♦ Competitive Bid. HB 683 by Weatherford and others/SB 2148 by Haridopolos and others. UUCF’s #1 priority for the 2008 Session is to further strengthen Florida’s competitive bid statute that requires work in excess of $200,000 to be competitively bid. There are certain counties who have ignored the spirit of this statute, continued to self perform work beyond the threshold or even expanded the scope of work that they self perform. These issues must be addressed. This legislation will also void “no damage for delay” clauses in public contracts where the delay was caused in whole or in part by the public entity, its agents, employees or those in privity with the public entity due to causes within its control.
 
♦ One Call Fees. HB 573 by Murzin/SB 794 by Bennett.UUCF’s #2 priority for 2008 is to prohibit the charging of fees for use of the One-Call system by member operators and excavators. The bill was filed on behalf of Sunshine State One Call of Florida, Inc. (SSOCOF) in response to an ordinance passed by the City of Perry. Both SSOCOF and UUCF believe that such an ordinance would be a deterrent to locating existing utilities.
 
♦ Secondary Metals Theft. HB 105 by Troutman and others/SB 556 by Constantine. UUCF supports this legislation which strengthens reporting requirements and criminal penalties for secondary metal recyclers purchasing copper and aluminum wire. Provisions of this legislation would require documentation of the identity of the seller and the license plate number of the motor vehicle delivering the metals, require a photograph be taken of the product purchased and prohibit purchase from a minor. Similar bills are HB 113 by Randolph and SB 748 by Crist.
 
♦ Illegal Immigration. HB 159 by Adams/HB 73 by Brown/SB 388 by Baker. UUCF is actively monitoring these bills which require employers to utilize the E-Verify system created by the Department of Homeland Security and impose penalties for the failure to do so. UUCF has disseminated a survey to its members to ascertain support or opposition for this online verification system. Immigration is going to be a high profile issue during the 2008 Legislative Session. With the federal government failing to take action on the immigration issue, numerous states have either enacted or are looking to enact legislation similar to what is contained in these bills.
 
♦ Contractor Licensing Bonds. HB 1005 by Ross/SB 2194 by Aronberg. UUCF will be actively engaged in negotiations on this issue advocated by the Department of Business & Professional Regulation (DBPR). The concept is to replace existing financial requirements for licensure of contractors with a licensing bond. On the upside, this could substantially streamline licensing and change of status procedures and take DBPR out of the process of determining financial stability and net worth. However, the devil is always in the details. How the bond will operate, will the market be sufficient to have reasonable bonding rates, who can make a claim, and what amounts will be required are all questions that will determine whether or not this concept can be supported by UUCF and the industry.
 
♦ Construction Liens and Bonds. SB 332 by Saunders/SB 584 by Jones.
SB 332 is identical to a bill filed last year by Senator Saunders. The bill requires a Notice of Commencement (NOC) to be recorded prior to issuance of a building permit. Historically, the industry opposes this concept because it may cause a NOC to be recorded before construction mortgages and loan documents. Since all liens relate back to the date the NOC is recorded, the proposal in Saunders’ bill could place liens in priority to a mortgage.

SB 584 is a shell bill filed by the Chairman of the Senate Regulated Industries Committee. This bill is a placeholder for possible filing of a lien law bill resulting from this committee’s interim study of the lien law which attempted to identify problem areas that could be modified to make the law simpler and more consumer-friendly. Although there appears to be strong sentiment among several committee members that something needs to be done, the interim study did not define any real solutions and so the jury is still out on if and how these issues will be addressed. No House Bills have been filed to date.
 
♦ State Regulation of Tower Cranes. HB 609 by Evers/SB 1316 by Gaetz. UUCF supports these bills which, as drafted, will require certification for operators of tower cranes only. The bills will preempt the imposition of local ordinances that impose additional requirements. This is an effort spearheaded by the Crane Council in response to a very complex and burdensome crane ordinance passed in Miami-Dade County.