Candidate Name:

Party Affiliation:
Office Seeking:
To Be Completed by Association
Date Interviewed:
Location:
Members Present:
Apprenticeship
Associated Builders and Contractors of Florida is the largest single provider of registered apprenticeship
training in the State. Apprenticeship is a four-year program registered with the Department of Education
that leads to competency in highly skilled trades such as electrical, plumbing, and fire sprinkler/pipe
fitting. Under Florida Law, apprentices MUST be employed fulltime in order to participate in
Apprenticeship Training.
During the recent and prolonged economic downturn Florida lost many of their skilled workforce to
other parts of the country where construction remained more constant. Florida is now suffering from
one of its largest skilled worker shortages in recent history and the construction industry, a top five
revenue generator for the State, is in danger of slowing down production. A decrease in the ability to
build quality projects with a safe and skilled workforce will interfere with Floridas goal of remaining a
competitive marketplace.
Do you feel it is time for the State of Florida to put more of an emphasis on vocational and industry training?
Yes ______

No ______

Unsure ______

Option to tell us More:

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If elected to statewide office, how would you want the Legislature to focus on this current shortage?
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Under existing Federal and State Apprenticeship regulations and guidelines, Apprentices cannot be charged for
their education. Their employer must sponsor their education and training. Recently, we have seen an increase
in local governments mandating that companies employ Apprentices on their public jobs. These governments

have occasionally gone further and specified where the Apprentices must come from for the contractor to
receive credit for their presence on the job.
What do you think the appropriate role of government is in regards to supporting and promoting the utilization
of apprentices on public work projects?
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Privatization
The outsourcing of nonessential government functions to private concerns is a trend in state
government. For example, custodial work has been outsourced to private companies. Additionally, the
clerical functions of the Engineers Board and the Architects Board has been outsourced. The theory is
the yellow page test. If the work is being done by the private sector and is advertised in the yellow
pages the service can be considered a service to be outsourced.
Do you support a comprehensive evaluation of government services for privatization?
Yes ______

No ______

Unsure ______

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Floridas Statute of Repose

The Statute of Repose is the timeframe during which an action may be brought against a contractor
for latent or hidden defects on a project. The current statute of repose is ten (10) years. There are four
events on a construction project, any of which can begin the Statute of Repose clock ticking: actual
possession by the owner, issuance of a Certificate of Occupancy, abandonment of the project, or
completion or termination of the contract.
Last summer, Floridas Fifth District Court of Appeals made a determination that the term completion
of the contract means when an owner issues final payment. This is problematic for the industry as
owners can legally withhold final payment for an indeterminate period of time. These delays result in a
Statute of Repose period extending far beyond the legislatively prescribed ten-year period.
The industry is looking to further clarify when the clock starts so that ten years is actually ten years.
Would you be willing to work with ABC to clarify when the ten-year Statute of Repose clock begins ticking?
Yes ______

No ______

Unsure ______

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Illegal Contracting
Often during periods of economic downturn you see an increase in illegal contracting on public
construction projects. By illegal contracting we mean companies who falsify their records in order to
exempt themselves from state and federal requirements like obtaining and holding workers
compensation coverage, general liability coverage and paying payroll taxes. This illegal activity enables
the bad acting companies to drastically cut their costs thereby establishing themselves as the low
bidder. We see this predominantly at the second or third tier subcontractor levels on these projects.
While there are existing laws out there that govern this aspect of the industry, these actors are able to
bypass the system because by the time they are caught the company has closed down and likely opened
under a new name and owner. This behavior puts us all at risk and it interferes with the responsible
contractors ability to be law abiding and responsible.
Do you believe this is an area where the Legislature can assist and would you be willing to work with industry to
identify available ways to approach this epidemic?
Yes ______

No ______

Unsure ______

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Floridas Prompt Payment Act

A custom exists in construction that the owner can retain a portion of the contract price to ensure that
the job is completed in a satisfactory manner. This is called retainage and is normally 10%. The
construction industry has encountered slow payment in public construction jobs for schools and other
public buildings, a practice that is particularly egregious given that public entities ALSO require posting
of a performance bond on public construction over $250,000. In many cases, retainage is held long
after the job is complete, oftentimes months after the public owner has occupied or began use of the
building.
Do you support legislation that requires state and local governments to pay in a timelier fashion, especially
when there are performance bonds in place?
Yes ______

No ______

Unsure ______

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Relationship between State and Local Governments

The commercial construction industry is one of the most highly regulated industries in the country. We
are regulated by the federal, state, county, and municipal governments, along with agencies (OSHA,
DOL, EPA, DBPR, etc.). The most common complaint we hear from our members is that the regulatory
scheme in Florida is often redundant, expensive, cost prohibitive, time consuming and confusing. To that
end, we focus a good portion of our legislative efforts in Tallahassee to streamlining and clarifying the
regulations that impact our industry. Sometimes this involves preempting local government activity to a
uniform and statewide policy and sometimes it involves trying to clarify a regulation.

Do you feel it is appropriate for the State Legislature to preempt individual local government regulations with
uniform and statewide policies and practices?
Yes ______

No ______

Unsure ______

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Additional Candidate Comments for Consideration:

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Candidate Signature: ___________________________________________________________________

Print Name: __________________________________________________________________________