CS/HB 837 2022
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to the Hurricane Loss Mitigation 2
Program; amending s. 215.559, F.S.; revising the use 3
of certain funds from the Florida Hurricane 4
Catastrophe Fund to include construction of certain 5
facilities; revising the title of a certain annual 6
report; revising provisions to require the 7
Manufactured Housing and Mobile Home Mitigation and 8
Enhancement Program to be operated by Gulf Coast State 9
College; deleting construction related to Citizens 10
Property Insurance Corporation coverage rates; 11
delaying the future repeal of the Hurricane Loss 12
Mitigation Program; providing an effective date. 13
14
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 15
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Section 1. Paragraph (b) of subsection (1), subsection 17
(2), and subsection (7) of section 215.559, Florida Statutes, 18
are amended to read: 19
215.559 Hurricane Loss Mitigation Program. —A Hurricane 20
Loss Mitigation Program is established in the Division of 21
Emergency Management. 22
(1) The Legislature shall annually appropriate $10 million 23
of the moneys authorized for appropriation under s. 24
215.555(7)(c) from the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund to the 25
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
division for the purposes set forth in this section. Of the 26
amount: 27
(b) Three million dollars in funds shall be used to 28
construct or retrofit existing facilities used as public 29
hurricane shelters. Each year the division shall prioritize the 30
use of these funds for projects included in the annual report of 31
the Shelter Development Retrofit Report prepared in accordance 32
with s. 252.385(3). The division must give funding priority to 33
projects in regional planning council regions that have shelter 34
deficits and to projects that maximize the use of state funds. 35
(2)(a) Forty percent of the total appropriation in 36
paragraph (1)(a) shall be used to inspect and improve tie -downs 37
for mobile homes. 38
(b)1. The Manufactured Housing and Mobile Home Mitigation 39
and Enhancement Program is established. The program shall 40
require the mitigation of damage to or the enhancement of homes 41
for the areas of concern raised by the Department of Highway 42
Safety and Motor Vehicles in the 2004 -2005 Hurricane Reports on 43
the effects of the 2004 and 2005 hurricanes on manufactured and 44
mobile homes in this state. The mitigation or enhancement must 45
include, but need not be limited to, problems associated with 46
weakened trusses, studs, and other structural components caused 47
by wood rot or termite damage; site -built additions; or tie -down 48
systems and may also ad dress any other issues deemed appropriate 49
by the Gulf Coast State College Tallahassee Community College , 50
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
the Federation of Manufactured Home Owners of Florida, Inc., the 51
Florida Manufactured Housing Association, and the Department of 52
Highway Safety and Mot or Vehicles. The program shall include an 53
education and outreach component to ensure that owners of 54
manufactured and mobile homes are aware of the benefits of 55
participation. 56
2. The program shall be a grant program that ensures that 57
entire manufactured ho me communities and mobile home parks may 58
be improved wherever practicable. The moneys appropriated for 59
this program shall be distributed directly to the Gulf Coast 60
State College Tallahassee Community College for the uses set 61
forth under this subsection. 62
3. Upon evidence of completion of the program, the 63
Citizens Property Insurance Corporation shall grant, on a pro 64
rata basis, actuarially reasonable discounts, credits, or other 65
rate differentials or appropriate reductions in deductibles for 66
the properties of owners of manufactured homes or mobile homes 67
on which fixtures or construction techniques that have been 68
demonstrated to reduce the amount of loss in a windstorm have 69
been installed or implemented. The discount on the premium must 70
be applied to subseque nt renewal premium amounts. Premiums of 71
the Citizens Property Insurance Corporation must reflect the 72
location of the home and the fact that the home has been 73
installed in compliance with building codes adopted after 74
Hurricane Andrew. Rates resulting from t he completion of the 75
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
Manufactured Housing and Mobile Home Mitigation and Enhancement 76
Program are not considered competitive rates for the purposes of 77
s. 627.351(6)(d)1. and 2. 78
4. On or before January 1 of each year, the Gulf Coast 79
State College Tallahassee Community College shall provide a 80
report of activities under this subsection to the Governor, the 81
President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of 82
Representatives. The report must set forth the number of homes 83
that have taken advantage of the pr ogram, the types of 84
enhancements and improvements made to the manufactured or mobile 85
homes and attachments to such homes, and whether there has been 86
an increase in availability of insurance products to owners of 87
manufactured or mobile homes. 88
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The Gulf Coast State College Tallahassee Community College shall 90
develop the programs set forth in this subsection in 91
consultation with the Federation of Manufactured Home Owners of 92
Florida, Inc., the Florida Manufactured Housing Association, and 93
the Department of High way Safety and Motor Vehicles. The moneys 94
appropriated for the programs set forth in this subsection shall 95
be distributed directly to the Gulf Coast State College 96
Tallahassee Community College to be used as set forth in this 97
subsection. 98
(7) This section is repealed June 30, 2032 2022. 99
Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law. 100