Florida SB 1614: Public Safety Emergency Communications Systems

Bill Text

1614 
Enforcement of the Florida Building Code 
2026-03-17T11:58:48Z 
Revising the manner in which a local government is required to spend excess funds, etc. 
ENROLLED 
2026 
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2026-07-01T00:00:00Z 
GB 
General Bill 
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 ENROLLED 
 2026 Legislature CS for CS for CS for SB 1614 

 20261614er 
 1 
 2 An act relating to enforcement of the Florida Building 
 3 Code; amending s. 553.80, F.S.; revising the manner in 
 4 which a local government is required to spend excess 
 5 funds; providing an effective date. 
 6 
 7 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 
 8 
 9 Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subsection (7) of section 
 10 553.80, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 
 11 553.80 Enforcement.— 
 12 (7)(a) The governing bodies of local governments may 
 13 provide a schedule of reasonable fees, as authorized by s. 
 14 125.56(2) or s. 166.222 and this section, for enforcing this 
 15 part. These fees, and any fines or investment earnings related 
 16 to the fees, may only be used for carrying out the local 
 17 government’s responsibilities in enforcing the Florida Building 
 18 Code, including, but not limited to, any process or enforcement 
 19 related to obtaining or finalizing a building permit. When 
 20 providing a schedule of reasonable fees, the total estimated 
 21 annual revenue derived from fees, and the fines and investment 
 22 earnings related to the fees, may not exceed the total estimated 
 23 annual costs of allowable activities. Any unexpended balances 
 24 must be carried forward to future years for allowable activities 
 25 or must be refunded at the discretion of the local government. A 
 26 local government may not carry forward an amount exceeding the 
 27 average of its operating budget for enforcing the Florida 
 28 Building Code for the previous 4 fiscal years. For purposes of 
 29 this subsection, the term “operating budget” does not include 
 30 reserve amounts. Any amount exceeding this limit must be used as 
 31 authorized in subparagraph 2. However, a local government that 
 32 established, as of January 1, 2019, a Building Inspections Fund 
 33 Advisory Board consisting of five members from the construction 
 34 stakeholder community and carries an unexpended balance in 
 35 excess of the average of its operating budget for the previous 4 
 36 fiscal years may continue to carry such excess funds forward 
 37 upon the recommendation of the advisory board. The basis for a 
 38 fee structure for allowable activities must relate to the level 
 39 of service provided by the local government and must include 
 40 consideration for refunding fees due to reduced services based 
 41 on services provided as prescribed by s. 553.791, but not 
 42 provided by the local government. Fees charged must be 
 43 consistently applied. 
 44 1. As used in this subsection, the phrase “enforcing the 
 45 Florida Building Code” includes the direct costs and reasonable 
 46 indirect costs associated with review of building plans, 
 47 building inspections, reinspections, and building permit 
 48 processing; building code enforcement; and fire inspections 
 49 associated with new construction. The phrase may also include 
 50 training costs associated with the enforcement of the Florida 
 51 Building Code and enforcement action pertaining to unlicensed 
 52 contractor activity to the extent not funded by other user fees. 
 53 2. A local government must use any excess funds that it is 
 54 prohibited from carrying forward to rebate and reduce fees, to 
 55 upgrade technology hardware and software systems to enhance 
 56 service delivery, to pay for the construction of a building or 
 57 structure that houses a local government’s building code 
 58 enforcement agency, or for training programs for building 
 59 officials, inspectors, or plans examiners associated with the 
 60 enforcement of the Florida Building Code. Excess funds used to 
 61 construct such a building or structure must be designated for 
 62 such purpose by the local government and may not be carried 
 63 forward for more than 4 consecutive years. An owner or a builder 
 64 who has a valid building permit issued by a local government for 
 65 a fee, or an association of owners or builders located in this 
 66 the state which that has members with valid building permits 
 67 issued by a local government for a fee, may bring a civil action 
 68 against the local government that issued the permit for a fee to 
 69 enforce this subparagraph. 
 70 3. The following activities may not be funded with fees 
 71 adopted for enforcing the Florida Building Code: 
 72 a. Planning and zoning or other general government 
 73 activities not related to obtaining a building permit. 
 74 b. Inspections of public buildings for a reduced fee or no 
 75 fee. 
 76 c. Public information requests, community functions, 
 77 boards, and any program not directly related to enforcement of 
 78 the Florida Building Code. 
 79 d. Enforcement and implem