Florida Senate - 2023 SB 1614
By Senator Rodriguez
40-01569A-23 20231614__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to public safety emergency
3 communications systems; amending s. 633.202, F.S.;
4 requiring a qualified third party to make a specified
5 certification before a local authority having
6 jurisdiction may require an assessment of the need for
7 or the installation of a two-way radio communications
8 enhancement system in certain buildings; specifying
9 the length of time such certification is valid;
10 limiting the number of times, under certain
11 circumstances, that the local authority having
12 jurisdiction may require a specified assessment;
13 prohibiting the local authority having jurisdiction
14 from withholding a certificate of occupancy under
15 certain circumstances and from requiring the
16 installation of a specified system within a certain
17 time period after completion of a specified report;
18 providing an effective date.
19
20 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
21
22 Section 1. Subsection (18) of section 633.202, Florida
23 Statutes, is amended to read:
24 633.202 Florida Fire Prevention Code.—
25 (18)(a) The authority having jurisdiction shall determine
26 the minimum radio signal strength for fire department
27 communications in all new and existing buildings.
28 (b) Two-way radio communication enhancement systems or
29 equivalent systems may be used to comply with the minimum radio
30 signal strength requirements. However, two-way radio
31 communication enhancement systems or equivalent systems are not
32 required in apartment buildings 75 feet or less in height that
33 are constructed using wood framing, provided that the building
34 has less than 150 dwelling units and that all dwelling units
35 discharge to the exterior or to a corridor that leads directly
36 to an exit as defined by the Florida Building Code. Evidence of
37 wood frame construction shall be shown by the owner providing
38 building permit documentation which identifies the construction
39 type as wood frame.
40 (c) Before a local authority having jurisdiction may
41 require an assessment of the need for or the installation of a
42 two-way radio communications enhancement system in a new or
43 existing building, a qualified third party must certify that the
44 jurisdiction’s public safety emergency communications system
45 meets or exceeds the minimum radio coverage design criteria for
46 emergency services communications systems in the current edition
47 of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1221:
48 Standard for the Installation, Maintenance, and Use of Emergency
49 Services Communications Systems. Such certification is valid
50 until the next triennial adoption of the Florida Fire Prevention
51 Code which incorporates any changes made to NFPA 1221.
52 (d) If a jurisdiction has a valid radio coverage design
53 certification under paragraph (c), the local authority having
54 jurisdiction may only require an assessment of a new or existing
55 building’s interior radio coverage and signal strength in such
56 building once every 3 years for high-rise buildings or once
57 every 5 years for any other buildings in order to determine the
58 need for a two-way radio communications enhancement system.
59 (e)1. If an assessment of a new building’s interior radio
60 coverage and signal strength determines that installation of a
61 two-way radio communications enhancement system is required, the
62 local authority having jurisdiction may not withhold the
63 issuance of a certificate of occupancy for the building if the
64 registered architect or professional engineer who designed the
65 building determines, in his or her professional judgment, that a
66 two-way radio communications enhancement system is not necessary
67 in order for the building to meet the minimum standards for
68 interior radio coverage and signal strength.
69 2. The local authority having jurisdiction may not require
70 the installation of a two-way radio communications enhancement
71 system until at least 90 days after the building’s interior
72 radio coverage and signal strength assessment report is
73 completed.
74 (f) Existing high-rise buildings as defined by the Florida
75 Building Code are not required to comply with minimum radio
76 strength for fire department communications and two-way radio
77 communication enhancement systems as required by the Florida
78 Fire Prevention Code until January 1, 2025. However, by January
79 1, 2024, an existing high-rise building that is not in
80 compliance with the requirements for minimum radio strength for
81 fire department communications must apply for an appropriate
82 permit for the required installation with the local government
83 agency having jurisdiction and must demonstrate that the
84 building will become compliant by January 1, 2025. Existing
85 high-rise apartment buildings are not required to comply until
86 January 1, 2025. However, existing high-rise apartment buildings
87 are required to apply for the appropriate permit for the
88 required communications installation by January 1, 2024.
89 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023.