Florida Senate - 2025 CS for SB 1128
By the Committee on Community Affairs; and Senator Ingoglia
578-02304-25 20251128c1
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to building permits for a single
3 family dwelling; amending ss. 125.56 and 553.79, F.S.;
4 prohibiting the expiration of certain building permits
5 issued by a county or a local government,
6 respectively, before a specified event; amending s.
7 553.792, F.S.; specifying that certain permit
8 applications are deemed in compliance; requiring the
9 local government to issue such permit within a certain
10 timeframe; requiring certain attestations supporting
11 permit applications; indemnifying local governments in
12 certain circumstances; providing an effective date.
13
14 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
15
16 Section 1. Paragraph (d) of subsection (4) of section
17 125.56, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
18 125.56 Enforcement and amendment of the Florida Building
19 Code and the Florida Fire Prevention Code; inspection fees;
20 inspectors; etc.—
21 (4)
22 (d) A county that issues building permits may send a
23 written notice of expiration, by e-mail or United States Postal
24 Service, to the owner of the property and the contractor listed
25 on the permit, no less than 30 days before a building permit is
26 set to expire. The written notice must identify the permit that
27 is set to expire and the date the permit will expire. A building
28 permit processed and approved by a county for a single-family
29 dwelling may not expire before the effective date of the next
30 edition of the Florida Building Code, which is updated every 3
31 years pursuant to s. 553.73(7)(a), regardless of whether the
32 permit has been issued to or accepted by the applicant.
33 Section 2. Paragraph (c) of subsection (1) of section
34 553.79, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
35 553.79 Permits; applications; issuance; inspections.—
36 (1)
37 (c) A local government that issues building permits may
38 send a written notice of expiration, by e-mail or United States
39 Postal Service, to the owner of the property and the contractor
40 listed on the permit, no less than 30 days before a building
41 permit is set to expire. The written notice must identify the
42 permit that is set to expire and the date the permit will
43 expire. A building permit processed and approved by a local
44 government under this section for a single-family dwelling may
45 not expire before the effective date of the next edition of the
46 Florida Building Code, which is updated every 3 years pursuant
47 to s. 553.73(7)(a), regardless of whether the permit has been
48 issued to or accepted by the applicant.
49 Section 3. Present paragraphs (b) through (g) of subsection
50 (1) of section 553.792, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as
51 paragraphs (c) through (h), respectively, and a new paragraph
52 (b) is added to that subsection, to read:
53 553.792 Building permit application to local government.—
54 (1)
55 (b) 1. A permit application for the construction of a
56 single-family dwelling in a jurisdiction for which a state of
57 emergency was issued within the 24 months before the
58 application, and which is signed and sealed with an attestation
59 by an architect licensed under chapter 481 or an engineer
60 licensed under chapter 471 that the plans in the permit comply
61 with the Florida Building Code, is deemed in compliance with the
62 Florida Building Code without further local government review.
63 The local government must approve or deny such an application
64 within 2 business days after receipt. This section does not
65 preclude local government review for compliance with zoning and
66 land use regulations.
67 2. An attestation for such an application must include
68 proof of the architect’s or engineer’s good standing with their
69 respective applicable regulatory bodies and proof of insurance
70 for professional liability covering all services performed in
71 plans review under this section.
72 3. A local government must be held harmless and indemnified
73 from claims arising from plans review deemed in compliance under
74 this subsection.
75 Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025.