Mold bill became law July 1
By Joe Adams
Originally published on July 05, 2007
As mentioned in my previous column (Bill puts focus on mold inspections, June 7), the State of Florida has been grappling with the appropriate standards for licensing mold "assessors" and "remediators" since 2004.
Senate Bill 2234, adopted by the 2007 Florida Legislature as the latest effort on that front, was signed by Governor Crist on June 27 and became the law on July 1.
SB 2234 provides various definitions. "Mold Assessment" is the process performed by a mold assessor that includes the physical sampling and detailed evaluation of data obtained from a building history and inspection to formulate an initial hypothesis about the origin, identity, location and extent of amplification of mold growth of greater than ten square feet.
"Mold Remediation" is defined to mean the removal, cleaning, sanitizing, demolition or other treatment including preventative activities of mold or mold contaminated matter of greater than 10 square feet that was not purposely grown at that location.
Unlike the previous state of affairs (where no education or training was required to perform mold assessment or remediation), the new law will require mold assessment or remediation professionals to possess at least a two-year degree in microbiology, engineering, architecture, industrial hygiene, occupational safety or a related field. The education must be obtained from an accredited institution. One year's documented field experience is also required.
The law requires mold assessors and remediators to maintain general liability, and errors and omissions insurance coverage in an amount of not less than one million dollars.
The terms "certified mold xx", "professional mold xx", "registered mold xx", and "licensed mold xx" or any combination of those terms have been taken for exslusively state use only as it implies that person is, in fact, licensed by the state.
The law also requires that a mold professional have either a 2-year degree in microbiology, engineering, architecture, industrial hygiene, occupational safety, or a related field of schiend and a minimum of 1 year of documented field experience or a high school diploma with a minimum of 4 years of documented field experience. This applies to both the assessor and the remediator.
The law also requires that all contracts for mold assessment or remediation services to be in writing (which includes electronic versions) and the contracts must be signed, or otherwise authenticated by the parties, in order to be valid.
There are several exemptions in the law regarding the requirement of licensure for mold remediators and assessors. These include:
• A residential property owner who performs mold assessment/remediation on his or her own property.
• A person who performs mold assessment/remediation on property owned or leased by that person, the person's employer or an affiliate of the employer, as long as the persons are not engaging in the business of performing mold assessment for the public.
• A full-time employee engaged in routine maintenance of public and private buildings who does not otherwise hold himself/herself out for hire.
• Division I and Division II Contractors licensed under Chapter 489 of the Florida Statutes. http://www.palm-school.com/cgi-local/_pcs.pl?command=view_page&page=licensing_information&style=normal
• Engineers licensed under Chapter 471 of the Florida Statutes.
The new law will provide for the regulation of mold assessors and remediators by the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation. The law is codified at Part XVI, Chapter 468 of the Florida Statutes.
Although now the law, there is a "phase in" provision, and the law becomes of full force and effect on July 1, 2010.
