Uniform firesafety standards.

Uniform firesafety standards for assisted living facilities, which are residential board and care occupancies, shall be established by the State Fire Marshal pursuant to s. 633.206.

(1) EVACUATION CAPABILITY.—A firesafety evacuation capability determination shall be conducted within 6 months after the date of initial licensure of an assisted living facility, if required.

(2) FIRESAFETY REQUIREMENTS.—

(a) The National Fire Protection Association, Life Safety Code, NFPA 101 and 101A, current editions, must be used in determining the uniform firesafety code adopted by the State Fire Marshal for assisted living facilities, pursuant to s. 633.206.

(b) A local government or a utility may charge fees that do not exceed the actual costs incurred by the local government or the utility for the installation and maintenance of an automatic fire sprinkler system in a licensed assisted living facility structure.

(c) All licensed facilities must have an annual fire inspection conducted by the local fire marshal or authority having jurisdiction.

(d) An assisted living facility that was issued a building permit or certificate of occupancy before July 1, 2016, at its option and after notifying the authority having jurisdiction, may remain under the provisions of the 1994 and 1995 editions of the National Fire Protection Association, Life Safety Code, NFPA 101 and 101A. A facility opting to remain under such provisions may make repairs, modernizations, renovations, or additions to, or rehabilitate, the facility in compliance with NFPA 101, 1994 edition, and may utilize the alternative approaches to life safety in compliance with NFPA 101A, 1995 edition. However, a facility for which a building permit or certificate of occupancy was issued before July 1, 2016, which undergoes Level III building alteration or rehabilitation, as defined in the Florida Building Code, or which seeks to utilize features not authorized under the 1994 or 1995 editions of the Life Safety Code, shall thereafter comply with all aspects of the uniform firesafety standards established under s. 633.206 and the Florida Fire Prevention Code in effect for assisted living facilities as adopted by the State Fire Marshal.