Springboard - Regulatory & Legislative Information from FSPA

Florida Swimming Pool Association

Pool and Spa Regulatory & Legislative Information

Taking action to protect your industry

March 19, 2010

In This Issue

ANSI Standards Consensus Committee Members Needed

FSPA Legislative Days are March 23-25

FSPA Invited to Ceremonial Bill Signing by Governor

Building Safety Bill

Fire Sprinklers - Residential Facilities Bill

Lien Law Bill

Automatic Service Renewal Bill

Renewable Energy / Wind-Resistance Bill

Design Professionals - Liability Bill

Economic Development - Jobs Bill

Solid Waste Recycling

ANSI Standards Consensus Committee Members Needed

The Association of Pool & Spa Professionals (APSP) is announcing the formation of a new ANSI Standards Consensus Committee (SCC) to be recognized as the ANSI consensus voting body of balanced and diversified individuals and organizations to vote on all future ANSI/APSP pool and spa standards. We are seeking 30 interested organizations/companies/government officials/consultants who are directly and materially affected by pools, spas, portable hot tubs and swimspas in the following three interest categories:

Producer (10): Manufacturer, builder, or installer of swimming pools, spas and hot tubs or components.
User - Government (10): A federal, state, or local regulatory agency or department for public safety. The entity may also have the responsibility of regulating or monitoring swimming pools, spas, or hot tubs.
General Interest: (10) an entity or individual with expertise in swimming pools, but neither produces nor uses them directly. This category includes but is not limited to consultants, academia, insurance companies, testing laboratories (that test or certify pool and spa components against standards) public interest organizations, and "not-for-profits" having an interest in pools, spas/hot tubs and swimspas.

Interested parties should contact Carvin DiGiovanni at cdigiovanni@apsp.org by March 31, 2010 to request an application.

FSPA Legislative Days are March 23 - 25

All members are welcome to participate

This year Legislative Days are being held in conjunction with the March Board of Directors meeting. All FSPA members are invited and encouraged to be a part of Legislative Days.

Tuesday will begin at 4:00 p.m. with a joint Builders / Service / Energy meeting and at 6:00 p.m. there is a reception at Clyde's & Costello's. Wednesday will be dedicated to Legislative Days and participants will meet with Legislators at the Capitol. Thursday there are a few committee meetings and the Board meeting which will include speakers; the day should be done by lunch time.

This is a great time to show Legislators the faces of the pool industry and inform them of the industry's concerns.

Don't forget to RSVP! A full schedule is available HERE.

Please contact the state office (800-548-6774) if you have any questions about this great event.

FSPA Invited to Ceremonial Bill Signing by Governor
By Kari Hebrank, FSPA Lobbyist

On March 11, FSPA was invited to join AIF, the Chamber, Florida United Businesses Association, Florida Building Material Association, the Retail Federation and the National Federation of Independent Businesses for a ceremonialbill signing on HB 7033 on the unemployment compensation tax. Governor Crist was joined by House sponsors Rep. Murzin and Rep. Carroll, Senate sponsor Sen. Garcia as well as Sen. Haridopolos, Sen. Lawson, and Rep. Sands. Governor Crist thanked the sponsors and the business community for working towards a solution and shared how the legislation would provide immediate relief for Florida's employers. Specifically, HB 7033:

Reduces the taxable wage base from $8500 to $7000 for the next two years. In 2012, the wage base returns to $8500 for 3 years, reverting back to $7000 in the year 2015.
Suspends the positive adjustment factor until 2012, regardless of the balance in the Unemployment Compensation Trust Fund, thus no rate increase will be triggered for the next two years. . On Jan. 1, 2012, the positive adjustment factor is triggered for a period of three years to replenish the fund, and on Jan. 1, 2015, it reverts to a four-year recoupment period.
Authorizes quarterly tax payments for 2010 and 2011 without interest or penalties.
Provides for payment of interest on federal advances through an employee assessment.
Extends unemployment compensation benefits for an additional 8 weeks for eligible claimants; approximately 20,000 Floridians would be eligible to receive extended benefits.

For employers paying the Minimum Rate at the $7000 wage base, unemployment compensation tax rates will rise from the current $8.40 to $25.30 per employee, whereas at the $8500 rate, the increase would have meant a cost of $100.30 per employee. The Maximum Rate at $7000 wage base remains at the current $378 per employee.

Building Safety

S.B. 648 by Bennett / H.B. 663 by Aubuchon

SB 648 by Sen. Bennett (R-Bradenton) and companion HB 663 by Rep. Aubuchon (R-Cape Coral) are intended to streamline building code and product approval functions, eliminate duplicative regulations, and bring "common sense" to various building safety regulations. Importantly for FSPA members, the bills include revisions to the energy efficiency requirements for swimming pool appliances. Specifically, the bills include FSPA's legislative initiatives to:

Amend the temporary period that a pool pump motor's default circulation speed is allowed to be on high speed override from the current 120 minutes to a 24-hour standard;

Clarify the energy efficiency provisions that apply to commercial and residential swimming pool heaters, and residential pool pumps and pool pump motors;

Add "manufactured on or after July 1, 2011," rather than the current "sold after July 1, 2011" as to the effective date for the new efficiency standards.

Other highlights of the proposal are:

Creates a streamlined product approval process, reducing the timeline from 4 months to 10 business days;
Provides an expedited process for fire code interpretations;
Provides for equivalency code standards to be incorporated expeditiously rather than delayed for the 3 -year code cycle;
Provides that heat sensors and electronic sensor updates for existing elevators may not be enforced on elevators in condominiums until such time as the elevator is replaced;
Allows for uniform lock box that contains the keys to all elevators in a building which allow public access in lieu of re-keying the elevators;
Grants rule authority for commission relative to establishing voting requirements, such as super majority, for commission actions;
Provides for alternative plan review and inspection process for certain inspections;
Allows for payment of fees for product approval to be made directly to the program administrator and specifies that fees paid by product manufacturers only fund product approval system;
Adds the International Association of Plumbing & Mechanical Officials to the statutory list of approved evaluation services;
Clarifies the carbon monoxide alarm requirements;
Eliminates the 5-year inspection by engineers of condominium improvements;
Authorizes the commission to charge a fee for accessibility waivers, non-binding interpretations and declaratory statements;
Includes additional options for energy efficiency of buildings and swimming pool appliances;
Includes provisions relating to the regulation of home inspectors, mold assessors and mold remediators;
Specifies the Code does not apply to temporary housing for prisoners; and,
Authorizes local governments to implement flood resistance regulations.

STATUS: On March 17, HB 663 was introduced as a proposed committee substitute to incorporate a myriad of amendments and passed H. Military & Local Affairs Committee by a vote of 12-0. The same day, SB 648 sailed through S. Banking & Insurance on a 7-0 count. HB 663 travels to General Government Policy Council next and SB 648 will be heard in S. Community Affairs on March 23.

Fire Sprinklers - Residential Facilities
By Kari Hebrank, FSPA Lobbyist

H.B. 7095 (formerly GAP 10-22) by H. Governmental Accountability Policy Committee and Rep. Schenck / S.B. 846 by Sen. Bennett

HB 7095 and SB 846 would ban the Florida Building Commission from adopting code provisions mandating the installation of fire sprinklers in all one and two-family dwellings. Recently, the International Code Council adopted a fire sprinkler mandate for newly constructed homes as part of the International Residential Code (IRC), and since Florida uses the IRC as the base model code, the Florida Building Code would incorporate those same sprinkler mandates unless the Florida Building Commission by a required 75% majority of the 25- member body voted to overturn the code provision.

STATUS: HB 7095 passed H. Governmental Accountability unanimously 11-0 and moves to the H. Economic Development & Community Affairs Committee. SB 846 gets its first hearing on March 23 in S. Regulated Industries.

Lien Law

By Kari Hebrank, FSPA Lobbyist

H.B. 693 by Plakon / S.B. 1048 by Baker

These bills purport to streamline the lien law notification process on residential construction projects to better inform consumers of their obligations to protect their lien rights while ensuring that payment bond information is recorded and available to the general public. The bills are currently being "massaged" to satisfy concerns expressed by both material suppliers and contractors. Specifically, the bills:

Allow permitting officials to reject notices of commencement (NOC) that are incomplete and/or illegible in order to reduce the number of NOC's filed improperly by parties other than the owner which can negatively impact the owner and other parties to a construction project.
Raise thresholds for small projects that do not require notices of commencement, thus streamlining the process for owners, contractors and permit authorities when projects are small one-day projects or repairs that fall under these thresholds.
Revise service provisions to be up-to-date with current USPS methods of mailing oversees, and allow lienors to complete incomplete address information in order to insure owners receive notices that are served.
Require complete project information on all demands for information so that lienors, owners and contractors can respond to requests in a timely manner.
Creates a statutory "General Statement of Owner's Rights and Responsibilities" that explains in plain language four steps owners should take to protect themselves from payment problems during the construction process. This information must be delivered to the owner and receipt acknowledged before a building permit can be applied for. This insures that owners actually receive the information and that they receive it before they commence a construction project.

STATUS: SB 1048 passed S. Regulated Industries on March 3 and S. Community Affairs on March 17. The House companion has not yet been heard in committee. Negotiations between contractors and suppliers are still underway to resolve some outstanding concerns.

Automatic Service Renewal

By Kari Hebrank, FSPA Lobbyist

S.B. 1332 by Justice / H.B. 751 by McBurney

Once again, legislation has been filed to address the automatic renewal of service contracts, an issue FSPA has successfully defeated the past two years. The bills require clear and conspicuous disclosure of automatic renewal provisions in service contracts if the provision renews the contract for longer than one month and if the provision extends the contract beyond 6 months from the date of the initial contract.

STATUS: SB 1332 passed S. Commerce on March 10 and is now in S. Banking & Insurance. HB 751 was unanimously approved by H. Insurance, Business & Financial Affairs and will be heard in H. Civil Justice & Courts on March 22.

Renewable Energy / Wind-Resistance

By Kari Hebrank, FSPA Lobbyist

EUP 10-03 by H. Energy & Utilities Policy Committee / S.B. 2322 by Sen. Bennett

These bills, referred to as "PACE" --which stands for Property Assessment Clean Energy--authorize local governments to finance renewable energy property improvements with non-ad valorem tax assessments and create energy improvement districts funded by non-ad valorem tax assessments or bonds. Local governments are authorized through local ordinance or resolution to create a program to provide up-front financing for energy conservation and efficiency, renewable energy, or wind-resistance improvements. A property owner may apply to the local government for funding to finance the improvements and voluntarily enter into a financial agreement with the local government. The qualifying improvement must be affixed to an existing building or facility that is part of the property and if the work requires a license, it must be performed by a properly licensed or certified contractor.

STATUS: On March 17, PCB 10-03 passed H. Energy & Utilities Policy Committee and SB 2322 passed S. Community Affairs. SB 2322 moves to S. Communications, Energy & Public Utilities Committee on March 23.

Design Professionals - Liability

By Kari Hebrank, FSPA Lobbyist

S.B. 1964 by Negron / H.B. 701 by Precourt

These bills provide that malpractice or negligence for which licensed engineers, architects, surveyors and mappers, interior designers and landscape architects must cause personal injury or damage to property other than property that is subject to professional services. FSPA is concerned that these proposals shift the liability burden from the design professionals to the contractors on construction projects. FSPA is working with the Construction Coalition and the bill sponsors to arrive at a compromise solution that is workable for all parties.