History.--s. 4, ch. 74-167; s. 3, ch. 75-85; s. 1, ch. 77-365; s. 225, ch. 79-400; s. 1, ch. 80-106; s. 6, ch. 82-197; s. 2, ch. 84-273; s. 1, ch. 85-97; s. 33, ch. 86-191; s. 1, ch. 87-287; s. 1, ch. 88-142; s. 1, ch. 89-369; s. 2, ch. 91-172; s. 41, ch. 91-220; s. 49, ch. 95-144; s. 1, ch. 97-177; ss. 39, 40, 65, ch. 98-287; s. 61, ch. 98-419.

¹Note.--

A.  Section 62, ch. 98-287, provides that:

"(1)  Before the 2000 Regular Session of the Legislature, the Florida Building Commission shall submit to the Legislature, for review and approval or rejection, the Florida Building Code adopted by the commission and shall prepare [a] list of recommendations of revisions to the Florida Statutes necessitated by adoption of the Florida Building Code if the Legislature approves the Florida Building Code.

"(2)  Upon approval of the Florida Building Code by the Legislature, all existing local technical amendments to any building code adopted by any local government are repealed. Each local government may readopt such amendments pursuant to s. 553.73, Florida Statutes, provided such amendments comply with applicable provisions of the Florida Building Code."

B.  Section 40, ch. 98-287, as amended by s. 61, ch. 98-419, amended s. 553.73, effective January 1, 2001, to read:

553.73  Florida Building Code.--

(1)(a)  The commission shall adopt, by rule pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54, the Florida Building Code which shall contain or incorporate by reference all laws and rules which pertain to and govern the design, construction, erection, alteration, modification, repair, and demolition of public and private buildings, structures, and facilities and enforcement of such laws and rules, except as otherwise provided in this section.

(b)  The technical portions of the Florida Accessibility Code for Building Construction shall be contained in ²their entirety in the Florida Building Code. The civil rights portions and the technical portions of the accessibility laws of this state shall remain as currently provided by law. Any revision or amendments to the Florida Accessibility Code for Building Construction pursuant to part V shall be considered adopted by the commission as part of the Florida Building Code. Neither the commission nor any local government shall revise or amend any standard of the Florida Accessibility Code for Building Construction except as provided for in part V.

(c)  The Florida Fire Prevention Code and the Life Safety Code shall be referenced in the Florida Building Code, but shall be adopted, modified, revised, or amended, interpreted, and maintained by the Department of Insurance by rule adopted pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54. Nothing in the Florida Building Code shall affect the statutory powers, duties, and responsibilities of any fire official or the Department of Insurance.

(d)  Conflicting requirements between the Florida Building Code and the Florida Fire Prevention Code and Life Safety Code of the state established pursuant to ss. 633.022 and 633.025 shall be resolved by agreement between the commission and the State Fire Marshal in favor of the requirement that offers the greatest degree of lifesafety or alternatives that would provide an equivalent degree of lifesafety and an equivalent method of construction. If the commission and State Fire Marshal are unable to agree on a resolution, the question shall be referred to a mediator, mutually agreeable to both parties, to resolve the conflict in favor of the provision that offers the greatest lifesafety, or alternatives that would provide an equivalent degree of lifesafety and an equivalent method of construction.

(e)  Subject to the provisions of this act, responsibility for enforcement, interpretation, and regulation of the Florida Building Code shall be vested in a specified local board or agency, and the words "local government" and "local governing body" as used in this part shall be construed to refer exclusively to such local board or agency.

(2)  The Florida Building Code shall contain provisions or requirements for public and private buildings, structures, and facilities relative to structural, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, energy, and gas systems, existing buildings, historical buildings, manufactured buildings, elevators, coastal construction, lodging facilities, food sales and food service facilities, health care facilities, public or private educational facilities, swimming pools, and correctional facilities and enforcement of and compliance with such provisions or requirements. Provisions to be contained within the Florida Building Code are restricted to requirements related to the types of materials used and construction methods and standards employed in order to meet criteria specified in the Florida Building Code. Provisions relating to the personnel, supervision or training of personnel, or any other professional qualification requirements relating to contractors or their workforce may not be included within the Florida Building Code, and subsection (4) is not to be construed to allow the inclusion of such provisions within the Florida Building Code by amendment. This restriction applies to both initial development and amendment of the Florida Building Code.

(3)  The commission shall select from available national or international model building codes, or other available building codes and standards currently recognized by the laws of this state, to form the foundation for the Florida Building Code. The commission may modify the selected model codes and standards as needed to accommodate the specific needs of this state. Standards or criteria referenced by the selected model codes shall be similarly incorporated by reference. If a referenced standard or criterion requires amplification or modification to be appropriate for use in this state, only the amplification or modification shall be specifically set forth in the Florida Building Code. The commission shall incorporate within sections of the Florida Building Code provisions which address regional and local concerns and variations. The commission shall make every effort to minimize conflicts between the Florida Building Code, the Florida Fire Prevention Code, and the Life Safety Code.

(4)(a)  Local governments shall comply with applicable standards for issuance of mandatory certificates of occupancy, minimum types of inspections, and procedures for plans review and inspections as established by the board by rule. Any amendments to standards established by the Florida Building Code pursuant to this paragraph shall be more stringent than such standards and shall be transmitted to the commission within 30 days after enactment. The local government shall make such amendments available to the general public in a usable format. The Department of Insurance is responsible for establishing the standards and procedures required in this paragraph for governmental entities with respect to applying the Florida Fire Prevention ³Code and the Life Safety Code.

(b)  Local governments may, subject to the limitations of this section, adopt amendments to the technical provisions of the Florida Building Code which apply solely within the jurisdiction of such government and which provide for more stringent requirements than those specified in the Florida Building Code, not more than once every 6 months, provided:

1.  The local governing body determines, following a public hearing which has been advertised in a newspaper of general circulation at least 10 days before the hearing, that there is a need to strengthen the requirements of the Florida Building Code. The determination must be based upon a review of local conditions by the local governing body, which review demonstrates that local conditions justify more stringent requirements than those specified in the Florida Building Code for the protection of life and property.

2.  Such additional requirements are not discriminatory against materials, products, or construction techniques of demonstrated capabilities.

3.  Such additional requirements may not introduce a new subject not addressed in the Florida Building Code.

4.  The enforcing agency shall make readily available, in a usable format, all amendments adopted pursuant to this section.

5.  Any amendment to the Florida Building Code shall be transmitted within 30 days by the adopting local government to the commission. The commission shall maintain copies of all such amendments in a format that is usable and obtainable by the public.

6.  Any amendment to the Florida Building Code adopted by a local government pursuant to this paragraph shall be effective only until the adoption by the commission of the new edition of the Florida Building Code every third year. At such time, the commission shall adopt such amendment as part of the Florida Building Code or rescind the amendment. The commission shall immediately notify the respective local government of the rescission of any amendment. After receiving such notice, the respective local government may readopt the rescinded amendment pursuant to the provisions of this paragraph.

7.  Each county and municipality desiring to make local technical amendments to the Florida Building Code shall by interlocal agreement establish a countywide compliance review board to review any amendment to the Florida Building Code, adopted by a local government within the county pursuant to this paragraph, that is challenged by any substantially affected party for purposes of determining the amendment's compliance with this paragraph. If the compliance review board determines such amendment is not in compliance with this paragraph, the compliance review board shall notify such local government of the noncompliance and that the amendment is invalid and unenforceable until the local government corrects the amendment to bring it into compliance. The local government may appeal the decision of the compliance review board to the commission. If the compliance review board determines such amendment to be in compliance with this paragraph, any substantially affected party may appeal such determination to the commission. Actions of the commission are subject to judicial review pursuant to s. 120.68. The compliance review board shall determine whether its decisions apply to a respective local jurisdiction or apply countywide.

8.  An amendment adopted under this paragraph shall include a fiscal impact statement which documents the costs and benefits of the proposed amendment. Criteria for the fiscal impact statement shall include the impact to local government relative to enforcement, the impact to property and building owners, as well as to industry, relative to the cost of compliance. The fiscal impact statement may not be used as a basis for challenging the amendment for compliance.

9.  In addition to subparagraphs 7. and 8., the commission may review any amendments adopted pursuant to this subsection and make nonbinding recommendations related to compliance of such amendments with this subsection.

(c)  Any amendment adopted by a local enforcing agency pursuant to this subsection shall not apply to state or school district owned buildings, manufactured buildings approved by the commission, or prototype buildings approved pursuant to s. 553.77(6). The respective responsible entities shall consider the physical performance parameters substantiating such amendments when designing, specifying, and constructing such exempt buildings.

(5)  The commission, by rule adopted pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54, shall update the Florida Building Code every 3 years. Once initially adopted and subsequently updated by the board, the Florida Building Code shall be deemed adopted for use statewide without adoptions by local government. When updating the Florida Building Code, the commission shall consider changes made by the adopting entity of any selected model code for any model code incorporated into the Florida Building Code by the commission, the commission's own interpretations, declaratory statements, appellate decisions, and approved statewide and local technical amendments.

(6)  It shall be the responsibility of each municipality and county in the state and of each state agency with statutory authority to regulate building construction to enforce the provisions of the Florida Building Code.

(7)(a)  The commission may approve technical amendments to the Florida Building Code once each year for statewide application upon a finding that delaying the application of the amendment would be contrary to the health, safety, and welfare of the public or the amendment provides an economic advantage to the consumer and that the amendment:

1.  Has a reasonable and substantial connection with the health, safety, and welfare of the general public.

2.  Strengthens or improves the Florida Building Code, or in the case of innovation or new technology, will provide equivalent or better products or methods or systems of construction.

3.  Does not discriminate against materials, products, methods, or systems of construction of demonstrated capabilities.

4.  Does not degrade the effectiveness of the Florida Building Code.


Amendments approved under this paragraph shall be adopted by rule pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54.

(b)  A proposed amendment shall include a fiscal impact statement which documents the costs and benefits of the proposed amendment. Criteria for the fiscal impact statement shall be established by rule by the commission and shall include the impact to local government relative to enforcement, the impact to property and building owners, as well as to industry, relative to the cost of compliance.

(8)  The following buildings, structures, and facilities may be exempted from the Florida Building Code as provided by law, and any further exemptions shall be as determined by the Legislature and provided by law:

(a)  Buildings and structures specifically regulated and preempted by the Federal Government.

(b)  Railroads and ancillary facilities associated with the railroad.

(c)  Nonresidential farm buildings on farms.

(d)  Temporary buildings or sheds used exclusively for construction purposes.

(e)  Mobile homes used as temporary offices, except that the provisions of part V relating to accessibility by persons with disabilities shall apply to such mobile homes.

(f)  Those structures or facilities of electric utilities, as defined in s. 366.02, which are directly involved in the generation, transmission, or distribution of electricity.

(9)(a)  In the event of a conflict between the Florida Building Code and the Florida Fire Prevention Code and the Life Safety Code, the conflict shall be resolved by agreement between the local building code enforcement official and the local fire code enforcement official in favor of the requirement of the code which offers the greatest degree of lifesafety or alternatives which would provide an equivalent degree of lifesafety and an equivalent method of construction.

(b)  Any decision made by the local fire official and the local building official may be appealed to a local administrative board designated by the municipality, county, or special district having firesafety responsibilities. If the decision of the local fire official and the local building official is to apply the provisions of either the Florida Building Code or the Florida Fire Prevention Code and the Life Safety Code, the board may not alter the decision unless the board determines that the application of such code is not reasonable. If the decision of the local fire official and the local building official is to adopt an alternative to the codes, the local administrative board shall give due regard to the decision rendered by the local officials and may modify that decision if the administrative board adopts a better alternative, taking into consideration all relevant circumstances. In any case in which the local administrative board adopts alternatives to the decision rendered by the local fire official and the local building official, such alternatives shall provide an equivalent degree of lifesafety and an equivalent method of construction as the decision rendered by the local officials.

(c)  If the local building official and the local fire official are unable to agree on a resolution of the conflict between the Florida Building Code and the Florida Fire Prevention Code and the Life Safety Code, the local administrative board shall resolve the conflict in favor of the code which offers the greatest degree of lifesafety or alternatives which would provide an equivalent degree of lifesafety and an equivalent method of construction.

(d)  The local administrative board shall, to the greatest extent possible, be composed of members with expertise in building construction and firesafety standards.

(e)  All decisions of the local building official and local fire official and all decisions of the administrative board shall be in writing and shall be binding upon all persons but shall not limit the authority of the State Fire Marshal or the Florida Building Commission pursuant to paragraph(1)(d) and ss. 663.01 and 633.161. Decisions of general application shall be indexed by building and fire code sections and shall be available for inspection during normal business hours.

(10)  Except within coastal building zones as defined in s. 161.54, specification standards developed by nationally recognized code promulgation organizations to determine compliance with engineering criteria of the Florida Building Code for wind load design shall not apply to one or two family dwellings which are two stories or less in height unless approved by the commission for use or unless expressly made subject to said standards and criteria by local ordinance adopted in accordance with the provisions of subsection (4).

(11)  The Florida Building Code does not apply to, and no code enforcement action shall be brought with respect to, zoning requirements, land use requirements, and owner specifications or programmatic requirements which do not pertain to and govern the design, construction, erection, alteration, modification, repair, or demolition of public or private buildings, structures, or facilities or to programmatic requirements that do not pertain to enforcement of the Florida Building Code. Additionally, a local code enforcement agency may not administer or enforce the Florida Building Code to prevent the siting of any publicly owned facility, including, but not limited to, correctional facilities, juvenile justice facilities, or state universities, community colleges, or public education facilities, as provided by law.

(12)  In addition to the requirements of ss. 553.79 and 553.80, facilities subject to the provisions of chapter 395 and part II of chapter 400 shall have facility plans reviewed and construction surveyed by the state agency authorized to do so under the requirements of chapter 395 and part II of chapter 400 and the certification requirements of the Federal Government.

²Note.--The word "their" was substituted for the word "its" by the editors.