Florida Senate - 2025 CS for SB 1078 By the Committee on Banking and Insurance; and Senator McClain 597-02254-25 20251078c1 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 the local enforcement agency to provide an 10 inspection within a specified timeframe; requiring 11 that certain plans and specifications be available for 12 an onsite plans review during an inspection; requiring 13 a contractor to provide additional documents, if 14 necessary, within a specified timeframe; prohibiting a 15 local enforcement agency from requiring additional 16 plans reviews or documentation outside the scope of 17 the permitted work; requiring that permit fees be 18 refunded by a certain percentage if a local government 19 fails to meet certain deadlines; providing exceptions; 20 requiring local enforcement agencies to establish a 21 simplified permitting process by a specified date; 22 amending s. 633.202, F.S.; specifying a condition 23 under which a local amendment to the Florida Fire 24 Prevention Code is null and void; providing that a 25 municipality may enforce only an ordinance that has 26 been sent to the Florida Building Commission and the 27 State Fire Marshal as of the date that the bid for a 28 permit was submitted; amending s. 633.312, F.S.; 29 requiring that a uniform summary inspection report 30 include the total number of deficiencies found during 31 the inspection of a fire protection system or hydrant; 32 deleting the requirement for a brief summary of such 33 deficiencies; deleting an exception from submitting 34 certain information within a detailed inspection 35 report; providing an effective date. 36 37 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 38 39 Section 1.Present paragraphs (a) through (d) of subsection 40 (1) of section 553.7932, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as 41 paragraphs (b) through (e), respectively, present paragraph (c) 42 of subsection (1), subsections (3) and (4), and paragraphs (a) 43 and (b) of subsection (5) are amended, and new paragraph (a) of 44 subsection (1) and subsections (6) and (7) are added to that 45 section, to read: 46 553.7932Simplified permitting processes. 47 (1)As used in this section, the term: 48 (a)Alteration means to add, install, relocate, replace, 49 or remove. 50 (d)(c)Fire alarm system project means a fire alarm 51 system alteration of a total of 20 or fewer initiating devices 52 and notification devices;, or the installation or replacement of 53 a fire communicator connected to an existing fire alarm control 54 panel in an existing commercial, residential, apartment, 55 cooperative, or condominium building; or the replacement of an 56 existing fire alarm panel using the same make and model as the 57 existing panel. 58 (3)A local enforcement agency must issue a permit for a 59 fire alarm system project or fire sprinkler system project in 60 person or electronically within 2 business days after submission 61 of a completed application. A contractor may commence work 62 authorized by the permit immediately after submission of a 63 completed application. 64 (4)The a local enforcement agency must provide an 65 inspection within 3 business days after such inspection is 66 requested require at least one inspection of a fire alarm system 67 project or fire sprinkler system project to ensure compliance 68 with applicable codes and standards. If a fire alarm system 69 project or fire sprinkler system project fails an inspection, 70 the contractor must take corrective action as necessary to pass 71 inspection. 72 (5)(a)For a fire alarm system project, a contractor must 73 keep a copy of the plans and specifications at the fire alarm 74 system project worksite and make such plans and specifications 75 available to the inspector for an onsite plans review at each 76 inspection. If the local enforcement agency determines that it 77 needs documents for recording purposes, the contractor must 78 provide such documentation in paper or electronic form to the 79 local enforcement agency within 4 business days after the 80 inspection or 4 days after the documentation is requested, 81 whichever is later. The local enforcement agency may not require 82 additional plans reviews or documentation of areas or devices 83 outside the scope of permitted work, as needed on permit 84 applications. 85 (b)For a fire sprinkler system project to alter an 86 existing fire protection system, a contractor must keep a copy 87 of the plans and specifications at the fire sprinkler system 88 project worksite and make such plans and specifications 89 available to the inspector at each inspection. If the local 90 enforcement agency determines that it needs additional documents 91 for recording purposes, the contractor must provide such 92 documentation in paper or electronic form to the local 93 enforcement agency within 4 business days after the inspection 94 or 4 days after the documentation is requested, whichever is 95 later. The local enforcement agency may not require additional 96 plans reviews or documentation of areas or devices outside the 97 scope of permitted work, as needed on permit applications. 98 (6)A local government that fails to meet a deadline under 99 subsection (3) or subsection (4) must refund the permit fee by 100 10 percent for each business day after such failure, unless the 101 local government and contractor agree in writing to a reasonable 102 extension of time, the delay is caused by the applicant, or the 103 delay is attributable to a force majeure or other extraordinary 104 circumstances. Each 10 percent refund shall be based on the 105 original amount of the permit fee. 106 (7)By October 1, 2025, a local enforcement agency must 107 establish a simplified permitting process that complies with 108 this section. 109 Section 2.Subsection (9) of section 633.202, Florida 110 Statutes, is amended to read: 111 633.202Florida Fire Prevention Code. 112 (9)(a)The State Fire Marshal shall make rules that 113 implement this section and ss. 633.104 and 633.208 for the 114 purpose of accomplishing the objectives set forth in those 115 sections. 116 (b)If a county or municipality fails to adhere to the 117 requirements of this section when adopting an ordinance for a 118 local amendment to the Florida Fire Prevention Code, the local 119 amendment is null and void. A municipality may enforce only an 120 ordinance that has been sent to the Florida Building Commission 121 and the State Fire Marshal pursuant to subsection (8) as of the 122 date that the bid for a permit was submitted. 123 Section 3.Paragraph (b) of subsection (3) of section 124 633.312, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 125 633.312Inspection of fire control systems, fire hydrants, 126 and fire protection systems. 127 (3) 128 (b)The State Fire Marshal shall adopt rules to implement a 129 uniform summary inspection report and submission procedures to 130 be used by all third-party vendors and local authorities having 131 jurisdiction. For purposes of this section, a uniform summary 132 inspection report must record the address at which where the 133 fire protection system or hydrant is located, the company and 134 person conducting the inspection and their license number, the 135 date of the inspection, and the fire protection system or 136 hydrant inspection status, including the total number of 137 deficiencies found a brief summary of each deficiency, critical 138 deficiency, noncritical deficiency, or impairment found. A 139 contractors detailed inspection report is not required to 140 follow the uniform summary inspection report format. The State 141 Fire Marshal shall establish by rule a submission procedure for 142 each means provided under paragraph (a) by which a local 143 authority having jurisdiction may accept uniform summary 144 inspection reports. Each of the submission procedures must allow 145 a contractor to attach additional documents with the submission 146 of a uniform summary inspection report, including a physical 147 copy of the contractors detailed inspection report. A 148 submission procedure may not require a contractor to submit 149 information contained within the detailed inspection report 150 unless the information is required to be included in the uniform 151 summary inspection report. 152 Section 4.This act shall take effect July 1, 2025.