MyFloridaCode.com

Group, Here is an e-mail I sent today to the Department of Business and
Professional Regulation and to select representatives. You will be
surprised as I to discover the "sweetheart" deal the state conveyed at
our expense. (see bottom for additional contact information)

 

++++

To all involved Florida agents and employees:

 

We have just received a copy of the Agreement between the Department of
Professional Regulation and the American Council of Accredited
Certification (ACAC). We would like to know where and how this contract
was competitively bid pursuant to:

 

455.217  Examinations.--This section shall be read in conjunction with
the appropriate practice act associated with each regulated profession
under this chapter. 

(d)  A board, or the department when there is no board, may approve by
rule the use of any national examination which the department has
certified as meeting requirements of national examinations and generally
accepted testing standards pursuant to department rules. Providers of
examinations, which may be either profit or nonprofit entities, seeking
certification by the department shall pay the actual costs incurred by
the department in making a determination regarding the certification.
The department shall use any national examination which is available,
certified by the department, and approved by the board. The name and
number of a candidate may be provided to a national contractor for the
limited purpose of preparing the grade tape and information to be
returned to the board or department or, to the extent otherwise
specified by rule, the candidate may apply directly to the vendor of the
national examination. The department may delegate to the board the duty
to provide and administer the examination. Any national examination
approved by a board, or the department when there is no board, prior to
October 1, 1997, is deemed certified under this paragraph. Any licensing
or certification examination that is not developed or administered by
the department in-house or provided as a national examination shall be
competitively bid.

 

Additionally, preliminary inquiries reveal that information provided by
the contract recipient, ACAC, may be un-true or mis-directed. Their
website(s) indicate they follow an ASTM standard for certification that
may not exist. Preliminary inquiries to the ASTM indicate that they have
never heard of this council and do not endorse it. Furthermore, that the
dates of stated existence conflict  with other dates of incorporation
and the scientific entity proffered as "overseeing" the council's
accreditation (council of engineering & scientific specialty boards) is
associated with a disbarred attorney and does not appear to be a
legitimate scientific entity. Much more is being uncovered as the
investigation by others continue.

 

I warned the Department that they were being "duped" by this council -
its genesis was by associations for associations - that it did not have
the credibility and experience it contended. My opinion hasn't changed.
The fact is there are no Federal Standards or Regulations for Mold like
there are for Lead, Asbestos, etc... Therefore who is to say whether
this "council's" certifications are correct? Where is the baseline of
Federal training standards we measure them with? There are none, and
they know it. So, they use the "council of engineering & scientific
specialty boards" as a standard?

 

The State Contract requires $100.00 application fee per student to the
ACAC as their exclusive vendor. The Association of Construction Industry
Certified Contractors offered to perform the testing free of charge and
provided all information to the department with the offer to adjust any
requirement to meet any concern the state had. No response. Other
testing and certification agencies have been training and certifying
assessors and remediators and are the industry standard for quality and
professionalism, (such as South Eastern Mold Institute, Inc) - they are
all out.

 

Please provide us with the bidding notice and bid tabulation for the
ACAC contract or notify us why such was not required.

 

Thank you, 

 

R.J.Koning - Director

Contractors Institute

rjkoning at contractorsinstitute.com
<mailto:rjkoning at contractorsinstitute.com> 

8301 Joliet Street

Hudson, Fl 34667

727-863-5147

 

+++++++++

 

I would suggest anyone who is interested contact Bill Fisher @
850-785-1843 or Rick Hollister @ 850-528-4135 for further information
regarding the problems with this contract with ACAC.

 

 

R.J.Koning - Director

Contractors Institute

rjkoning at contractorsinstitute.com
<mailto:rjkoning at contractorsinstitute.com> 

8301 Joliet Street

Hudson, Fl 34667

727-863-5147

 

 

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