(1) Any person who installs a mobile home shall obtain a mobile home installers license from the Bureau of Mobile Home and Recreational Vehicle Construction of the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles pursuant to this section. Said license shall be renewed annually, and each licensee shall pay a fee of $150.

(2) The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles shall issue a license as a mobile home installer to any person who applies to the department, pays the appropriate application fee, not to exceed $100, as set by department rule, and complies with subsection (3).

(3) In order to obtain licensure as a mobile home installer, the applicant must be at least 18 years old, must hold a valid performance bond in an amount set by department rule, not to exceed $5,000, conditioned upon proper performance of mobile home installation and weather-sealing duties for a period of 1 year, must carry liability insurance in an amount determined by department rule, not to exceed $100,000, must complete a minimum 8-hour training course approved by the department, and must pass a department-approved examination designed to test the skills necessary to properly and competently perform mobile home installation and to ascertain that the applicant has adequate knowledge of federal, state, and local laws applicable to mobile home installation contracting. The department may charge an examination fee sufficient to defray the costs of developing or obtaining and providing the examination, not to exceed $100. Any licensed dealer or licensed manufacturer who has subcontracted with an installer for installation and who remedies any faulty installation performed by said installer shall have recourse against said installer’s performance bond.

(4) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (3), any person who can show that he or she had been engaged in the business of mobile home installation on October 1, 1996, shall be exempted until October 1, 1997, from the requirement for completing training and for passing an examination in order to be licensed by the department as a mobile home installer and shall be licensed upon application, provided he or she has complied with all requirements of subsection (3), other than the training and examination requirements. No person shall be licensed or remain licensed as a mobile home installer subsequent to October 1, 1997, who has not taken and passed the department-approved mobile home installer examination.

(5) A direct employee of a licensed mobile home installer working under the supervision of the licensee and within the job scope of the licensee is not required to be licensed as a mobile home installer. The licensed mobile home installer is responsible for supervising all such employees and for the proper and competent performance of all employees working under his or her supervision.

(6) “Installation,” as used herein, is synonymous with “setup” as defined in s. 320.822(14).

(7) No person shall:

(a) Falsely hold himself or herself or a business organization out as a licensed mobile home installer;

(b) Falsely impersonate a licensed mobile home installer;

(c) Present as his or her own the mobile home installers license of another;

(d) Knowingly give false or forged evidence to the department;

(e) Use or attempt to use a mobile home installers license which has been suspended or revoked; or

(f) Engage in the business or act in the capacity of a licensed mobile home installer or advertise himself or herself or a business organization as available to engage in the business or act in the capacity of a mobile home installer without being duly licensed.

(8) Any unlicensed person who violates any of the provisions of subsection (7) is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.

(9) A licensed person or licensed applicant may not:

(a) Obtain a mobile home installers license by fraud or misrepresentation.

(b) Be convicted or found guilty of, or enter a plea of nolo contendere to, regardless of adjudication, a crime in any jurisdiction which directly relates to the practice of mobile home installation or the ability to practice.

(c) Violate any law or rule relating to installing, repairing, or dealing in mobile homes or any lawful order of the department.

(d) Commit fraud or deceit in the practice of contracting.

(e) Commit incompetence or misconduct in the practice of contracting.

(f) Commit gross negligence, repeated negligence, or negligence resulting in a significant danger to life or property.

(10) Any licensed person or license applicant who violates subsection (7) or subsection (9) may have any of the following disciplinary penalties imposed by the department, at its discretion:

(a) License revocation;

(b) License suspension;

(c) A fine not to exceed $1,000 per violation involving a single installation and not to exceed $5,000 for a violation involving the total setup;

(d) A requirement to take and pass, or retake and pass, the department-approved examination;

(e) Probation;

(f) Probation subject to such restriction of practice as the department chooses to impose;

(g) A notice of noncompliance; or

(h) Refusal of licensure application.

(11) The regulation of manufactured home installers or mobile home installers is preempted to the state, and no person may perform mobile home installation unless licensed pursuant to this section, regardless of whether that person holds a local license.

(12) A county, municipality, or other unit of local government may not require additional licensing, bonding, or insurance of a duly licensed installer who performs setup operations as defined in s. 320.822. However, a county, municipality, or other unit of local government may require an installer to obtain a local occupational license, which license shall not require for its issuance any conditions other than those required by this chapter and payment of the appropriate occupational license fee.

(13) All installers, dealers, and manufacturers shall purchase installation decals from the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles for a fee not to exceed $10 per decal. An installation decal shall be affixed to the manufactured home or mobile home prior to installation. This decal shall denote the date of installation, the name of the installer, and the number of the installer’s license or the dealer or manufacturer license number. Such decal shall be positioned immediately next to the HUD decal.

(14) Each installer shall maintain a location log for each decal for 2 years. This requirement must not take effect until the department develops an acceptable format for the log and provides a sample of the acceptable format to each licensed installer.

(15) In performing the installation, installers shall not perform plumbing or electrical activities prohibited by department rules related to setup operations pursuant to s. 320.822.

(16) Funds received by the department pursuant to this section shall be deposited in the Highway Safety Operating Trust Fund.

(17) There are hereby appropriated five positions and $219,295 from the Highway Safety Operating Trust Fund in the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to implement the provisions of this section.

History.—s. 5, ch. 96-394; s. 37, ch. 99-248; s. 4, ch. 2004-283.