Sunburn | March 30, 2017
TOP OP-ED: KEEP FLORIDA COMMUNITIES SAFE, PRESERVE FLORIDA’S STRONG BUILDING CODES via Craig Fugate for the Tampa Bay Times – While it was an incredibly difficult lesson to learn, Florida appropriately responded to this disaster by strengthening commercial and residential building codes across the state to make certain that, to the best of its ability, Florida prevented the type of devastation that was left in the path of Andrew in 1992 … I remember accompanying President George W. Bush and Gov. Jeb Bush on a tour of the state during 2004. The president asked the governor why one home was so badly damaged, while the one next to it, which was even more exposed, had minimal damage. The governor simply answered, “Building codes.” Right now, Florida remains a leader in the application of strong building codes and standards to protect families, businesses and visitors. But Florida must remain vigilant to ensure our communities are safe and resilient. Unfortunately, a set of bills, Senate Bill 7000 and House Bill 901, would significantly weaken the state’s current building codes. This regression would come at a steep and devastating cost — devastating to communities, families and businesses, as well as Florida’s economic well-being. With weaker building codes, after a natural disaster more families will be displaced and businesses will be closed for longer periods of time, preventing people from getting back to work. Not to mention the real problem of insurability. The total cost of homeownership is greatly reduced when a strong, unified code, such as the current one, is in place. Diminishing or weakening the codes will only serve to increase the price of insurance on consumers.