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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 Condominium 2
Pilot Program; creating s. 215.5587, F.S.; 3
establishing the My Safe Florida Condominium Pilot 4
Program within the Department of Financial Services; 5
providing legislative intent; providing definitions; 6
providing requirements for associations and unit 7
owners to participate in the pilot program; providing 8
voting requirements; requiring the department to 9
contract with specified entities for certain 10
inspections; providing requirements for such entities; 11
authorizing the department to conduct criminal record 12
checks of certain inspectors; requiring inspectors to 13
submit a full set of fingerprints to the department or 14
other authorized entities; providing requirements for 15
state and federal fingerprint processing; provid ing 16
requirements for hurricane mitigation inspectors and 17
inspections; requiring applications for inspections 18
and grants to include specified statements; 19
authorizing an association to receive an inspection 20
without applying for a mitigation grant; providing 21
mitigation grants for a specified purpose; providing 22
requirements for an association receiving a mitigation 23
grant; authorizing an association to select is own 24
contractor if such contractor meets certain 25
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requirements; requiring the department to 26
electronically verify a contractor's state license; 27
requiring construction to be completed and the 28
association to submit a request for a final inspection 29
within a specified time period; providing requirements 30
for funding grant projects; requiring mitigation 31
grants to be matched by the association; providing 32
maximum state contributions; authorizing associations 33
to receive grant funds for multiple projects; 34
prohibiting the department from accepting grant 35
applications or maintaining a waiting list under 36
certain circumstances, unless otherwise expressly 37
authorized by the Legislature; providing requirements 38
for mitigation projects; providing how mitigation 39
grants may be used; requiring the department to 40
develop a specified process to ensure efficiency; 41
authorizing the depar tment to contract for certain 42
services; providing requirements for such contracts; 43
requiring the department to implement a quality 44
assurance and reinspection program; requiring the 45
department to submit to the Legislature an annual 46
report with specified inf ormation; providing an 47
effective date. 48
49
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 50
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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
51
Section 1. Section 215.5587, Florida Statutes, is created 52
to read: 53
215.5587 My Safe Florida Condominium Pilot Program. —There 54
is established withi n the Department of Financial Services the 55
My Safe Florida Condominium Pilot Program to be implemented 56
pursuant to appropriations. The department shall provide fiscal 57
accountability, contract management, and strategic leadership 58
for the pilot program, cons istent with this section. This 59
section does not create an entitlement for associations or unit 60
owners or obligate the state in any way to fund the inspection 61
or retrofitting of condominiums in the state. Implementation of 62
this pilot program is subject to a nnual legislative 63
appropriations. It is the intent of the Legislature that the My 64
Safe Florida Condominium Pilot Program provide licensed 65
inspectors to perform inspections for and grants to eligible 66
associations as funding allows. 67
(1) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term: 68
(a) "Association" has the same meaning as in s. 718.103. 69
(b) "Association property" means property, real and 70
personal, which is owned or leased by, or is dedicated by a 71
recorded plat to, an association for the use and benef it of its 72
members and is located in the service area. 73
(c) "Board of administration" has the same meaning as in 74
s. 718.103. 75
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(d) "Condominium" has the same meaning as in s. 718.103. 76
(e) "Condominium property" means the lands, leaseholds, 77
and personal property that are subjected to condominium 78
ownership, whether or not contiguous, and all improvements 79
thereon and all easements and rights appurtenant thereto 80
intended for use in connection with the condominium and are 81
located in the service area. 82
(f) "Department" means the Department of Financial 83
Services. 84
(g) "Property" means association property and condominium 85
property, as applicable, located in the service area. 86
(h) "Rebuild" means property under construction to replace 87
a structure that was destro yed or significantly damaged by a 88
hurricane and deemed unlivable by a regulatory authority. 89
(i) "Service area" means the area of the state which is 15 90
miles inward of a coastline, as that term is defined in s. 91
376.031. 92
(j) "Unit" has the same meaning a s in s. 718.103. 93
(k) "Unit owner" has the same meaning as in s. 718.103. 94
(2) PARTICIPATION.— 95
(a) In order to apply for an inspection under subsection 96
(4) or a grant under subsection (5) for association property or 97
condominium property, an association must receive approval by a 98
majority vote of the board of administration or a majority vote 99
of the total voting interests of the association to participate 100
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in the pilot program. 101
(b) In order to apply for a grant under subsection (5) 102
which improves one or more units within a condominium, an 103
association must receive both of the following: 104
1. Approval by a majority vote of the board of 105
administration or a majority vote of the total voting interests 106
of the association to participate in a mitigation inspection. 107
2. A unanimous vote of all unit owners within the 108
structure or building that is the subject of the mitigation 109
grant. 110
(c) A unit owner may participate in the pilot program 111
through a mitigation grant awarded to the association but may 112
not participate individually in the pilot program. 113
(d) The votes required under this subsection may take 114
place at the annual budget meeting of the association or at a 115
unit owner meeting called for the purpose of taking such vote. 116
Before a vote of the unit owners may be taken, the association 117
must provide to the unit owners a clear disclosure of the pilot 118
program on a form created by the department. The president and 119
the treasurer of the board of administration must sign the 120
disclosure form indicating that a copy of the form was provided 121
to each unit owner of the association. The signed disclosure 122
form and the minutes from the meeting at which the unit owners 123
voted to participate in the pilot program must be maintained as 124
part of the official records of the association. Within 14 days 125
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after an affirmative vote to participate in the pilot program, 126
the association must provide written notice in the same manner 127
as required under s. 718.112(2)(d) to all unit owners of the 128
decision to participate in the pilot program. 129
(3) HURRICANE MITIGATION INSPECTORS. — 130
(a) Licensed inspectors are to provide inspections of the 131
property to determine the mitigation measures that are needed, 132
the insurance premium discounts that may be available to the 133
association, and the improvements to existing properties of the 134
association that are needed to reduce a property's vulnerability 135
to hurricane damage. 136
(b) The department shall contract with wind certification 137
entities to provide hurricane mitigation inspections. To qualify 138
for selection by the department as a wind certification entity 139
to provide hurricane mitigation inspections, the entity m ust, at 140
a minimum, meet all of the following requirements: 141
1. Use hurricane mitigation inspectors who are licensed or 142
certified as: 143
a. A building inspector under s. 468.607; 144
b. A general, building, or residential contractor under s. 145
489.111; 146
c. A professional engineer under s. 471.015; 147
d. A professional architect under s. 481.213; or 148
e. A home inspector under s. 468.8314 who has completed at 149
least 3 hours of hurricane mitigation training approved by the 150
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Construction Industry Licensing Board, whi ch must include 151
hurricane mitigation techniques, compliance with the uniform 152
mitigation verification form, and completion of a proficiency 153
exam. 154
2. Use hurricane mitigation inspectors who have undergone 155
drug testing and a background screening. The depart ment may 156
conduct criminal record checks of inspectors used by wind 157
certification entities. Inspectors must submit a full set of 158
fingerprints to the department or to a vendor, an entity, or an 159
agency authorized under s. 943.053(13). The department, vendor, 160
entity, or agency shall forward the fingerprints to the 161
Department of Law Enforcement for state processing and the 162
Department of Law Enforcement shall forward the fingerprints to 163
the Federal Bureau of Investigation for national processing. 164
Fees for state and federal fingerprint processing shall be borne 165
by the applicant. The state cost for fingerprint processing 166
shall be as provided in s. 943.053(3)(e). The results must be 167
returned to the department for screening. The fingerprints must 168
be taken by a law enf orcement agency, designated examination 169
center, or other department -approved entity. 170
3. Provide a quality assurance program including a 171
reinspection component. 172
(4) HURRICANE MITIGATION INSPECTIONS. — 173
(a) The inspections provided to an association unde r this 174
section must, at a minimum, include all of the following: 175
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1. An inspection of the property, and a report that 176
summarizes the results and identifies recommended improvements 177
the association may take to mitigate hurricane damage. 178
2. A range of cost estimates regarding the recommended 179
mitigation improvements. 180
3. Information regarding estimated insurance premium 181
discounts, correlated to the current mitigation features and the 182
recommended mitigation improvements identified by the 183
inspection. 184
(b) An application for an inspection must contain a signed 185
or electronically verified statement made under penalty of 186
perjury by the president of the board of administration that the 187
association has submitted only a single application for each 188
property that the association operates or maintains. 189
(c) An association may apply for and receive an inspection 190
without also applying for a grant under subsection (5). 191
(5) MITIGATION GRANTS. —Financial grants may be used to 192
encourage associations to retrofit the propert y the association 193
operates and maintains in order to make such property less 194
vulnerable to hurricane damage. 195
(a) An application for a mitigation grant must: 196
1. Contain a signed or electronically verified statement 197
made under penalty of perjury by the p resident of the board of 198
administration that the association has submitted only a single 199
application for each property that the association operates or 200
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maintains. 201
2. Include a notarized statement from the president of the 202
board of administration containing the name and license number 203
of the contractor the association intends to use for the 204
mitigation project. 205
3. Include a notarized statement from the president of the 206
board of administration which commits to the department that the 207
association will complete the mitigation improvements. If the 208
grant will be used to improve units, the application must also 209
include an acknowledged statement from each unit owner who is 210
required to provide approval for a grant under paragraph (2)(b). 211
(b) An association may select its own contractor for the 212
mitigation project as long as such contractor meets all 213
qualification, certification, or licensing requirements in 214
general law. A mitigation project must be performed by a 215
properly licensed contractor who has secure d all required local 216
permits necessary for the project. The department must 217
electronically verify that the contractor's state license number 218
is accurate and up to date before approving a grant application. 219
(c) An association awarded a grant must complete the 220
entire mitigation project in order to receive the final grant 221
award and must agree to make the property available for a final 222
inspection once the mitigation project is finished to ensure the 223
mitigation improvements are completed in a matter consistent 224
with the intent of the pilot program and meet or exceed the 225
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applicable Florida Building Code requirements. Construction must 226
be completed and the association must submit a request to the 227
department for a final inspection, or request an extension of 228
time, within 1 year after receiving grant approval. If the 229
association fails to comply with this paragraph, the application 230
is deemed abandoned and the grant money reverts back to the 231
department. 232
(d) Grant projects shall be funded as follows: 233
1. All grants must be matched on the basis of $1 provided 234
by the association for $2 provided by the state. 235
2. For roof-related projects, the grant contribution is 236
$11 per square foot multiplied by the square footage of the 237
replacement roof, not to exceed $1,000 per uni t, with a maximum 238
grant award of 50 percent of the cost of the project. 239
3. For opening protection -related projects, the grant 240
contribution is a maximum of $750 per replacement window or 241
door, not to exceed $1,500 per unit, with a maximum grant award 242
of 50 percent of the cost of the project. 243
4. An association may receive grant funds for both roof -244
related and opening protection -related projects, but the maximum 245
total grant award may not exceed $175,000 per association. 246
5. The department may not accept g rant applications or 247
maintain a waiting list for grants after the cumulative value of 248
the grants awarded have fully obligated the appropriation, 249
unless otherwise expressly authorized by the Legislature. 250
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(e) When recommended by a hurricane mitigation insp ection 251
report, grants for eligible associations may be used for the 252
following improvements: 253
1. Opening protection. 254
2. Exterior doors, including garage doors. 255
3. Reinforcing roof -to-wall connections. 256
4. Improving the strength of roof -deck attachments. 257
5. Secondary water barrier for roof. 258
(f) Grants may be used for a previously inspected existing 259
structure on the property or for a rebuild. 260
(g)1. If improvements to protect the property which 261
complied with the current applicable building code at t he time 262
have been previously installed, the association must use a 263
mitigation grant to install improvements that do both of the 264
following: 265
a. Comply with or exceed the applicable building code in 266
effect at the time the association applied for the grant. 267
b. Provide more hurricane protection than the improvements 268
that the association previously installed. 269
2. The association may not use a mitigation grant to: 270
a. Install the same type of improvements that were 271
previously installed; or 272
b. Pay a deductible for a pending insurance claim for 273
damage that is part of the property for which grant funds are 274
being received. 275
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(h) The department shall develop a process that ensures 276
the most efficient means to collect and verify grant 277
applications to determine eli gibility and may direct hurricane 278
mitigation inspectors to collect and verify grant application 279
information or use the Internet or other electronic means to 280
collect information and determine eligibility. 281
(6) CONTRACT MANAGEMENT. — 282
(a) The department may contract with third parties for 283
grants management, inspection services, contractor services, 284
information technology, educational outreach, and auditing 285
services. Such contracts are considered direct costs of the 286
pilot program and are not subject to admini strative cost limits. 287
The department shall contract with providers that have a 288
demonstrated record of successful business operations in areas 289
directly related to the services to be provided and shall ensure 290
the highest accountability for use of state funds , consistent 291
with this section. 292
(b) The department shall implement a quality assurance and 293
reinspection program that determines whether initial inspections 294
and mitigation improvements are completed in a manner consistent 295
with the intent of the pilot prog ram. The department may use a 296
valid random sampling in order to perform the quality assurance 297
portion of the pilot program. 298
(7) REPORTS.—By February 1 of each year, the department 299
shall submit a report to the President of the Senate and the 300
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Speaker of the House of Representatives on the activities of the 301
pilot program and the use of state funds. The report must 302
include all of the following information: 303
(a) The number of inspections requested. 304
(b) The number of inspections performed. 305
(c) The number of grant applications received. 306
(d) The number of grants approved and the monetary value 307
of each grant. 308
(e) The estimated average annual amount of insurance 309
premium discounts each association received and the total 310
estimated annual amount of insurance premium discounts received 311
by all associations participating in the pilot program. 312
(f) The estimated average annual amount of insurance 313
premium discounts each unit owner received as a result of the 314
improvements to the building or structure. 315
Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024. 316