| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to sinkhole investigation reports; |
| 3 | requiring licensed professional engineers contracted to |
| 4 | conduct a sinkhole investigation of property to file an |
| 5 | investigation report with the clerk of court if a sinkhole |
| 6 | is present; requiring the clerk to record the report with |
| 7 | the certificate of title for the property; providing for |
| 8 | payment of recording costs; requiring notification of the |
| 9 | property owner of the recording requirement; limiting the |
| 10 | cost of filing and recording the report; providing an |
| 11 | effective date. |
| 12 |
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| 13 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 14 |
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| 15 | Section 1. Whenever the owner of property contracts with a |
| 16 | professional engineer, licensed under chapter 471, Florida |
| 17 | Statutes, to inspect the property and investigate for the |
| 18 | presence or absence of a sinkhole, after completing the |
| 19 | investigation, if the engineer finds evidence of the presence of |
| 20 | a sinkhole on the property, the engineer shall file a report of |
| 21 | the investigation with the clerk of the court for that property |
| 22 | and the clerk shall record such investigation report with the |
| 23 | certificate of title or deed for that property. The engineer |
| 24 | shall pay for the costs of filing and recording such report and |
| 25 | shall disclose to the property owner the requirement to file and |
| 26 | record such investigation report with the certificate of title |
| 27 | or deed for such property. The cost of filing and recording the |
| 28 | report shall not exceed $10. |
| 29 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2005. |