FL
Florida House Bill H0881

Florida 2023 Regular Session

Florida House Bill H0881 Compare Versions

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1010 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
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14+A bill to be entitled 1
1515 An act relating to the My Safe Florida Home Program; 2
1616 amending s. 215.5586, F.S.; providing that licensed, 3
1717 rather than certified, inspectors are to provide 4
1818 hurricane mitigation inspections on site -built, 5
1919 single-family, residential properties that have been 6
2020 granted a homestead exemption; authorizing an 7
2121 inspector to inspect townhouses to determine if a 8
2222 certain mitigation would provide improvements to 9
2323 mitigate hurricane damage; revising the information 10
2424 provided to homeowners as part of a hurricane 11
2525 mitigation inspection; revising the hurricane 12
2626 mitigation inspectors that may be selected by the 13
2727 Department of Financial Services to provide hurricane 14
2828 mitigation inspections; deleting a provision requiring 15
2929 the department to implement a certain quality 16
3030 assurance program; revising the criteria for 17
3131 mitigation grant eligibility for homeowners; deleting 18
3232 a provision that subjects mitigation projects to 19
3333 random reinspection for a specified timeframe; 20
3434 revising the improvements for eligible homes for which 21
3535 mitigation grants may be used; providing that such 22
3636 grants for townhouses may be used only for a specified 23
3737 purpose; revising the amount low -income homeowners may 24
3838 receive from the department under the grant program; 25
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4747 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
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5151 deleting a provision authorizing low -income homeowners 26
5252 to use grant funds for specified purposes; deleting a 27
5353 requirement that the department establish specified 28
5454 criteria for prioritizing grant applications; 29
5555 authorizing, rather than requiring, the program to 30
5656 develop and distribute certain brochures to specified 31
5757 persons; deleting a provision requiring certain 32
5858 contracts entered into by the department to be 33
5959 reviewed and approved by the Legislative Budget 34
6060 Commission; requiring the department to develop a 35
6161 certain quality assurance and reinspection program; 36
6262 revising the contents of the annual report the 37
6363 department is required to deliver to the Legislature; 38
6464 conforming provisions to changes made by the act; 39
6565 making technical changes; reenacting s. 215.5588(3), 40
6666 F.S., relating to the Florida Disaster Recovery 41
6767 Program, to incorporate t he amendments made to s. 42
6868 215.5586, F.S., in a reference thereto; providing an 43
6969 effective date. 44
7070 45
7171 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 46
7272 47
7373 Section 1. Section 215.5586, Florida Statutes, is amended 48
7474 to read: 49
7575 215.5586 My Safe Florid a Home Program.—There is 50
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8484 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
8585
8686
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8888 established within the Department of Financial Services the My 51
8989 Safe Florida Home Program. The department shall provide fiscal 52
9090 accountability, contract management, and strategic leadership 53
9191 for the program, consistent with this secti on. This section does 54
9292 not create an entitlement for property owners or obligate the 55
9393 state in any way to fund the inspection or retrofitting of 56
9494 residential property in this state. Implementation of this 57
9595 program is subject to annual legislative appropriation s. It is 58
9696 the intent of the Legislature that the My Safe Florida Home 59
9797 Program provide licensed trained and certified inspectors to 60
9898 perform inspections for owners of site -built, single-family, 61
9999 residential properties and grants to eligible applicants as 62
100100 funding allows. The program shall develop and implement a 63
101101 comprehensive and coordinated approach for hurricane damage 64
102102 mitigation that may include the following: 65
103103 (1) HURRICANE MITIGATION INSPECTIONS. — 66
104104 (a) Licensed Certified inspectors are to provide home 67
105105 home-retrofit inspections of site-built, single-family, 68
106106 residential properties for which a homestead exemption has been 69
107107 granted, property may be offered to determine what mitigation 70
108108 measures are needed, what insurance premium discounts may be 71
109109 available, and what improvements to existing residential 72
110110 properties are needed to reduce the property's vulnerability to 73
111111 hurricane damage. An inspector may inspect a townhouse as 74
112112 defined in s. 481.203 to determine if opening protection 75
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121121 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
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125125 mitigation as listed in paragraph (2 )(e) would provide 76
126126 improvements to mitigate hurricane damage. 77
127127 (b) The Department of Financial Services shall contract 78
128128 with wind certification entities to provide hurricane mitigation 79
129129 inspections. The inspections provided to homeowners, at a 80
130130 minimum, must include: 81
131131 1. A home inspection and report that summarizes the 82
132132 results and identifies recommended improvements a homeowner may 83
133133 take to mitigate hurricane damage. 84
134134 2. A range of cost estimates regarding the recommended 85
135135 mitigation improvements. 86
136136 3. Insurer-specific Information regarding estimated 87
137137 premium discounts, correlated to the current mitigation features 88
138138 and the recommended mitigation improvements identified by the 89
139139 inspection. 90
140140 (c)(b) To qualify for selection by the department as a 91
141141 wind certification entity to provide hurricane mitigation 92
142142 inspections, the entity must shall, at a minimum, meet the 93
143143 following requirements: 94
144144 1. Use hurricane mitigation inspectors who are licensed or 95
145145 certified as: 96
146146 a. Are certified as A building inspector under s. 468.6 07; 97
147147 b. Are licensed as A general, building, or residential 98
148148 contractor under s. 489.111; 99
149149 c. Are licensed as A professional engineer under s. 100
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158158 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
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160160
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162162 471.015 and who have passed the appropriate equivalency test of 101
163163 the building code training program as required b y s. 553.841; 102
164164 d. Are licensed as A professional architect under s. 103
165165 481.213; or 104
166166 e. A home inspector under s. 468.8314 and who have 105
167167 completed at least 3 hours of hurricane mitigation training 106
168168 approved by the Construction Industry Licensing Board, which 107
169169 training must include hurricane mitigation techniques, 108
170170 compliance with the uniform mitigation verification form, and 109
171171 completion of a proficiency exam. 110
172172 e. Have at least 2 years of experience in residential 111
173173 construction or residential building inspection a nd have 112
174174 received specialized training in hurricane mitigation 113
175175 procedures. Such training may be provided by a class offered 114
176176 online or in person. 115
177177 2. Use hurricane mitigation inspectors who also : 116
178178 a. have undergone drug testing and a background screening. 117
179179 The department may conduct criminal record checks of inspectors 118
180180 used by wind certification entities. Inspectors must submit a 119
181181 set of the fingerprints to the department for state and national 120
182182 criminal history checks and must pay the fingerprint processing 121
183183 fee set forth in s. 624.501. The fingerprints must shall be sent 122
184184 by the department to the Department of Law Enforcement and 123
185185 forwarded to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for processing. 124
186186 The results must shall be returned to the department for 125
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195195 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
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199199 screening. The fingerprints must shall be taken by a law 126
200200 enforcement agency, designated examination center, or other 127
201201 department-approved entity; and 128
202202 b. Have been certified, in a manner satisfactory to the 129
203203 department, to conduct the inspections . 130
204204 3. Provide a quality assurance program including a 131
205205 reinspection component. 132
206206 (c) The department shall implement a quality assurance 133
207207 program that includes a statistically valid number of 134
208208 reinspections. 135
209209 (d) An application for an inspection must contain a signed 136
210210 or electronically verified statement made under penalty of 137
211211 perjury that the applicant has submitted only a single 138
212212 application for that home. 139
213213 (e) The owner of a site -built, single-family, residential 140
214214 property or townhouse as defined in s. 481.203, for which a 141
215215 homestead exemption has been granted, may apply for and receive 142
216216 an inspection without also applying for a grant pursuant to 143
217217 subsection (2) and without meeting the requirements of paragraph 144
218218 (2)(a). 145
219219 (2) MITIGATION GRANTS. —Financial grants shall be used to 146
220220 encourage single-family, site-built, owner-occupied, residential 147
221221 property owners to retrofit their properties to make them less 148
222222 vulnerable to hurricane damage. 149
223223 (a) For a homeowner to be eligible for a grant, the 150
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232232 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
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234234
235235
236236 following criteria must be met: 151
237237 1. The homeowner must have been granted a homestead 152
238238 exemption on the home under chapter 196. 153
239239 2. The home must be a dwelling with an insured value of 154
240240 $700,000 $500,000 or less. Homeowners who are low -income 155
241241 persons, as defined in s. 420.0004(11), are exempt from th is 156
242242 requirement. 157
243243 3. The home must undergo have undergone an acceptable 158
244244 hurricane mitigation inspection as provided in subsection (1) 159
245245 after July 1, 2008. 160
246246 4. The home must be located in the "wind -borne debris 161
247247 region" as that term is defined in the Florida Building Code. 162
248248 4.5. The building permit application for initial 163
249249 construction of the home must have been made before January 1, 164
250250 2008. 165
251251 5.6. The homeowner must agree to make his or her home 166
252252 available for inspection once a mitigation project is completed. 167
253253 168
254254 An application for a grant must contain a signed or 169
255255 electronically verified statement made under penalty of perjury 170
256256 that the applicant has submitted only a single application and 171
257257 must have attached documents demonstrating the applicant meets 172
258258 the requirements of this paragraph. 173
259259 (b) All grants must be matched on the basis of $1 provided 174
260260 by the applicant for $2 provided by the state up to a maximum 175
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269269 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
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273273 state contribution of $10,000 toward the actual cost of the 176
274274 mitigation project. 177
275275 (c) The program shall creat e a process in which 178
276276 contractors agree to participate and homeowners select from a 179
277277 list of participating contractors. All mitigation must be based 180
278278 upon the securing of all required local permits and inspections 181
279279 and must be performed by properly licensed co ntractors. 182
280280 Mitigation projects are subject to random reinspection of up to 183
281281 at least 5 percent of all projects. Hurricane mitigation 184
282282 inspectors qualifying for the program may also participate as 185
283283 mitigation contractors as long as the inspectors meet the 186
284284 department's qualifications and certification requirements for 187
285285 mitigation contractors. 188
286286 (d) Matching fund grants shall also be made available to 189
287287 local governments and nonprofit entities for projects that will 190
288288 reduce hurricane damage to single -family, site-built, owner-191
289289 occupied, residential property. The department shall liberally 192
290290 construe those requirements in favor of availing the state of 193
291291 the opportunity to leverage funding for the My Safe Florida Home 194
292292 Program with other sources of funding. 195
293293 (e) When recommended by a hurricane mitigation inspection, 196
294294 grants for eligible homes may be used for the following 197
295295 improvements: 198
296296 1. Opening protection. 199
297297 2. Exterior doors, including garage doors. 200
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306306 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
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310310 3. Brace gable ends. 201
311311 3.4. Reinforcing roof-to-wall connections. 202
312312 4.5. Improving the strength of roof -deck attachments. 203
313313 6. Upgrading roof covering from code to code plus. 204
314314 5.7. Secondary water barrier for roof. 205
315315 (f) When recommended by a hurricane mitigation inspection, 206
316316 grants for townhouses, as defined in s. 481.203, may only be 207
317317 used for opening protection. 208
318318 209
319319 The department may require that improvements be made to all 210
320320 openings, including exterior doors and garage doors, as a 211
321321 condition of reimbursing a homeowner approved for a grant. The 212
322322 department may adopt, by rule, th e maximum grant allowances for 213
323323 any improvement allowable under paragraph (e) or this paragraph. 214
324324 215
325325 (g)(f) Grants may be used on a previously inspected 216
326326 existing structure or on a rebuild. A rebuild is defined as a 217
327327 site-built, single-family dwelling under c onstruction to replace 218
328328 a home that was destroyed or significantly damaged by a 219
329329 hurricane and deemed unlivable by a regulatory authority. The 220
330330 homeowner must be a low -income homeowner as defined in paragraph 221
331331 (h) (g), must have had a homestead exemption for t hat home 222
332332 before prior to the hurricane, and must be intending to rebuild 223
333333 the home as that homeowner's homestead. 224
334334 (h)(g) Low-income homeowners, as defined in s. 225
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343343 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
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345345
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347347 420.0004(11), who otherwise meet the requirements of paragraphs 226
348348 (a), (c), (e), and (g) (f) are eligible for a grant of up to 227
349349 $10,000 $5,000 and are not required to provide a matching amount 228
350350 to receive the grant. Additionally, for low -income homeowners, 229
351351 grant funding may be used for repair to existing structures 230
352352 leading to any of the mitigation impr ovements provided in 231
353353 paragraph (e), limited to 20 percent of the grant value. The 232
354354 program may accept a certification directly from a low -income 233
355355 homeowner that the homeowner meets the requirements of s. 234
356356 420.0004(11) if the homeowner provides such certificat ion in a 235
357357 signed or electronically verified statement made under penalty 236
358358 of perjury. 237
359359 (h) The department shall establish objective, reasonable 238
360360 criteria for prioritizing grant applications, consistent with 239
361361 the requirements of this section. 240
362362 (i) The department shall develop a process that ensures 241
363363 the most efficient means to collect and verify grant 242
364364 applications to determine eligibility and may direct hurricane 243
365365 mitigation inspectors to collect and verify grant application 244
366366 information or use the Internet or o ther electronic means to 245
367367 collect information and determine eligibility. 246
368368 (3) EDUCATION, AND CONSUMER AWARENESS, AND OUTREACH.— 247
369369 (a) The department may undertake a statewide multimedia 248
370370 public outreach and advertising campaign to inform consumers of 249
371371 the availability and benefits of hurricane inspections and of 250
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380380 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
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384384 the safety and financial benefits of residential hurricane 251
385385 damage mitigation. The department may seek out and use local, 252
386386 state, federal, and private funds to support the campaign. 253
387387 (b) The program may develop brochures for distribution to 254
388388 Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, general contractors, 255
389389 roofing contractors, and real estate brokers and sales 256
390390 associates who are licensed under part I of chapter 475 which 257
391391 provide information on the benefits t o homeowners of residential 258
392392 hurricane damage mitigation. Citizens Property Insurance 259
393393 Corporation is encouraged to distribute the brochure to 260
394394 policyholders of the corporation. Contractors are encouraged to 261
395395 distribute the brochures to homeowners at the first meeting with 262
396396 a homeowner who is considering contracting for home or roof 263
397397 repair or contracting for the construction of a new home. Real 264
398398 estate brokers and sales associates are encouraged to distribute 265
399399 the brochure to clients before the purchase of a home. The 266
400400 brochures may be made available electronically. 267
401401 (4) FUNDING.—The department may seek out and leverage 268
402402 local, state, federal, or private funds to enhance the financial 269
403403 resources of the program. 270
404404 (5) RULES.—The Department of Financial Services shall 271
405405 adopt rules pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to govern the 272
406406 program; implement the provisions of this section; including 273
407407 rules governing hurricane mitigation inspections and grants, 274
408408 mitigation contractors, and training of inspectors and 275
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417417 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
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421421 contractors; and carry out the duties of the department under 276
422422 this section. 277
423423 (6) HURRICANE MITIGATION INSPECTOR LIST. —The department 278
424424 shall develop and maintain as a public record a current list of 279
425425 hurricane mitigation inspectors authorized to conduct hurricane 280
426426 mitigation inspections pursuant to this section. 281
427427 (7) PUBLIC OUTREACH FOR CONTRACTORS AND REAL ESTATE 282
428428 BROKERS AND SALES ASSOCIATES. —The program shall develop 283
429429 brochures for distribution to general contractors, roofing 284
430430 contractors, and real estate brokers and sales associates 285
431431 licensed under part I of chapter 475 explaining the benefits to 286
432432 homeowners of residential hurricane damage mitigation. The 287
433433 program shall encourage contractors to distribute the brochures 288
434434 to homeowners at the first meeting with a homeowner who is 289
435435 considering contracting for home or roof repairs or contracting 290
436436 for the construction of a new home. The program shall encourage 291
437437 real estate brokers and sales associates licensed under part I 292
438438 of chapter 475 to distribute the brochures to clients prior to 293
439439 the purchase of a home. The brochures may be made available 294
440440 electronically. 295
441441 (7)(8) CONTRACT MANAGEMENT. — 296
442442 (a) The department may contract with third parties for 297
443443 grants management, inspection services, contractor services for 298
444444 low-income homeowners, information technology, educational 299
445445 outreach, and auditing services. Such contracts are shall be 300
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454454 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
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456456
457457
458458 considered direct costs of the program and are shall not be 301
459459 subject to administrative cost limits , but contracts valued at 302
460460 $1 million or more shall be subject to review and approval by 303
461461 the Legislative Budget Commission . The department shall contract 304
462462 with providers that have a demonstrated record of successful 305
463463 business operations in areas directly related to the services to 306
464464 be provided and shall ensure the highest accountability for use 307
465465 of state funds, consistent with this section. 308
466466 (b) The department shall implement a qualit y assurance and 309
467467 reinspection program that determines whether initial inspections 310
468468 and home improvements are completed in a manner consistent with 311
469469 the intent of the program. The department may use valid random 312
470470 sampling in order to perform the quality assuran ce portion of 313
471471 the program. 314
472472 (8)(9) INTENT.—It is the intent of the Legislature that 315
473473 grants made to residential property owners under this section 316
474474 shall be considered disaster -relief assistance within the 317
475475 meaning of s. 139 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1 986, as 318
476476 amended. 319
477477 (9)(10) REPORTS.—The department shall make an annual 320
478478 report on the activities of the program that shall account for 321
479479 the use of state funds and indicate the number of inspections 322
480480 requested, the number of inspections performed, the number of 323
481481 grant applications received, the number and value of grants 324
482482 approved, and the estimated average annual amount of insurance 325
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491491 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
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495495 premium discounts and total estimated annual amount of insurance 326
496496 premium discounts homeowners received from insurers as a result 327
497497 of mitigation funded through the program. The report must shall 328
498498 be delivered to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of 329
499499 the House of Representatives by February 1 of each year. 330
500500 Section 2. For the purpose of incorporating the amendments 331
501501 made by this act to section 215.5586, Florida Statutes, in a 332
502502 reference thereto, subsection (3) of section 215.5588, Florida 333
503503 Statutes, is reenacted to read: 334
504504 215.5588 Florida Disaster Recovery Program. — 335
505505 (3) Up to 78 percent of these funds may be used to 336
506506 complement the grants awarded by the Department of Financial 337
507507 Services under s. 215.5586 and fund other eligible disaster -338
508508 related activities supporting housing rehabilitation, hardening, 339
509509 mitigation, and infrastructure improvements at the request of 340
510510 the local governments in order to assist the State of Florida in 341
511511 better serving low-income homeowners in single -family housing 342
512512 units, including, but not limited to, condominiums. Up to 20 343
513513 percent of the funds may be used to provide inspections and 344
514514 mitigation improvements to multifamily units receiving rental 345
515515 assistance under projects of the United States Department of 346
516516 Housing and Urban Development or the Rural Development Division 347
517517 of the United States Department of Agriculture. 348
518518 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023. 349