No. HB 553
Filed under Development & Land Use.
Temporary Door Locking Devices; Defines "temporary door locking device"; authorizing temporary door locking devices to be installed at any height; requires Florida Building Commission to incorporate certain standards for temporary door locking devices into Florida Building Code; requires use of temporary door locking devices be integrated into building safety plans, safety drills, & training programs for specified purpose.
Plain English Summary
AI-GENERATEDA "temporary door locking device" is defined as hardware that blocks a door from opening, releases from the exit side without a key, requires a key or other credential from the entry side, and cannot alter fire exit hardware, closers, or fire ratings.
The device may be installed at any height on a door, overriding any other law or Building Code provision that would otherwise limit hardware placement, including reach-range rules.
It may also secure a fire exit or the route to one, something ordinary code forbids, but only while an actual emergency or drill is underway and only with sign-off from the local enforcement agency.
The Florida Building Commission must write matching standards into the Building Code, and any building that installs a device must add it to its safety plans, drills, and staff training.
AIThe device must release without a key from the exit side, but removing it from the entry side requires a key or other credential — the mechanism that keeps someone fleeing an emergency from being trapped.
AIOverrides any other law or Building Code provision that would otherwise limit where hardware sits on a door: a device meeting this definition may be installed at any height above the floor.
AIA device meeting the definition may be used to lock a fire exit or the path to one — something building and fire code would not otherwise allow — but only while an emergency situation is underway and only once the local enforcement agency with jurisdiction over the building has approved it.
AICreates s. 553.8951 and defines the device by seven criteria: temporary emergency use only, no permanent mount, no change to fire rating or exit hardware, and removable in a single motion.
AIThe Florida Building Commission must incorporate standards for these devices into the Florida Building Code, turning this section's requirements into an enforceable statewide code provision.
AIAny building that installs one of these devices must incorporate its use into building safety plans, safety drills, and training programs, so employees or staff get inservice training on operating it.