Bill Text: FL S1732 | 2019 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Community Association Safety Systems
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2019-05-03 - Died in Innovation, Industry, and Technology, companion bill(s) passed, see CS/CS/HB 7103 (Ch. 2019-165) [S1732 Detail]
Download: Florida-2019-S1732-Introduced.html
Florida Senate - 2019 SB 1732
By Senator Farmer
34-00705-19 20191732__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to community association safety
3 systems; creating s. 633.2225, F.S.; requiring certain
4 condominium or cooperative associations to post
5 certain signs or symbols on buildings; requiring the
6 State Fire Marshal to ensure that such signs or
7 symbols do not diminish the aesthetic value of
8 buildings to which they are affixed and to adopt
9 rules; requiring the State Fire Marshal and local fire
10 officials to enforce the requirement; providing
11 penalties for noncompliance; amending ss. 718.112 and
12 719.1055, F.S.; providing that a certificate of
13 compliance from a licensed professional engineer may
14 be accepted as evidence of compliance with certain
15 codes; revising the requirements for retrofitting
16 units, association property, and common elements;
17 revising provisions relating to an association vote to
18 forego retrofitting; providing that a failure to
19 provide timely notice to unit owners does not
20 invalidate certain votes under certain circumstances;
21 providing that the failure to report a membership vote
22 or the recording of a certification to the Division of
23 Corporations of the Department of Business and
24 Professional Regulation does not invalidate an
25 otherwise valid opt-out vote; prohibiting the local
26 authority having jurisdiction from requiring
27 completion of a retrofitting with certain systems
28 before a specified date; requiring certain
29 associations to initiate an application for certain
30 building permits by a specified date; providing an
31 effective date.
32
33 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
34
35 Section 1. Section 633.2225, Florida Statutes, is created
36 to read:
37 633.2225 Condominium and cooperative buildings without fire
38 sprinkler systems; notice requirements; enforcement.—
39 (1) The board of a condominium or cooperative association
40 that operates a building of three stories or more which has not
41 installed a fire sprinkler system in the common areas of the
42 building shall mark the building with a sign or symbol approved
43 by the State Fire Marshal in a manner sufficient to warn persons
44 conducting fire control and other emergency operations of the
45 lack of a fire sprinkler system in the common areas.
46 (2) The State Fire Marshal shall:
47 (a) Ensure that the dimensions and placement of the sign or
48 symbol do not diminish the aesthetic value of the building; and
49 (b) Adopt rules necessary to implement this section,
50 including, but not limited to, rules specifying:
51 1. The dimensions and color of such sign or symbol.
52 2. The timeframe within which the condominium or
53 cooperative buildings without fire sprinkler systems must be
54 marked as required by this section.
55 3. The location on each condominium or cooperative building
56 without a fire sprinkler system where such sign or symbol must
57 be posted.
58 (3) The State Fire Marshal and local fire officials, as
59 specified in s. 633.118, shall enforce this section. An
60 association that fails to comply with this section is subject to
61 penalties as provided in s. 633.228.
62 Section 2. Paragraph (l) of subsection (2) of section
63 718.112, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
64 718.112 Bylaws.—
65 (2) REQUIRED PROVISIONS.—The bylaws shall provide for the
66 following and, if they do not do so, shall be deemed to include
67 the following:
68 (l) Certificate of compliance.—A provision that a
69 certificate of compliance from a licensed electrical contractor,
70 or electrician, or professional engineer may be accepted by the
71 association’s board as evidence of compliance of the condominium
72 units with the applicable fire and life safety code must be
73 included.
74 1. Notwithstanding chapter 633 or of any other code,
75 statute, ordinance, administrative rule, or regulation, or any
76 interpretation of the foregoing, an association, residential
77 condominium, or a unit owner in a building that is 75 feet or
78 less in height is not obligated to retrofit the common elements,
79 association property, or units of a residential condominium with
80 a fire sprinkler system or other engineered life safety system
81 in a building that.
82 2. An association or a unit owner is not obligated to
83 retrofit a building greater than 75 feet in height has been
84 certified for occupancy by the applicable governmental entity if
85 the unit owners have opted to hold a vote and have voted to
86 forego such retrofitting by the affirmative vote of two-thirds a
87 majority of all voting interests in the affected condominium.
88 For the purposes of subparagraph 1. and this subparagraph, the
89 height of the building is determined by measuring the distance
90 from the lowest level of fire department vehicle access to the
91 floor of the highest occupiable story The local authority having
92 jurisdiction may not require completion of retrofitting with a
93 fire sprinkler system before January 1, 2020. By December 31,
94 2016, a residential condominium association that is not in
95 compliance with the requirements for a fire sprinkler system and
96 has not voted to forego retrofitting of such a system must
97 initiate an application for a building permit for the required
98 installation with the local government having jurisdiction
99 demonstrating that the association will become compliant by
100 December 31, 2019.
101 3.1. A vote to forego required retrofitting may be obtained
102 by limited proxy or by a ballot personally cast at a duly called
103 membership meeting, or by execution of a written consent by the
104 member, or by electronic voting, and is effective upon the
105 recording of a certificate executed by an officer or agent of
106 the association attesting to such vote in the public records of
107 the county where the condominium is located. When an opt-out
108 vote is to be conducted at a meeting, the association shall mail
109 or hand deliver to each unit owner written notice at least 14
110 days before the membership meeting in which the vote to forego
111 retrofitting of the required fire sprinkler system or other
112 engineered life safety system is to take place. Within 30 days
113 after the association’s opt-out vote, notice of the results of
114 the opt-out vote must be mailed or hand delivered to all unit
115 owners. Evidence of compliance with this notice requirement must
116 be made by affidavit executed by the person providing the notice
117 and filed among the official records of the association. Failure
118 to provide timely notice to unit owners does not invalidate an
119 otherwise valid opt-out vote if notice of the results is
120 provided to the owners. After notice is provided to each owner,
121 a copy must be provided by the current owner to a new owner
122 before closing and by a unit owner to a renter before signing a
123 lease.
124 4.2. If there has been a previous vote to forego
125 retrofitting, a subsequent vote to require retrofitting may be
126 conducted obtained at a special meeting of the unit owners
127 called by a petition of at least 10 percent of the voting
128 interests or by a majority of the board of directors. A vote to
129 retrofit requires the approval of two-thirds of all voting
130 interests in the affected condominium. Such a vote may only be
131 called once every 3 years. Notice shall be provided as required
132 for any regularly called meeting of the unit owners, and must
133 state the purpose of the meeting. Electronic transmission may
134 not be used to provide notice of a meeting called in whole or in
135 part for this purpose.
136 5.3. As part of the information collected annually from
137 condominiums, the division shall require condominium
138 associations to report any the membership vote and recording of
139 a certificate under this subsection and, if retrofitting has
140 been undertaken, the per-unit cost of such work. The division
141 shall annually report to the Division of State Fire Marshal of
142 the Department of Financial Services the number of condominiums
143 that have elected to forego retrofitting. Failure to report a
144 membership vote or the recording of a certificate does not
145 invalidate an otherwise valid opt-out vote.
146 6.4. Notwithstanding s. 553.509, a residential association
147 may not be obligated to, and may forego the retrofitting of, any
148 improvements required by s. 553.509(2) upon an affirmative vote
149 of a majority of the voting interests in the affected
150 condominium.
151 7. The local authority having jurisdiction may not require
152 completion of retrofitting with a fire sprinkler system or other
153 engineered life safety system before January 1, 2023. By
154 December 31, 2020, an association that operates a residential
155 condominium that is not in compliance with the requirements for
156 a fire sprinkler system or other engineered life safety system
157 and has not voted to forego retrofitting of such a system shall
158 initiate an application for a building permit for the required
159 installation with the local government having jurisdiction which
160 demonstrates that the association will become compliant by
161 December 31, 2022.
162
163 This paragraph does not apply to timeshare condominium
164 associations.
165 Section 3. Subsection (5) of section 719.1055, Florida
166 Statutes, is amended to read:
167 719.1055 Amendment of cooperative documents; alteration and
168 acquisition of property.—
169 (5) The bylaws must include a provision whereby a
170 certificate of compliance from a licensed electrical contractor,
171 or electrician, or professional engineer may be accepted by the
172 association’s board as evidence of compliance of the cooperative
173 units with the applicable fire and life safety code.
174 (a)1. Notwithstanding chapter 633 or any other code,
175 statute, ordinance, administrative rule, or regulation, or any
176 interpretation of the foregoing, an association a cooperative or
177 a unit owner in a building that is 75 feet or less in height is
178 not obligated to retrofit the common elements or units of a
179 residential cooperative with a fire sprinkler system or other
180 engineered life safety system.
181 2. An association or a unit owner is not obligated to
182 retrofit a building greater than 75 feet in height in a building
183 that has been certified for occupancy by the applicable
184 governmental entity if the unit owners have opted to hold a vote
185 and have voted to forego such retrofitting by the affirmative
186 vote of two-thirds a majority of all voting interests in the
187 affected cooperative. For purposes of subparagraph 1. and this
188 subparagraph, the height of the building is determined by
189 measuring the distance from the lowest level of fire department
190 vehicle access to the floor of the highest occupiable story The
191 local authority having jurisdiction may not require completion
192 of retrofitting with a fire sprinkler system before the end of
193 2019. By December 31, 2016, a cooperative that is not in
194 compliance with the requirements for a fire sprinkler system and
195 has not voted to forego retrofitting of such a system must
196 initiate an application for a building permit for the required
197 installation with the local government having jurisdiction
198 demonstrating that the cooperative will become compliant by
199 December 31, 2019.
200 3.2. A vote to forego required retrofitting may be obtained
201 by limited proxy or by a ballot personally cast at a duly called
202 membership meeting, or by execution of a written consent by the
203 member, or by electronic voting, and is effective upon the
204 recording of a certificate executed by an officer or agent of
205 the association attesting to such vote in the public records of
206 the county where the cooperative is located. When the opt-out
207 vote is to be conducted at a meeting, the cooperative shall mail
208 or hand deliver to each unit owner written notice at least 14
209 days before the membership meeting in which the vote to forego
210 retrofitting of the required fire sprinkler system or other
211 engineered life safety system is to take place. Within 30 days
212 after the cooperative’s opt-out vote, notice of the results of
213 the opt-out vote must be mailed or hand delivered to all unit
214 owners. Evidence of compliance with this notice requirement must
215 be made by affidavit executed by the person providing the notice
216 and filed among the official records of the cooperative. Failure
217 to provide timely notice to unit owners does not invalidate an
218 otherwise valid opt-out vote if notice of the results is
219 provided to the owners. After notice is provided to each owner,
220 a copy must be provided by the current owner to a new owner
221 before closing and by a unit owner to a renter before signing a
222 lease.
223 (b) If there has been a previous vote to forego
224 retrofitting, a subsequent vote to require retrofitting may be
225 conducted obtained at a special meeting of the unit owners
226 called by a petition of least 10 percent of the voting interests
227 or by a majority of the board of administration. A vote to
228 retrofit requires the approval of two-thirds of all voting
229 interests in the affected cooperative. Such vote may only be
230 called once every 3 years. Notice must be provided as required
231 for any regularly called meeting of the unit owners, and the
232 notice must state the purpose of the meeting. Electronic
233 transmission may not be used to provide notice of a meeting
234 called in whole or in part for this purpose.
235 (c) As part of the information collected annually from
236 cooperatives, the division shall require associations to report
237 any the membership vote and recording of a certificate under
238 this subsection and, if retrofitting has been undertaken, the
239 per-unit cost of such work. The division shall annually report
240 to the Division of State Fire Marshal of the Department of
241 Financial Services the number of cooperatives that have elected
242 to forego retrofitting. Failure to report a membership vote or
243 the recording of a certificate does not invalidate an otherwise
244 valid opt-out vote.
245 (d) The local authority having jurisdiction may not require
246 completion of retrofitting with a fire sprinkler system or other
247 engineered life safety system before January 1, 2023. By
248 December 1, 2020, an association that is not in compliance with
249 the requirements for a fire sprinkler system or other engineered
250 life safety system and has not voted to forego retrofitting of
251 such a system shall initiate an application for a building
252 permit for the required installation with the local government
253 having jurisdiction which demonstrates that the association will
254 become compliant by December 31, 2022.
255 Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2019.
