CLOAF Presentation HB735

Dear Membership,

On May 13, 2022 I was a guest speaker at the Construction Licensing Officials Association of Florida’s (CLOAF) annual meeting. I was invited to speak about HB735 and the unintended consequences, of which there are many. Some additional issues were uncovered during the presentation, as well.

In the end, the presentation was beneficial and well received. I think I may have brought about some change in a couple of the licensing departments, we will see the impact, if any soon.

If you would like a copy of the of the Power Point, please email me at kelly.white@myfmca.org and request a copy. If you are aware of a city or county that are sunsetting the local construction licenses prior to 6/30/23, please email me with details and copies of any announcements/post cards.

My Best,
Kelly White, Exec Dir

HB735 – Lee County Licenses Extended to 6 30 23

The extension approved by the BOCC last Tuesday applies to all local licenses issued by Lee County this past update cycle (almost 2400 in total). As you noted, this would extend the expiration date of those licenses from 9/30/2022 to 6/30/2023.

David M. Loveland, AICP | Director

Department of Community Development
1500 Monroe St, Fort Myers, FL 33901
office: (239) 533-8509
cell: (239) 839-1988
email: DLoveland@leegov.com
web: www.leegov.com/dcd

BH 735 – Update Lee County

Good Afternoon,

The FMCA has received confirmation “1” Specialty Marine Contractor license has been extended to 6/30/23 by the Lee County License Division. We have inquired if the extension applies to all of the Specialty Marine Contractors or just the “1”. If it does not apply to all, we have inquired about how we should request an extension for the remaining Lee County licensed Specialty Marine Contractors. Update to membership will be provided upon receipt of response from Lee County.

If you are licensed in Hillsborough County or any other county that is sunsetting the licenses prior to 6/30/23, please reach out to the licensing department of that county. If you know of any other counties sunsetting their licenses, please let us know.

HB 735 Update

While attending a Republican Women’s Club of Duval Federated event, I had the opportunity to speak with Representative Fischer regarding HB 735 and the unintended consequences. Rep Fischer was on the committee for the bill and was surprised when I advised him about the numerous counties that are sunsetting their licenses and closing their local county licensing divisions. I submitted an outline to his staff yesterday, as well as, documentation from several of the county websites. We are awaiting a response, but he did agree that was not the intent of the bill, but rather to deregulate licensing requirements on “Occupational” types of licenses such as painting, interior trim carpentry, etc. and not to impact Building Contractor (technical/structural) or Tradesmen.

The Board is in the final stages of contracting with a Consulting firm to lobby on our behalf regarding this issue and several others. Please attend the EXPO on October 7th & 8th for discussions about where we are headed with the lobbying and provide suggestions on what is impacting your company.

I will be speaking at the Construction Industry Licensing Officials Association (CLOAF) on May 13th regarding the bill and the unintended consequences. I will update the membership with any feed back I receive from the meeting.

Stay tuned folks, looks like we maybe gaining some traction!!

FMCA Expo & Annual Meeting 2022 10/7 & 10/8- Registration is open!

Dear Membership,

Registration is open! The FMCA Expo & Annual Meeting will be held at The Shores Resort & Spa on October 7th & 8th, 2022. Please update your calendar’s, prior announcements had the incorrect date.

Please go to www.myfmca.org to register. We are very fortunate to have locked in rates in 2019 and hotel rooms are only $179.++ per night with self parking fee waived. 10% discount on all spa appointments booked before the event, so book your appointment today! It is a great location with a very quaint environment right on the ocean. Relaxing, family friendly and would definitely qualify as a working vacation.

We are finalizing speakers for the workshops, but as always will have new topics and great information to help you operate in this “bizarre environment” we are wading through now. 1)Electrical shock in the water, how to ground your boatlift, dock, ladders and prevent injuries. 2) Marine engineering, docks, cranes & davits – weight & overload. The remainder workshops to be announced.

The Board looks forward to providing updates on the latest successes and where we are going from here.

See you soon!!!

Kelly White
Executive Director