Ditchmen • NUCA of Florida Ditchmen • May 2017 | Page 9

By Kari Hebrank, Executive
Vice President
Note: Bills in red were NUCA
of Florida Priorities; unless
otherwise indicated, all bills
highlighted are awaiting
approval by the Governor.
The 2017 Regular Session
came to a close on May 8th
after extending for three days
to complete the state $82.4
billion budget. Interestingly,
of the 3052 bills filed (many of
which were budget bills filed
singularly in the House under
new House rules), ultimately
only 249 passed both
chambers and await action
by the Governor. Except
for workers compensation
reform, NUCA of Florida’s
legislative priorities fared well,
including damage prevention,
open competition and
workforce, among others. As
for stopping bad legislation,
NUCA of Florida was able
to stop an amendment
that would have required
contractors to report workers
compensation coverage daily
for each person on the job
site; kept the pollution “spill
bill” from mandating onerous
notification requirements; and
fought off multiple efforts
by the trial bar to dismantle
our members’ ability to
conduct commerce within
the state. Moreover, NUCA
of Florida worked to secure
$150K for the continuation
of the Construction Industry
Workforce Taskforce and
$250K to combat unlicensed
contractor activity.
Construction Industry Issues
Underground Facilities
Damage Prevention: HB
379 by Leek (SB 446 by
Passidomo)
In order to comply with
Pipeline Hazardous Materials
& Safety Act requirements,
these bills amend Florida’s
“Underground Facility
Damage Prevention & Safety
Act” in the following ways:
1. Requires the Sunshine
811 board of directors, in its
annual progress report on
the participation by local
governments in the one-call
notification system, to include
(1) a summary of the damage
reporting data received by
the system for the preceding
year and (2) any analysis of
the data by the board;
2. Requires an excavator
that causes the contact with
or damage to any pipe or
other underground facility
to immediately report the
contact or damage by calling
911 if any natural and other
gas or hazardous liquid
regulated by the Pipeline and
Hazardous Materials Safety
Administration (PHMSA) has
escaped;
3. Requires member
operators, after being notified
by an excavator that causes
damage to a pipe, cable, or
protective covering, to file
a report with the one-call
system on an annual basis,
with a deadline of March 31
each year for all reports from
the prior calendar year, or
more frequently at the option
and sole discretion of the
member operator; requiring
such reports to include, if
known, the cause, nature,
and location of the damage;
and
4. Provides that if a citation
is issued by a state law
enforcement officer, 80
percent of the civil penalty
collected by the clerk of the
court will be distributed to
the government entity whose
employee issued the citation.
Open Competition: HB 599
by Williamson/(SB 534 by
Perry)
This legislation prohibits local
governments from imposing
restrictive provisions as part
of public works contracts
whereby 50% or more of the
project utilizes state funds.
The bills specify the state or
any political subdivision that
contracts for public works
projects may not require that
a contractor, subcontractor,
or material supplier or carrier
engaged in such project:
1. Pay employees a
predetermined amount of
wages or prescribe any wage
rate;
2. Provide employees a
specified type, amount, or
rate of employee benefits;
3. Control, limit, or expand
staffing; or
4. Recruit, train, or hire
employees from a
designated, restricted, or
single source.
Statute of Repose Start
Time: HB 377 by Leek/(SB
204 by Passidomo)
HB 377 clearly defines what
the trigger is for the statute
MAY 2017 • DITCHMEN
9