Florida Senate - 2022 CS for CS for CS for SB 578 By the Committees on Appropriations; Community Affairs; and Banking and Insurance; and Senator Hooper 576-03547-22 2022578c3 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to the Hurricane Loss Mitigation 3 Program; amending s. 215.559, F.S.; revising the use 4 of certain funds from the Florida Hurricane 5 Catastrophe Fund to also include construction of 6 certain facilities; revising the title of a certain 7 annual report; revising provisions to require the 8 Manufactured Housing and Mobile Home Mitigation and 9 Enhancement Program to be operated by Gulf Coast State 10 College; deleting construction related to Citizens 11 Property Insurance Corporation coverage rates; 12 delaying the future repeal of the Hurricane Loss 13 Mitigation Program; directing the transfer of 14 specified powers, duties, functions, records, 15 property, issues, and funds relating to the 16 Manufactured Housing and Mobile Home Mitigation and 17 Enhancement Program from Tallahassee Community College 18 to Gulf Coast State College; providing an effective 19 date. 20 21 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 22 23 Section 1.Paragraph (b) of subsection (1), paragraph (b) 24 of subsection (2), and subsection (7) of section 215.559, 25 Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 26 215.559Hurricane Loss Mitigation Program.A Hurricane Loss 27 Mitigation Program is established in the Division of Emergency 28 Management. 29 (1)The Legislature shall annually appropriate $10 million 30 of the moneys authorized for appropriation under s. 31 215.555(7)(c) from the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund to the 32 division for the purposes set forth in this section. Of the 33 amount: 34 (b)Three million dollars in funds shall be used to 35 construct or retrofit existing facilities used as public 36 hurricane shelters. Each year the division shall prioritize the 37 use of these funds for projects included in the annual report of 38 the Shelter Development Retrofit Report prepared in accordance 39 with s. 252.385(3). The division must give funding priority to 40 projects in regional planning council regions that have shelter 41 deficits and to projects that maximize the use of state funds. 42 (2) 43 (b)1.The Manufactured Housing and Mobile Home Mitigation 44 and Enhancement Program is established. The program shall 45 require the mitigation of damage to or the enhancement of homes 46 for the areas of concern raised by the Department of Highway 47 Safety and Motor Vehicles in the 2004-2005 Hurricane Reports on 48 the effects of the 2004 and 2005 hurricanes on manufactured and 49 mobile homes in this state. The mitigation or enhancement must 50 include, but need not be limited to, problems associated with 51 weakened trusses, studs, and other structural components caused 52 by wood rot or termite damage; site-built additions; or tie-down 53 systems and may also address any other issues deemed appropriate 54 by the Gulf Coast State College Tallahassee Community College, 55 the Federation of Manufactured Home Owners of Florida, Inc., the 56 Florida Manufactured Housing Association, and the Department of 57 Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. The program shall include an 58 education and outreach component to ensure that owners of 59 manufactured and mobile homes are aware of the benefits of 60 participation. 61 2.The program shall be a grant program that ensures that 62 entire manufactured home communities and mobile home parks may 63 be improved wherever practicable. The moneys appropriated for 64 this program shall be distributed directly to the Gulf Coast 65 State College Tallahassee Community College for the uses set 66 forth under this subsection. 67 3.Upon evidence of completion of the program, the Citizens 68 Property Insurance Corporation shall grant, on a pro rata basis, 69 actuarially reasonable discounts, credits, or other rate 70 differentials or appropriate reductions in deductibles for the 71 properties of owners of manufactured homes or mobile homes on 72 which fixtures or construction techniques that have been 73 demonstrated to reduce the amount of loss in a windstorm have 74 been installed or implemented. The discount on the premium must 75 be applied to subsequent renewal premium amounts. Premiums of 76 the Citizens Property Insurance Corporation must reflect the 77 location of the home and the fact that the home has been 78 installed in compliance with building codes adopted after 79 Hurricane Andrew. Rates resulting from the completion of the 80 Manufactured Housing and Mobile Home Mitigation and Enhancement 81 Program are not considered competitive rates for the purposes of 82 s. 627.351(6)(d)1. and 2. 83 4.On or before January 1 of each year, the Gulf Coast 84 State College Tallahassee Community College shall provide a 85 report of activities under this subsection to the Governor, the 86 President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of 87 Representatives. The report must set forth the number of homes 88 that have taken advantage of the program, the types of 89 enhancements and improvements made to the manufactured or mobile 90 homes and attachments to such homes, and whether there has been 91 an increase in availability of insurance products to owners of 92 manufactured or mobile homes. 93 94 The Gulf Coast State College Tallahassee Community College shall 95 develop the programs set forth in this subsection in 96 consultation with the Federation of Manufactured Home Owners of 97 Florida, Inc., the Florida Manufactured Housing Association, and 98 the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. The moneys 99 appropriated for the programs set forth in this subsection shall 100 be distributed directly to the Gulf Coast State College 101 Tallahassee Community College to be used as set forth in this 102 subsection. 103 (7)This section is repealed June 30, 2032 2022. 104 Section 2.Effective July 1, 2022, all powers, duties, 105 functions, records, property, pending issues, and unexpended 106 balances of appropriations, allocations, and other funds in 107 Tallahassee Community College related to the programs authorized 108 under s. 215.559(2), Florida Statutes, are transferred to the 109 Gulf Coast State College. 110 Section 3.This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.