiring that permits be publicly available and that their status be available on the Private Provider Association of Florida website for specified purposes; authorizing the Private Provider Association of Florida, or a similar nonprofit association, to require a fee or subscription to upload such information to its website or to use an applications programming interface; requiring a private provider to update such information within a specified timeframe under certain circumstances; requiring that the format of private provider permits meet a specified standard and include specified information; providing legislative intent; requiring that the permitting process be universally adopted as a standard for this state; prohibiting local building officials and governments from adopting, creating, or using certain forms; prohibiting the use of custom procedures or standards; authorizing the commission to implement such permitting processes and review them for consistency and relevance within a specified timeframe; making a technical change; reenacting s. 633.216(6), F.S., relating to inspection of buildings and equipment, orders, firesafety inspection training requirements, certification, and disciplinary action, to incorporate the amendment made to s. 468.605, F.S., in a reference thereto; reenacting ss. 177.073(1)(c), 468.603(9), 468.621(1)(i) and (j), 471.033(1)(l), 481.225(1)(l), 553.79(11), and 553.80(7)(a), F.S., relating to expedited approval of residential building permits before a final plat is recorded; definitions; disciplinary proceedings against building code administrators and inspectors; disciplinary proceedings against licensed engineers; disciplinary proceedings against registered architects; permits, applications, issuance, and inspections; and enforcement, respectively, to incorporate the amendment made to s. 553.791, F.S., in references thereto; providing an effective date.

AI Summary

Nick DiCeglie (R)*, 

Died in Community Affairs (on 06/16/2025)

Official Document