CS for SB 7028 First Engrossed (ntc) 20247028e1 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to the My Safe Florida Home Program; 3 amending s. 215.5586, F.S.; revising legislative 4 intent; specifying eligibility requirements for 5 hurricane mitigation inspections under the program; 6 specifying requirements for a hurricane mitigation 7 inspection application; authorizing an applicant to 8 submit a subsequent hurricane mitigation inspection 9 application under certain conditions; authorizing 10 applicants who meet specified requirements to receive 11 a home inspection under the program without being 12 eligible for, or applying for, a grant; specifying 13 eligibility requirements for hurricane mitigation 14 grants; revising application requirements for 15 hurricane mitigation grants; authorizing an applicant 16 to submit a subsequent hurricane mitigation grant 17 application under certain conditions; requiring that a 18 grant application include certain information; 19 deleting and revising provisions relating to the 20 selection of hurricane mitigation inspectors and 21 contractors; deleting the requirement that matching 22 fund grants be made available to certain entities; 23 revising improvements that grants for eligible homes 24 may be used for; deleting the authorization to use 25 grants on rebuilds; requiring the Department of 26 Financial Services to develop a process that ensures 27 the most efficient means to collect and verify 28 inspection applications; requiring the department to 29 prioritize the review and approval of inspection and 30 grant applications in a specified order; requiring the 31 department to start accepting inspection and grant 32 applications as specified in the act; requiring 33 homeowners to finalize construction and make certain 34 requests within a specified time; providing that an 35 application is deemed abandoned under certain 36 circumstances; authorizing the department to request 37 certain information; providing that an application is 38 considered withdrawn under certain circumstances; 39 revising provisions regarding the development of 40 brochures; requiring the Citizens Property Insurance 41 Corporation to distribute such brochures to specified 42 persons; providing appropriations; providing an 43 effective date. 44 45 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 46 47 Section 1.Section 215.5586, Florida Statutes, as amended 48 by section 5 of chapter 2023-349, Laws of Florida, is amended to 49 read: 50 215.5586My Safe Florida Home Program.There is established 51 within the Department of Financial Services the My Safe Florida 52 Home Program. The department shall provide fiscal 53 accountability, contract management, and strategic leadership 54 for the program, consistent with this section. This section does 55 not create an entitlement for property owners or obligate the 56 state in any way to fund the inspection or retrofitting of 57 residential property in this state. Implementation of this 58 program is subject to annual legislative appropriations. It is 59 the intent of the Legislature that, subject to the availability 60 of funds, the My Safe Florida Home Program provide licensed 61 inspectors to perform hurricane mitigation inspections of 62 eligible homes for owners of site-built, single-family, 63 residential properties and grants to eligible fund hurricane 64 mitigation projects on those homes applicants. The department 65 shall implement the program in such a manner that the total 66 amount of funding requested by accepted applications, whether 67 for inspections, grants, or other services or assistance, does 68 not exceed the total amount of available funds. If, after 69 applications are processed and approved, funds remain available, 70 the department may accept applications up to the available 71 amount. The program shall develop and implement a comprehensive 72 and coordinated approach for hurricane damage mitigation 73 pursuant to that may include the following requirements provided 74 in this section.: 75 (1)HURRICANE MITIGATION INSPECTIONS. 76 (a)To be eligible for a hurricane mitigation inspection 77 under the program: 78 1.A home must be a single-family, detached residential 79 property or a townhouse as defined in s. 481.203; 80 2.A home must be site-built and owner-occupied; and 81 3.The homeowner must have been granted a homestead 82 exemption on the home under chapter 196. 83 (b)1.An application for a hurricane mitigation inspection 84 must contain a signed or electronically verified statement made 85 under penalty of perjury that the applicant has submitted only 86 one inspection application on the home or that the application 87 is allowed under subparagraph 2., and the application must have 88 documents attached which demonstrate that the applicant meets 89 the requirements of paragraph (a). 90 2.An applicant may submit a subsequent hurricane 91 mitigation inspection application for the same home only if: 92 a.The original hurricane mitigation inspection application 93 has been denied or withdrawn because of errors or omissions in 94 the application; 95 b.The original hurricane mitigation inspection application 96 was denied or withdrawn because the home did not meet the 97 eligibility criteria for an inspection at the time of the 98 previous application, and the homeowner reasonably believes the 99 home now is eligible for an inspection; or 100 c.The programs eligibility requirements for an inspection 101 have changed since the original application date, and the 102 applicant reasonably believes the home is eligible under the new 103 requirements. 104 (c)An applicant meeting the requirements of paragraph (a) 105 may receive an inspection of a home under the program without 106 being eligible for a grant under subsection (2) or applying for 107 such grant. 108 (d)Licensed inspectors are to provide home inspections of 109 eligible homes site-built, single-family, residential properties 110 for which a homestead exemption has been granted, to determine 111 what mitigation measures are needed, what insurance premium 112 discounts may be available, and what improvements to existing 113 residential properties are needed to reduce the propertys 114 vulnerability to hurricane damage. An inspector may inspect a 115 townhouse as defined in s. 481.203 to determine if opening 116 protection mitigation as listed in subparagraph (2)(e)1. 117 paragraph (2)(e) would provide improvements to mitigate 118 hurricane damage. 119 (e)(b)The department of Financial Services shall contract 120 with wind certification entities to provide hurricane mitigation 121 inspections. The inspections provided to homeowners, at a 122 minimum, must include: 123 1.A home inspection and report that summarizes the results 124 and identifies recommended improvements a homeowner may take to 125 mitigate hurricane damage. 126 2.A range of cost estimates regarding the recommended 127 mitigation improvements. 128 3.Information regarding estimated premium discounts, 129 correlated to the current mitigation features and the 130 recommended mitigation improvements identified by the 131 inspection. 132 (f)(c)To qualify for selection by the department as a wind 133 certification entity to provide hurricane mitigation 134 inspections, the entity must, at a minimum, meet the following 135 requirements: 136 1.Use hurricane mitigation inspectors who are licensed or 137 certified as: 138 a.A building inspector under s. 468.607; 139 b.A general, building, or residential contractor under s. 140 489.111; 141 c.A professional engineer under s. 471.015; 142 d.A professional architect under s. 481.213; or 143 e.A home inspector under s. 468.8314 and who have 144 completed at least 3 hours of hurricane mitigation training 145 approved by the Construction Industry Licensing Board, which 146 training must include hurricane mitigation techniques, 147 compliance with the uniform mitigation verification form, and 148 completion of a proficiency exam. 149 2.Use hurricane mitigation inspectors who also have 150 undergone drug testing and a background screening. The 151 department may conduct criminal record checks of inspectors used 152 by wind certification entities. Inspectors must submit a set of 153 fingerprints to the department for state and national criminal 154 history checks and must pay the fingerprint processing fee set 155 forth in s. 624.501. The fingerprints must be sent by the 156 department to the Department of Law Enforcement and forwarded to 157 the Federal Bureau of Investigation for processing. The results 158 must be returned to the department for screening. The 159 fingerprints must be taken by a law enforcement agency, 160 designated examination center, or other department-approved 161 entity. 162 3.Provide a quality assurance program including a 163 reinspection component. 164 (d)An application for an inspection must contain a signed 165 or electronically verified statement made under penalty of 166 perjury that the applicant has submitted only a single 167 application for that home. 168 (e)The owner of a site-built, single-family, residential 169 property or townhouse as defined in s. 481.203, for which a 170 homestead exemption has been granted, may apply for and receive 171 an inspection without also applying for a grant pursuant to 172 subsection (2) and without meeting the requirements of paragraph 173 (2)(a). 174 (2)HURRICANE MITIGATION GRANTS.Financial grants shall be 175 used by homeowners to encourage single-family, site-built, 176 owner-occupied, residential property owners to make improvements 177 recommended by an inspection which increase resistance retrofit 178 their properties to make them less vulnerable to hurricane 179 damage. 180 (a)For A homeowner is to be eligible for a hurricane 181 mitigation grant if all of, the following criteria are must be 182 met: 183 1.The home must be eligible for an inspection under 184 subsection (1) The homeowner must have been granted a homestead 185 exemption on the home under chapter 196. 186 2.The home must be a dwelling with an insured value of 187 $700,000 or less. Homeowners who are low-income persons, as 188 defined in s. 420.0004(11), are exempt from this requirement. 189 3.The home must undergo an acceptable hurricane mitigation 190 inspection as provided in subsection (1). 191 4.The building permit application for initial construction 192 of the home must have been made before January 1, 2008. 193 5.The homeowner must agree to make his or her home 194 available for inspection once a mitigation project is completed. 195 6.The homeowner must agree to provide to the department 196 information received from the homeowners insurer identifying 197 the discounts realized by the homeowner because of the 198 mitigation improvements funded through the program. 199 (b)1.An application for a grant must contain a signed or 200 electronically verified statement made under penalty of perjury 201 that the applicant has submitted only one grant a single 202 application or that the application is allowed under 203 subparagraph 2., and the application must have attached 204 documents attached demonstrating that the applicant meets the 205 requirements of this paragraph (a). 206 2.An applicant may submit a subsequent grant application 207 if: 208 a.The original grant application was denied or withdrawn 209 because the application contained errors or omissions; 210 b.The original grant application was denied or withdrawn 211 because the home did not meet the eligibility criteria for a 212 grant at the time of the previous application, and the homeowner 213 reasonably believes that the home now is eligible for a grant; 214 or 215 c.The programs eligibility requirements for a grant have 216 changed since the original application date, and the applicant 217 reasonably believes that he or she is an eligible homeowner 218 under the new requirements. 219 3.A grant application must include a statement from the 220 homeowner which contains the name and state license number of 221 the contractor that the homeowner acknowledges as the intended 222 contractor for the mitigation work. The program must 223 electronically verify that the contractors state license number 224 is accurate and up to date before grant approval. 225 (c)(b)All grants must be matched on the basis of $1 226 provided by the applicant for $2 provided by the state up to a 227 maximum state contribution of $10,000 toward the actual cost of 228 the mitigation project, except as provided in paragraph (h). 229 (d)(c)The program shall create a process in which 230 contractors agree to participate and homeowners select from a 231 list of participating contractors. All hurricane mitigation 232 performed under the program must be based upon the securing of 233 all required local permits and inspections and must be performed 234 by properly licensed contractors. Hurricane mitigation 235 inspectors qualifying for the program may also participate as 236 mitigation contractors as long as the inspectors meet the 237 departments qualifications and certification requirements for 238 mitigation contractors. 239 (d)Matching fund grants shall also be made available to 240 local governments and nonprofit entities for projects that will 241 reduce hurricane damage to single-family, site-built, owner 242 occupied, residential property. The department shall liberally 243 construe those requirements in favor of availing the state of 244 the opportunity to leverage funding for the My Safe Florida Home 245 Program with other sources of funding. 246 (e)When recommended by a hurricane mitigation inspection, 247 grants for eligible homes may be used for the following 248 improvements: 249 1.Opening protection, including exterior doors, garage 250 doors, windows, and skylights. 251 2.Exterior doors, including garage doors. 252 3.Reinforcing roof-to-wall connections. 253 3.4.Improving the strength of roof-deck attachments. 254 4.5.Secondary water resistance barrier for roof. 255 (f)When recommended by a hurricane mitigation inspection, 256 grants for townhouses, as defined in s. 481.203, may only be 257 used for opening protection. 258 (g)The department may require that improvements be made to 259 all openings, including exterior doors, and garage doors, 260 windows, and skylights, as a condition of reimbursing a 261 homeowner approved for a grant. The department may adopt, by 262 rule, the maximum grant allowances for any improvement allowable 263 under paragraph (e) or paragraph (f) (e) or this paragraph. 264 (g)Grants may be used on a previously inspected existing 265 structure or on a rebuild. A rebuild is defined as a site-built, 266 single-family dwelling under construction to replace a home that 267 was destroyed or significantly damaged by a hurricane and deemed 268 unlivable by a regulatory authority. The homeowner must be a 269 low-income homeowner as defined in paragraph (h), must have had 270 a homestead exemption for that home before the hurricane, and 271 must be intending to rebuild the home as that homeowners 272 homestead. 273 (h)Low-income homeowners, as defined in s. 420.0004(11), 274 who otherwise meet the applicable requirements of this 275 subsection paragraphs (a), (c), (e), and (g) are eligible for a 276 grant of up to $10,000 and are not required to provide a 277 matching amount to receive the grant. The program may accept a 278 certification directly from a low-income homeowner that the 279 homeowner meets the requirements of s. 420.0004(11) if the 280 homeowner provides such certification in a signed or 281 electronically verified statement made under penalty of perjury. 282 (i)1.The department shall develop a process that ensures 283 the most efficient means to collect and verify inspection 284 applications and grant applications to determine eligibility. 285 The department and may direct hurricane mitigation inspectors to 286 collect and verify grant application information or use the 287 Internet or other electronic means to collect information and 288 determine eligibility. 289 2.The department shall prioritize the review and approval 290 of such inspection applications and grant applications in the 291 following order: 292 a.First, applications from low-income persons, as defined 293 in s. 420.0004, who are at least 60 years old; 294 b.Second, applications from all other low-income persons, 295 as defined in s. 420.0004; 296 c.Third, applications from moderate-income persons, as 297 defined in s. 420.0004, who are at least 60 years old; 298 d.Fourth, applications from all other moderate-income 299 persons, as defined in s. 420.0004; and 300 e.Last, all other applications. 301 3.The department shall start accepting inspection 302 applications and grant applications no earlier than the 303 effective date of a legislative appropriation funding 304 inspections and grants, as follows: 305 a.Initially, from applicants prioritized under sub 306 subparagraph 2.a.; 307 b.From applicants prioritized under sub-subparagraph 2.b., 308 beginning 15 days after the program initially starts accepting 309 applications; 310 c.From applicants prioritized under sub-subparagraph 2.c., 311 beginning 30 days after the program initially starts accepting 312 applications; 313 d.From applicants described in sub-subparagraph 2.d., 314 beginning 45 days after the program initially starts accepting 315 applications; and 316 e.From all other applicants, beginning 60 days after the 317 program initially starts accepting applications. 318 4.The program may accept a certification directly from a 319 low-income homeowner or moderate-income homeowner who meets the 320 requirements of s. 420.0004(11) or (12), respectively, if the 321 homeowner provides such certification in a signed or 322 electronically verified statement made under penalty of perjury. 323 (j)A homeowner who receives a grant shall finalize 324 construction and request a final inspection, or request an 325 extension for an additional 6 months, within 1 year after grant 326 approval. If a homeowner fails to comply with this paragraph, 327 his or her application is deemed abandoned and the grant money 328 reverts to the department. 329 (3)REQUESTS FOR INFORMATION.The department may request 330 that an applicant provide additional information. An application 331 is deemed withdrawn by the applicant if the department does not 332 receive a response to its request for additional information 333 within 60 days after the notification of any apparent error or 334 omission. 335 (4)EDUCATION, CONSUMER AWARENESS, AND OUTREACH. 336 (a)The department may undertake a statewide multimedia 337 public outreach and advertising campaign to inform consumers of 338 the availability and benefits of hurricane inspections and of 339 the safety and financial benefits of residential hurricane 340 damage mitigation. The department may seek out and use local, 341 state, federal, and private funds to support the campaign. 342 (b)The program may develop brochures for distribution to 343 Citizens Property Insurance Corporation and other licensed 344 entities or nonprofits that work with the department to educate 345 the public on the benefits of the program, general contractors, 346 roofing contractors, and real estate brokers and sales 347 associates who are licensed under part I of chapter 475 which 348 provide information on the benefits to homeowners of residential 349 hurricane damage mitigation. Citizens Property Insurance 350 Corporation must is encouraged to distribute the brochure to 351 policyholders of the corporation each year the program is 352 funded. Contractors are encouraged to distribute the brochures 353 to homeowners at the first meeting with a homeowner who is 354 considering contracting for home or roof repair or contracting 355 for the construction of a new home. Real estate brokers and 356 sales associates are encouraged to distribute the brochure to 357 clients before the purchase of a home. The brochures may be made 358 available electronically. 359 (5)(4)FUNDING.The department may seek out and leverage 360 local, state, federal, or private funds to enhance the financial 361 resources of the program. 362 (6)(5)RULES.The department of Financial Services shall 363 adopt rules pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to govern the 364 program; implement the provisions of this section; including 365 rules governing hurricane mitigation inspections and grants, 366 mitigation contractors, and training of inspectors and 367 contractors; and carry out the duties of the department under 368 this section. 369 (7)(6)HURRICANE MITIGATION INSPECTOR LIST.The department 370 shall develop and maintain as a public record a current list of 371 hurricane mitigation inspectors authorized to conduct hurricane 372 mitigation inspections pursuant to this section. 373 (8)(7)CONTRACT MANAGEMENT. 374 (a)The department may contract with third parties for 375 grants management, inspection services, contractor services for 376 low-income homeowners, information technology, educational 377 outreach, and auditing services. Such contracts are considered 378 direct costs of the program and are not subject to 379 administrative cost limits. The department shall contract with 380 providers that have a demonstrated record of successful business 381 operations in areas directly related to the services to be 382 provided and shall ensure the highest accountability for use of 383 state funds, consistent with this section. 384 (b)The department shall implement a quality assurance and 385 reinspection program that determines whether initial inspections 386 and home improvements are completed in a manner consistent with 387 the intent of the program. The department may use valid random 388 sampling in order to perform the quality assurance portion of 389 the program. 390 (9)(8)INTENT.It is the intent of the Legislature that 391 grants made to residential property owners under this section 392 shall be considered disaster-relief assistance within the 393 meaning of s. 139 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as 394 amended. 395 (10)(9)REPORTS.The department shall make an annual report 396 on the activities of the program that shall account for the use 397 of state funds and indicate the number of inspections requested, 398 the number of inspections performed, the number of grant 399 applications received, the number and value of grants approved, 400 and the estimated average annual amount of insurance premium 401 discounts and total estimated annual amount of insurance premium 402 discounts homeowners received from insurers as a result of 403 mitigation funded through the program. The report must be 404 delivered to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the 405 House of Representatives by February 1 of each year. 406 Section 2.For the 2024-2025 fiscal year, the sum of $200 407 million in nonrecurring funds is appropriated from the General 408 Revenue Fund to the Department of Financial Services for the My 409 Safe Florida Home Program. The funds shall be used for hurricane 410 mitigation grants, hurricane mitigation inspections, and 411 outreach and administrative costs. The department may not 412 continue to accept applications or create a waiting list in 413 anticipation of additional funding unless the Legislature 414 expressly provides authority to implement such actions. 415 Section 3.This act shall take effect July 1, 2024.