Florida SB 612: Building Construction Regulations and System Warranties

Bill Text

612 
Construction Disruption Assistance 
2025-11-20T03:25:30Z 
Creating the "Construction Disruption Assistance Act"; establishing the Construction Impact Relief Revolving Loan Program within the Department of Commerce; requiring the department to provide specified financial assistance to eligible small businesses within construction zones; requiring the department to develop a public awareness and marketing campaign to promote the program in partnership with specified entities, etc. 
Original Filed Version 
2026 
S 
2026-07-01T00:00:00Z 
GB 
General Bill 
__ 

 Florida Senate - 2026 SB 612 

 By Senator Smith 

 17-00052-26 2026612__ 
 1 A bill to be entitled 
 2 An act relating to construction disruption assistance; 
 3 creating part XIII of ch. 288, F.S., to be entitled 
 4 the “Construction Disruption Assistance Act”; creating 
 5 s. 288.9991, F.S.; providing a short title; creating 
 6 s. 288.9992, F.S.; providing legislative findings and 
 7 purpose; creating s. 288.9993, F.S.; defining terms; 
 8 creating s. 288.9994, F.S.; establishing rulemaking 
 9 authority; creating s. 288.9995, F.S.; establishing 
 10 the Construction Impact Relief Revolving Loan Program 
 11 within the Department of Commerce; authorizing the 
 12 Legislature to fund the program; requiring the 
 13 department to provide specified financial assistance 
 14 to eligible small businesses within construction 
 15 zones; requiring the department to develop a public 
 16 awareness and marketing campaign to promote the 
 17 program in partnership with specified entities; 
 18 providing requirements for the campaign; requiring 
 19 applicants to submit specified information with their 
 20 applications; requiring an applicant to agree to 
 21 accept consultation from the Florida Small Business 
 22 Development Center Network as a condition to 
 23 participate in the program; prohibiting an applicant 
 24 from participating in the program under certain 
 25 circumstances; creating s. 288.9996, F.S.; directing 
 26 the department to maintain and publish certain 
 27 information about the program on its website, to 
 28 update such information as changes occur, and to 
 29 ensure that the website is accessible to certain 
 30 persons with disabilities; creating s. 288.9997, F.S.; 
 31 providing that the department or any of its officers, 
 32 employees, agents, or contractors are not liable in 
 33 any civil action arising out of or relating to 
 34 specified duties of the program; requiring an 
 35 applicant to acknowledge that submitting an 
 36 application does not guarantee funding; providing that 
 37 the department is not liable for any damages resulting 
 38 from the department denying an applicant a loan or 
 39 delaying loan disbursement or from certain activities; 
 40 providing construction; providing that certain 
 41 determinations, prioritizations, and decisions made 
 42 are deemed final agency action and not subject to 
 43 further judicial review; providing an exception; 
 44 authorizing the department to adopt rules; creating s. 
 45 288.9998, F.S.; requiring the department, by a 
 46 specified date, to submit an annual report containing 
 47 certain information to the Governor and the 
 48 Legislature; providing an effective date. 
 49 
 50 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 
 51 
 52 Section 1. Part XIII of chapter 288, Florida Statutes, 
 53 consisting of ss. 288.9991-288.9998, Florida Statutes, is 
 54 created and entitled “Construction Disruption Assistance Act.” 
 55 Section 2. Section 288.9991, Florida Statutes, is created 
 56 to read: 
 57 288.9991 Short title.—This part shall be known and may be 
 58 cited as the “Construction Disruption Assistance Act.” 
 59 Section 3. Section 288.9992, Florida Statutes, is created 
 60 to read: 
 61 288.9992 Legislative findings; purpose.—The Legislature 
 62 finds and declares that: 
 63 (1) Prolonged state and local government construction 
 64 projects that directly block access to small businesses cause 
 65 significant financial and operational hardships that negatively 
 66 impact local economies and threaten the livelihoods of business 
 67 owners and employees. 
 68 (2) It is the purpose of this act to establish a program to 
 69 provide financial relief, promotional support, and loss coverage 
 70 to small businesses adversely impacted by state and local 
 71 government construction projects, ensuring the resilience and 
 72 viability of affected businesses during essential infrastructure 
 73 improvements. 
 74 Section 4. Section 288.9993, Florida Statutes, is created 
 75 to read: 
 76 288.9993 Definitions.—As used in this part, the term: 
 77 (1) “Construction zone” means the immediate area where 
 78 construction activities directly restrict physical or visual 
 79 access to a small business, including partial or complete 
 80 obstruction of entryways, parking, or signage visibility. 
 81 (2) “Demonstrable loss” means a verifiable reduction