The clock is still ticking on specialty contractors in the Florida Keys. And though it could not provide a definitive resolution, a Sept. 13 meeting of the Monroe County Contractors’ Examining Board saw plenty of ideas put forward to combat House Bill 735.
Passed in 2021, the bill prevents local governments from issuing licenses to specialty contractors such as painters, landscapers, pavers and others whose work does not involve life safety implications.
While on the surface the bill appears to help smaller contractors by eliminating redundant fees and overlapping licenses in other Florida municipalities with looser permitting requirements, it’s a bombshell for Keys specialists. Working in an Area of Critical State Concern (ACSC), contractors throughout Monroe County are required to pull permits for even simple tasks like putting up a fence. They must have licenses to do so, and as of now, those licenses will all expire in 2023.
Much of the 1-½ hour meeting segment was spent discussing the nightmares the bill could cause in the Keys: shoddy craftsmanship with dangerous consequences from inexperienced workers completing projects without any form of insurance, contractors pulling permits for others without qualifying the benefitting business, a loss of employees as workers take advantage of the contracting free-for-all, and an inability to purchase materials from distributors without producing an appropriate license, among many others. The board stressed it was looking for solutions, not more complaints.
“Everybody should know the county does not agree with House Bill 735,” said chairman Rudy Krause. “What we’re trying to do is come up with some questions for (the Department of Business and Professional Regulation) … trying to come up with ideas for how to work around this bill.”
Short of overturning the bill, Krause indicated the county’s legal team is working to create a legislative distinction for Monroe County as an ACSC. If all else fails, he said the county should still require a permit for all projects, even if a license would no longer be required to obtain one. In this way, the county could continue requiring liability and workman’s compensation insurances in addition to staying informed about ongoing projects and providing for inspections to protect homeowners.
Legislative affairs director Lisa Tennyson said that while the state was initially unwilling to listen to the county’s concerns with the bill, she was hopeful that pushback from thousands of contractors now affected would “soften the ground” as the Florida Association of Counties conference gets underway next week, with discussions scheduled for modifying or repealing the bill. Above all, she urged all affected parties to continue writing direct letters to state officials and legislators addressing their concerns.
“The most effective folks in Tallahassee right now are local business people,” she said. “If you could all write individual letters, group letters, sign on to a resolution, all of these things would be very, very impactful in our efforts.”
Several contractors questioned the legislative support for the bill, which passed 82-32 in the House before a narrow 22-18 approval in the state Senate. Among those voting to approve the bill was state Rep. Jim Mooney.
“I know our representative voted for this rule and is kind of backing it up,” said Armand Messina, owner of aluminum hurricane shutter manufacturer SunMasters AM as well as AM Electric. “(Mooney) needs to understand the ramifications to this.”
“It’s people like you that show up that are going to move this forward,” replied board member Gary Centonze. “This is the time when you reach out to Jim Mooney’s office; this is what they’re there for. And this is serious times. This isn’t the fluff.
“Somebody got to somebody in the staff of Governor DeSantis’ office. I get it, they proved a good point. … I have complete faith in our county government. We’re gonna go back and present the case.”
Arlington Electric owner and Florida Keys Contractors Association Vice President Charlie Brown further questioned the definition of legal contracting work once the specialty licenses expire.
“My question would be … how are you going to get insurance for something if you don’t have a license to tell them what you’re doing?” he said. “When I go to get my insurance, they make me send my license number in. … At what point are we going to break that and know the difference between illegal contracting and not illegal contracting if we don’t have any qualifications?”
Marathon Chamber of Commerce CEO and Keys Federation of Chambers president Daniel Samess said he intends to ask his Marathon board and the other Keys chambers to formally support alteration or repeal of the bill, adding that “we’re well aware of this, we’re listening and we want to advocate for others.”
Joining the meeting via Zoom, district aide Nola Acker said Mooney was well aware of the challenges posed by the bill and had watched the majority of the meeting virtually.
“We are working with other reps in some other districts who are now realizing the consequences of House Bill 735,” she said. “It will be a top priority for our office going into next session … whether it be rolled back, amended, whatever we can do to help our local contracting community.”
Reaffirming the importance of direct correspondence with legislators, county commissioner Michelle Coldiron said letters should be sent to DeSantis’ and Mooney’s offices as well as those of incoming Florida Senate president Kathleen Passidomo, incoming House speaker Paul Renner and Senator Ana Maria Rodriguez.
“You can all copy the county commissioners, but don’t just send them to the commissioners, because our hands are as tied as yours are,” she said. “We are going to be asking for the support of all 67 counties to help us squash this bill … so we completely sympathize.”
