ANNA CAM FENTRISS GOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS 1400 VILLAGE SQUARE BOULEVARD, NUMBER 3-243 TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 32312 TELEPHONE (850) 222-2772 ♦ FACSIMILE (850) 894-0502 CELLULAR (850) 508-8030 ♦ E-MAIL: [email protected] M E M O R A N D U M January 26, 2011 TO: FRSA Board of Directors and Governmental Affairs Committee FROM: Cam Fentriss, FRSA Legislative Counsel SUBJECT: 2011 Legislative Session Florida Governor, Cabinet, House, and Senate Appointments LEGISLATIVE SCHEDULE – Here is the calendar for the next four months: January 10 to January 14, 2011 House and Senate Committee meetings January 24 to January 28, 2011 House and Senate Committee meetings February 7 to February 11, 2011 House and Senate Committee meetings February 14 to February 18, 2011 House and Senate Committee meetings February 21 to February 25, 2011 House and Senate Committee meetings March 8, 2011 First day of 2011 Legislative Session May 6, 2011 Last day of 2011 Legislative Session As you can see, session really starts in late January. The incoming governor, cabinet, and legislature all talk about being business-friendly, and we hope two things: A. That means they will listen to us about what is and is not “business-friendly” B. “Business-friendly” does not apply only to large politically active corporations ISSUES FREEZE ON ADMINISTRATIVE RULES – One of the first actions by Governor Scott was to issue an executive order putting a freeze on any rulemaking. That has an impact on a lot of things, but the one that really counts for us is the halting of the rulemaking process for the 2010 Florida Building Code – we are in limbo. Most think that the governor cannot afford to keep the freeze in place for too long. FLORIDA BUILDING CODE/FLORIDA BUILDING COMMISSION – There will be another building codes bill this year. The sponsors are Senator Mike Bennett (R-Bradenton) who has filed SB 396 and Representative Daniel Davis (R-Jacksonville and Northeast Florida Builders Association Executive Director). Right now, SB 396 changes the law to allow that certain buildings must meet a “sustainable building rating” defined as “a rating established by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system, the International Green Construction Code (IGCC), the Green Building Initiative’s Green Globes rating system, the Florida Green Building Coalition standards, or a nationally recognized, high-performance green building rating system as approved by the department.” I am sure this is just a start for this bill that may grow from 6 to 60 pages. We expect a serious effort this year to eliminate the Department of Community Affairs (where the Florida Building Commission is housed). The Construction Coalition has proposed to Governor Scott’s transition team moving it closer to licensure – see below. LICENSURE – A concept that has been tossed around the past few years is merging regulation of codes and licensure into one place. This has been proposed to Governor Scott’s transition team in the form of a separate and autonomous division under DPBR. This means a structure that is not part of the overall structure of DBPR (so that we can get away from things like the call center and the more general investigation and prosecution functions where construction just does not get much attention). The idea is to eliminate the vast distance between codes and licensure to try to reduce or eliminate the conflicts that exist now. Another part of this proposal relates to keeping and using funds from fees collected for construction-related tasks (such as unlicensed activity prosecution) rather than being controlled by a department that covers accountants, barbers, etc. This is very, very preliminary, but it may move quickly this session. To give you a more visual idea, here is what is contemplated: Department of Business and Professional Regulation Division of Design and Construction: Building Codes – Florida Building Commission Licensure: Construction Industry Licensing Board Electrical Contractors Licensing Board Board of Building Code Administrators and Inspectors Board of Architecture and Interior Design Board of Landscape Architecture (Florida Board of Professional Engineers) In DBPR right now, CILB exists under the Division of Licensing along with many other types of licensure. Construction licensure is relatively small compared to some other types of licenses (such as barbers, cosmetologists, accountants). The Construction Coalition also proposed to Governor Scott’s transition team that contractor license renewal be every four (instead of two) years and that certain continuing education courses be approved by staff (without having to go through the board process). We have not yet seen any legislation from DBPR for this coming session. Given our new governor, I think we should expect something. It will be interesting to see whether or not it is based in reality. ENERGY – At the moment, it seems there are three areas of emphasis for the Legislature: Energy conservation (reducing use through a variety of ways) Alternative energy (obtain energy from different ways) Energy incentives (tax credits, rebates, selling excess back) This is nothing new – all areas have been considered and discussed for several years now. Chances are good that the Legislature will be looking for concrete ways to change energy, but they will have trouble with the usual and easy way to do that – throw money at it. There is not much money to throw anywhere. Right now, House and Senate committees are collecting information on what is out there. There have been a few bills filed, but we can expect to see more and possibly some committee bills that may tell us more about what leadership wants to do. Some of the filed bills are (these are very general summaries): SB 156 by Detert - Renewable Energy. This bill requires a purchase contract offered to producers of renewable energy contain payment provisions for energy and capacity based upon a public utility’s equivalent cost– recovery rate for certain clean energy projects rather than the utility’s full avoided costs. HB 219 by Rehwinkel Vasilinda and SB 282 by Bennett - Renewable Energy. This legislation creates a “direct support organization” to gather up money that can be used for rebates for energy incentives. It also moves the Florida Energy and Climate Commission under the legislature (rather than governor). In addition, the legislation makes some changes to the solar energy rebate structure and provides some direction for use of monies 2 coming in (including some emphasis on jobs created and energy efficiency and conservation efforts). The bill also includes the change proposed in SB 156. SJR 412 by Bennett - Property Tax Exemption/Renewable Energy. This resolution proposes amendments to Florida’s Constitution for a property tax exemption for a renewable energy source device and includes limitations on amount and duration. SB 434 by Latvala - Assessment of Residential Real Property. Generally, this legislation says that assessed property value for property taxes may not be increased for wind resistance changes or renewable energy source devices (the bill is more complicated than this). This legislation implements the constitutional amendment passed in 2008. IMMIGRATION – Apparently, Florida wants to be just like Arizona. Before it does that, there will be some meetings to solicit information (some from regular people, some from experts). While the Legislature is taking the lead on this, Governor Scott has issued an executive order requiring that all state agencies use the E-Verify system to check workers’ immigration status. UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION – This is expected to be discussed a lot this session. Most of the discussion stays at the overall level, but it is hard to get out from under the problems without looking at the details of the system. At the overall level, the issues include the negative balance in the trust fund and the debt to the federal government. These are definitely two dark clouds hanging over the state, and many are taking the view that Florida has no choice but to raise the tax rate to cover the shortages and pay back the debt. But it can’t stop there – realistically or politically. For one, employers cannot just keep paying more or there will be two consequences: fewer jobs and closing businesses. Neither gets us out of the hole. One area we will try to get the Legislature to address is the eligibility for payment of benefits. Surely there are savings to be had if those collecting unemployment were required to do more than sit on the couch. Surely in this electronic age, there has to be a way to track the “chronic offenders” and, at some point, cut off benefits for those who show a pattern of employment-to-get-to-benefits only. Legislators usually prefer big picture solutions, but this is an area where the construction industry (probably among others) is going to push for some desperately needed reforms. Senator Bennett is in the lead on this with SB 302 to create a drug testing pilot program for eligibility for unemployment compensation benefits. Freshman Representative Kathleen Passidomo (R-Naples) makes a good proposal in HB 509 requiring four hours volunteer work per week for eligibility for benefits. Representative Carlos Trujillo (R-Miami) has filed HB 319 to impose some showing of job search requirements for unemployment compensation claimants, but it is a weak effort that is not likely to help much. The companion bill to HB 319 is SB 562 by Anitere Flores (R-Miami). PROPERTY INSURANCE – We will see some activity in this area this year, but it’s hard to say what. The lead bill should be SB 408 by Garrett Richter (R-Naples). JESSICA LUNSFORD ACT – Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) has requested that Senator Charlie Dean (R-Inverness) and Representative Keith Perry (R-Gainesville) file legislation to require statewide uniform class 2 security clearance, rather than varying requirements by jurisdiction.