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Florida Senate - 2025 CS for CS for CS for SB 1078 By the Committees on Rules; Community Affairs; and Banking and Insurance; and Senator McClain 595-03651-25 20251078c3 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 county, a municipality, or an authority having 30 jurisdiction may only enforce an ordinance that has 31 been sent to the Florida Building Commission and the 32 State Fire Marshal as of a certain date; amending s. 33 633.312, F.S.; requiring that a uniform summary 34 inspection report include certain information; 35 deleting an exception from submitting certain 36 information within a detailed inspection report; 37 providing an effective date. 38 39 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 40 41 Section 1.Present paragraphs (a) through (d) of subsection 42 (1) of section 553.7932, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as 43 paragraphs (b) through (e), respectively, a new paragraph (a) is 44 added to that subsection, present paragraph (c) of subsection 45 (1), subsections (3) and (4), and paragraphs (a) and (b) of 46 subsection (5) are amended, and subsections (6) and (7) are 47 added to that section, to read: 48 553.7932Simplified permitting processes. 49 (1)As used in this section, the term: 50 (a)Alteration means to add, install, relocate, replace, 51 or remove. 52 (d)(c)Fire alarm system project means a fire alarm 53 system alteration of a total of 20 or fewer initiating devices 54 and notification devices;, or the installation or replacement of 55 a fire communicator connected to an existing fire alarm control 56 panel in an existing commercial, residential, apartment, 57 cooperative, or condominium building; or the replacement of an 58 existing fire alarm panel using the same make and model as the 59 existing panel. 60 (3)A local enforcement agency must issue a permit for a 61 fire alarm system project or fire sprinkler system project in 62 person or electronically within 2 business days after submission 63 of a completed application. A contractor may commence work 64 authorized by the permit immediately after submission of a 65 completed application. 66 (4)The a local enforcement agency must provide an 67 inspection within 3 business days after such inspection is 68 requested require at least one inspection of a fire alarm system 69 project or fire sprinkler system project to ensure compliance 70 with applicable codes and standards. If a fire alarm system 71 project or fire sprinkler system project fails an inspection, 72 the contractor must take corrective action as necessary to pass 73 inspection. 74 (5)(a)For a fire alarm system project, a contractor must 75 keep a copy of the plans and specifications at the fire alarm 76 system project worksite and make such plans and specifications 77 available to the inspector for an onsite plans review at each 78 inspection. If the local enforcement agency determines that it 79 needs documents for recording purposes, the contractor must 80 provide such documentation in paper or electronic form to the 81 local enforcement agency within 4 business days after the 82 inspection or 4 days after the documentation is requested, 83 whichever is later. The local enforcement agency may not require 84 additional plans reviews or documentation of areas or devices 85 outside the scope of permitted work, as needed on permit 86 applications. 87 (b)For a fire sprinkler system project to alter an 88 existing fire protection system, a contractor must keep a copy 89 of the plans and specifications at the fire sprinkler system 90 project worksite and make such plans and specifications 91 available to the inspector at each inspection. If the local 92 enforcement agency determines that it needs additional documents 93 for recording purposes, the contractor must provide such 94 documentation in paper or electronic form to the local 95 enforcement agency within 4 business days after the inspection 96 or 4 days after the documentation is requested, whichever is 97 later. The local enforcement agency may not require additional 98 plans reviews or documentation of areas or devices outside the 99 scope of permitted work, as needed on permit applications. 100 (6)A local government that fails to meet a deadline under 101 subsection (3) or subsection (4) must refund the permit fee by 102 10 percent for each business day after such failure, unless the 103 local government and contractor agree in writing to a reasonable 104 extension of time, the delay is caused by the applicant, or the 105 delay is attributable to a force majeure or other extraordinary 106 circumstances. Each 10 percent refund shall be based on the 107 original amount of the permit fee. 108 (7)By October 1, 2025, a local enforcement agency must 109 establish a simplified permitting process that complies with 110 this section. 111 Section 2.Subsection (9) of section 633.202, Florida 112 Statutes, is amended to read: 113 633.202Florida Fire Prevention Code. 114 (9)(a)The State Fire Marshal shall make rules that 115 implement this section and ss. 633.104 and 633.208 for the 116 purpose of accomplishing the objectives set forth in those 117 sections. 118 (b)A county, a municipality, or an authority having 119 jurisdiction may only enforce an ordinance that has been sent to 120 the Florida Building Commission and the State Fire Marshal 121 pursuant to subsection (8) as of the date that the permit was 122 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, separated into critical and noncritical 138 categories, and the brief description of impairment deficiencies 139 a brief summary of each deficiency, critical deficiency, 140 noncritical deficiency, or impairment found. A contractors 141 detailed inspection report must also be provided, but is not 142 required to follow the uniform summary inspection report format. 143 The State Fire Marshal shall establish by rule a submission 144 procedure for each means provided under paragraph (a) by which a 145 local authority having jurisdiction may accept uniform summary 146 inspection reports. Each of the submission procedures must allow 147 a contractor to attach additional documents with the submission 148 of a uniform summary inspection report, including a physical 149 copy of the contractors detailed inspection report. A 150 submission procedure may not require a contractor to submit 151 information contained within the detailed inspection report 152 unless the information is required to be included in the uniform 153 summary inspection report. 154 Section 4.This act shall take effect July 1, 2025.
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