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