STATE OF FLORIDA

DIVISION OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS

THOMAS EDWARD DALTON,

vs.

Petitioner,

Case No. 14-4188

STATE OF FLORIDA BUILDING CODE ADMINISTRATORS AND INSPECTORS BOARD,

Respondent.

/

RECOMMENDED ORDER

On October 29, 2014, a formal administrative hearing in this case was conducted by video teleconference in Orlando and Tallahassee, Florida, before William F. Quattlebaum, Administrative Law Judge, Division of Administrative Hearings.

APPEARANCES

For Petitioner: Thomas Edward Dalton, pro se

906 Delta Court

Altamonte Springs, Florida 32714

For Respondent: Robert Antonie Milne, Esquire

Office of The Attorney General Plaza Level 01, The Capitol Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1050

STATEMENT OF THE ISSUE

The issue in the case is whether the application filed by Thomas Edwards Dalton (Petitioner) to take the examination for certification as a plumbing plans examiner should be approved.

PRELIMINARY STATEMENT

By Notice of Intent to Deny dated February 19, 2014, the Building Code Administrators and Inspectors Board (Respondent) notified the Petitioner that his application to sit for examination for certification as a plumbing plans examiner would be denied for the reasons set forth therein. The Petitioner filed a response requesting that the Respondent reconsider the proposed denial, and the Respondent thereafter referred the request to the Division of Administrative Hearings, which scheduled and conducted the proceeding.

At the hearing, the Petitioner testified on his own behalf, and had Exhibit number 1 admitted into evidence. The Respondent presented the testimony of one witness and had Exhibits 1 and 2 admitted into evidence.

A Transcript of the hearing was filed on November 20, 2014. The Respondent filed a Proposed Recommended Order on November 26, 2014, which has been considered in the preparation of this Order.

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. The Petitioner is seeking to become a state-certified plumbing plans examiner.

2. The Respondent is the state agency charged with responsibility for certification of plumbing plans inspectors.

3. On December 12, 2013, the Petitioner submitted to the Respondent his application to take the examination for the

   
   

   certification sought. As required by rule, the Petitioner also submitted an “Affidavit of Work Experience” setting forth a statement of work experience presumably relevant to his application.

4. The affidavit form requires that it be “completed by an architect, engineer, contractor or building code administrator, who has personal knowledge of the application’s experience” for the relevant period.

5. The Petitioner wrote the narrative of his experience contained within the affidavit dated December 8, 2013. The affidavit was signed by a person identified as Anthony Applebeck, a building code administrator in Altamonte Springs, Florida.

6. Generally, an “Application Review Committee” (ARC) comprised of three building code enforcement specialists reviews applications and affidavits submitted to the Respondent.

7. In this case, two members of the ARC independently reviewed the Petitioner’s submission and determined that additional information related to the Petitioner’s work experience was required.

8. In an email dated December 17, 2013, the Respondent advised the Petitioner that additional information was required. The letter stated as follows:

   The Affidavit of Work Experience that was submitted with your application is missing detailed hands-on plumbing experience.

   
   

   Please complete the enclosed Affidavit of Work Experience and submit it to the department. The person completing the work affidavit should be specific when explaining your duties and actual hands-on experience.

   
   

9. The ARC’s determination that the Petitioner’s Affidavit of Work Experience was insufficient was correct. The affidavit lacked a detailed explanation of the Petitioner’s work experience, specifically as to “hands-on” plumbing involvement.

10. The Petitioner failed to submit the supplemental work experience affidavit requested by the Respondent.

11. In an email dated December 18, 2013, the Petitioner requested that the ARC reconsider his original submitted affidavit.

12. On February 18, 2014, the Respondent issued a Notice of Intent to Deny the Petitioner’s application based on the failure to submit sufficient information to establish that the Petitioner has the experience required for the certification sought.

13. By letter dated February 28, 2014, the Petitioner challenged the proposed denial of his application and requested an administrative hearing.

14. The evidence presented at the hearing by the Petitioner was insufficient to establish that the Petitioner meets the requirements to take the examination for certification as a plumbing plans examiner.

    
    

    CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

    
    

15. The Division of Administrative Hearings has jurisdiction over the parties to and subject matter of this proceeding. Sections 120.569 and 120.57(1), Fla. Stat. (2014).

16. Pursuant to Section 468.606, the Respondent is the state agency responsible for certification of building code administrators, plans examiners, and building code inspectors.

17. Section 468.609(2) states the criteria by which an applicant for certification as a plans examiner may be approved to take the examination, and provides in relevant part as

follows:

A person may take the examination for certification as a building code inspector or plans examiner pursuant to this part if the person:

* * *

(c) Meets eligibility requirements according to one of the following criteria:

1. Demonstrates 5 years’ combined experience in the field of construction or a related field, building code inspection, or plans review corresponding to the certification category sought;

   
   

2. Demonstrates a combination of postsecondary education in the field of construction or a related field and experience which totals 4 years, with at least 1 year of such total being experience in construction, building code inspection, or plans review;

   
   

3. Demonstrates a combination of technical education in the field of construction or a related field and experience which totals 4 years, with at least 1 year of such total being experience in construction, building code inspection, or plans review;

   
   

4. Currently holds a standard certificate as issued by the board, or a fire safety inspector license issued pursuant to chapter 633, has a minimum of 5 years’ verifiable full-time experience in inspection or plan review, and satisfactorily completes a building code inspector or plans examiner training program of not less than 200 hours in the certification category sought. The board shall establish by rule criteria for the development and implementation of the training programs; or

   
   

5. Demonstrates a combination of the completion of an approved training program in the field of building code inspection or plan review and a minimum of 2 years’ experience in the field of building code inspection, plan review, fire code inspections and fire plans review of new buildings as a firesafety inspector certified under s. 633.216, or construction. The approved training portion of this requirement shall include proof of satisfactory completion of a training program of not less than 300 hours which is approved by the board in the chosen category of building code inspection or plan review in the certification category sought with not less than 20 hours of instruction in state laws, rules, and ethics relating to professional standards of practice, duties, and responsibilities of a certificateholder. The board shall coordinate with the Building Officials Association of Florida, Inc., to establish by rule the development and implementation of the training program.

1. Florida Administrative Code Rule 61G19-6.0035, in relevant part, sets forth the requirements for submission of an application for certification as follows:

   1. Each individual who wishes to obtain a provisional and/or standard certificate in any certificate category shall submit the following to the Board:

      
      

      1. A completed application form for the category in which certification is sought. The form that shall be used for this purpose shall be provided by the Department and available on the Department’s website.

         
         

      2. An affidavit describing in detail each separate period of work experience listed in the application form, signed by a licensed architect, engineer, contractor, fire marshal, or building code administrator who has knowledge of the applicant’s duties and responsibilities during the period indicated. The form that shall be used for this purpose shall be provided by the Department and available on the Department’s website. Each affidavit must include the name and address of the applicant’s employer during the work experience period, the dates of employment, and a description of the applicant’s duties and responsibilities during the employment including any supervisory responsibilities, in sufficient detail to enable the Board to determine whether or not the applicant has the experience required for certification.

         
         

      3. Each applicant for certification as an inspector or plans examiner shall demonstrate that he or she has at least one (1) year of hands-on experience in the category of certification sought, with the exception of 1 and 2 family dwelling inspector. For 1 and 2 family dwelling inspector certification, refer to the specific requirements in Rule 61G19-6.017, F.A.C. (emphasis added.)

         
         

2. The Petitioner has the burden of establishing, by a preponderance of the evidence, his entitlement to the certification sought in this proceeding. See Dep’t of Banking &

   Fin. v. Osborne Stern & Co., 670 So. 2d 932, 934 (Fla. 1966); Ferris v. Turlington, 510 So. 2d 292 (Fla. 1987); Section

   120.57(1)(j), Florida Statutes. The Petitioner in this case has failed to meet the burden.

3. The affidavit submitted by the Petitioner clearly does not comply with the requirements of rule 61G19-6.0035(1)(b). The Respondent advised the Petitioner that the affidavit lacked sufficient detail to permit a determination of whether his work experience met the applicable criteria, and offered the Petitioner an opportunity to supplement the information by filing another affidavit. The Petitioner did not take advantage of the opportunity.

4. The Petitioner presented no credible evidence at the hearing to refute the Respondent’s determination that the Petitioner’s affidavit was insufficient, or establish that he otherwise meets the criteria to take the examination for certification as a plumbing plans examiner.

RECOMMENDATION

Based on the foregoing Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, it is RECOMMENDED that the Petitioner's application to take

the examination for certification as a plumbing plans examiner be denied.

DONE AND ENTERED this 16th day of December, 2014, in Tallahassee, Leon County, Florida.

S

WILLIAM F. QUATTLEBAUM

Administrative Law Judge

Division of Administrative Hearings The DeSoto Building

1230 Apalachee Parkway

Tallahassee, Florida 32399-3060

(850) 488-9675

Fax Filing (850) 921-6847 www.doah.state.fl.us

Filed with the Clerk of the Division of Administrative Hearings this 16th day of December, 2014.

COPIES FURNISHED:

Thomas Edward Dalton 906 Delta Court

Altamonte Springs, Florida 32714 (eServed)

Robert Antonie Milne, Esquire Office of The Attorney General Plaza Level 01, The Capitol Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1050 (eServed)

J. Layne Smith, General Counsel Northwood Centre

1940 North Monroe Street Tallahassee, Florida 32399 (eServed)

Robin Barineau, Executive Director Division of Professions

Building Code Administrators and Inspectors Board

Northwood Centre

1940 North Monroe Street Tallahassee, Florida 32399 (eServed)

NOTICE OF RIGHT TO SUBMIT EXCEPTIONS

All parties have the right to submit written exceptions within

15 days from the date of this Recommended Order. Any exceptions to this Recommended Order should be filed with the agency that will issue the Final Order in this case.

Docket for Case No: 14-004188

Orders for Case No: 14-004188