Florida Senate - 2021                                    SB 1400
       
       
        
       By Senator Thurston
       
       
       
       
       
       33-01069-21                                           20211400__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to public food service establishment
    3         inspection scores; amending s. 509.032, F.S.;
    4         requiring the Division of Hotels and Restaurants of
    5         the Department of Business and Professional Regulation
    6         to assign a numerical score for certain required
    7         inspections; requiring the division to create a rating
    8         system that assigns a numerical score to public food
    9         service establishments based on findings of routine
   10         inspections; requiring such score and a list of
   11         violations, if applicable, to be publicly posted at
   12         the entrance of such establishment; preempting to the
   13         state the assignment of such scores; amending s.
   14         509.091, F.S.; authorizing the division to deliver the
   15         assigned numerical score to the operator of a public
   16         food service establishment by electronic means;
   17         providing an effective date.
   18          
   19  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   20  
   21         Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) and paragraph
   22  (a) of subsection (7) of section 509.032, Florida Statutes, are
   23  amended to read:
   24         509.032 Duties.—
   25         (2) INSPECTION OF PREMISES.—
   26         (a) The division has jurisdiction and is responsible for
   27  all inspections and assigning a numerical score based on
   28  inspections required by this chapter. The division is
   29  responsible for quality assurance. The division shall inspect
   30  each licensed public lodging establishment at least biannually,
   31  except for transient and nontransient apartments, which shall be
   32  inspected at least annually. Each establishment licensed by the
   33  division shall be inspected at such other times as the division
   34  determines is necessary to ensure the public’s health, safety,
   35  and welfare. The division shall adopt by rule a risk-based
   36  inspection frequency for each licensed public food service
   37  establishment. The rule must require at least one, but not more
   38  than four, routine inspections that must be performed annually,
   39  and may include guidelines that consider the inspection and
   40  compliance history of a public food service establishment, the
   41  type of food and food preparation, and the type of service. The
   42  division shall reassess the inspection frequency of all licensed
   43  public food service establishments at least annually. The
   44  division shall create a rating system that assigns a numerical
   45  score of 1 to 100, with 100 being a perfect score, to rate a
   46  public food service establishment based on the findings of such
   47  inspections. The numerical score and a list of violations, if
   48  applicable, must be posted in a prominent place, visible to
   49  customers, at the entrance of a public food service
   50  establishment. Public lodging units classified as vacation
   51  rentals or timeshare projects are not subject to this
   52  requirement but shall be made available to the division upon
   53  request. If, during the inspection of a public lodging
   54  establishment classified for renting to transient or
   55  nontransient tenants, an inspector identifies vulnerable adults
   56  who appear to be victims of neglect, as defined in s. 415.102,
   57  or, in the case of a building that is not equipped with
   58  automatic sprinkler systems, tenants or clients who may be
   59  unable to self-preserve in an emergency, the division shall
   60  convene meetings with the following agencies as appropriate to
   61  the individual situation: the Department of Health, the
   62  Department of Elderly Affairs, the area agency on aging, the
   63  local fire marshal, the landlord and affected tenants and
   64  clients, and other relevant organizations, to develop a plan
   65  that improves the prospects for safety of affected residents
   66  and, if necessary, identifies alternative living arrangements
   67  such as facilities licensed under part II of chapter 400 or
   68  under chapter 429.
   69         (7) PREEMPTION AUTHORITY.—
   70         (a) The regulation of public lodging establishments and
   71  public food service establishments, including, but not limited
   72  to, sanitation standards, inspections and the assigned numerical
   73  scores based on the findings of such inspections, training and
   74  testing of personnel, and matters related to the nutritional
   75  content and marketing of foods offered in such establishments,
   76  is preempted to the state. This paragraph does not preempt the
   77  authority of a local government or local enforcement district to
   78  conduct inspections of public lodging and public food service
   79  establishments for compliance with the Florida Building Code and
   80  the Florida Fire Prevention Code, pursuant to ss. 553.80 and
   81  633.206.
   82         Section 2. Subsection (2) of section 509.091, Florida
   83  Statutes, is amended to read:
   84         509.091 Notices; form and service.—
   85         (2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), the division may
   86  deliver lodging inspection reports and food service inspection
   87  reports, including the assigned numerical scores based on the
   88  findings of such inspections, to the operator of the public
   89  lodging establishment or public food service establishment by
   90  electronic means.
   91         Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2021.