| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to Pasco County; providing legislative |
| 3 | findings; providing requirements for the Florida Building |
| 4 | Commission for application of certain Florida Building |
| 5 | Code provisions to Pasco County relating to subsidence- |
| 6 | related property damage loss mitigation; requiring the |
| 7 | commission to adopt certain measures by rule; providing an |
| 8 | effective date. |
| 9 |
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| 10 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 11 |
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| 12 | Section 1. Subsidence-related loss mitigation in Pasco |
| 13 | County; requirements for construction and soil compaction.-- |
| 14 | (1) The Legislature finds that: |
| 15 | (a) The effects of subsidence-related structural damage |
| 16 | within Pasco County is not adequately addressed by the Florida |
| 17 | Building Code in reducing property damage to buildings |
| 18 | constructed in accordance with code requirements and have also |
| 19 | exposed a vulnerability of some construction undertaken prior to |
| 20 | implementation of the Florida Building Code. |
| 21 | (b) Subsidence represents a continuing threat to the |
| 22 | health, safety, and welfare of the residents of Pasco County due |
| 23 | to the direct destructive effects of subsidence on structures as |
| 24 | well as the effects of subsidence on sinkhole insurance rates. |
| 25 | (c) The mitigation of property damage in Pasco County |
| 26 | constitutes a valid and recognized objective of the Florida |
| 27 | Building Code. |
| 28 | (2) The Florida Building Commission shall: |
| 29 | (a) Analyze the extent to which a proposed Florida |
| 30 | Building Code provision will mitigate property damage to |
| 31 | buildings in evaluating that proposal. If the nature of the |
| 32 | proposed Florida Building Code provision relates only to |
| 33 | mitigation of property damage and not to a life safety concern, |
| 34 | the proposal shall be reviewed based on its measurable benefits |
| 35 | in relation to the costs imposed. |
| 36 | (b) Develop and adopt within the Florida Building Code a |
| 37 | means to incorporate recognized mitigation techniques for site- |
| 38 | built residential and commercial structures constructed, |
| 39 | including, but not limited to: |
| 40 | 1. Prescriptive techniques for providing a rigid, uniform |
| 41 | surface on which to build. |
| 42 | 2. Prescriptive techniques for reducing the bearing load |
| 43 | of a structure to below the allowable soil-bearing pressure of a |
| 44 | specific site. |
| 45 | 3. Prescriptive techniques for providing a structural |
| 46 | capacity to carry building loads over relatively small areas of |
| 47 | low strength or nonuniform bearing soils. |
| 48 | (3) The Legislature finds that the integration of these |
| 49 | specifically identified mitigation measures is critical to |
| 50 | addressing the serious problem facing Pasco County caused by |
| 51 | subsidence-related structural damage and that delay in the |
| 52 | adoption and implementation constitutes a threat to the health, |
| 53 | safety, and welfare of residents of Pasco County. Accordingly, |
| 54 | the Florida Building Commission shall develop and adopt these |
| 55 | measures by October 1, 2008, by rule separate from the Florida |
| 56 | Building Code, which shall take immediate effect and shall |
| 57 | incorporate such requirements into the next edition of the |
| 58 | Florida Building Code. |
| 59 | Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law. |