THE BILL ITSELF
HB 735
Division of State Fire Marshal
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A bill to be entitled
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An act relating to the Division of State Fire Marshal;
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amending s. 633.408, F.S.; requiring the Division of
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State Fire Marshal to accept training and
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certification of firefighters from another
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jurisdiction under certain circumstances; requiring
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the division to make a specified finding before
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denying a firefighter certificate; defining the term
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"basis certificate"; amending ss. 633.508 and 633.520,
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F.S.; requiring the division to adopt certain rules
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relating to contaminated personal protective equipment
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and firefighting gear; providing an effective date.
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Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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Section 1. Subsection (2) of section 633.408, Florida
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Statutes, is amended, and subsection (10) is added to that
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section, to read:
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633.408 Firefighter and volunteer firefighter training and
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certification.—
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(2) Except as provided in subsection (10), courses under
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subsection (1) may only be administered by education or training
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providers approved by the division pursuant to s. 633.128(1)(c)
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and taught by instructors certified pursuant to s.
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633.128(1)(d).
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(10) If the division determines that another state's
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training and certification requirements or examinations are
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substantially equivalent or more stringent than those required
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under this section or chapter, the division must accept such
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substantially similar training and certification for
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certification in this state. Before the division may deny a
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certificate under this section, the division must make a finding
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that the basis certificate in another jurisdiction is or is not
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substantially equivalent to or is otherwise insufficient for
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certification in this state. As used in this subsection, the
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term "basis certificate" means the certificate or training
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requirements of another jurisdiction, which are used to meet the
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requirements for certification in this state.
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Section 2. Paragraph (c) of subsection (7) of section 633.508, Florida Statutes, is redesignated as paragraph (d), and
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a new paragraph (c) is added to that subsection, to read:
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633.508 Workplace safety; rulemaking authority; division
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authority.—
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(7) The division shall adopt rules relating to all of the
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following:
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(c) Prohibiting firefighter employers from requiring their
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firefighter employees to bring their personal protective
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equipment or firefighting gear home if such equipment or gear is
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contaminated.
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Section 3. Paragraph (c) is added to subsection (2) of
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section 633.520, Florida Statutes, to read:
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633.520 Safety; firefighter employer responsibilities.—
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(2) The division shall adopt rules to establish:
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(c) Employers' best practices related to contaminated
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personal protective equipment or firefighting gear.
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Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.