Keys specialty contractors at risk of losing their ability to operate legally in the island chain can breathe a sigh of relief, thanks to a Monroe County carve-out included in a piece of legislation modifying the troublesome House Bill 735.
House Bill 1383, adopted earlier this year by the Florida legislature, modifies the earlier bill, which preempted local occupational licensing. HB 735, which took effect in July 2021, prevented local governments from issuing specialty licenses – like those used by painters, pavers, landscapers and others performing the work outside the scope of general contractors, plumbers, electricians and others whose work has obvious life safety implications.
On its face, HB 735 appeared to make good sense – eliminate red tape for lower-risk contracting work by cutting redundant fees and overlapping licenses as specialty contractors register in multiple municipalities, while sending more significant licenses up to the state level for review. But for Areas of Critical State Concern (ACSCs) – including the Florida Keys – permitting requirements are much stricter, with licenses required for even simple tasks like laying pavers or installing a fence.
And while dozens of specialty licenses exist locally, many aren’t recognized at the state level, leaving more than 400 Keys specialty contractors at the time staring down the barrel of an inability to operate without the recent fix.
As several Florida Keys Contractors Association members and officials told the Weekly in July 2022, the specialty licenses protect homeowners against inexperienced contractors performing subpar work. They also give contractors a legal recourse against clients choosing to ignore their invoices. In some cases, the licenses were the key to obtaining crucial materials in short supply from distributors prohibited from selling to unlicensed businesses.
Without the new carve-out, contractors would have been faced with three unsavory options: shut down their operations, invest the time and money to sit for a state contractor’s license – with hefty insurance implications, as they would likely face larger premiums to be insured for the significant work encompassed by less-specialized certifications – or roll the dice and work without permits.
Monroe County originally halted its issuance of specialty licenses in July 2021, extending the expiration date of existing licenses for the legal maximum of two years until July 2023. Now, following HB 1383, those existing licenses will be valid until July 1, 2024, and the county will again issue specialty contractor licenses through the Monroe County Building Department.
“All previous specialty license types are offered except Landscaping and Landscape Curb,” a press release by county public information officer Kristen Livengood said.
Current FKCA president Armand Messina said the bill was “absolutely” what Monroe County contractors were looking for, praising the efforts of Rep. Jim Mooney for his work in getting the carve-out across the finish line.
“It was due to a lot of efforts between the Contractors’ Association and Mooney,” he said. “I can’t stress enough that without that pressure, this would have never gotten through.”
As the president of electrical contracting company AM Electric, Inc., Messina also owns SunMasters A.M., a custom hurricane shutter manufacturing company that would have been massively affected without the new carve-out.
“We held a county specialty license for doing shutters, so it directly affected us,” he added, reiterating that it would have been impossible to obtain materials from distributors in a highly-regulated industry without that license.
The new bill requires the state Construction Industry Licensing Board (CILB) to establish at least 12 new types of specialty licenses at the state level by July 2024, ranging from screen enclosures to marine seawall work, and prohibits local governments from requiring local licenses for any specialties not recognized at the state level – again, outside of ACSCs. It also specifies that local governments can’t require licenses to pull permits for work outside of the state-defined categories.
But Messina said while the news was welcome in Monroe County, the rest of the state outside of Areas of Critical State Concern didn’t fare as well, with local specialty licenses still set to end in 2024.
“It’s really good for Monroe County, but the rest of the state is kind of in a jam,” he said. “Now (specialty contractors) have to go and get state licenses, which is a real pain.”
Monroe County staff is available to discuss specific licensing questions via email at contractor-licensing@monroecounty-fl.gov or by calling 305-289-2583 or 305-292-4493. The updates to local specialty licensing will be discussed at the Contractors’ Examining Board meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 12 at about 11 a.m. Additional meeting information is at monroecounty-fl.gov/ceb.
