State Crane Legislation

A Miami-Dade ordinance addressing crane safety was implemented in March 2008. It is a comprehensive regulation , unprecedented in the State of Florida, crafted to provide the greatest degree of life safety for the citizens of the County. A comparison of the Miami-Dade County regulation and the State legislation shows that the legislation put forth by the State is lacking. The State legislation is does not address many concerns that the Miami-Dade ordinance requires. To have seen the "sacrifice" that the most recent crane accidents have caused is all the more distressing now that the State crane safety legislation has gained momentum. In part, this is due to the fact that the status quo of the non-regulated crane industry. Furthermore, it is unacceptable that the State legislation effectively circumvents any attempts by local jurisdictions to enhance tower crane wind design, introduce oversight and enforceable inspections, or provide reasonable hurricane preparedness procedures. in effect, the State legislation eliminates the enhances crane safety provisions provided by recently enacted Miami-Dade County ordinance. This is why the South Florida Building Officials Association has come out for the Miami-Dade ordinance and asks the State to not enact a law that will null and void the County ordinance. We also encourage everyone to contact their State senators and impress on them to say no the bill being placed in front of them.