Florida Senator proposes statewide inspection requirements for condos

TAMPA, Fla. - How should the state move forward to make sure what happened in Surfside never happens again?

Having seen the horror up close, State Sen. Jason Pizzo (D-Miami-Dade) wants to make sure no other community ever has to.

"We have got to find out what the cause of this was," he said. "But there is not going to be just one cause."

He's going to propose a statewide scoring system, where big buildings will be evaluated on where they are, what elements they're exposed to, what ground they are built on, what they're made of, and how old they are, all in an effort to identify buildings that might need attention sooner than others.

"If I build this exact same building 30 miles inland, somewhere that is higher and drier, it's not going to suffer the same kind of exacerbating or accelerating conditions."

MORE: Despite engineer’s 2018 warning, Surfside official deemed condo building in ‘good shape’

Pizzo and other experts told FOX 13 that state law requires rigorous inspections during construction, including foundation, framing, and structure. But after those are signed off, it's up to local governments to order additional screening.

Only Dade and Broward require 40-year recertifications.

Given there appear to have been concerns about Champlain Towers before it crumbled with hundreds inside, Pizzo says part of his proposal will include more requirements for public access to inspection records through condo boards.

"The overwhelming majority of people should have no concern whatsoever," he said. "This is an absolutely extraordinary event."

The feeling of, "we need to do more," is shared at the federal level.

Sen. Rick Scott was on "Fox and Friends" Tuesday morning.

"Everybody has to take this seriously and say to themselves, ‘What inspections do we need?' If we need to spend the money, we have to spend the money now to make sure these buildings are safe."

Both the president of the Florida Senate and the Florida House speaker said they are potentially open to taking this proposal on next session. Sen. Pizzo said the governor seemed receptive to the early idea of a statewide solution.