Florida Senate - 2025 SB 1078 By Senator McClain 9-00503A-25 20251078__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to fire prevention; amending s. 3 553.7932, F.S.; defining the term alteration; 4 revising the definition of the term fire alarm system 5 project; requiring a local enforcement agency to 6 issue a permit for a fire alarm system project or fire 7 sprinkler system project within a specified time 8 period; authorizing work to commence immediately; 9 requiring an inspection required by the local 10 enforcement agency of a fire alarm system project or 11 fire sprinkler system project within a specified time 12 period; requiring that certain plans and 13 specifications be available for an onsite plans review 14 during an inspection; requiring a contractor to 15 provide additional documentation, if necessary, within 16 a specified timeframe; prohibiting a local enforcement 17 agency from requiring additional plans reviews or 18 documentation outside the scope of the permitted work; 19 requiring permit fees to be reduced by a certain 20 percentage if a local government fails to meet certain 21 deadlines; providing exceptions; requiring local 22 enforcement agencies to establish a simplified 23 permitting process by a specified date; amending s. 24 633.202, F.S.; specifying a condition under which a 25 local amendment to the Florida Fire Prevention Code is 26 immediately rescinded; providing disciplinary action 27 under certain circumstances; amending s. 633.312, 28 F.S.; requiring that a uniform summary inspection 29 report include the total number of deficiencies found 30 during the inspection of a fire protection system or 31 hydrant; deleting the requirement for a brief summary 32 of such deficiencies; deleting an exception from 33 submitting certain information within a detailed 34 inspection report; providing an effective date. 35 36 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 37 38 Section 1.Present paragraphs (a) through (d) of subsection 39 (1) of section 553.7932, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as 40 paragraphs (b) through (e), respectively, present paragraph (c) 41 of subsection (1), subsections (3) and (4), and paragraphs (a) 42 and (b) of subsection (5) are amended, and new paragraph (a) of 43 subsection (1) and subsections (6) and (7) are added to that 44 section, to read: 45 553.7932Simplified permitting processes. 46 (1)As used in this section, the term: 47 (a)Alteration means to add, install, relocate, replace, 48 or remove. 49 (d)(c)Fire alarm system project means a fire alarm 50 system alteration of a total of 20 or fewer initiating devices 51 and notification devices;, or the installation or replacement of 52 a fire communicator connected to an existing fire alarm control 53 panel in an existing commercial, residential, apartment, 54 cooperative, or condominium building; or the replacement of an 55 existing fire alarm panel using the same make and model as the 56 existing panel. 57 (3)A local enforcement agency must issue a permit for a 58 fire alarm system project or fire sprinkler system project in 59 person or electronically within 2 business days after submission 60 of a completed application. A contractor may commence work 61 authorized by the permit immediately after submission of a 62 completed application. 63 (4)If a local enforcement agency requires an inspection, 64 the a local enforcement agency must provide such inspection 65 within 24 hours after such inspection is requested, require at 66 least one inspection of a fire alarm system project or fire 67 sprinkler system project to ensure compliance with applicable 68 codes and standards. If a fire alarm system project or fire 69 sprinkler system project fails an inspection, the contractor 70 must take corrective action as necessary to pass inspection. 71 (5)(a)For a fire alarm system project, a contractor must 72 keep a copy of the plans and specifications at the fire alarm 73 system project worksite and make such plans and specifications 74 available to the inspector for an onsite plans review at each 75 inspection. If the local enforcement agency determines that it 76 needs additional documentation, the contractor must provide such 77 documentation in paper or electronic form to the local 78 enforcement agency within 4 business days after the inspection. 79 The local enforcement agency may not require additional plans 80 reviews or documentation of areas or devices outside the scope 81 of permitted work. 82 (b)For a fire sprinkler system project to alter an 83 existing fire protection system, a contractor must keep a copy 84 of the plans and specifications at the fire sprinkler system 85 project worksite and make such plans and specifications 86 available to the inspector at each inspection. If the local 87 enforcement agency determines that it needs additional 88 documentation, the contractor must provide such documentation in 89 paper or electronic form to the local enforcement agency within 90 4 business days after the inspection. The local enforcement 91 agency may not require additional plans reviews or documentation 92 of areas or devices outside the scope of permitted work. 93 (6)A local government that fails to meet a deadline under 94 this section must reduce the permit fee by 10 percent for each 95 business day after such failure, unless the parties agree in 96 writing to a reasonable extension of time, the delay is caused 97 by the applicant, or the delay is attributable to a force 98 majeure or other extraordinary circumstances. Each 10 percent 99 reduction shall be based on the original amount of the permit 100 fee, unless the parties agree to an extension of time. 101 (7)By October 1, 2025, a local enforcement agency must 102 establish a simplified permitting process that complies with 103 this section. 104 Section 2.Subsection (10) of section 633.202, Florida 105 Statutes, is amended to read: 106 633.202Florida Fire Prevention Code. 107 (10)(a)Notwithstanding other provisions of this chapter, 108 if a county or a municipality within that county adopts an 109 ordinance providing for a local amendment to the Florida Fire 110 Prevention Code and that amendment provides a higher level of 111 protection to the public than the level specified in the Florida 112 Fire Prevention Code, the local amendment becomes effective 113 without approval of the State Fire Marshal and is not rescinded 114 pursuant to this section, provided that the ordinance meets one 115 or more of the following criteria: 116 1.(a)The local authority has adopted, by ordinance, a fire 117 service facilities and operation plan that outlines goals and 118 objectives for related equipment, personnel, and capital 119 improvement needs of the local authority related to the specific 120 amendment for the next 5 years; 121 2.(b)The local authority has adopted, by ordinance, a 122 provision requiring proportionate reduction in, or rebate or 123 waivers of, impact or other fees or assessments levied on 124 buildings that are built or modified in compliance with the more 125 stringent firesafety standards required by the local amendment; 126 or 127 3.(c)The local authority has adopted, by ordinance, a 128 growth management plan that requires buildings and structures to 129 be equipped with more stringent firesafety requirements required 130 by the local amendment when these firesafety requirements are 131 used as the basis for planning infrastructure development, uses, 132 or housing densities. 133 (b)If a county or municipality fails to adhere to the 134 requirements of this section when adopting an ordinance for a 135 local amendment to the Florida Fire Prevention Code, the local 136 amendment is rescinded immediately. If a county or municipality 137 continues to enforce an ordinance that has been rescinded, the 138 local fire marshal is subject to disciplinary action under s. 139 633.106. 140 (c)Except as provided in s. 633.206, the local appeals 141 process shall be the venue if there is a dispute between parties 142 affected by the provisions of the more stringent local 143 firesafety amendment adopted as part of the Florida Fire 144 Prevention Code pursuant to the authority in this subsection. 145 Local amendments adopted pursuant to this subsection shall be 146 deemed local or regional variations and published as such in the 147 Florida Fire Prevention Code. The act of publishing locally 148 adopted firesafety amendments to the Florida Fire Prevention 149 Code may not be construed to mean that the State Fire Marshal 150 approves or denies the authenticity or appropriateness of the 151 locally adopted firesafety provision, and the burden of 152 protecting the local firesafety amendment remains solely with 153 the adopting local governmental authority. 154 Section 3.Paragraph (b) of subsection (3) of section 155 633.312, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 156 633.312Inspection of fire control systems, fire hydrants, 157 and fire protection systems. 158 (3) 159 (b)The State Fire Marshal shall adopt rules to implement a 160 uniform summary inspection report and submission procedures to 161 be used by all third-party vendors and local authorities having 162 jurisdiction. For purposes of this section, a uniform summary 163 inspection report must record the address at which where the 164 fire protection system or hydrant is located, the company and 165 person conducting the inspection and their license number, the 166 date of the inspection, and the fire protection system or 167 hydrant inspection status, including the total number of 168 deficiencies found a brief summary of each deficiency, critical 169 deficiency, noncritical deficiency, or impairment found. A 170 contractors detailed inspection report is not required to 171 follow the uniform summary inspection report format. The State 172 Fire Marshal shall establish by rule a submission procedure for 173 each means provided under paragraph (a) by which a local 174 authority having jurisdiction may accept uniform summary 175 inspection reports. Each of the submission procedures must allow 176 a contractor to attach additional documents with the submission 177 of a uniform summary inspection report, including a physical 178 copy of the contractors detailed inspection report. A 179 submission procedure may not require a contractor to submit 180 information contained within the detailed inspection report 181 unless the information is required to be included in the uniform 182 summary inspection report. 183 Section 4.This act shall take effect July 1, 2025.