Under a proposed statute, Florida’s legislature would remove local licensing requirements by 2023 and prohibit local licensing requirements for things like painting, flooring, cabinetry, and more.
Preemption of Local Occupational Licensing - SB 268
This is another attempt to remove local licensing requirements created by many city and county municipalities and just have state licenses issued under Chapter 489, Florida Statutes, with a few exceptions. Under the proposed bill, local municipalities would be prohibited from imposing new licensing requirements after July 1, 2021, and existing local licensing requirements would expire on July 1, 2023. Further, the statute expressly prohibits local municipalities from imposing licensing requirements other than those set forth in Chapter 489, Florida Statutes, and expressly states that local licenses cannot be required for painting, flooring, cabinetry, interior remodeling, driveway or tennis court installation, decorative stone, tile, marble, granite, or terrazzo installation, plastering, stuccoing, caulking, or canvas awning or ornamental iron installation. The only exception to this is that local municipalities are allowed to issue journeyman plumbing, pipe fitting, mechanical, and HVAC licenses.
We’ll keep you posted with updates on whether this statute passes.