Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

The Florida Senate
                  BILL ANALYSIS AND FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT
              (This document is based on the provisions contained in the legislation as of the latest date listed below.)
                         Prepared By: The Professional Staff of the Committee on Fiscal Policy
BILL:           CS/CS/SB 782
INTRODUCER:     Fiscal Policy Committee; Regulated Industries Committee; and Senator Hooper
SUBJECT:        Department of Business and Professional Regulation
DATE:           April 26, 2023                  REVISED:
           ANALYST                    STAFF DIRECTOR                 REFERENCE                                 ACTION
1. Kraemer                          Imhof                                 RI              Fav/CS
2. Davis                            Betta                                AEG              Favorable
3. Kraemer                          Yeatman                               FP              Fav/CS
                     Please see Section IX. for Additional Information:
                                   COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE - Substantial Changes
  I.    Summary:
        CS/CS/SB 782 revises licensing and regulatory requirements for businesses and professions
        administered by the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR), including
        mold-related professionals, asbestos abatement professionals, electrical and alarm system
        contractors, certain public lodging establishments, and certain public food service
        establishments.
        Relating to mold-related professional licensing regulations, the bill authorizes a method for
        persons who have held a license in another state or territory for at least 10 years to obtain a
        Florida license.
        Relating to asbestos professional licensing regulations, the bill:
         Authorizes a method for persons who have held a license in another state for at least 10 years
           and meet examination and education requirements to obtain a Florida license; and
         Removes limits of bondability and credit as required criteria for determining the financial
           stability of an applicant for licensure.
        Relating to electrical and alarm system contractors licensing, the bill removes an existing
        deadline for registered electrical and alarm systems contractors to seek authorization to engage in
        their trades throughout the state at any time.
BILL:   CS/CS/SB 782                                                                                    Page 2
         Relating to the licensing, inspection, and regulation of public lodging establishments and public
         food service establishments by the Division of Hotels and Restaurants (DHR) in the DBPR
         which are not otherwise exempt, the bill:
          Requires licensees to establish and accurately maintain an online account with the DHR and
            provide an email address to the DHR as a primary contact method; the DHR must implement
            the online account requirements and provide a method to opt-out of online accounts, by rule.
          Requires licensees and licensed agents managing a license classified as a vacation rental or
            timeshare project to timely submit address changes and changes in the number of houses or
            units covered by the license within 30 days of the change;
          Allows the DHR to serve inspection reports and other notices to operators of such
            establishments by email, in-person delivery, or mail;
          Allows a transient public lodging establishment guest register to be kept in an electronic
            format and removes the requirement for guests to sign the register; and
          Shortens the time for a public lodging establishment to correct deficiencies in human
            trafficking awareness training to 45 days for violations after July 1, 2023; the DHR may not
            provide another correction period to an establishment for any subsequent failure to comply
            and must impose a fine.
         Relating to boxing matches held solely for training purposes, the bill removes a restriction on the
         maximum difference in weight of participants, eliminating the 12 pound weight differential for
         such matches in current law.
         Relating to the Florida Building Code (building code), the bill authorizes the Florida Building
         Commission to delay the energy provisions of the building code, if energy code compliance
         software is not approved at least three months before the updated building code’s effective date.
         Regarding package stores licensed to sell beer, wine, and distilled spirits (liquor) for
         consumption off the premises which may only sell certain types of products including tobacco
         products, the bill authorizes such licensees to sell nicotine products such as electronic cigarettes.
         Relating to timeshare plans, the bill:
          Eliminates certain requirements for the offering of incidental benefits in the sale of a
            timeshare plan, including repealing the 15 percent limitation on the aggregate represented
            value of all incidental benefits offered by the developer, the requirement that an
            acknowledgement and disclosure statement indicate the source of the services, points, or
            other products that constitute the incidental benefit, and that the developer promptly notify
            the Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes of the Department of
            Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) upon learning of the unavailability of any
            incidental benefit;
          Extends from one year to five years the period to void a contract when a closing unlawfully
            occurred before the cancellation period’s expiration, and retains the one-year right for a
            purchaser to void a contract if he or she knowingly or unknowingly waived the right to
            cancel the contract within the 10-day cancellation period;
          Revises public offering statement requirements to allow the developer’s description of each
            component site for a multisite timeshare plan to be provided to the purchaser electronically,
            and to provide that a developer is not required to file a separate public offering statement for
BILL:     CS/CS/SB 782                                                                                            Page 3
              any component site located within or outside Florida, in order to include the component site
              in the multistate timeshare plan.
           The bill has a positive fiscal impact on state government revenues. According to the DBPR, the
           bill may result in an indeterminate, but likely minimal negative fiscal impact to local
           government.1 See Section V, Fiscal Impact Statement.
           The bill takes effect July 1, 2023.
    II.    Present Situation:
           For ease of reference, the Present Situation for each section of the bill is addressed below in the
           Effect of Proposed Changes portion of this bill analysis. Background information about the
           Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) is provided below.
           Organization of the DBPR
           Section 20.165, F.S., establishes the organizational structure of the DBPR, which has the
           following 11 divisions:
            Administration;
            Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco;
            Certified Public Accounting;
            Drugs, Devices, and Cosmetics;
            Florida Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes;
            Hotels and Restaurants;
            Professions;
            Real Estate;
            Regulation;
            Service Operations; and
            Technology.
           The Florida Athletic Commission is assigned to the DBPR for administrative and fiscal
           accountability purposes only.2 The DBPR also administers the Child Labor Law and Farm Labor
           Contractor Registration Law.3
           Powers and Duties of the DBPR
           Chapter 455, F.S., applies to the regulation of professions constituting “any activity, occupation,
           profession, or vocation regulated by the [DBPR] in the Divisions of Certified Public Accounting,
1
  See Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR), 2023 Agency Legislative Bill Analysis for SB 782 at 5-6
(Feb. 15, 2023) (on file with the Senate Committee on Regulated Industries).
2
  Section 548.003(1), F.S.
3
  See Parts I and III of ch. 450, F.S.
BILL:   CS/CS/SB 782                                                                                              Page 4
         Professions, Real Estate, and Regulation.”4 The chapter also provides the procedural and
         administrative framework for those divisions and the professional boards within the DBPR.5
         The DBPR’s regulation of professions is to be undertaken “only for the preservation of the
         health, safety, and welfare of the public under the police powers of the state.”6 Regulation is
         required when:
          The potential for harming or endangering public health, safety, and welfare is recognizable
            and outweighs any anticompetitive impact that may result;
          The public is not effectively protected by other state statutes, local ordinances, federal
            legislation, or other means; and
          Less restrictive means of regulation are not available.7
         However, “neither the [DBPR] nor any board may create a regulation that has an unreasonable
         effect on job creation or job retention,” or a regulation that unreasonably restricts the ability of
         those desiring to engage in a profession or occupation from finding employment.8
         Chapter 455, F.S., provides the general powers of the DBPR and sets forth the procedural and
         administrative framework for all of the professional boards housed under the DBPR as well as
         the Divisions of Certified Public Accounting, Professions, Real Estate, and Regulation.9 When a
         person is authorized to engage in a profession or occupation in Florida, the DBPR issues a
         “permit, registration, certificate, or license” to the licensee.10
         Division of Certified Public Accounting
         In Fiscal Year 2021-2022, there were 38,541 active licensees in the DBPR’s Division of
         Certified Public Accounting.11
         Division of Hotels and Restaurants
         The Division of Hotels and Restaurants (DHR) licenses, inspects, and regulates public lodging
         and food service establishments in Florida. The DHR also licenses and regulates elevators,
         escalators, and other vertical conveyance devices.12
4
  Section 455.01(6), F.S.
5
  See s. 455.203, F.S. The DBPR must also provide legal counsel for boards within the DBPR by contracting with the
Department of Legal Affairs, by retaining private counsel, or by staff counsel of the DBPR. See s. 455.221(1), F.S.
6
  Section 455.201(2), F.S.
7
  Id.
8
  Section 455.201(4)(b), F.S.
9
  See s. 455.203, F.S. The DBPR must also provide legal counsel for boards within the DBPR by contracting with the
Department of Legal Affairs, by retaining private counsel, or by providing DBPR staff counsel. See s. 455.221(1), F.S.
10
   Section 455.01(4) and (5), F.S.
11
   See Department of Business and Professional Regulation, Annual Report, Fiscal Year 2021-2022, at 18, at
http://www.myfloridalicense.com/DBPR/os/documents/Division%20Annual%20Report%20FY%2021-22.pdf (last visited
Mar. 21, 2023).
12
   See Department of Business and Professional Regulation, Annual Report, Division of Hotels and Restaurants, at
http://www.myfloridalicense.com/DBPR/hotels-restaurants/ (last visited Mar. 28, 2023); see page 18 of the Annual Report
summarizing the numbers of licenses issued each fiscal year to public lodging and food service establishments.
BILL:   CS/CS/SB 782                                                                                              Page 5
         Division of Professions
         In Fiscal Year 2021-2022, in the DBPR’s Division of Professions, which regulates all licensees,
         there were 937,960 active licensees (of which 38,541 were licensed accountants; 66,936 were
         licensed engineers, and 345,026 were real estate-related licensees), including:13
                       Accountants (CPAs);
                       Architects and interior designers;
                       Asbestos consultants and contractors;
                       Athlete agents;
                       Auctioneers;
                       Barbers;
                       Building code administrators and inspectors;
                       Community association managers;
                       Construction industry contractors;
                       Cosmetologists;
                       Electrical contractors;
                       Employee leasing companies;
                       Engineers;
                       Geologists;
                       Home inspectors;
                       Harbor pilots (pilot commissioners);
                       Landscape architects;
                       Mold-related services;
                       Real estate appraisers;
                       Real estate (brokers/associates)
                       Talent agencies; and
                       Veterinarians.
         Division of Real Estate
         In Fiscal Year 2021-2022, there were 345,026 active licensees in the DBPR’s Division of Real
         Estate. 14
III.     Effect of Proposed Changes:
         Mold-Related Professionals
         Present Situation
         The Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) licenses and regulates mold-
         related professionals.15 Specifically, mold assessors and mold remediators are regulated by
13
   Id.
14
   Id.
15
   See part XIV of ch. 468, F.S., Mold-Related Services; and Annual Report, Fiscal Year 2021-2022, for the Divisions of
Certified Public Accounting, Professions, Real Estate, and Regulation (2021-2022 Annual Report) at 10, available at
http://www.myfloridalicense.com/DBPR/os/documents/Division%20Annual%20Report%20FY%2021-22.pdf (last visited
Mar. 28, 2023).
BILL:   CS/CS/SB 782                                                                                                   Page 6
         Part XVI of ch. 468, F.S., and licensed by the Mold-Related Services Licensing Program16 in the
         DBPR. In Fiscal Year 2021-2022, there were 5,806 active licensees, and 654 inactive licensees.17
         Of 127 complaints against licensees, 26 met the standard of legal sufficiency in s. 455.225(1),
         F.S., and the DBPR found probable cause that would reasonably indicate that a violation of the
         practice act or rules occurred in 16 cases.18
         “Mold assessment” means a process performed by a mold assessor that includes the physical
         sampling and detailed evaluation of data obtained from a building history and inspection to
         formulate an initial hypothesis about the origin, identity, location, and extent of amplification of
         mold growth of greater than 10 square feet.19
         “Mold remediation” means the removal, cleaning, sanitizing, demolition, or other treatment,
         including preventive activities, of mold or mold-contaminated matter of greater than 10 square
         feet that was not purposely grown at that location; however, it may not include work that
         requires a contractor license under ch. 489, F.S.20
         In order to be licensed as a mold assessor or mold remediator, an applicant must:21
          Be of good moral character;
          Pass the required DBPR-approved22 examination offered by a nationally recognized
             organization that certifies persons in the specialty of mold assessment or mold remediation;
          Have the insurance required under s. 468.8421, F.S.; and
          Complete either:
             o At least a two-year associate of arts degree with certain course requirements and a
                minimum of one year of experience; or
             o A high school diploma or the equivalent with a minimum of four years of experience.
         A person who is licensed in another state is eligible for a license by endorsement in Florida if
         they:23
          Are of good moral character;
          Hold the insurance required under s. 468.8421, F.S.;
          Hold a valid license to practice as a mold assessor or mold remediator in another state or
             territory of the United States if the criteria for such license is substantially equivalent to the
             licensure criteria in Florida; and
          Are qualified to take the DBPR-approved examination as set forth in s. 468.8413, F.S., and
             have passed a national, regional, state, or territorial licensing examination that is DBPR-
16 Section 468.84, F.S.
17
   See 2021-2022 Annual Report at 18.
18
   Id. at 87.
19 Section 468.8411(3), F.S.
20
   Section 468.8411(5), F.S.
21
   Section 468.8413(2), F.S.
22
   Section 455.217, F.S., requires the DBPR’s Division of Professions to “provide, contract, or approve services for the
development, preparation, administration, scoring, score reporting, and evaluation of all examinations,” and to seek the
advice of the appropriate regulatory board in doing so. The Department of Business and Professional Regulation must act
together with the Division of Service Operations, the Division of Professions, and the Division of Real Estate, to “ensure that
examinations adequately and reliably measure an applicant’s ability to practice the profession” that is regulated. Id.
23
   Section 468.8414(3), (4), F.S.
BILL:   CS/CS/SB 782                                                                                                    Page 7
             approved as substantially equivalent to the required Florida examination, as set forth in
             s. 468.8414, F.S.
         Applicants for a mold-related license must also pay initial fees of $230.24
         Effect of Proposed Changes
         Secti