4.13 Codes Comm Report for Dec 2023

The Codes Administration Technical Advisory Committee of the Florida Building Commission heard my second petition regarding the local amendments adopted by Broward County, FL that precludes our unlicensed members from practicing their profession. The initial petition for declaratory judgment was rejected based on staff’s opinion that my motives were suspect rather than on any technical issue of law or facts. The petition for a non-binding advisory opinion was similarly denied except for staff’s recommended answer to the question of whether the subject amendments are administrative or technical in nature. They recommend an answer of “No” with no explanation to that question and a refusal to answer any of the other questions posed. Christopher Miller, legislative aide to State Senator Thompson, contacted FBC staff to express their interest in the case. He was apparently not persuasive.
 
Broward County is currently in the process of readopting these amendments for the 2023 Florida Building Code. I encourage any AIBD members in Southeast Florida to attend these meetings and voice their objections to these amendments. 
 
I had not planned to take any further action with the Florida Building Commission, as they are committed to avoiding the topic. However, using the advisory interpretation I got from the International Code Commission, I filed a second petition for declaratory statement asking very specific questions. FBC staff provided a back-and-forth feedback process to improve the petition and increase our chances of actually getting an answer. This petition seeks answers regarding the special conditions and additional construction documents listed in IBC 107.1.
 
I also heard back from the Florida Attorney General regarding my petition for declaratory statement from the Board of Architecture and Interior Design. I amended the petition based on that office’s feedback to ask a series of questions about when licensure is required.
 
Lastly, I must report that I have been unsuccessful in getting anyone in the legislature interested in our amendments to the current building code statute. The intent of my proposed legislation is to remove all references to administrative amendments and require everything to be a technical amendment. This change allows local governments to keep developing their own building code while requiring them to provide justification for what are now considered to be administrative amendments, which they can adopt without justification or review. I will continue to seek sponsors of this amendment to one of the two existing building code bills that have been filed.