Florida Senate - 2025 CS for CS for SB 1078 By the Committees on Community Affairs; and Banking and Insurance; and Senator McClain 578-02825-25 20251078c2 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 authorized by the permit to 9 commence immediately after submission of a completed 10 application; requiring the local enforcement agency to 11 provide an inspection within a specified timeframe; 12 requiring that certain plans and specifications be 13 available for an onsite plans review during an 14 inspection; requiring a contractor to provide 15 additional documentation in paper or electronic form, 16 if requested by an inspector, within a specified 17 timeframe; prohibiting a local enforcement agency from 18 requiring additional plans reviews or documentation 19 outside the scope of the permitted work; requiring 20 that a specified percentage of the permit fee be 21 refunded if a local government fails to meet certain 22 deadlines; providing exceptions; requiring that such 23 refunds be based on the original amount of the permit 24 fee; requiring local enforcement agencies to establish 25 a simplified permitting process by a specified date; 26 amending s. 633.202, F.S.; specifying a condition 27 under which a local amendment to the Florida Fire 28 Prevention Code is unenforceable; providing that a 29 local government may only enforce an ordinance that 30 has been sent to the Florida Building Commission and 31 the State Fire Marshal as of the date that the bid for 32 a permit was submitted; requiring a local government 33 to submit adopted local amendments to the Florida Fire 34 Prevention Code to specified entities within a 35 specified timeframe; amending s. 633.312, F.S.; 36 revising what must be included in a uniform inspection 37 report; deleting the requirement for a brief summary 38 of such deficiencies; deleting an exception from 39 submitting certain information within a detailed 40 inspection report; providing an effective date. 41 42 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 43 44 Section 1.Present paragraphs (a) through (d) of subsection 45 (1) of section 553.7932, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as 46 paragraphs (b) through (e), respectively, a new paragraph (a) is 47 added to that subsection, present paragraph (c) of subsection 48 (1), subsections (3) and (4), and paragraphs (a) and (b) of 49 subsection (5) are amended, and new subsections (6) and (7) are 50 added to that section, to read: 51 553.7932Simplified permitting processes. 52 (1)As used in this section, the term: 53 (a)Alteration means to add, install, relocate, replace, 54 or remove. 55 (d)(c)Fire alarm system project means a fire alarm 56 system alteration of a total of 20 or fewer initiating devices 57 and notification devices;, or the installation or replacement of 58 a fire communicator connected to an existing fire alarm control 59 panel in an existing commercial, residential, apartment, 60 cooperative, or condominium building; or the replacement of an 61 existing fire alarm panel using the same make and model as the 62 existing panel. 63 (3)A local enforcement agency must issue a permit for a 64 fire alarm system project or fire sprinkler system project in 65 person or electronically within 2 business days after submission 66 of a completed application. A contractor may commence work 67 authorized by the permit immediately after submission of a 68 completed application. 69 (4)The a local enforcement agency must provide an 70 inspection within 3 business days after such inspection is 71 requested require at least one inspection of a fire alarm system 72 project or fire sprinkler system project to ensure compliance 73 with applicable codes and standards. If a fire alarm system 74 project or fire sprinkler system project fails an inspection, 75 the contractor must take corrective action as necessary to pass 76 inspection. 77 (5)(a)For a fire alarm system project, a contractor must 78 keep a copy of the plans and specifications at the fire alarm 79 system project worksite and make such plans and specifications 80 available to the inspector for an onsite plans review at each 81 inspection. If the local enforcement agency determines that it 82 needs documents for recording purposes, the contractor must 83 provide such documentation in paper or electronic form to the 84 local enforcement agency within 4 business days after the 85 inspection or 4 days after the documentation is requested, 86 whichever is later. The local enforcement agency may not require 87 additional plans reviews or documentation of areas or devices 88 outside the scope of permitted work, as needed on permit 89 applications. 90 (b)For a fire sprinkler system project to alter an 91 existing fire protection system, a contractor must keep a copy 92 of the plans and specifications at the fire sprinkler system 93 project worksite and make such plans and specifications 94 available to the inspector at each inspection. If the local 95 enforcement agency determines that it needs additional documents 96 for recording purposes, the contractor must provide such 97 documentation in paper or electronic form to the local 98 enforcement agency within 4 business days after the inspection 99 or 4 days after the documentation is requested, whichever is 100 later. The local enforcement agency may not require additional 101 plans reviews or documentation of areas or devices outside the 102 scope of permitted work, as needed on permit applications. 103 (6)A local government that fails to meet a deadline under 104 subsection (3) or subsection (4) must refund the permit fee by 105 10 percent for each business day after such failure, unless the 106 local government and contractor agree in writing to a reasonable 107 extension of time, the delay is caused by the applicant, or the 108 delay is attributable to a force majeure or other extraordinary 109 circumstances. Each 10 percent refund shall be based on the 110 original amount of the permit fee. 111 (7)By October 1, 2025, a local enforcement agency must 112 establish a simplified permitting process that complies with 113 this section. 114 Section 2.Subsection (9) of section 633.202, Florida 115 Statutes, is amended to read: 116 633.202Florida Fire Prevention Code. 117 (9)(a)The State Fire Marshal shall make rules that 118 implement this section and ss. 633.104 and 633.208 for the 119 purpose of accomplishing the objectives set forth in those 120 sections. 121 (b)If a local government fails to adhere to the 122 requirements of this section when adopting an ordinance for a 123 local amendment to the Florida Fire Prevention Code, the local 124 amendment is unenforceable. A local government may only enforce 125 an ordinance that has been sent to the Florida Building 126 Commission and the State Fire Marshal pursuant to subsection (8) 127 as of the date that the bid for a permit was submitted. A local 128 government shall submit an adopted local amendment to the 129 Florida Fire Prevention Code to all of the local governments 130 registered fire protection contractors within 7 business days 131 after the local government adopts the local amendment. 132 Section 3.Paragraph (b) of subsection (3) of section 133 633.312, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 134 633.312Inspection of fire control systems, fire hydrants, 135 and fire protection systems. 136 (3) 137 (b)The State Fire Marshal shall adopt rules to implement a 138 uniform summary inspection report and submission procedures to 139 be used by all third-party vendors and local authorities having 140 jurisdiction. For purposes of this section, a uniform summary 141 inspection report must record the address at which where the 142 fire protection system or hydrant is located, the company and 143 person conducting the inspection and their license number, the 144 date of the inspection, and the fire protection system or 145 hydrant inspection status, including the total number of 146 deficiencies found, separated into critical and noncritical 147 categories, and the total number of impairment deficiencies, 148 with a brief summary of each impairment deficiency a brief 149 summary of each deficiency, critical deficiency, noncritical 150 deficiency, or impairment found. A contractors detailed 151 inspection report is not required to follow the uniform summary 152 inspection report format. The State Fire Marshal shall establish 153 by rule a submission procedure for each means provided under 154 paragraph (a) by which a local authority having jurisdiction may 155 accept uniform summary inspection reports. Each of the 156 submission procedures must allow a contractor to attach 157 additional documents with the submission of a uniform summary 158 inspection report, including a physical copy of the contractors 159 detailed inspection report. A submission procedure may not 160 require a contractor to submit information contained within the 161 detailed inspection report unless the information is required to 162 be included in the uniform summary inspection report. 163 Section 4.This act shall take effect July 1, 2025.