President’s Message: March 2023
From ACEC Florida President Scott Martin, PE, LEED AP, DBIA
To the ACEC Florida Community,
What sets ACEC apart from other groups in the built environment is our primary mission to advocate on behalf of America’s engineering and design industry. We are the business voice of engineering, and as that voice, our job is to empower our member firms with unique tools and resources to protect and grow their businesses.
To that end, ACEC released two informational videos last month outlining the important legal issues around the “duty to defend” and “broad form indemnification,” which often come up in engineering contracts. If you aren’t familiar with the risks around these clauses, I encourage you to check out the videos here.
In addition to these contract issues, ACEC Florida is geared up and paying particular attention to the issues being debated in Tallahassee this month as Florida’s lawmakers began their two-month legislative session on March 7th. Believe it or not, it’s not just guns and moving backward on diversity being discussed. This year’s bills that could have an impact on engineering include the following:
- HB 999 and SB 266 which both impact Florida Higher Education in various ways. While not directly tied to engineering, several changes being discussed could jeopardize the ABET accreditation that engineering schools need to carry for their graduates to qualify for professional licensure.
- HB 1395 / SB 154 which clean up language in the Condo Safety Act, passed last year as SB 4-D.
- HB 85 / SB 360 which reduce the statute of limitations on lawsuits brought against building designers.
- HB 425 / SB 64 which impact requirements for bridge construction, roadway design for autonomous vehicles, and other requirements for Transportation project requirements.
- HB 327 / SB 408 which changes inspection and contractor requirements for those installing Fire Sprinkler Systems.
ACEC Florida members can follow our updates to these and other bills that impact the practice of engineering here. If you want the opportunity to speak to your local legislators and convey your thoughts on these issues, consider joining us in Tallahassee for PE Legislative Days March 21-22. You can also always contact your representative by phone or email, and you can find their contact information on our website here.
Yours truly,
Scott D. Martin, P.E., LEED AP / Principal
Project Director
Design-Build Market Leader
Walter P Moore
201 East Kennedy Boulevard, Suite 700
Tampa, Florida 33602-5823
813.275.8112 p / 727.642.6212 c
smartin@walterpmoore.com / www.walterpmoore.com
