Okaloosa County BOCC — November 16, 2013 — reading text

unobstructed 330 area is impacted, the local health department shall review and 331 verify a floor plan and site plan of the proposed remodeling 332 addition or modification to the home submitted by a remodeler 333 which shows the location of the system, including the distance 334 of the remodeling addition or modification to the home from the 335 onsite sewage treatment and disposal system. The local health 336 department may visit the site or otherwise determine the best Page 12 of 37 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. hb0269-04-er Packet Pg. 66 F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S  ENROLLED CS/CS/HB 269, Engrossed 1 2013 Legislature 337 means of verifying the information submitted. A verification of 338 the location of a system is not an inspection or evaluation and 339 assessment of the system. The review and verification must be 340 completed within 7 business days after receipt by the local 341 health department of a floor plan and site plan. If the review 342 and verification is not completed within such time, the 343 remodeling addition or modification to the single-family home, 344 for the purposes of this paragraph, is approved. 345 Section 8. The amendments to s. 489.113(2), Florida 346 Statutes, by section 11 of chapter 2012-13, Laws of Florida, are 347 remedial in nature and intended to clarify existing law. This 348 section applies retroactively to any action initiated or pending 349 on or after March 23, 2012. 350 Section 9. Paragraphs (c) and (f) of subsection (5) and 351 subsection (6) of section 489.127, Florida Statutes, are amended 352 to read: 353 489.127 Prohibitions; penalties.— 354 (5) Each county or municipality may, at its option, 355 designate one or more of its code enforcement officers, as 356 defined in chapter 162, to enforce, as set out in this 357 subsection, the provisions of subsection (1) and s. 489.132(1) 358 against persons who engage in activity for which a county or 359 municipal certificate of competency or license or state 360 certification or registration is required. 361 (c) The local governing body of the county or municipality 362 may is authorized to enforce codes and ordinances against 363 unlicensed contractors under the provisions of this subsection 364 and may enact an ordinance establishing procedures for Page 13 of 37 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. hb0269-04-er Packet Pg. 67 F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S  ENROLLED CS/CS/HB 269, Engrossed 1 2013 Legislature 365 implementing this subsection, including a schedule of penalties 366 to be assessed by the code enforcement officer. The maximum 367 civil penalty which may be levied may shall not exceed $2,000 368 $500. Moneys collected pursuant to this subsection shall be 369 retained locally, as provided for by local ordinance, and may be 370 set aside in a specific fund to support future enforcement 371 activities against unlicensed contractors. 372 (f) If the enforcement or licensing board or designated 373 special magistrate finds that a violation exists, the 374 enforcement or licensing board or designated special magistrate 375 may order the violator to pay a civil penalty of not less than 376 the amount set forth on the citation but not more than $2,500 377 $1,000 per day for each violation. In determining the amount of 378 the penalty, the enforcement or licensing board or designated 379 special magistrate shall consider the following factors: 380 1. The gravity of the violation. 381 2. Any actions taken by the violator to correct the 382 violation. 383 3. Any previous violations committed by the violator. 384 (6) Local building departments may collect outstanding 385 fines against registered or certified contractors issued by the 386 Construction Industry Licensing Board and may retain 75 25 387 percent of the fines they are able to collect, provided that 388 they transmit 25 75 percent of the fines they are able to 389 collect to the department according to a procedure to be 390 determined by the department. 391 Section 10. Paragraph (a) of subsection (7) of section 392 489.131, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: Page 14 of 37 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. hb0269-04-er Packet Pg. 68 F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S  ENROLLED CS/CS/HB 269, Engrossed 1 2013 Legislature 393 489.131 Applicability.— 394 (7)(a) It is the policy of the state that the purpose of 395 regulation is to protect the public by attaining compliance with 396 the policies established in law. Fines and other penalties are 397 provided in order to ensure compliance; however, the collection 398 of fines and the imposition of penalties are intended to be 399 secondary to the primary goal of attaining compliance with state 400 laws and local jurisdiction ordinances. It is the intent of the 401 Legislature that a local jurisdiction agency charged with 402 enforcing regulatory laws shall issue a notice of noncompliance 403 as its first response to a minor violation of a regulatory law 404 in any instance in which it is reasonable to assume that the 405 violator was unaware of such a law or unclear as to how to 406 comply with it. A violation of a regulatory law is a "minor 407 violation" if it does not result in economic or physical harm to 408 a person or adversely affect the public health, safety, or 409 welfare or create a significant threat of such harm. A "notice 410 of noncompliance" is a notification by the local jurisdiction 411 agency charged with enforcing the ordinance, which is issued to 412 the licensee that is subject to the ordinance. A notice of 413 noncompliance should not be accompanied with a fine or other 414 disciplinary penalty. It should identify the specific ordinance 415 that is being violated, provide information on how to comply 416 with the ordinance, and specify a reasonable time for the 417 violator to comply with the ordinance. Failure of a licensee to 418 take action correcting the violation within a set period of time 419 would then result in the institution of further disciplinary 420 proceedings. Page 15 of 37 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. hb0269-04-er Packet Pg. 69 F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S  ENROLLED CS/CS/HB 269, Engrossed 1 2013 Legislature 421 Section 11. Section 489.514, Florida Statutes, is amended 422 to read: 423 489.514 Certification for registered contractors; 424 grandfathering provisions.— 425 (1) The board shall, upon receipt of a completed 426 application, appropriate fee, and proof of compliance with the 427 provisions of this section, issue: 428 (a) To an applying registered electrical contractor, a 429 certificate as an electrical contractor, as defined in s. 430 489.505(12); or 431 (b) To an applying registered alarm system contractor, a 432 certificate in the matching alarm system contractor category, as 433 defined in s. 489.505(2)(a) or (b); or 434 (c) To an applying registered electrical specialty 435 contractor, a certificate in the matching electrical specialty 436 contractor category, as defined in s. 489.505(19). 437 (2) Any contractor registered under this part who makes 438 application under this section to the board shall meet each of 439 the following requirements for certification: 440 (a) Currently holds a valid registered local license in 441 the category of electrical contractor, alarm system contractor, 442 or electrical specialty contractor. 443 (b) Has, for that category, passed a written, proctored 444 examination that the board finds to be substantially similar to 445 the examination required to be licensed as a certified 446 contractor under this part. For purposes of this subsection, a 447 written, proctored examination such as that produced by the 448 National Assessment Institute, Block and Associates, NAI/Block, Page 16 of 37 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. hb0269-04-er Packet Pg. 70 F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S  ENROLLED CS/CS/HB 269, Engrossed 1 2013 Legislature 449 Experior Assessments, Professional Testing, Inc., or Assessment 450 Systems, Inc., shall be considered to be substantially similar 451 to the examination required to be licensed as a certified 452 contractor. The board may not impose or make any requirements 453 regarding the nature or content of these cited examinations. 454 (c) Has at least 5 years of experience as a contractor in 455 that contracting category, or as an inspector or building 456 administrator with oversight over that category, at the time of 457 application. For contractors, only time periods in which the 458 contractor license is active and the contractor is