Florida Senate - 2013                              CS for SB 802
       
       
       
       By the Committee on Regulated Industries; and Senator Hays
       
       
       
       
       580-02404-13                                           2013802c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to the Department of Business and
    3         Professional Regulation; amending s. 489.140, F.S.;
    4         clarifying funding requirements for the Florida
    5         Homeowners’ Construction Recovery Fund; amending s.
    6         468.631, F.S.; authorizing the department to transfer
    7         certain funds from the Florida Building Code
    8         Administrators and Inspectors Board to the Florida
    9         Homeowners’ Construction Recovery Fund; providing an
   10         effective date.
   11  
   12  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   13  
   14         Section 1. Section 489.140, Florida Statutes, is amended to
   15  read:
   16         489.140 Florida Homeowners’ Construction Recovery Fund.
   17  There is created the Florida Homeowners’ Construction Recovery
   18  Fund as a separate account in the Professional Regulation Trust
   19  Fund. The recovery fund shall be funded out of the receipts
   20  deposited in the Professional Regulation Trust Fund from the
   21  one-half cent per square foot surcharge on building permits
   22  collected and disbursed pursuant to s. 468.631.
   23         Section 2. Subsection (1) of section 468.631, Florida
   24  Statutes, is amended to read:
   25         468.631 Building Code Administrators and Inspectors Fund.—
   26         (1) This part shall be funded through a surcharge, to be
   27  assessed pursuant to s. 125.56(4) or s. 166.201 at the rate of
   28  1.5 percent of all permit fees associated with enforcement of
   29  the Florida Building Code as defined by the uniform account
   30  criteria and specifically the uniform account code for building
   31  permits adopted for local government financial reporting
   32  pursuant to s. 218.32. The minimum amount collected on any
   33  permit issued shall be $2. The unit of government responsible
   34  for collecting permit fees pursuant to s. 125.56 or s. 166.201
   35  shall collect such surcharge and shall remit the funds to the
   36  department on a quarterly calendar basis beginning not later
   37  than December 31, 2010, for the preceding quarter, and
   38  continuing each third month thereafter; and such unit of
   39  government shall retain 10 percent of the surcharge collected to
   40  fund the participation of building departments in the national
   41  and state building code adoption processes and to provide
   42  education related to enforcement of the Florida Building Code.
   43  There is created within the Professional Regulation Trust Fund a
   44  separate account to be known as the Building Code Administrators
   45  and Inspectors Fund, which shall deposit and disburse funds as
   46  necessary for the implementation of this part. The proceeds from
   47  this surcharge shall be allocated equally to fund the Florida
   48  Homeowners’ Construction Recovery Fund established by s. 489.140
   49  and the functions of the Building Code Administrators and
   50  Inspectors Board. The department may transfer excess cash from
   51  the board’s account within the Professional Regulation Trust
   52  Fund to the Florida Homeowners’ Construction Recovery Fund if
   53  the department determines that the excess cash is not required
   54  to fund the board. However, the department may not transfer
   55  excess cash to the Florida Homeowners’ Construction Recovery
   56  Fund for the payment of claims if the excess cash exceeds the
   57  amount appropriated in the General Appropriations Act and any
   58  amount approved by the Legislative Budget Commission pursuant to
   59  s. 216.181.
   60         Section 3. This act shall take effect October 1, 2013.