HB 423 2022
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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
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to building inspection services; 2
amending s. 468.603, F.S.; providing a definition; 3
amending s. 468.609, F.S.; revising eligibility 4
requirements for a person applying to become certified 5
as a building code inspector or plans examiner; 6
revising the special conditions or requirements that 7
the Florida Building Code Administrators and 8
Inspectors Board may impose on provisional 9
certificates; authorizing a person to perform certain 10
duties under certain conditions if the person is under 11
the direct supervision of a person licensed as a 12
building code administrator; authorizing that partial 13
completion of an internship program be transferred 14
between jurisdictions and private entities; amending 15
s. 553.791, F.S.; limiting the administrative fee that 16
a local jurisdiction can charge when an owner or 17
contractor hires a private provider for inspection 18
services; requiring the local jurisdiction to provide 19
access to certain documents to a private provider, 20
contractor, and owner; providing that a certificate of 21
occupancy or certificate of completion is 22
automatically granted and issued, and the permit 23
application closed, under certain circumstances; 24
requiring the local building official to provide a 25
HB 423 2022
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written certificate of occupancy or certificate of 26
completion within a specified time; providing an 27
effective date. 28
29
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 30
31
Section 1. Subsection (9) is added to section 468.603, 32
Florida Statutes, to read: 33
468.603 Definitions. —As used in this part: 34
(9) "Private entity" has the same meaning as in s. 35
553.5141(1)(f). 36
Section 2. Paragraph (c) of subsection (2), paragraphs (c) 37
and (d) of subsection (7), and paragraph (b) of subsection (10) 38
of section 468.609, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 39
468.609 Administration of this part; standards for 40
certification; additional categories of certification. — 41
(2) A person may take the examination for certification as 42
a building code inspector or plans examiner pursuant to this 43
part if the person: 44
(c) Meets eligibility requirements according to one of the 45
following criteria: 46
1. Demonstrates 4 years' combined experience in the field 47
of construction or a related field, building code inspection, or 48
plans review corresponding to the certification category sought; 49
2. Demonstrates a combination of postsecondary education 50
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in the field of construction or a related field and experience 51
which totals 3 years, with at least 1 year of such total being 52
experience in construction, building code inspection, or plans 53
review; 54
3. Demonstrates a combination of technical education in 55
the field of construction or a related field and experience 56
which totals 3 years, with at least 1 year of such total being 57
experience in construction, building code inspection, or plans 58
review; 59
4. Currently holds a standard certificate issued by the 60
board or a firesafety inspector license issued under pursuant to 61
chapter 633, with a minimum of 3 years' verifiable full -time 62
experience in firesafety inspection or firesafety plan review, 63
and has satisfactorily completed a building code inspector or 64
plans examiner training program that provides at least 100 hours 65
but not more than 200 hours of cross -training in the 66
certification category sought. The board shall establish by rule 67
criteria for the developm ent and implementation of the training 68
programs. The board must shall accept all classroom training 69
offered by an approved provider if the content substantially 70
meets the intent of the classroom component of the training 71
program; 72
5. Demonstrates a combin ation of the completion of an 73
approved training program in the field of building code 74
inspection or plan review and a minimum of 2 years' experience 75
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in the field of building code inspection, plan review, fire code 76
inspections and fire plans review of new b uildings as a 77
firesafety inspector certified under s. 633.216, or 78
construction. The approved training portion of this requirement 79
must shall include proof of satisfactory completion of a 80
training program that provides at least 200 hours but not more 81
than 300 hours of cross-training that is approved by the board 82
in the chosen category of building code inspection or plan 83
review in the certification category sought with at least 20 84
hours but not more than 30 hours of instruction in state laws, 85
rules, and ethics relating to professional standards of 86
practice, duties, and responsibilities of a certificateholder. 87
The board shall coordinate with the Building Officials 88
Association of Florida, Inc., to establish by rule the 89
development and implementation of the train ing program. However, 90
the board must shall accept all classroom training offered by an 91
approved provider if the content substantially meets the intent 92
of the classroom component of the training program; 93
6. Currently holds a standard certificate issued by the 94
board or a firesafety inspector license issued under pursuant to 95
chapter 633 and: 96
a. Has at least 4 years' verifiable full -time experience 97
as an inspector or plans examiner in a standard certificat ion 98
category currently held or has a minimum of 4 years' verifiable 99
full-time experience as a firesafety inspector licensed under 100
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pursuant to chapter 633. 101
b. Has satisfactorily completed a building code inspector 102
or plans examiner classroom training cour se or program that 103
provides at least 200 but not more than 300 hours in the 104
certification category sought, except for residential one-family 105
and two-family dwelling training programs, which must provide at 106
least 500 but not more than 800 hours of training as prescribed 107
by the board. The board shall establish by rule criteria for the 108
development and implementation of classroom training courses and 109
programs in each certification category; or 110
7.a. Has completed a 4 -year internship certification 111
program as a building code inspector or plans examiner while 112
also employed full-time by a municipality, county, or other 113
governmental jurisdiction, under the direct supervision of a 114
certified building official , or by a private entity that 115
conducts the same or similar s ervices as a municipality, county, 116
or other governmental jurisdiction, while under the direct 117
supervision of a person licensed as a building code 118
administrator under this part . Proof of graduation with a 119
related vocational degree or college degree or of ve rifiable 120
work experience may be exchanged for the internship experience 121
requirement year-for-year, but may reduce the requirement to no 122
less than 1 year. 123
b. Has passed an examination administered by the 124
International Code Council in the certification cat egory sought. 125
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Such examination must be passed before beginning the internship 126
certification program. 127
c. Has passed the principles and practice examination 128
before completing the internship certification program. 129
d. Has passed a board -approved 40-hour code training 130
course in the certification category sought before completing 131
the internship certification program. 132
e. Has obtained a favorable recommendation from the 133
supervising building official after completion of the internship 134
certification program. 135
(7) 136
(c) The board shall provide for appropriate levels of 137
provisional certificates and may issue these certificates with 138
such special conditions or requirements relating to the place of 139
employment of the person holding the certificate, the 140
supervision of such person on a consulting or advisory basis, or 141
other matters as the board deems may deem necessary to protect 142
the public safety and health. The board may not place a special 143
condition or requirement on a provisional certificate with 144
respect to the requi rement of employment by a municipality, 145
county, or other local government agency. 146
(d) A person may perform the duties of a plans examiner or 147
building code inspector for 120 days if a provisional 148
certificate application has been submitted if such person i s 149
under the direct supervision of a person licensed as a certified 150
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building code administrator under this part who holds a standard 151
certification and who has found such person qualified for a 152
provisional certificate. Direct supervision and the 153
determination of qualifications may also be provided by a 154
building code administrator who holds a limited or provisional 155
certificate in a county having a population of fewer than 75,000 156
and in a municipality located within such county. 157
(10) 158
(b) The board shall by r ule establish: 159
1. Reciprocity of certification with any other state that 160
requires an examination administered by the International Code 161
Council. 162
2. That an applicant for certification as a building code 163
inspector or plans examiner may apply for a provi sional 164
certificate valid for the duration of the internship period. 165
3. That partial completion of an internship program may be 166
transferred between jurisdictions or private entities on a form 167
prescribed by the board. 168
4. That an applicant may apply for a standard certificate 169
on a form prescribed by the board upon successful completion of 170
an internship certification program. 171
5. That an applicant may apply for a standard certificate 172
at least 30 days but and no more than 60 days before completing 173
the internship certification program. 174
6. That a building code inspector or plans examiner who 175
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has standard certification may seek an additional certification 176
in another category by completing an additional nonconcurrent 1 -177
year internship program in the certificat ion category sought and 178
passing an examination administered by the International Code 179
Council and a board-approved 40-hour code training course. 180
Section 3. Paragraph (b) of subsection (2) and subsection 181
(13) of section 553.791, Florida Statutes, are am ended, and 182
paragraph (c) is added to subsection (2) of that section, to 183
read: 184
553.791 Alternative plans review and inspection. — 185
(2) 186
(b) If an owner or contractor retains a private provider 187
for purposes of plans review or building inspection services, 188
the local jurisdiction must reduce the permit fee by the amount 189
of cost savings realized by the local enforcement agency for not 190
having to perform such services. Such reduction may be 191
calculated on a flat fee or percentage basis, or any other 192
reasonable means by which a local enforcement agency assesses 193
the cost for its plans review or inspection services. The local 194
jurisdiction may not charge fees for building inspections if the 195
fee owner or contractor hires a private provider to perform such 196
services; however, the local jurisdiction may charge a 197
reasonable administrative fee , which shall be based on the cost 198
that is actually incurred, including the labor cost of the 199
personnel providing the service, by the local jurisdiction or 200
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attributable to the local jur isdiction for the clerical and 201
supervisory assistance required, or both . 202
(c) If an owner or contractor retains a private provider 203
for purposes of plans review or building inspection services, 204
the local jurisdiction must provide equal access to all 205
permitting and inspection documents and reports to the private 206
provider, owner, and contractor. 207
(13) No more than 2 business days after receipt of a 208
request for a certificate of occupancy or certificate of 209
completion and the applicant's presentation of a certi ficate of 210
compliance and approval of all other government approvals 211
required by law, the local building official shall issue the 212
certificate of occupancy or certificate of completion or provide 213
a notice to the applicant identifying the specific deficiencie s, 214
as well as the specific code chapters and sections. If the local 215
building official does not provide notice of the deficiencies 216
within the prescribed 2 -day period, the request for a 217
certificate of occupancy or certificate of completion is 218
automatically shall be deemed granted and considered the 219
certificate of occupancy or certificate of completion shall be 220
issued as of by the local building official on the next business 221
day, and the permit is closed . The local building official must 222
provide the applicant with the written certificate of occupancy 223
or certificate of completion within 10 days after it is 224
automatically granted and issued. To resolve any identified 225
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deficiencies, the applicant may elect to dispute the 226
deficiencies pursuant to subsection (14) or to submit a 227
corrected request for a certificate of occupancy or certificate 228
of completion. 229
Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2022. 230