Bill Text: FL S0060 | 2021 | Regular Session | Introduced
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: County and Municipal Code Enforcement
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Passed) 2021-07-06 - Chapter No. 2021-167 [S0060 Detail]
Download: Florida-2021-S0060-Introduced.html
Bill Title: County and Municipal Code Enforcement
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Passed) 2021-07-06 - Chapter No. 2021-167 [S0060 Detail]
Download: Florida-2021-S0060-Introduced.html
Florida Senate - 2021 SB 60 By Senator Bradley 5-00497-21 202160__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to county and municipal code 3 enforcement; amending s. 125.69, F.S.; prohibiting 4 code inspectors designated by boards of county 5 commissioners from initiating investigations of 6 potential violations of codes and ordinances by way of 7 anonymous complaints; requiring persons who report 8 potential violations of codes and ordinances to 9 provide specified information to the board before an 10 investigation occurs; providing construction; amending 11 s. 162.06, F.S.; prohibiting code inspectors from 12 initiating enforcement proceedings for potential 13 violations of codes and ordinances by way of anonymous 14 complaints; requiring persons who report potential 15 violations of codes and ordinances to provide 16 specified information to the respective local 17 government before an investigation occurs; amending s. 18 162.13, F.S.; providing construction; amending s. 19 162.21, F.S.; prohibiting code enforcement officers 20 from initiating investigations of potential violations 21 of codes and ordinances by way of anonymous 22 complaints; requiring persons who report potential 23 violations of codes and ordinances to provide 24 specified information to the respective local 25 government before an investigation occurs; providing 26 construction; amending s. 166.0415, F.S.; prohibiting 27 code inspectors designated by governing bodies of 28 municipalities from initiating investigations of 29 potential violations of codes and ordinances by way of 30 anonymous complaints; requiring persons who report 31 potential violations of codes and ordinances to 32 provide specified information to the governing body 33 before an investigation occurs; providing 34 construction; providing an effective date. 35 36 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 37 38 Section 1. Subsection (4) of section 125.69, Florida 39 Statutes, is amended to read: 40 125.69 Penalties; enforcement by code inspectors.— 41 (4)(a) The board of county commissioners of each county may 42 designate its agents or employees as code inspectors whose duty 43 it is to assure code compliance. Any person designated as a code 44 inspector may issue citations for violations of county codes and 45 ordinances, respectively, or subsequent amendments thereto, when 46 such code inspector has actual knowledge that a violation has 47 been committed. 48 (b) A person designated as a code inspector may not 49 initiate an investigation of a potential violation of a duly 50 enacted code or ordinance by way of an anonymous complaint. A 51 person who reports a potential violation of a code or an 52 ordinance must provide his or her name and address to the 53 governing body of the respective board of county commissioners 54 before an investigation occurs. 55 (c)(a)Prior to issuing a citation, a code inspector shall 56 provide notice to the violator that the violator has committed a 57 violation of a code or ordinance and shall establish a 58 reasonable time period within which the violator must correct 59 the violation. Such time period shall be no more than 30 days. 60 If, upon personal investigation, a code inspector finds that the 61 violator has not corrected the violation within the time period, 62 a code inspector may issue a citation to the violator. A code 63 inspector does not have to provide the violator with a 64 reasonable time period to correct the violation prior to issuing 65 a citation and may immediately issue a citation if the code 66 inspector has reason to believe that the violation presents a 67 serious threat to the public health, safety, or welfare, or if 68 the violation is irreparable or irreversible. 69 (d)(b)A citation issued by a code inspector shall state 70 the date and time of issuance, name and address of the person in 71 violation, date of the violation, section of the codes or 72 ordinances, or subsequent amendments thereto, violated, name of 73 the code inspector, and date and time when the violator shall 74 appear in county court. 75 (e)(c)If a repeat violation is found subsequent to the 76 issuance of a citation, the code inspector is not required to 77 give the violator a reasonable time to correct the violation and 78 may immediately issue a citation. For purposes of this 79 subsection, the term “repeat violation” means a violation of a 80 provision of a code or ordinance by a person who has previously 81 been found to have violated the same provision within 5 years 82 prior to the violation, notwithstanding the violations occurred 83 at different locations. 84 (f)(d)If the owner of property which is subject to an 85 enforcement proceeding before county court transfers ownership 86 of such property between the time the initial citation or 87 citations are issued and the date the violator has been summoned 88 to appear in county court, such owner shall: 89 1. Disclose, in writing, the existence and the nature of 90 the proceeding to the prospective transferee. 91 2. Deliver to the prospective transferee a copy of the 92 pleadings, notices, and other materials relating to the county 93 court proceeding received by the transferor. 94 3. Disclose, in writing, to the prospective transferee that 95 the new owner will be responsible for compliance with the 96 applicable code and with orders issued in the county court 97 proceeding. 98 4. File a notice with the code enforcement official of the 99 transfer of the property, with the identity and address of the 100 new owner and copies of the disclosures made to the new owner, 101 within 5 days after the date of the transfer. 102 103 A failure to make the disclosure described in subparagraphs 1., 104 2., and 3. before the transfer creates a rebuttable presumption 105 of fraud. If the property is transferred before the date the 106 violator has been summoned to appear in county court, the 107 proceeding shall not be dismissed but the new owner will be 108 substituted as the party of record and thereafter provided a 109 reasonable period of time to correct the violation before the 110 continuation of proceedings in county court. 111 (g)(e)If the code inspector has reason to believe a 112 violation or the condition causing the violation presents a 113 serious threat to the public health, safety, and welfare or if 114 the violation is irreparable or irreversible in nature, or if 115 after attempts under this section to bring a repeat violation 116 into compliance with a provision of a code or ordinance prove 117 unsuccessful, the local governing body may make all reasonable 118 repairs which are required to bring the property into compliance 119 and charge the owner with the reasonable cost of the repairs 120 along with the fine imposed pursuant to this section. Making 121 such repairs does not create a continuing obligation on the part 122 of the local governing body to make further repairs or to 123 maintain the property and does not create any liability against 124 the local governing body for any damages to the property if such 125 repairs were completed in good faith. 126 (h)(f)Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to 127 authorize any person designated as a code inspector to perform 128 any function or duties of a law enforcement officer other than 129 as specified in this subsection. A code inspector shall not make 130 physical arrests or take any person into custody and shall be 131 exempt from requirements relating to the Special Risk Class of 132 the Florida Retirement System, bonding, and the Criminal Justice 133 Standards and Training Commission, as defined and provided by 134 general law. 135 (i)(g)The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to 136 the enforcement pursuant to ss. 553.79 and 553.80 of the Florida 137 Building Code adopted pursuant to s. 553.73 as applied to 138 construction, provided that a building permit is either not 139 required or has been issued by the county. 140 (j)(h)The provisions of this subsection may be used by a 141 county in lieu of the provisions of part II of chapter 162. 142 (k)(i)The provisions of this subsection are additional or 143 supplemental means of enforcing county codes and ordinances. 144 Except as provided in paragraphs (b) and (j)paragraph (h), 145 nothing in this subsection shall prohibit a county from 146 enforcing its codes or ordinances by any other means. 147 Section 2. Subsection (1) of section 162.06, Florida 148 Statutes, is amended to read: 149 162.06 Enforcement procedure.— 150 (1)(a) It shall be the duty of the code inspector to 151 initiate enforcement proceedings of the various codes; however, 152 no member of a board shall have the power to initiate such 153 enforcement proceedings. 154 (b) A code inspector may not initiate enforcement 155 proceedings for a potential violation of a duly enacted code or 156 ordinance by way of an anonymous complaint. A person who reports 157 a potential violation of a code or an ordinance must provide his 158 or her name and address to the respective local government 159 before an enforcement proceeding may occur. 160 Section 3. Section 162.13, Florida Statutes, is amended to 161 read: 162 162.13 Provisions of act supplemental.—It is the 163 legislative intent of ss. 162.01-162.12 to provide an additional 164 or supplemental means of obtaining compliance with local codes. 165 Except as provided in s. 162.06(1)(b), nothing contained in ss. 166 162.01-162.12 shall prohibit a local governing body from 167 enforcing its codes by any other means. 168 Section 4. Present paragraphs (b) and (c) of subsection (3) 169 of section 162.21, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as 170 paragraphs (c) and (d), respectively, a new paragraph (b) is 171 added to that subsection, and subsection (8) of that section is 172 amended, to read: 173 162.21 Enforcement of county or municipal codes or 174 ordinances; penalties.— 175 (3) 176 (b) A code enforcement officer may not initiate an 177 investigation of a potential violation of a duly enacted code or 178 ordinance by way of an anonymous complaint. A person who reports 179 a potential violation of a code or an ordinance must provide his 180 or her name and address to the respective local government 181 before an investigation may occur. 182 (8) The provisions of this section are additional and 183 supplemental means of enforcing county or municipal codes or 184 ordinances and may be used for the enforcement of any code or 185 ordinance, or for the enforcement of all codes and ordinances. 186 Except as provided in paragraph (3)(b), nothing contained in 187 this section shall prohibit a county or municipality from 188 enforcing its codes or ordinances by any other means. 189 Section 5. Subsections (1) and (7) of section 166.0415, 190 Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 191 166.0415 Enforcement by code inspectors; citations.— 192 (1)(a) The governing body of each municipality may 193 designate its agents or employees as code inspectors whose duty 194 it is to assure code compliance. Any person designated as a code 195 inspector may issue citations for violations of municipal codes 196 and ordinances, respectively, or subsequent amendments thereto, 197 when such code inspector has actual knowledge that a violation 198 has been committed. 199 (b) A person designated as a code inspector may not 200 initiate an investigation of a potential violation of a duly 201 enacted code or ordinance by way of an anonymous complaint. A 202 person who reports a potential violation of a code or an 203 ordinance must provide his or her name and address to the 204 governing body of the municipality before an investigation 205 occurs. 206 (7) The provisions of this section are additional or 207 supplemental means of enforcing municipal codes and ordinances. 208 Except as provided in paragraph (1)(b) and subsection (6), 209 nothing in this section shall prohibit a municipality from 210 enforcing its codes or ordinances by any other means. 211 Section 6. This act shall take effect July 1, 2021.