Bill Text: FL S0616 | 2019 | Regular Session | Comm Sub
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Engineering
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-04-30 - Laid on Table, companion bill(s) passed, see CS/CS/HB 827 (Ch. 2019-86), CS/CS/HB 7103 (Ch. 2019-165) [S0616 Detail]
Download: Florida-2019-S0616-Comm_Sub.html
Bill Title: Engineering
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-04-30 - Laid on Table, companion bill(s) passed, see CS/CS/HB 827 (Ch. 2019-86), CS/CS/HB 7103 (Ch. 2019-165) [S0616 Detail]
Download: Florida-2019-S0616-Comm_Sub.html
Florida Senate - 2019 CS for SB 616 By the Committee on Innovation, Industry, and Technology; and Senators Perry and Hutson 580-03504-19 2019616c1 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to engineering; amending s. 455.271, 3 F.S.; deleting a provision requiring a delinquent 4 status licensee to apply for active or inactive 5 status; requiring rulemaking to authorize licensees 6 whose licenses are void to apply for reinstatement; 7 amending s. 471.005, F.S.; revising definitions; 8 amending s. 471.008, F.S.; revising the Board of 9 Professional Engineers’ rulemaking authority; amending 10 s. 471.011, F.S.; conforming provisions to changes 11 made by the act; amending s. 471.013, F.S.; revising 12 the prerequisites for a person to take an examination 13 that determines whether she or he is qualified to 14 practice in this state as an engineer; deleting an 15 obsolete provision; amending s. 471.015, F.S.; 16 revising licensure certification requirements to 17 include active engineering experience and a minimum 18 age; revising requirements for licensure by 19 endorsement by the board; providing that the time 20 period in which a licensure application must be 21 granted or denied is tolled if an applicant is 22 required to make a personal appearance before the 23 board; authorizing the board to deny a license if such 24 an applicant fails to appear before the board within a 25 specified timeframe; amending s. 471.019, F.S.; 26 requiring the board to adopt rules relating to a 27 reinstatement process for void licenses; revising 28 continuing education requirements for reactivating a 29 license; amending s. 471.021, F.S.; requiring that 30 temporary registrations be issued for certain work 31 rather than certificates of authorization; amending s. 32 471.023, F.S.; conforming provisions to changes made 33 by the act; providing requirements for qualifying 34 agents who terminate an affiliation with or cease 35 employment with qualified business organizations; 36 amending s. 471.025, F.S.; requiring a successor 37 engineer to be able to independently re-create certain 38 work when seeking to reuse certain documents; 39 specifying that a successor engineer assumes full 40 professional and legal responsibility by signing or 41 affixing his or her seal to assumed documents; 42 releasing the engineer who previously sealed the 43 documents from any professional responsibility or 44 civil liability for her or his work that is assumed by 45 a successor engineer; defining the term “successor 46 engineer”; amending s. 553.79, F.S.; requiring that 47 structural inspections on a threshold building be 48 performed during new construction or during certain 49 repair or restoration projects; amending s. 553.791, 50 F.S.; revising notice requirements for certain 51 building code inspection services by private 52 providers; decreasing the amount of time a local 53 building official has to take certain actions after 54 receiving a permit application and affidavit from a 55 private provider; prohibiting a local building 56 official from prohibiting a private provider from 57 performing any inspection outside the local building 58 official’s normal operating hours; providing an 59 effective date. 60 61 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 62 63 Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subsection (6) of section 64 455.271, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 65 455.271 Inactive and delinquent status.— 66 (6)(a)A delinquent status licensee must affirmatively67apply with a complete application, as defined by rule of the68board, or the department if there is no board, for active or69inactive status during the licensure cycle in which a licensee70becomes delinquent.Failure by a delinquent status licensee to 71 become active or inactive before the expiration of the current 72 licensure cycle shall render the license void without any 73 further action by the board or the department. The board, or the 74 department if there is no board, shall adopt rules allowing a 75 licensee whose license is void to apply for reinstatement. 76 77 This subsection does not apply to individuals subject to 78 regulation under chapter 473. 79 Section 2. Subsections (13) of section 471.005, Florida 80 Statutes, is redesignated as subsection (3), and present 81 subsection (3) and subsection (8) of that section are amended, 82 to read: 83 471.005 Definitions.—As used in this chapter, the term: 84(3) “Certificate of authorization” means a license to85practice engineering issued by the management corporation to a86corporation or partnership.87 (8) “License” means the licensing of engineersor88certification of businessesto practice engineering in this 89 state. 90 Section 3. Section 471.008, Florida Statutes, is amended to 91 read: 92 471.008 Rulemaking authority.—The board has authority to 93 adopt rules pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to: 94 (1) Implement provisions of this chapter or chapter 455 95 which conferconferringduties upon it. 96 (2) Ensure competence in the practice of engineering. 97 (3) Ensure accuracy, completeness, and quality in the 98 engineering products provided. 99 Section 4. Subsection (4) of section 471.011, Florida 100 Statutes, is amended to read: 101 471.011 Fees.— 102(4) The fee for a certificate of authorization shall not103exceed $125.104 Section 5. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section 105 471.013, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 106 471.013 Examinations; prerequisites.— 107 (1)(a) A person shall be entitled to take an examination 108 for the purpose of determining whether she or he is qualified to 109 practice in this state as an engineer if the person is of good 110 moral character and: 111 1. Is a graduate from an approved engineering curriculum of 112 4 years or more in a school, college, or university which has 113 been approved by the boardand has a record of 4 years of active114engineering experience of a character indicating competence to115be in responsible charge of engineering; or 116 2. Is a graduate of an approved engineering technology 117 curriculum of 4 years or more in a school, college, or 118 university which has been approved by the boardwithin the State119University System, having been enrolled or having graduated120prior to July 1, 1979, and has a record of 4 years of active121engineering experience of a character indicating competence to122be in responsible charge of engineering; or1233. Has, in lieu of such education and experience124requirements, 10 years or more of active engineering work of a125character indicating that the applicant is competent to be126placed in responsible charge of engineering. However, this127subparagraph does not apply unless such person notifies the128department before July 1, 1984, that she or he was engaged in129such work on July 1, 1981. 130 131 The board shall adopt rules providing for the review and 132 approval of schools or colleges and the courses of study in 133 engineering in such schools and colleges. The rules mustshall134 be based on the educational requirements for engineering as 135 defined in s. 471.005. The board may adopt rules providing for 136 the acceptance of the approval and accreditation of schools and 137 courses of study by a nationally accepted accreditation 138 organization. 139 Section 6. Subsections (2), (3), (5), and (6) of section 140 471.015, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 141 471.015 Licensure.— 142 (2)(a) The board shall certify for licensure any applicant 143 who has submitted proof satisfactory to the board that he or she 144 is at least 18 years of age and who: 145 1. Satisfies the requirements of s. 471.013(1)(a)1. and has 146 a record of 4 years of active engineering experience of a 147 character indicating competence to be in responsible charge of 148 engineering; or 149 2. Satisfies the requirements of s. 471.013(1)(a)2. and has 150 a record of 6 years of active engineering experience of a 151 character indicating competence to be in responsible charge of 152 engineerings. 471.013. 153 (b) The board may refuse to certify any applicant who has 154 violatedany of the provisions ofs. 471.031. 155 (3) The board shall certify as qualified for a license by 156 endorsement an applicant who: 157 (a) Qualifies to take the fundamentals examination and the 158 principles and practice examination as set forth in s. 471.013, 159 has passed a United States national, regional, state, or 160 territorial licensing examination that is substantially 161 equivalent to the fundamentals examination and principles and 162 practice examination required by s. 471.013, and has satisfied 163 the experience requirements set forth in paragraph (2)(a) and s. 164 471.013; or 165 (b) Holds a valid license to practice engineering issued by 166 another state or territory of the United States, if the criteria 167 for issuance of the license were substantially the same as the 168 licensure criteria that existed in this state at the time the 169 license was issued. 170 (5)(a) The board shall deem that an applicant who seeks 171 licensure by endorsement has passed an examination substantially 172 equivalent to the fundamentals examination when such applicant 173 has held a valid professional engineer’s license in another 174 state for 1015years and has had 1520years of continuous 175 professional-level engineering experience. 176 (b) The board shall deem that an applicant who seeks 177 licensure by endorsement has passed an examination substantially 178 equivalent to the fundamentals examination and the principles 179 and practices examination when such applicant has held a valid 180 professional engineer’s license in another state for 2025years 181 and has had 2530years of continuous professional-level 182 engineering experience. 183 (6) The board may require a personal appearance by any 184 applicant for licensure under this chapter. Any applicant of 185 whom a personal appearance is required must be given adequate 186 notice of the time and place of the appearance and provided with 187 a statement of the purpose of and reasons requiring the 188 appearance. If an applicant is required to appear, the time 189 period within which a licensure application must be granted or 190 denied is tolled until such time as the applicant appears. 191 However, if the applicant fails to appear before the board at 192 either of the next two regularly scheduled board meetings, the 193 application for licensure may be denied. 194 Section 7. Section 471.019, Florida Statutes, is amended to 195 read: 196 471.019 Reactivation.—The board shall prescribe by rule a 197 reinstatement process for void licenses which includes 198 establishing appropriate continuing education requirements for 199 reactivating a license. The continuing education requirements 200 for reactivating a license for a licensed engineer may not 201 exceed the continuing education requirements prescribed pursuant 202 to s. 471.01712 classroom hoursfor each year the license was 203 inactive. 204 Section 8. Section 471.021, Florida Statutes, is amended to 205 read: 206 471.021 Engineers and firms of other states; temporary 207 registrationcertificatesto practice in Florida.— 208 (1) Upon approval of the board and payment of the fee set 209 in s. 471.011, the management corporation shall issue a 210 temporary license for work on one specified project in this 211 state for a period not to exceed 1 year to an engineer holding a 212 certificate to practice in another state, provided Florida 213 licensees are similarly permitted to engage in work in such 214 state and provided that the engineer be qualified for licensure 215 by endorsement. 216 (2) Upon approval by the board and payment of the fee set 217 in s. 471.011, the management corporation shall issue a 218 temporary registrationcertificate of authorizationfor work on 219 one specified project in this state for a period not to exceed 1 220 year to an out-of-state corporation, partnership, or firm, 221 provided one of the principal officers of the corporation, one 222 of the partners of the partnership, or one of the principals in 223 the fictitiously named firm has obtained a temporary license in 224 accordance with subsection (1). 225 (3) The application for a temporary license shall require 226 theconstituteappointment of the Department of State as an 227 agent of the applicant for service of process in any action or 228 proceeding against the applicant arising out of any transaction 229 or operation connected with or incidental to the practice of 230 engineering for which the temporary license was issued. 231 Section 9. Section 471.023, Florida Statutes, is amended to 232 read: 233 471.023 RegistrationCertificationof business 234 organizations.— 235 (1) The practice of, or the offer to practice, engineering 236 by licensees or offering engineering services to the public 237 through a business organization, including a partnership, 238 corporation, business trust, or other legal entity or by a 239 business organization, including a corporation, partnership, 240 business trust, or other legal entity offering such services to 241 the public through licensees under this chapter as agents, 242 employees, officers, or partners is permitted only if the 243 business organization is registered withpossesses a244certification issued bythe management corporation pursuant to 245 qualification by the board, subject to the provisions of this 246 chapter. One or more of the principal officers of the business 247 organization or one or more partners of the partnership and all 248 personnel of the business organization who act in its behalf as 249 engineers in this state shall be licensed as provided by this 250 chapter. All final drawings, specifications, plans, reports, or 251 documents involving practices licensed under this chapter which 252 are prepared or approved for the use of the business 253 organization or for public record within the state shall be 254 dated and shall bear the signature and seal of the licensee who 255 prepared or approved them. Nothing in this section shall be 256 construed to mean that a license to practice engineering shall 257 be held by a business organization. Nothing herein prohibits 258 business organizations from joining together to offer 259 engineering services to the public, if each business 260 organization otherwise meets the requirements of this section. 261 No business organization shall be relieved of responsibility for 262 the conduct or acts of its agents, employees, or officers by 263 reason of its compliance with this section, nor shall any 264 individual practicing engineering be relieved of responsibility 265 for professional services performed by reason of his or her 266 employment or relationship with a business organization. 267 (2) For the purposes of this section, registration with the 268 management corporationa certificate of authorizationshall be 269 required for any business organization or other person 270 practicing under a fictitious name, offering engineering 271 services to the public. However, when an individual is 272 practicing engineering in his or her own given name, he or she 273 shall not be required to be registeredlicensedunder this 274 section. 275 (3) Except as provided in s. 558.0035, the fact that a 276 licensed engineer practices through a business organization does 277 not relieve the licensee from personal liability for negligence, 278 misconduct, or wrongful acts committed by him or her. 279 Partnerships and all partners shall be jointly and severally 280 liable for the negligence, misconduct, or wrongful acts 281 committed by their agents, employees, or partners while acting 282 in a professional capacity. Any officer, agent, or employee of a 283 business organization other than a partnership shall be 284 personally liable and accountable only for negligent acts, 285 wrongful acts, or misconduct committed by him or her or 286 committed by any person under his or her direct supervision and 287 control, while rendering professional services on behalf of the 288 business organization. The personal liability of a shareholder 289 or owner of a business organization, in his or her capacity as 290 shareholder or owner, shall be no greater than that of a 291 shareholder-employee of a corporation incorporated under chapter 292 607. The business organization shall be liable up to the full 293 value of its property for any negligent acts, wrongful acts, or 294 misconduct committed by any of its officers, agents, or 295 employees while they are engaged on its behalf in the rendering 296 of professional services. 297 (4)Each certification of authorization shall be renewed298every 2 years.Each business organization registeredcertified299 under this section must notify the board within 1 month after 300 any change in the information contained in the application upon 301 which the registrationcertificationis based. 302 (a) A qualifying agent who terminates an affiliation with a 303 qualified business organization must notify the board, by a 304 process established by rule, of such termination within 24 hours 305 after the termination. If such qualifying agent is the only 306 qualifying agent for that business organization, the business 307 organization must be qualified by another qualifying agent 308 within 60 days after the termination. Except as provided in 309 paragraph (b), the business organization may not engage in the 310 practice of engineering until it is qualified by another 311 qualifying agent. 312 (b) In the event a qualifying agent ceases employment with 313 a qualified business organization and such qualifying agent is 314 the only licensed individual affiliated with the business 315 organization, the board may authorize another licensee employed 316 by the business organization to temporarily serve as its 317 qualifying agent for a period of not more than 60 days to 318 proceed with incomplete contracts. The business organization may 319 not operate beyond such period under this chapter absent 320 replacement of the qualifying agent. 321 (c) A qualifying agent shall notify the board, by a process 322 established by rule, before engaging in the practice of 323 engineering in affiliation with a different business 324 organization. 325 (5) Disciplinary action against a business organization 326 shall be administered in the same manner and on the same grounds 327 as disciplinary action against a licensed engineer. 328 Section 10. Subsection (4) is added to section 471.025, 329 Florida Statutes, to read: 330 471.025 Seals.— 331 (4) A successor engineer seeking to reuse documents 332 previously sealed by another engineer must be able to 333 independently re-create all of the work done by the original 334 engineer. A successor engineer assumes full professional and 335 legal responsibility by signing and affixing his or her seal to 336 the assumed documents. Such documents must be treated as though 337 they were the successor engineer’s original product, and the 338 original engineer is released from any professional 339 responsibility or civil liability for prior work assumed by the 340 successor engineer. For the purposes of this subsection, the 341 term “successor engineer” means an engineer who is using or 342 relying upon the work, findings, or recommendations of the 343 engineer who previously sealed the pertinent documents. 344 Section 11. Paragraph (a) of subsection (5) of section 345 553.79, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 346 553.79 Permits; applications; issuance; inspections.— 347 (5)(a) During new construction or during repair or 348 restoration projects in which the structural system or 349 structural loading of a threshold building is being modified, 350 the enforcing agency shall require a special inspector to 351 perform structural inspections on theathreshold building 352 pursuant to a structural inspection plan prepared by the 353 engineer or architect of record. The structural inspection plan 354 must be submitted to and approved by the enforcing agency before 355 the issuance of a building permit for the construction, repair, 356 or restoration of a threshold building. The purpose of the 357 structural inspection plan is to provide specific inspection 358 procedures and schedules so that the building can be adequately 359 inspected for compliance with the permitted documents. The 360 special inspector may not serve as a surrogate in carrying out 361 the responsibilities of the building official, the architect, or 362 the engineer of record. The contractor’s contractual or 363 statutory obligations are not relieved by any action of the 364 special inspector. The special inspector shall determine that a 365 professional engineer who specializes in shoring design has 366 inspected the shoring and reshoring for conformance with the 367 shoring and reshoring plans submitted to the enforcing agency. A 368 fee simple title owner of a building, which does not meet the 369 minimum size, height, occupancy, occupancy classification, or 370 number-of-stories criteria which would result in classification 371 as a threshold building under s. 553.71(12), may designate such 372 building as a threshold building, subject to more than the 373 minimum number of inspections required by the Florida Building 374 Code. 375 Section 12. Subsections (4) and (5), paragraphs (a), (b), 376 and (c) of subsection (7), and subsection (9) of section 377 553.791, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 378 553.791 Alternative plans review and inspection.— 379 (4) A fee owner or the fee owner’s contractor using a 380 private provider to provide building code inspection services 381 shall notify the local building official at the time of permit 382 application, or no later than 2 p.m. of the business day before 383less than 7 business days prior tothe first scheduled 384 inspection by the local building official or building code 385 enforcement agency for a private provider performing required 386 inspections of construction under this section, on a form to be 387 adopted by the commission. This notice shall include the 388 following information: 389 (a) The services to be performed by the private provider. 390 (b) The name, firm, address, telephone number, and 391 facsimile number of each private provider who is performing or 392 will perform such services, his or her professional license or 393 certification number, qualification statements or resumes, and, 394 if required by the local building official, a certificate of 395 insurance demonstrating that professional liability insurance 396 coverage is in place for the private provider’s firm, the 397 private provider, and any duly authorized representative in the 398 amounts required by this section. 399 (c) An acknowledgment from the fee owner in substantially 400 the following form: 401 402 I have elected to use one or more private providers to 403 provide building code plans review and/or inspection 404 services on the building or structure that is the 405 subject of the enclosed permit application, as 406 authorized by s. 553.791, Florida Statutes. I 407 understand that the local building official may not 408 review the plans submitted or perform the required 409 building inspections to determine compliance with the 410 applicable codes, except to the extent specified in 411 said law. Instead, plans review and/or required 412 building inspections will be performed by licensed or 413 certified personnel identified in the application. The 414 law requires minimum insurance requirements for such 415 personnel, but I understand that I may require more 416 insurance to protect my interests. By executing this 417 form, I acknowledge that I have made inquiry regarding 418 the competence of the licensed or certified personnel 419 and the level of their insurance and am satisfied that 420 my interests are adequately protected. I agree to 421 indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the local 422 government, the local building official, and their 423 building code enforcement personnel from any and all 424 claims arising from my use of these licensed or 425 certified personnel to perform building code 426 inspection services with respect to the building or 427 structure that is the subject of the enclosed permit 428 application. 429 430 If the fee owner or the fee owner’s contractor makes any changes 431 to the listed private providers or the services to be provided 432 by those private providers, the fee owner or the fee owner’s 433 contractor shall, within 1 business day after any change, update 434 the notice to reflect such changes. A change of a duly 435 authorized representative named in the permit application does 436 not require a revision of the permit, and the building code 437 enforcement agency shall not charge a fee for making the change. 438 In addition, the fee owner or the fee owner’s contractor shall 439 post at the project site, prior to the commencement of 440 construction and updated within 1 business day after any change, 441 on a form to be adopted by the commission, the name, firm, 442 address, telephone number, and facsimile number of each private 443 provider who is performing or will perform building code 444 inspection services, the type of service being performed, and 445 similar information for the primary contact of the private 446 provider on the project. 447 (5) After construction has commenced and if the local 448 building official is unable to provide inspection services in a 449 timely manner, the fee owner or the fee owner’s contractor may 450 elect to use a private provider to provide inspection services 451 by notifying the local building official of the owner’s or 452 contractor’s intention to do so no later than 2 p.m. of the 453 business day beforeless than 7 businessdays prior tothe next 454 scheduled inspection using the notice provided for in paragraphs 455 (4)(a)-(c). 456 (7)(a) No more than 1530business days after receipt of a 457 permit application and the affidavit from the private provider 458 required pursuant to subsection (6), the local building official 459 shall issue the requested permit or provide a written notice to 460 the permit applicant identifying the specific plan features that 461 do not comply with the applicable codes, as well as the specific 462 code chapters and sections. If the local building official does 463 not provide a written notice of the plan deficiencies within the 464 prescribed 15-day30-dayperiod, the permit application shall be 465 deemed approved as a matter of law, and the permit shall be 466 issued by the local building official on the next business day. 467 (b) If the local building official provides a written 468 notice of plan deficiencies to the permit applicant within the 469 prescribed 15-day30-dayperiod, the 15-day30-dayperiod shall 470 be tolled pending resolution of the matter. To resolve the plan 471 deficiencies, the permit applicant may elect to dispute the 472 deficiencies pursuant to subsection (13) or to submit revisions 473 to correct the deficiencies. 474 (c) If the permit applicant submits revisions, the local 475 building official has the remainder of the tolled 15-day30-day476 period plus 5 business days to issue the requested permit or to 477 provide a second written notice to the permit applicant stating 478 which of the previously identified plan features remain in 479 noncompliance with the applicable codes, with specific reference 480 to the relevant code chapters and sections. If the local 481 building official does not provide the second written notice 482 within the prescribed time period, the permit shall be issued by 483 the local building official on the next business day. 484 (9) A private provider performing required inspections 485 under this section shall provide notice to the local building 486 official of the date and approximate time of any such inspection 487 no later than the prior business day by 2 p.m. local time or by 488 any later time permitted by the local building official in that 489 jurisdiction. The local building official may not prohibit the 490 private provider from performing any inspection outside of the 491 local building official’s normal operating hours, including 492 before and after normal business hours, on weekends, or on 493 holidays. The local building official may visit the building 494 site as often as necessary to verify that the private provider 495 is performing all required inspections. A deficiency notice must 496 be posted at the job site by the private provider, the duly 497 authorized representative of the private provider, or the 498 building department whenever a noncomplying item related to the 499 building code or the permitted documents is found. After 500 corrections are made, the item must be reinspected by the 501 private provider or representative before being concealed. 502 Reinspection or reaudit fees shall not be charged by the local 503 jurisdiction as a result of the local jurisdiction’s audit 504 inspection occurring before the performance of the private 505 provider’s inspection or for any other administrative matter not 506 involving the detection of a violation of the building code or a 507 permit requirement. 508 Section 13. This act shall take effect October 1, 2019.