Florida Senate - 2016                          SENATOR AMENDMENT
       Bill No. CS for CS for SB 992
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì740652!Î740652                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
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                 Floor: NC/2R          .                                
             03/04/2016 01:10 PM       .                                
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       Senator Legg moved the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Delete lines 711 - 744
    4  and insert:
    5         Section 21. Section 633.216, Florida Statutes, is amended
    6  to read:
    7         633.216 Inspection of buildings and equipment; orders;
    8  firesafety inspection training requirements; certification;
    9  disciplinary action; prohibited acts toward firesafety
   10  inspectors, firefighters, and fire officials; penalties.—The
   11  State Fire Marshal and her or his agents or persons authorized
   12  to enforce laws and rules of the State Fire Marshal shall, at
   13  any reasonable hour, when the State Fire Marshal has reasonable
   14  cause to believe that a violation of this chapter or s. 509.215,
   15  or a rule adopted thereunder, or a minimum firesafety code
   16  adopted by the State Fire Marshal or a local authority, may
   17  exist, inspect any and all buildings and structures which are
   18  subject to the requirements of this chapter or s. 509.215 and
   19  rules adopted thereunder. The authority to inspect shall extend
   20  to all equipment, vehicles, and chemicals which are located on
   21  or within the premises of any such building or structure.
   22         (1) Each county, municipality, and special district that
   23  has firesafety enforcement responsibilities shall employ or
   24  contract with a firesafety inspector. Except as provided in s.
   25  633.312(2) and (3), the firesafety inspector must conduct all
   26  firesafety inspections that are required by law. The governing
   27  body of a county, municipality, or special district that has
   28  firesafety enforcement responsibilities may provide a schedule
   29  of fees to pay only the costs of inspections conducted pursuant
   30  to this subsection and related administrative expenses. Two or
   31  more counties, municipalities, or special districts that have
   32  firesafety enforcement responsibilities may jointly employ or
   33  contract with a firesafety inspector.
   34         (2) Except as provided in s. 633.312(2), every firesafety
   35  inspection conducted pursuant to state or local firesafety
   36  requirements shall be by a person certified as having met the
   37  inspection training requirements set by the State Fire Marshal.
   38  Such person shall meet the requirements of s. 633.412(1)-(4) s.
   39  633.412(1)(a)-(d), and:
   40         (a) Have satisfactorily completed the firesafety inspector
   41  certification examination as prescribed by division rule; and
   42         (b)1. Have satisfactorily completed, as determined by
   43  division rule, a firesafety inspector training program of at
   44  least 200 hours established by the department and administered
   45  by education or training providers approved by the department
   46  for the purpose of providing basic certification training for
   47  firesafety inspectors; or
   48         2. Have received training in another state which is
   49  determined by the division to be at least equivalent to that
   50  required by the department for approved firesafety inspector
   51  education and training programs in this state.
   52         (3) A firefighter certified pursuant to s. 633.408 may
   53  conduct firesafety inspections, under the supervision of a
   54  certified firesafety inspector, while on duty as a member of a
   55  fire department company conducting inservice firesafety
   56  inspections without being certified as a firesafety inspector,
   57  if such firefighter has satisfactorily completed an inservice
   58  fire department company inspector training program of at least
   59  24 hours’ duration as provided by rule of the department.
   60         (4) Every firesafety inspector certificate is valid for a
   61  period of 4 years from the date of issuance. Renewal of
   62  certification is subject to the affected person’s completing
   63  proper application for renewal and meeting all of the
   64  requirements for renewal as established under this chapter or by
   65  rule adopted under this chapter, which must include completion
   66  of at least 54 hours during the preceding 4-year period of
   67  continuing education as required by the rule of the department
   68  or, in lieu thereof, successful passage of an examination as
   69  established by the department.
   70         (5) A previously certified firesafety inspector whose
   71  certification has lapsed for 8 years or more must repeat the
   72  fire safety inspector training as specified by the division.
   73         (6) The State Fire Marshal may deny, refuse to renew,
   74  suspend, or revoke the certificate of a firesafety inspector if
   75  the State Fire Marshal finds that any of the following grounds
   76  exist:
   77         (a) Any cause for which issuance of a certificate could
   78  have been refused had it then existed and been known to the
   79  division.
   80         (b) Violation of this chapter or any rule or order of the
   81  State Fire Marshal.
   82         (c) Falsification of records relating to the certificate.
   83         (d) Failure to meet any of the renewal requirements.
   84         (e) Making or filing a report or record that the
   85  certificateholder knows to be false, or knowingly inducing
   86  another to file a false report or record, or knowingly failing
   87  to file a report or record required by state or local law, or
   88  knowingly impeding or obstructing such filing, or knowingly
   89  inducing another person to impede or obstruct such filing.
   90         (f) Failing to properly enforce applicable fire codes or
   91  permit requirements within this state which the
   92  certificateholder knows are applicable by committing willful
   93  misconduct, gross negligence, gross misconduct, repeated
   94  negligence, or negligence resulting in a significant danger to
   95  life or property.
   96         (g) Accepting labor, services, or materials at no charge or
   97  at a noncompetitive rate from a person who performs work that is
   98  under the enforcement authority of the certificateholder and who
   99  is not an immediate family member of the certificateholder. For
  100  the purpose of this paragraph, the term “immediate family
  101  member” means a spouse, child, parent, sibling, grandparent,
  102  aunt, uncle, or first cousin of the person or the person’s
  103  spouse or a person who resides in the primary residence of the
  104  certificateholder.
  105         (7) The division and the Florida Building Code
  106  Administrators and Inspectors Board, established pursuant to s.
  107  468.605, shall enter into a reciprocity agreement to facilitate
  108  joint recognition of continuing education recertification hours
  109  for certificateholders licensed under s. 468.609 and firesafety
  110  inspectors certified under subsection (2).
  111         (8) The State Fire Marshal shall develop by rule an
  112  advanced training and certification program for firesafety
  113  inspectors having fire code management responsibilities. The
  114  program must be consistent with the appropriate provisions of
  115  NFPA 1037, or similar standards adopted by the division, and
  116  establish minimum training, education, and experience levels for
  117  firesafety inspectors having fire code management
  118  responsibilities.
  119         (9) The department shall provide by rule for the
  120  certification of firesafety inspectors and fire code
  121  administrators.
  122         (10)(a)A person may not influence a firesafety inspector
  123  by:
  124         1. Threatening, coercing, tricking, persuading,
  125  interfering, or otherwise influencing, or attempting to
  126  threaten, coerce, trick, persuade, interfere, or otherwise
  127  influence, the firesafety inspector into violating any provision
  128  of the Florida Fire Prevention Code, any rule adopted by the
  129  State Fire Marshal, or any provision of this chapter.
  130         2. Offering any compensation to the firesafety inspector to
  131  induce a violation of the Florida Fire Prevention Code, any rule
  132  adopted by the State Fire Marshal, or any provision of this
  133  chapter.
  134         (b)1. A person who violates paragraph (a) commits a
  135  misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s.
  136  775.082 or s. 775.083. A person who violates paragraph (a) after
  137  a previous conviction for a violation of paragraph (a) commits a
  138  felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082
  139  or s. 775.083.
  140         2. A person who willfully or unreasonably interferes with,
  141  hinders, assaults, or attempts to interfere with or hinder a
  142  firefighter, fire official, or firesafety inspector in the
  143  performance of his or her duty commits a felony of the third
  144  degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s.
  145  775.084.
  146  
  147  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
  148  And the title is amended as follows:
  149         Delete line 92
  150  and insert:
  151         reference; prohibiting certain actions by a person
  152         toward a firesafety inspector; providing criminal
  153         penalties for certain actions toward a firefighter,
  154         fire official, and firesafety inspector; amending s.
  155         633.408, F.S.; revising