Read the full stored bill text
Florida Senate
-
2026
SB 968
By
Senator McClain
9-01118-26 2026968__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to home backup power systems; amending
3 s. 553.73, F.S.; prohibiting a local government from
4 adopting a technical amendment to the Florida Building
5 Code which requires a permit or any functionally
6 equivalent local review or approval for certain backup
7 power systems; amending s. 553.79, F.S.; prohibiting a
8 local government that issues building permits from
9 requiring an owner of a single-family dwelling or such
10 owner’s contractor to obtain a building permit to
11 perform work on the single-family lot valued at less
12 than a specified sum; providing exceptions; requiring
13 a contractor who performs work that does not require a
14 permit to keep a written record of certain
15 information; creating s. 553.7923, F.S.; prohibiting a
16 local enforcement agency from requiring a permit or
17 any functionally equivalent local review or approval
18 for the installation, relocation, replacement, or
19 repair of an eligible residential backup power system;
20 defining the term “backup power system”; providing
21 applicability; prohibiting a county, municipality, or
22 special district from adopting or enforcing any
23 ordinance, rule, or measure that regulates the
24 installation of backup power systems beyond the
25 standards of the Florida Building Code or the Florida
26 Fire Prevention Code; authorizing a local enforcement
27 agency to conduct inspections of a backup power system
28 to verify compliance with the Florida Building Code or
29 the Florida Fire Prevention Code; providing
30 construction; authorizing the owner or installing
31 contractor to hire a private provider to perform such
32 inspections; authorizing such inspections to be
33 conducted in person or virtually; requiring the local
34 enforcement agency to issue a written correction
35 notice for noncompliance; authorizing the local
36 enforcement agency to issue a stop-work order to
37 address certain hazards; requiring the local
38 enforcement agency to offer a reinspection date within
39 a specified timeframe; authorizing the owner or
40 installing contractor to submit a completed private
41 provider inspection report if the local enforcement
42 agency fails to reinspect the property within such
43 timeframe; providing that such a private provider
44 inspection report submission constitutes acceptance of
45 the inspection report by the local enforcement agency;
46 providing that the failed inspection of a backup power
47 system may not be the sole basis for withholding or
48 revoking a certificate of occupancy for existing
49 occupied dwellings; providing a remedy for such failed
50 inspections; authorizing a private provider to
51 complete the inspection and complete a certificate of
52 compliance; providing construction; providing an
53 effective date.
54
55 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
56
57 Section 1. Paragraph (f) is added to subsection (1) of
58 section 553.73, Florida Statutes, to read:
59 553.73 Florida Building Code.—
60 (1)
61
(
f
) A local government may not adopt a technical amendment
62
to the Florida Building Code
which
requires a permit or any
63
functionally equivalent local review or approval for a backup
64
power system exempt under s. 553.
7923
.
65 Section 2. Paragraph (g) is added to subsection (1) of
66 section 553.79, Florida Statutes, to read:
67 553.79 Permits; applications; issuance; inspections.—
68 (1)
69
(g)1. A local government that issues building permits may
70
not require an owner of a single-family dwelling or the owner’s
71
contractor to obtain a building permit to perform any work
72
valued at less than $7,500 on the single-family dwelling’s lot.
73
However, a local government may require a building permit for
74
any electrical, plumbing, or structural work, not including the
75
repair or replacement of exterior doors or windows, performed on
76
a lot containing a single-family dwelling regardless of the
77
value of the work.
78
2. A contractor who performs work that does not require a
79
permit under this paragraph must keep a written record of the
80
work performed, the property address where the work was
81
performed, and the value of such work as proof that such work
82
meets the criteria of
subparagraph 1.
83 Section 3. Section 553.7923, Florida Statutes, is created
84 to read:
85
553.7923 Permit exemption for backup power systems.—
86
(1)(a) A local enforcement agency may not require a permit
87
or any functionally equivalent local review or approval for the
88
design, installation, relocation, replacement, or repair of a
89
backup power system installed by a contractor properly licensed
90
under chapter 489 to perform
such
work or by a public utility
91
exempt from licensure under s. 489.503(4).
92
(b) As used in this section,
the term
“backup power system”
93
means equipment and associated components
that are
installed at
94
or serving a one-
family dwelling,
two-family dwelling
,
or
95
townhouse for the purpose of providing onsite electric power
96
during utility outages, load management, resiliency, or similar
97
purposes
and
that
are
capable of providing no more than 50
98
kilowatts of output to the residence or ha
ve
an aggregate
99
storage capacity of no more than 100 kilowatt-hours
if
such
100
systems
include energy storage
.
101
(2)
Subsection (1) does not apply to an eligible backup
102
power system that is designed, installed, relocated, replaced,
103
or repaired by an owner-builder without a licensed electrical
104
contractor. This
subsection
does not authorize unlicensed
105
contracting.
106
(3) Notwithstanding chapter 125
, chapter
166
,
or any other
107
law, a county, municipality, or special district may not adopt
108
or enforce an
y
ordinance, rule, or other measure that regulates
109
the installation of
backup power
systems beyond
the
standards
110
contained in the Florida Building Code
or
the Florida Fire
111
Prevention Code.
112
(4)(a) A local enforcement agency may conduct inspections
113
of a backup power system to verify compliance with the Florida
114
Building Code
or
the Florida Fire Prevention Code. An inspection
115
under this subsection may not be conditioned on obtaining a
116
permit or any functionally equivalent local review or approval
117
and may not include plan review.
118
(b)
T
he owner or the installing contractor may
hire a
119
private provider to perform the inspections authorized in
120
paragraph (a)
in accordance with s. 553.791, including timelines
121
for emergency inspections and submittal of inspection reports.
122
(c)
Inspections under this section may be conducted either
123
in
person or virtually
in accordance with s. 553.791
.
124
(d)
1.
Upon
a
finding
of
noncompliance, the local
125
enforcement agency must issue a written correction notice citing
126
the specific code sections and required cure. The
local
127
enforcement
agency may issue a stop
-
work order only to address
128
an immediate life
-
safety hazard and only for the affected
129
portion of the work.
130
2. After the issues addressed in the stop-work order are
131
corrected,
the
local enforcement
agency
must
offer a
132
reinspection date within 2 business days or the next day
133
inspections are conducted
, whichever is earlier.
134
3. I
f the
local enforcement agency fails to inspect the
135
work performed regarding the issues in the stop-work order
136
within 2 business days, the owner or installing contractor may
137
submit
a completed private
provider inspection report under s.
138
553.791
. Submission of a private provider inspection report
139
after the local enforcement agency fails to comply with
140
subparagraph 2.
constitutes acceptance
of the inspection report
141
by the local enforcement agency
.
142
4.
For existing occupied dwellings, a failed inspection of
143
a backup power system may not be the sole basis
for
withhold
ing
144
or revok
ing
a certificate of occupancy for the dwelling
.
T
he
145
remedy
for such failed inspections
is to withhold authorization
146
to energize the backup power system until corrections are
147
verified.
A private provider may inspect and complete the
148
certificate of compliance pursuant to
s. 553.791(13).
149 Section 4.
This
act
does not alter or abridge the
150
jurisdiction of the Public Service Commission under chapter 366
,
151
Florida Statutes
, the exemptions for utilities and cooperatives
152
under s. 366.11
, Florida Statutes
, or the requirements of rule
153
25
-
6.065, Florida Administrative Code, relating to
154
interconnection and net metering. This act does not affect any
155
tariff, service policy, or interconnection requirement of any
156
utility or cooperative.
157 Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.