HB 5007 amending the Current Mold Licensing Law NOT Repealing IT!

John P. Lapotaire, CIEC

The fight to prevent the Repeal of the Current Florida Mold Licensing Laws has reached a Major Victory today!

Mold Related Services have been removed from HB 5005!  The removal was via the introduction of HB 5007 which would Amend the current mold licensing law as opposed to repeal the Licensing altogether.

The House Economic Affairs Committee took up and passed the Proposed Committee Substitute for HB, 5005 HB 5007, which repeals several professions regulated by the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, and Mold Related Services were removed from the bill.

The threat of a total Repeal of the Current Mold Licensing Law has been put on temporary hold.

Thank You to everyone who sent emails and made those important calls to your District Representatives and Senators.  Your hard work has paid off!

The amendments to the current mold licensing law are listed below.

HB 5007 Amends HB 5005

The PCB was introduced by Representative Esteban L. Bovo, jr. Reducing and Streamlining Regulations: Revises various provisions relating to professions & occupations regulated by DBPR.

The Proposed Committee Bill will amend the current licensing requirements to obtain a Mold Assessors or Mold Remediators License.

HB Bill 5007 amends HB 5005 by:

1. Eliminating the education language requiring advanced education and would only require an applicant to possesses a high school diploma or its equivalent.

2. Eliminating any documented training in water, mold, and respiratory protection and would only require an applicant to pass the current approved licensing examination.

3. Eliminating the requirement of an applicant passing a certification examination offered by a nationally recognized organization and adds the phrase “or state”

4. Eliminates the training in water, mold, and respiratory protection requirement in section 468.8419 Prohibitions: penalties.-

5. Reduces the applicants experience requirement of 3 years to 1 year.

6. Reduces the number of mold assessments or remediation invoices prepared by the applicant from 40 to 10.

Here is the link to HB 5007 Click Here

Below is the Mold Related Services sections of HB 5007.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.

HB 5007 A bill to be entitled, An act relating to reducing and streamlining regulations; amends s. 14 468.8413, F.S.; revising licensing requirements for mold 15 assessors and remediators; amends s. 468.8414, F.S.; revising 16 the training requirements for mold assessors and remediators; 17 amends s. 468.8419, F.S.; related to prohibitions and penalties 18 for mold assessors and remediators; amends s. 468.8423, F.S.; 19 revises licensing qualifications for mold assessors and 20 remediators;

(1) A person desiring to be licensed as a mold assessor or mold remediator must apply to the department after satisfying the examination requirements of this part.

(2) An applicant may practice in this state as a mold assessor or mold remediator if he or she passes the required examination, is of good moral character, and possesses a high school diploma or its equivalent. completes one of the following requirements:

(a)1. For a mold remediator, at least a 2-year associate of arts degree, or the equivalent, with at least 30 semester hours in microbiology, engineering, architecture, industrial hygiene, occupational safety, or a related field of science from an accredited institution and a minimum of 1 year of documented field experience in a field related to mold remediation; or

2. A high school diploma or the equivalent with a minimum of 4 years of documented field experience in a field related to mold remediation.

(b)1. For a mold assessor, at least a 2-year associate of arts degree, or the equivalent, with at least 30 semester hours in microbiology, engineering, architecture, industrial hygiene, occupational safety, or a related field of science from an accredited institution and a minimum of 1 year of documented field experience in conducting microbial sampling or investigations; or

2. A high school diploma or the equivalent with a minimum of 4 years of documented field experience in conducting microbial sampling or investigations.

(3) The department shall review and approve courses of study in mold assessment and mold remediation.

Section 5. Paragraphs (2) and (3) of s. 468.8414, Florida Statutes are amended to read:

(2) The department shall certify for licensure any applicant who satisfies the requirements of s. 468.8413 who has passed the licensing examination and has documented training in water, mold, and respiratory protection. The department may refuse to certify any applicant who has violated any of the provisions of this part.

(3) The department shall certify as qualified for a license by endorsement an applicant who is of good moral character, who has the insurance coverage required under s. 468.8421, and who:

(a) Is qualified to take the examination as set forth in s.468.8413 and has passed a certification examination offered by a nationally or state recognized organization that certifies persons in the specialty of mold assessment or mold remediation that has been approved by the department as substantially  equivalent to the requirements of this part and s. 455.217; or

Section 6. Subsections (1) and (2) of section 468.8419, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:

468.8419 Prohibitions; penalties.—

(1) A person may not:

(a) Effective July 1, 2011, perform or offer to perform any mold assessment unless the mold assessor has documented  training in water, mold, and respiratory protection under s. 468.8414(2).

(a)(b) Effective July 1, 2011, perform or offer to perform any mold assessment unless the person has complied with the provisions of this part.

(b)(c) Use the name or title “certified mold assessor,” “registered mold assessor,” “licensed mold assessor,” “mold assessor,” “professional mold assessor,” or any combination thereof unless the person has complied with the provisions of this part.

(c)(d) Perform or offer to perform any mold remediation to a structure on which the mold assessor or the mold assessor’s company provided a mold assessment within the last 12 months. This paragraph does not apply to a certified contractor who is classified in s. 489.105(3) as a Division I contractor. However, the department may adopt rules requiring that, if such contractor performs the mold assessment and offers to perform the mold remediation, the contract for mold remediation provided to the homeowner discloses that he or she has the right to request competitive bids.

(d)(e) Inspect for a fee any property in which the assessor or the assessor’s company has any financial or transfer interest.

(e)(f) Accept any compensation, inducement, or reward from a mold remediator or mold remediator’s company for the referral of any business to the mold remediator or the mold remediator’s company.

(f)(g) Offer any compensation, inducement, or reward to a mold remediator or mold remediator’s company for the referral of any business from the mold remediator or the mold remediator’s company.

(g)(h) Accept an engagement to make an omission of the assessment or conduct an assessment in which the assessment itself, or the fee payable for the assessment, is contingent upon the conclusions of the assessment.

(2) A mold remediator, a company that employs a mold remediator, or a company that is controlled by a company that also has a financial interest in a company employing a mold remediator may not:

(a) Perform or offer to perform any mold remediation unless the remediator has documented training in water, mold, and respiratory protection under s. 468.8414(2).

(a)(b) Perform or offer to perform any mold remediation unless the person has complied with the provisions of this part.

(b)(c) Use the name or title “certified mold remediator,” “registered mold remediator,” “licensed mold remediator,” “mold remediator,” “professional mold remediator,” or any combination thereof unless the person has complied with the provisions of this part.

(c)(d) Perform or offer to perform any mold assessment to a structure on which the mold remediator or the mold remediator’s company provided a mold remediation within the last 12 months. This paragraph does not apply to a certified contractor who is classified in s.489.105(3) as a Division I contractor. However, the department may adopt rules requiring that, if such contractor performs the mold remediation and offers to perform the mold assessment, the contract for mold assessment provided to the homeowner discloses that he or she has the right to request competitive bids.

(d)(e) Remediate for a fee any property in which the mold remediator or the mold remediator’s company has any financial or transfer interest.

(e)(f) Accept any compensation, inducement, or reward from a mold assessor or mold assessor’s company for the referral of any business from the mold assessor or the mold assessor’s company.

(f)(g) Offer any compensation, inducement, or reward to a mold assessor or mold assessor’s company for the referral of any business from the mold assessor or the mold assessor’s company.

Section 7. Paragraphs (1) of s.468.8423, Florida Statutes are amended to read:

(1) A person who performs mold assessment or mold remediation as defined in this part may qualify for licensure by the department as a mold assessor or mold remediator if the person submits his or her application to the department by March 1, 2011 and if the person:

(a) Is certified as a mold assessor or mold remediator by a state or national association that requires, for such certification, successful completion of a proctored examination on mold assessment or mold remediation, as applicable; or

(b) At the time of application, has at least 1 3 years of experience as a mold assessor or mold remediator. To establish the 1 3 years of experience, an applicant must submit at

least 10 40 mold assessments or remediation invoices prepared by the applicant.

Section 8. Paragraph (d) of subsection (1) of section 324 468.841, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

468.841 Exemptions.—

(1) The following persons are not required to comply with any provisions of this part relating to mold assessment:

(d) Persons or business organizations acting within the scope of the respective licenses required under part XV of chapter 468, chapter 471, part I of chapter 481, chapter 482, chapter 489, or part XV of this chapter, are acting on behalf of an insurer under part VI of chapter 626, or are persons in the manufactured housing industry who are licensed under chapter 320, except when any such persons or business organizations hold themselves out for hire to the public as a “certified mold assessor,” “registered mold assessor,” “licensed mold assessor,” “mold assessor,” “professional mold assessor,” or any combination thereof stating or implying licensure under this part.

Section 9. Subsection (1) and paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section 469.006, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:

469.006 Licensure of business organizations; qualifying agents.—

(1) If an individual proposes to engage in consulting or contracting in that individual’s own name, or a fictitious name under which the individual is doing business as a sole proprietorship, the license may be issued only to that individual.

(2)(a) If the applicant proposes to engage in consulting or contracting as a partnership, corporation, business trust, or other legal entity, or in any name other than the applicant’s legal name, the legal entity must apply for licensure through a qualifying agent or the individual applicant must apply for licensure under the fictitious name.

• John P. Lapotaire, CIEC•  Certified Indoor Environmental Consultant•  Microshield Environmental Services, LLC• www.Microshield-ES.com