FL H0027

Eliminates licensure entirely for several professions: auctioneers (dissolving the Florida Board of Auctioneers and Auctioneer Recovery Fund), interior designers (removing registration requirements and reducing the Board of Architecture and Interior Design to the Board of Architecture with 7 members instead of 11), hair braiders, hair wrappers, body wrappers, makeup artists, and nail polish applicators; also repeals licensing and registration requirements for labor organization business agents and deregulates talent agency licensure while retaining bonding and criminal background check requirements.

Reduces training and education requirements across multiple professions: barber training hours cut from 1,200 to 600; cosmetology continuing education reduced from 16 to 10 hours biennially; electrical/alarm system contractor continuing education cut from 14 to 7 hours biennially; and building code inspector certification experience requirements reduced by one year across multiple pathways (e.g., from 5 years to 4 years for combined experience).

Creates or expands licensure-by-endorsement pathways for out-of-state professionals in at least 10 fields—including contractors, engineers, geologists, veterinarians, home inspectors, mold assessors, landscape architects, and building code inspectors—generally requiring 10 years of valid licensure in another state and passage of an equivalent examination, with applications accepted within 2 years of license expiration.

Replaces certificates of authorization with a qualifying agent system for business organizations in engineering, architecture, landscape architecture, and geology, requiring firms to be qualified by an individually licensed professional who must notify the department within 24 hours of termination, with a 60-day window to designate a replacement.

Mandates reciprocal licensing agreements with other states where practice acts permit, and requires the department or relevant board to post on its website which jurisdictions have substantially similar requirements or existing reciprocal agreements.

Prohibits suspension or revocation of any professional license solely due to delinquency or default on student loan payments or failure to satisfy work-conditional scholarship requirements.

Eases contractor licensing thresholds and upgrade pathways: raises the "casual, minor, or inconsequential" work exemption from $1,000 to $2,500; allows contractors to receive upgraded licenses based on previously passed examinations combined with proven experience; and exempts holders of accredited baccalaureate degrees in building construction or board-approved related fields from the contractor examination.

Reduces the Florida Building Commission from 27 to 17 members by eliminating 10 dedicated seats, including representatives from fire protection engineering, the Department of Financial Services, green building, and public education, among others.

Expands scope of practice in select areas: licensed cosmetologists may perform certain services (shampooing, cutting, nail filing) outside a licensed salon; residential building code inspectors may now cover one-, two-, or three-family residences up to two habitable stories; and limited-service veterinary practices may provide vaccinations, parasitic preventative procedures, and microchipping.

Effective date: July 1, 2019, with the bill cited as the "Occupational Freedom and Opportunity Act."