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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 My Safe Florida Home Program; 2
amending s. 215.5586, F.S.; providing that licensed, 3
rather than certified, inspectors are to provide 4
hurricane mitigation inspections on site -built, 5
single-family, residential properties that have been 6
granted a homestead exemption; specifying that 7
townhouses are included in such properties; revising 8
the information provided to homeowners as part of a 9
hurricane mitigation inspection; revising the 10
hurricane mitigation inspectors that may be selected 11
by the Department of Financial Services to provide 12
hurricane mitigation inspections; deleting a provision 13
requiring the department to implement a certain 14
quality assurance program; authorizing the department 15
to establish specified criteria for prioritizing 16
inspection applications; revising the criteria for 17
mitigation grant eligibility for homeowners; deleting 18
a provision that subjects mitigation projects to 19
random reinspection for a specified timeframe; 20
revising the improvements for which mitigation grants 21
may be used; revising the amount low -income homeowners 22
may receive from the department under the grant 23
program; deleting a provision authorizing low -income 24
homeowners to use grant funds for specified purposes; 25
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deleting a requirement that the department establis h 26
specified criteria for prioritizing grant 27
applications; authorizing, rather than requiring, the 28
program to develop and distribute certain brochures to 29
specified persons; deleting a provision requiring 30
certain contracts entered into by the department to b e 31
reviewed and approved by the Legislative Budget 32
Commission; requiring the department to develop a 33
certain quality assurance and reinspection program; 34
revising the contents of the annual report the 35
department is required to deliver to the Legislature; 36
conforming provisions to changes made by the act; 37
making technical changes; reenacting s. 215.5588(3), 38
F.S., relating to the Florida Disaster Recovery 39
Program, to incorporate the amendments made to s. 40
215.5586, F.S., in a reference thereto; providing an 41
effective date. 42
43
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 44
45
Section 1. Section 215.5586, Florida Statutes, is amended 46
to read: 47
215.5586 My Safe Florida Home Program. —There is 48
established within the Department of Financial Services th e My 49
Safe Florida Home Program. The department shall provide fiscal 50
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accountability, contract management, and strategic leadership 51
for the program, consistent with this section. This section does 52
not create an entitlement for property owners or obligate the 53
state in any way to fund the inspection or retrofitting of 54
residential property in this state. Implementation of this 55
program is subject to annual legislative appropriations. It is 56
the intent of the Legislature that the My Safe Florida Home 57
Program provide licensed trained and certified inspectors to 58
perform inspections for owners of site -built, single-family, 59
residential properties and grants to eligible applicants as 60
funding allows. The program shall develop and implement a 61
comprehensive and coordinated approach for hurricane damage 62
mitigation that may include the following: 63
(1) HURRICANE MITIGATION INSPECTIONS. — 64
(a) Licensed Certified inspectors are to provide home 65
home-retrofit inspections of site-built, single-family, 66
residential properties for which a homestead exemption has been 67
granted, property may be offered to determine what mitigation 68
measures are needed, what insurance premium discounts may be 69
available, and what improvements to existing residential 70
properties are needed to reduce the proper ty's vulnerability to 71
hurricane damage. The term "single-family, residential property" 72
includes those properties defined as townhouses in s. 481.203. 73
(b) The Department of Financial Services shall contract 74
with wind certification entities to provide hurr icane mitigation 75
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inspections. The inspections provided to homeowners, at a 76
minimum, must include: 77
1. A home inspection and report that summarizes the 78
results and identifies recommended improvements a homeowner may 79
take to mitigate hurricane damage. 80
2. A range of cost estimates regarding the recommended 81
mitigation improvements. 82
3. Insurer-specific Information regarding estimated 83
premium discounts, correlated to the current mitigation features 84
and the recommended mitigation improvements identified by th e 85
inspection. 86
(c)(b) To qualify for selection by the department as a 87
wind certification entity to provide hurricane mitigation 88
inspections, the entity must shall, at a minimum, meet the 89
following requirements: 90
1. Use hurricane mitigation inspectors who are licensed or 91
certified as: 92
a. Are certified as A building inspector under s. 468.607; 93
b. Are licensed as A general, building, or residential 94
contractor under s. 489.111; 95
c. Are licensed as A professional engineer under s. 96
471.015 and who have passed the appropriate equivalency test of 97
the building code training program as required by s. 553.841 ; 98
d. Are licensed as A professional architect under s. 99
481.213; or 100
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e. A home inspector under s. 468.8314 and who have 101
completed at least 3 hours of h urricane mitigation training 102
approved by the Construction Industry Licensing Board, which 103
training must include hurricane mitigation techniques and 104
compliance with the uniform mitigation verification form and 105
completion of a proficiency exam Have at least 2 years of 106
experience in residential construction or residential building 107
inspection and have received specialized training in hurricane 108
mitigation procedures . Such training may be provided by a class 109
offered online or in person. 110
2. Use hurricane mitigat ion inspectors who also : 111
a. have undergone drug testing and a level II background 112
screening. The department may conduct criminal record checks of 113
inspectors used by wind certification entities. Inspectors must 114
submit a set of the fingerprints to the depa rtment for state and 115
national criminal history checks and must pay the fingerprint 116
processing fee set forth in s. 624.501. The fingerprints must 117
shall be sent by the department to the Department of Law 118
Enforcement and forwarded to the Federal Bureau of Inv estigation 119
for processing. The results must shall be returned to the 120
department for screening. The fingerprints must shall be taken 121
by a law enforcement agency, designated examination center, or 122
other department-approved entity; and 123
b. Have been certifie d, in a manner satisfactory to the 124
department, to conduct the inspections . 125
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3. Provide a quality assurance program including a 126
reinspection component. 127
(c) The department shall implement a quality assurance 128
program that includes a statistically valid number of 129
reinspections. 130
(d) An application for an inspection must contain a signed 131
or electronically verified statement made under penalty of 132
perjury that the applicant has submitted only a single 133
application for that home. 134
(e) The owner of a site -built, single-family, residential 135
property for which a homestead exemption has been granted may 136
apply for and receive an inspection without also applying for a 137
grant pursuant to subsection (2) and without meeting the 138
requirements of paragraph (2)(a). 139
(f) The department may establish objective, reasonable 140
criteria for prioritizing inspection applications, consistent 141
with the requirements of this section. 142
(2) MITIGATION GRANTS. —Financial grants shall be used to 143
encourage single-family, site-built, owner-occupied, residential 144
property owners to retrofit their properties to make them less 145
vulnerable to hurricane damage. 146
(a) For a homeowner , including an owner of a townhouse as 147
defined in s. 481.203, to be eligible for a grant, the following 148
criteria must be met: 149
1. The homeowner must have been granted a homestead 150
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exemption on the home under chapter 196. 151
2. The home must be a dwelling with an insured value of 152
$500,000 or less. Homeowners who are low -income persons, as 153
defined in s. 420.0004(11), are exempt from this requirement. 154
3. The home must undergo have undergone an acceptable 155
hurricane mitigation inspection as provided in subsection (1) 156
after July 1, 2008. 157
4. The home must be located in the "wind -borne debris 158
region" as that term is defined in the Florida Building Code. 159
5. The building permit application for initial 160
construction of the home must have been made before January 1, 161
2008. 162
5.6. The homeowner must agree to make his or her home 163
available for inspection once a mitigation project is compl eted. 164
165
An application for a grant must contain a signed or 166
electronically verified statement made under penalty of perjury 167
that the applicant has submitted only a single application and 168
must have attached documents demonstrating the applicant meets 169
the requirements of this paragraph. 170
(b) All grants must be matched on the basis of $1 provided 171
by the applicant for $2 provided by the state up to a maximum 172
state contribution of $10,000 toward the actual cost of the 173
mitigation project. 174
(c) The program shall create a process in which 175
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contractors agree to participate and homeowners select from a 176
list of participating contractors. All mitigation must be based 177
upon the securing of all required local permits and inspections 178
and must be performed by properly licens ed contractors. 179
Mitigation projects are subject to random reinspection of up to 180
at least 5 percent of all projects. Hurricane mitigation 181
inspectors qualifying for the program may also participate as 182
mitigation contractors as long as the inspectors meet the 183
department's qualifications and certification requirements for 184
mitigation contractors. 185
(d) Matching fund grants shall also be made available to 186
local governments and nonprofit entities for projects that will 187
reduce hurricane damage to single -family, site-built, owner-188
occupied, residential property. The department shall liberally 189
construe those requirements in favor of availing the state of 190
the opportunity to leverage funding for the My Safe Florida Home 191
Program with other sources of funding. 192
(e) When recommended by a hurricane mitigation inspection, 193
grants may be used for the following improvements: 194
1. Opening protection. 195
2. Exterior doors, including garage doors. 196
3. Brace gable ends. 197
4. Reinforcing roof-to-wall connections. 198
4.5. Improving the strength of roof -deck attachments. 199
6. Upgrading roof covering from code to code plus. 200
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5.7. Secondary water barrier for roof. 201
202
The department may require that improvements be made to all 203
openings, including exterior doors and garage door s, as a 204
condition of reimbursing a homeowner approved for a grant. The 205
department may adopt, by rule, the maximum grant allowances for 206
any improvement allowable under this paragraph. 207
(f) Grants may be used on a previously inspected existing 208
structure or on a rebuild. A rebuild is defined as a site -built, 209
single-family dwelling under construction to replace a home that 210
was destroyed or significantly damaged by a hurricane and deemed 211
unlivable by a regulatory authority. The homeowner must be a 212
low-income homeowner as defined in paragraph (g), must have had 213
a homestead exemption for that home before prior to the 214
hurricane, and must be intending to rebuild the home as that 215
homeowner's homestead. 216
(g) Low-income homeowners, as defined in s. 420.0004(11), 217
who otherwise meet the requirements of paragraphs (a), (c), (e), 218
and (f) are eligible for a grant of up to $10,000 $5,000 and are 219
not required to provide a matching amount to receive the grant. 220
Additionally, for low -income homeowners, grant funding may be 221
used for repair to existing structures leading to any of the 222
mitigation improvements provided in paragraph (e), limited to 20 223
percent of the grant value. The program may accept a 224
certification directly from a low -income homeowner that the 225
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homeowner meets the re quirements of s. 420.0004(11) if the 226
homeowner provides such certification in a signed or 227
electronically verified statement made under penalty of perjury. 228
(h) The department shall establish objective, reasonable 229
criteria for prioritizing grant applicatio ns, consistent with 230
the requirements of this section. 231
(i) The department shall develop a process that ensures 232
the most efficient means to collect and verify grant 233
applications to determine eligibility and may direct hurricane 234
mitigation inspectors to col lect and verify grant application 235
information or use the Internet or other electronic means to 236
collect information and determine eligibility. 237
(3) EDUCATION, AND CONSUMER AWARENESS, AND OUTREACH.— 238
(a) The department may undertake a statewide multimedia 239
public outreach and advertising campaign to inform consumers of 240
the availability and benefits of hurricane inspections and of 241
the safety and financial benefits of residential hurricane 242
damage mitigation. The department may seek out and use local, 243
state, federal, and private funds to support the campaign. 244
(b) The program may develop brochures for distribution to 245
general contractors, roofing contractors, and real estate 246
brokers and sales associates who are licensed under part I of 247
chapter 475 which provide information on the benefits to 248
homeowners of residential hurricane damage mitigation. 249
Contractors are encouraged to distribute the brochures to 250
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homeowners at the first meeting with a homeowner who is 251
considering contracting for home or roof repair or contr acting 252
for the construction of a new home. Real estate brokers and 253
sales associates are encouraged to distribute the brochure to 254
clients before the purchase of a home. The brochures may be made 255
available electronically. 256
(4) FUNDING.—The department may se ek out and leverage 257
local, state, federal, or private funds to enhance the financial 258
resources of the program. 259
(5) RULES.—The Department of Financial Services shall 260
adopt rules pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to govern the 261
program; implement the pr ovisions of this section; including 262
rules governing hurricane mitigation inspections and grants, 263
mitigation contractors, and training of inspectors and 264
contractors; and carry out the duties of the department under 265
this section. 266
(6) HURRICANE MITIGATION I NSPECTOR LIST.—The department 267
shall develop and maintain as a public record a current list of 268
hurricane mitigation inspectors authorized to conduct hurricane 269
mitigation inspections pursuant to this section. 270
(7) PUBLIC OUTREACH FOR CONTRACTORS AND REAL ES TATE 271
BROKERS AND SALES ASSOCIATES. —The program shall develop 272
brochures for distribution to general contractors, roofing 273
contractors, and real estate brokers and sales associates 274
licensed under part I of chapter 475 explaining the benefits to 275
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homeowners of residential hurricane damage mitigation. The 276
program shall encourage contractors to distribute the brochures 277
to homeowners at the first meeting with a homeowner who is 278
considering contracting for home or roof repairs or contracting 279
for the construction of a new home. The program shall encourage 280
real estate brokers and sales associates licensed under part I 281
of chapter 475 to distribute the brochures to clients prior to 282
the purchase of a home. The brochures may be made available 283
electronically. 284
(8) CONTRACT MANAGEMENT.— 285
(a) The department may contract with third parties for 286
grants management, inspection services, contractor services for 287
low-income homeowners, information technology, educational 288
outreach, and auditing services. Such contracts are shall be 289
considered direct costs of the program and are shall not be 290
subject to administrative cost limits , but contracts valued at 291
$1 million or more shall be subject to review and approval by 292
the Legislative Budget Commission . The department shall contract 293
with providers that have a demonstrated record of successful 294
business operations in areas directly related to the services to 295
be provided and shall ensure the highest accountability for use 296
of state funds, consistent with this section. 297
(b) The department shall implement a quality assurance and 298
reinspection program that determines whether initial inspections 299
and home improvements are completed in a manner consistent with 300
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the intent of the program. The department may use valid random 301
sampling in order to perform t he quality assurance portion of 302
the program. 303
(8)(9) INTENT.—It is the intent of the Legislature that 304
grants made to residential property owners under this section 305
shall be considered disaster -relief assistance within the 306
meaning of s. 139 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as 307
amended. 308
(9)(10) REPORTS.—The department shall make an annual 309
report on the activities of the program that shall account for 310
the use of state funds and indicate the number of inspections 311
requested, the number of inspections perf ormed, the number of 312
grant applications received, the number and value of grants 313
approved, and the estimated average annual amount of insurance 314
premium discounts and total estimated annual amount of insurance 315
premium discounts homeowners received from insu rers as a result 316
of mitigation funded through the program. The report must shall 317
be delivered to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of 318
the House of Representatives by February 1 of each year. 319
Section 2. For the purpose of incorporating the amendments 320
made by this act to section 215.5586, Florida Statutes, in a 321
reference thereto, subsection (3) of section 215.5588, Florida 322
Statutes, is reenacted to read: 323
215.5588 Florida Disaster Recovery Program. — 324
(3) Up to 78 percent of these funds may be used to 325
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complement the grants awarded by the Department of Financial 326
Services under s. 215.5586 and fund other eligible disaster -327
related activities supporting housing rehabilitation, hardening, 328
mitigation, and infrastructure improvements at the request of 329
the local governments in order to assist the State of Florida in 330
better serving low-income homeowners in single -family housing 331
units, including, but not limited to, condominiums. Up to 20 332
percent of the funds may be used to provide inspections and 333
mitigation improvements to multifamily units receiving rental 334
assistance under projects of the United States Department of 335
Housing and Urban Development or the Rural Development Division 336
of the United States Department of Agriculture. 337
Section 3. This act sh all take effect July 1, 2023. 338