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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
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; authorizing an 7
inspector to inspect townhouses to determine if a 8
certain mitigation would provide improvements to 9
mitigate hurricane damage; revising the information 10
provided to homeowners as part of a hurricane 11
mitigation inspection; revising the hurricane 12
mitigation inspectors that may be selected by the 13
Department of Financial Services to provide hurricane 14
mitigation inspections; deleting a provision requiring 15
the department to implement a certain quality 16
assurance program; 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 eligible homes for which 21
mitigation grants may be used; providing that such 22
grants for townhouses may be used only for a specified 23
purpose; revising the amount low -income homeowners may 24
receive from the department under the grant program; 25
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deleting a provision authorizing low -income homeowners 26
to use grant funds for specified purposes; deleting a 27
requirement that the department establish specified 28
criteria for prioritizing grant applications; 29
authorizing, rather than requiring, the program to 30
develop and distribute certain brochures to specified 31
persons; deleting a provision requiring certain 32
contracts entered into by the department to be 33
reviewed and approved by the Legislative Budget 34
Commission; requiring the department to develop a 35
certain quality assurance and reinspection program; 36
revising the contents of the annual report the 37
department is required to deliver to the Legislature; 38
conforming provisions to changes made by the act; 39
making technical changes; reenacting s. 215.5588(3), 40
F.S., relating to the Florida Disaster Recovery 41
Program, to incorporate the amendments made to s. 42
215.5586, F.S., in a reference thereto; providing an 43
effective date. 44
45
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Flori da: 46
47
Section 1. Section 215.5586, Florida Statutes, is amended 48
to read: 49
215.5586 My Safe Florida Home Program. —There is 50
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established within the Department of Financial Services the My 51
Safe Florida Home Program. The department shall provide fiscal 52
accountability, contract management, and strategic leadership 53
for the program, consistent with this section. This section does 54
not create an entitlement for property owners or obligate the 55
state in any way to fund the inspection or retrofitting of 56
residential property in this state. Implementation of this 57
program is subject to annual legislative appropriations. It is 58
the intent of the Legislature that the My Safe Florida Home 59
Program provide licensed trained and certified inspectors to 60
perform inspections for o wners of site-built, single-family, 61
residential properties and grants to eligible applicants as 62
funding allows. The program shall develop and implement a 63
comprehensive and coordinated approach for hurricane damage 64
mitigation that may include the following: 65
(1) HURRICANE MITIGATION INSPECTIONS. — 66
(a) Licensed Certified inspectors are to provide home 67
home-retrofit inspections of site-built, single-family, 68
residential properties for which a homestead exemption has been 69
granted, property may be offered to determine what mitigation 70
measures are needed, what insurance premium discounts may be 71
available, and what improvements to existing residential 72
properties are needed to reduce the property's vulnerability to 73
hurricane damage. An inspector may inspect a townh ouse as 74
defined in s. 481.203 to determine if opening protection 75
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mitigation as listed in paragraph (2)(e) would provide 76
improvements to mitigate hurricane damage. 77
(b) The Department of Financial Services shall contract 78
with wind certification entities to provide hurricane mitigation 79
inspections. The inspections provided to homeowners, at a 80
minimum, must include: 81
1. A home inspection and report that summarizes the 82
results and identifies recommended improvements a homeowner may 83
take to mitigate hurricane damage. 84
2. A range of cost estimates regarding the recommended 85
mitigation improvements. 86
3. Insurer-specific Information regarding estimated 87
premium discounts, correlated to the current mitigation features 88
and the recommended mitigation improvements ide ntified by the 89
inspection. 90
(c)(b) To qualify for selection by the department as a 91
wind certification entity to provide hurricane mitigation 92
inspections, the entity must shall, at a minimum, meet the 93
following requirements: 94
1. Use hurricane mitigation i nspectors who are licensed or 95
certified as: 96
a. Are certified as A building inspector under s. 468.607; 97
b. Are licensed as A general, building, or residential 98
contractor under s. 489.111; 99
c. Are licensed as A professional engineer under s. 100
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471.015 and who have passed the appropriate equivalency test of 101
the building code training program as required by s. 553.841 ; 102
d. Are licensed as A professional architect under s. 103
481.213; or 104
e. A home inspector under s. 468.8314 and who have 105
completed at least 3 hours of hurricane mitigation training 106
approved by the Construction Industry Licensing Board, which 107
training must include hurricane mitigation techniques, 108
compliance with the uniform mitigation verification form, and 109
completion of a proficiency exam. 110
e. Have at least 2 years of experience in residential 111
construction or residential building inspection and have 112
received specialized training in hurricane mitigation 113
procedures. Such training may be provided by a class offered 114
online or in person. 115
2. Use hurricane mitigation inspectors who also : 116
a. have undergone drug testing and a background screening. 117
The department may conduct criminal record checks of inspectors 118
used by wind certification entities. Inspectors must submit a 119
set of the fingerprints to the department for state and national 120
criminal history checks and must pay the fingerprint processing 121
fee set forth in s. 624.501. The fingerprints must shall be sent 122
by the department to the Department of Law Enforcement and 123
forwarded to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for processing. 124
The results must shall be returned to the department for 125
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screening. The fingerprints must shall be taken by a law 126
enforcement agency, designated examination center, or other 127
department-approved entity; and 128
b. Have been certified, in a manner satisfactory to the 129
department, to conduct the inspections . 130
3. Provide a quality assurance program including a 131
reinspection component. 132
(c) The department shall implement a quality assurance 133
program that include s a statistically valid number of 134
reinspections. 135
(d) An application for an inspection must contain a signed 136
or electronically verified statement made under penalty of 137
perjury that the applicant has submitted only a single 138
application for that home. 139
(e) The owner of a site-built, single-family, residential 140
property or townhouse as defined in s. 481.203, for which a 141
homestead exemption has been granted, may apply for and receive 142
an inspection without also applying for a grant pursuant to 143
subsection (2) and without meeting the requirements of paragraph 144
(2)(a). 145
(2) MITIGATION GRANTS. —Financial grants shall be used to 146
encourage single-family, site-built, owner-occupied, residential 147
property owners to retrofit their properties to make them less 148
vulnerable to hurricane damage. 149
(a) For a homeowner to be eligible for a grant, the 150
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following criteria must be met: 151
1. The homeowner must have been granted a homestead 152
exemption on the home under chapter 196. 153
2. The home must be a dwelling with an insured value o f 154
$700,000 $500,000 or less. Homeowners who are low -income 155
persons, as defined in s. 420.0004(11), are exempt from this 156
requirement. 157
3. The home must undergo have undergone an acceptable 158
hurricane mitigation inspection as provided in subsection (1) 159
after July 1, 2008. 160
4. The home must be located in the "wind -borne debris 161
region" as that term is defined in the Florida Building Code. 162
4.5. The building permit application for initial 163
construction of the home must have been made before January 1, 164
2008. 165
5.6. The homeowner must agree to make his or her home 166
available for inspection once a mitigation project is completed. 167
168
An application for a grant must contain a signed or 169
electronically verified statement made under penalty of perjury 170
that the applicant ha s submitted only a single application and 171
must have attached documents demonstrating the applicant meets 172
the requirements of this paragraph. 173
(b) All grants must be matched on the basis of $1 provided 174
by the applicant for $2 provided by the state up to a maximum 175
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state contribution of $10,000 toward the actual cost of the 176
mitigation project. 177
(c) The program shall create a process in which 178
contractors agree to participate and homeowners select from a 179
list of participating contractors. All mitigation must b e based 180
upon the securing of all required local permits and inspections 181
and must be performed by properly licensed contractors. 182
Mitigation projects are subject to random reinspection of up to 183
at least 5 percent of all projects. Hurricane mitigation 184
inspectors qualifying for the program may also participate as 185
mitigation contractors as long as the inspectors meet the 186
department's qualifications and certification requirements for 187
mitigation contractors. 188
(d) Matching fund grants shall also be made available to 189
local governments and nonprofit entities for projects that will 190
reduce hurricane damage to single -family, site-built, owner-191
occupied, residential property. The department shall liberally 192
construe those requirements in favor of availing the state of 193
the opportunity to leverage funding for the My Safe Florida Home 194
Program with other sources of funding. 195
(e) When recommended by a hurricane mitigation inspection, 196
grants for eligible homes may be used for the following 197
improvements: 198
1. Opening protection. 199
2. Exterior doors, including garage doors. 200
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3. Brace gable ends. 201
3.4. Reinforcing roof-to-wall connections. 202
4.5. Improving the strength of roof -deck attachments. 203
6. Upgrading roof covering from code to code plus. 204
5.7. Secondary water barrier for roof. 205
(f) When recommended by a hurricane mitigation inspection, 206
grants for townhouses, as defined in s. 481.203, may only be 207
used for opening protection. 208
209
The department may require that improvements be made to all 210
openings, including exterior doors and garage doors, as a 211
condition of reimbursing a homeowner approved for a grant. The 212
department may adopt, by rule, the maximum grant allowances for 213
any improvement allowable under paragraph (e) or this paragraph. 214
215
(g)(f) Grants may be used on a previously inspected 216
existing structure or on a rebuild. A rebuild is defined as a 217
site-built, single-family dwelling under construction to replace 218
a home that was destroyed or significantly damaged by a 219
hurricane and deemed unlivable by a regulatory authority. The 220
homeowner must be a low -income homeowner as defined in paragraph 221
(h) (g), must have had a homestead exemption for that home 222
before prior to the hurricane, and must be intending to rebuild 223
the home as that homeowner's homestea d. 224
(h)(g) Low-income homeowners, as defined in s. 225
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420.0004(11), who otherwise meet the requirements of paragraphs 226
(a), (c), (e), and (g) (f) are eligible for a grant of up to 227
$10,000 $5,000 and are not required to provide a matching amount 228
to receive the grant. Additionally, for low -income homeowners, 229
grant funding may be used for repair to existing structures 230
leading to any of the mitigation improvements provided in 231
paragraph (e), limited to 20 percent of the grant value. The 232
program may accept a certifi cation directly from a low -income 233
homeowner that the homeowner meets the requirements of s. 234
420.0004(11) if the homeowner provides such certification in a 235
signed or electronically verified statement made under penalty 236
of perjury. 237
(h) The department shall establish objective, reasonable 238
criteria for prioritizing grant applications, consistent with 239
the requirements of this section. 240
(i) The department shall develop a process that ensures 241
the most efficient means to collect and verify grant 242
applications to determine eligibility and may direct hurricane 243
mitigation inspectors to collect and verify grant application 244
information or use the Internet or other electronic means to 245
collect information and determine eligibility. 246
(3) EDUCATION, AND CONSUMER AWARENESS, AND OUTREACH.— 247
(a) The department may undertake a statewide multimedia 248
public outreach and advertising campaign to inform consumers of 249
the availability and benefits of hurricane inspections and of 250
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the safety and financial benefits of residential hurricane 251
damage mitigation. The department may seek out and use local, 252
state, federal, and private funds to support the campaign. 253
(b) The program may develop brochures for distribution to 254
Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, general contractors, 255
roofing contractors, and real estate brokers and sales 256
associates who are licensed under part I of chapter 475 which 257
provide information on the benefits to homeowners of residential 258
hurricane damage mitigation. Citizens Property Insurance 259
Corporation is encouraged to distribute the brochure to 260
policyholders of the corporation. Contractors are encouraged to 261
distribute the brochures to homeowners at the first meeting with 262
a homeowner who is considering contracting for home or roof 263
repair or contracting for the construction of a new home. Real 264
estate brokers and sales associates are encouraged to distribute 265
the brochure to clients before the purchase of a home. The 266
brochures may be made available electronically. 267
(4) FUNDING.—The department may seek out and leverage 268
local, state, federal, or private funds to enhance the financial 269
resources of the program. 270
(5) RULES.—The Department of Financial Services shall 271
adopt rules pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to gov ern the 272
program; implement the provisions of this section; including 273
rules governing hurricane mitigation inspections and grants, 274
mitigation contractors, and training of inspectors and 275
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contractors; and carry out the duties of the department under 276
this section. 277
(6) HURRICANE MITIGATION INSPECTOR LIST. —The department 278
shall develop and maintain as a public record a current list of 279
hurricane mitigation inspectors authorized to conduct hurricane 280
mitigation inspections pursuant to this section. 281
(7) PUBLIC OUTREACH FOR CONTRACTORS AND REAL ESTATE 282
BROKERS AND SALES ASSOCIATES. —The program shall develop 283
brochures for distribution to general contractors, roofing 284
contractors, and real estate brokers and sales associates 285
licensed under part I of chapter 475 explaini ng the benefits to 286
homeowners of residential hurricane damage mitigation. The 287
program shall encourage contractors to distribute the brochures 288
to homeowners at the first meeting with a homeowner who is 289
considering contracting for home or roof repairs or con tracting 290
for the construction of a new home. The program shall encourage 291
real estate brokers and sales associates licensed under part I 292
of chapter 475 to distribute the brochures to clients prior to 293
the purchase of a home. The brochures may be made availab le 294
electronically. 295
(7)(8) CONTRACT MANAGEMENT. — 296
(a) The department may contract with third parties for 297
grants management, inspection services, contractor services for 298
low-income homeowners, information technology, educational 299
outreach, and auditing ser vices. Such contracts are shall be 300
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considered direct costs of the program and are shall not be 301
subject to administrative cost limits , but contracts valued at 302
$1 million or more shall be subject to review and approval by 303
the Legislative Budget Commission . The department shall contract 304
with providers that have a demonstrated record of successful 305
business operations in areas directly related to the services to 306
be provided and shall ensure the highest accountability for use 307
of state funds, consistent with this section. 308
(b) The department shall implement a quality assurance and 309
reinspection program that determines whether initial inspections 310
and home improvements are completed in a manner consistent with 311
the intent of the program. The department may use valid r andom 312
sampling in order to perform the quality assurance portion of 313
the program. 314
(8)(9) INTENT.—It is the intent of the Legislature that 315
grants made to residential property owners under this section 316
shall be considered disaster -relief assistance within t he 317
meaning of s. 139 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as 318
amended. 319
(9)(10) REPORTS.—The department shall make an annual 320
report on the activities of the program that shall account for 321
the use of state funds and indicate the number of inspections 322
requested, the number of inspections performed, the number of 323
grant applications received, the number and value of grants 324
approved, and the estimated average annual amount of insurance 325
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premium discounts and total estimated annual amount of insurance 326
premium discounts homeowners received from insurers as a result 327
of mitigation funded through the program. The report must shall 328
be delivered to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of 329
the House of Representatives by February 1 of each year. 330
Section 2. For the purpose of incorporating the amendments 331
made by this act to section 215.5586, Florida Statutes, in a 332
reference thereto, subsection (3) of section 215.5588, Florida 333
Statutes, is reenacted to read: 334
215.5588 Florida Disaster Recovery Program. — 335
(3) Up to 78 percent of these funds may be used to 336
complement the grants awarded by the Department of Financial 337
Services under s. 215.5586 and fund other eligible disaster -338
related activities supporting housing rehabilitation, hardening, 339
mitigation, and infrastruc ture improvements at the request of 340
the local governments in order to assist the State of Florida in 341
better serving low-income homeowners in single -family housing 342
units, including, but not limited to, condominiums. Up to 20 343
percent of the funds may be used to provide inspections and 344
mitigation improvements to multifamily units receiving rental 345
assistance under projects of the United States Department of 346
Housing and Urban Development or the Rural Development Division 347
of the United States Department of Agricu lture. 348
Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023. 349