Bill Text: FL S0748 | 2023 | Regular Session | Comm Sub
Bill Title: My Safe Florida Home Program
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (? 2-1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2023-04-28 - Laid on Table, companion bill(s) passed, see CS/HB 881 (Ch. 2023-176) [S0748 Detail]
Download: Florida-2023-S0748-Comm_Sub.html
Florida Senate - 2023 CS for CS for SB 748 By the Committees on Fiscal Policy; and Banking and Insurance; and Senator Boyd 594-04111-23 2023748c2 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to the My Safe Florida Home Program; 3 amending s. 215.5586, F.S.; providing that licensed, 4 rather than certified, inspectors are to provide 5 hurricane mitigation inspections of site-built, 6 single-family, residential properties that have been 7 granted a homestead exemption; authorizing an 8 inspector to inspect townhouses to determine if a 9 certain mitigation would provide improvements to 10 mitigate hurricane damage; revising the information 11 provided to homeowners as part of a hurricane 12 mitigation inspection; revising the hurricane 13 mitigation inspectors that may be selected by the 14 Department of Financial Services to provide hurricane 15 mitigation inspections; deleting a provision requiring 16 the department to implement a certain quality 17 assurance program; revising the criteria for 18 mitigation grant eligibility for homeowners; deleting 19 a provision that subjects mitigation projects to 20 random reinspection for a specified timeframe; 21 revising the improvements for eligible homes for which 22 mitigation grants may be used; providing that such 23 grants for townhouses may be used only for a specified 24 purpose; authorizing the department to adopt a 25 specified rule; revising the amount low-income 26 homeowners may receive from the department under the 27 grant program; deleting a provision authorizing low 28 income homeowners to use grant funds for specified 29 purposes; deleting a requirement that the department 30 establish specified criteria for prioritizing grant 31 applications; authorizing, rather than requiring, the 32 program to develop and distribute certain brochures to 33 specified persons; deleting a provision requiring 34 certain contracts entered into by the department to be 35 reviewed and approved by the Legislative Budget 36 Commission; requiring the department to develop a 37 certain quality assurance and reinspection program; 38 revising the contents of the annual report the 39 department is required to deliver to the Legislature; 40 conforming provisions to changes made by the act; 41 making technical changes; reenacting s. 215.5588(3), 42 F.S., relating to the Florida Disaster Recovery 43 Program, to incorporate the amendments made to s. 44 215.5586, F.S., in a reference thereto; providing an 45 effective date. 46 47 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 48 49 Section 1. Section 215.5586, Florida Statutes, is amended 50 to read: 51 215.5586 My Safe Florida Home Program.—There is established 52 within the Department of Financial Services the My Safe Florida 53 Home Program. The department shall provide fiscal 54 accountability, contract management, and strategic leadership 55 for the program, consistent with this section. This section does 56 not create an entitlement for property owners or obligate the 57 state in any way to fund the inspection or retrofitting of 58 residential property in this state. Implementation of this 59 program is subject to annual legislative appropriations. It is 60 the intent of the Legislature that the My Safe Florida Home 61 Program provide licensedtrained and certifiedinspectors to 62 perform inspections for owners of site-built, single-family, 63 residential properties and grants to eligible applicants as 64 funding allows. The program shall develop and implement a 65 comprehensive and coordinated approach for hurricane damage 66 mitigation that may include the following: 67 (1) HURRICANE MITIGATION INSPECTIONS.— 68 (a) LicensedCertifiedinspectors are to provide homehome69retrofitinspections of site-built, single-family, residential 70 properties for which a homestead exemption has been granted, 71property may be offeredto determine what mitigation measures 72 are needed, what insurance premium discounts may be available, 73 and what improvements to existing residential properties are 74 needed to reduce the property’s vulnerability to hurricane 75 damage. An inspector may inspect a townhouse as defined in s. 76 481.203 to determine if opening protection mitigation as listed 77 in paragraph (2)(f) would provide improvements to mitigate 78 hurricane damage. 79 (b) The Department of Financial Services shall contract 80 with wind certification entities to provide hurricane mitigation 81 inspections. The inspections provided to homeowners, at a 82 minimum, must include: 83 1. A home inspection and report that summarizes the results 84 and identifies recommended improvements a homeowner may take to 85 mitigate hurricane damage. 86 2. A range of cost estimates regarding the recommended 87 mitigation improvements. 88 3.Insurer-specificInformation regarding estimated premium 89 discounts, correlated to the current mitigation features and the 90 recommended mitigation improvements identified by the 91 inspection. 92 (c)(b)To qualify for selection by the department as a wind 93 certification entity to provide hurricane mitigation 94 inspections, the entity mustshall, at a minimum, meet the 95 following requirements: 96 1. Use hurricane mitigation inspectors who are licensed or 97 certified as: 98 a.Are certified asA building inspector under s. 468.607; 99 b.Are licensed asA general, building, or residential 100 contractor under s. 489.111; 101 c.Are licensed asA professional engineer under s. 471.015 102and who have passed the appropriate equivalency test of the103building code training program as required by s. 553.841; 104 d.Are licensed asA professional architect under s. 105 481.213; or 106 e. A home inspector under s. 468.8314 and who have 107 completed at least 3 hours of hurricane mitigation training 108 approved by the Construction Industry Licensing Board, which 109 training must include hurricane mitigation techniques, 110 compliance with the uniform mitigation verification form, and 111 completion of a proficiency examHave at least 2 years of112experience in residential construction or residential building113inspection and have received specialized training in hurricane114mitigation procedures.Such training may be provided by a class115offered online or in person.116 2. Use hurricane mitigation inspectors who also:117a.have undergone drug testing and a background screening. 118 The department may conduct criminal record checks of inspectors 119 used by wind certification entities. Inspectors must submit a 120 set ofthefingerprints to the department for state and national 121 criminal history checks and must pay the fingerprint processing 122 fee set forth in s. 624.501. The fingerprints mustshallbe sent 123 by the department to the Department of Law Enforcement and 124 forwarded to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for processing. 125 The results mustshallbe returned to the department for 126 screening. The fingerprints mustshallbe taken by a law 127 enforcement agency, designated examination center, or other 128 department-approved entity; and129b.Have been certified, in a manner satisfactory to the130department, to conduct the inspections. 131 3. Provide a quality assurance program including a 132 reinspection component. 133(c)The department shall implement a quality assurance134program that includes a statistically valid number of135reinspections.136 (d) An application for an inspection must contain a signed 137 or electronically verified statement made under penalty of 138 perjury that the applicant has submitted only a single 139 application for that home. 140 (e) The owner of a site-built, single-family, residential 141 property or townhouse as defined in s. 481.203 for which a 142 homestead exemption has been granted may apply for and receive 143 an inspection without also applying for a grant pursuant to 144 subsection (2) and without meeting the requirements of paragraph 145 (2)(a). 146 (2) MITIGATION GRANTS.—Financial grants shall be used to 147 encourage single-family, site-built, owner-occupied, residential 148 property owners to retrofit their properties to make them less 149 vulnerable to hurricane damage. 150 (a) For a homeowner to be eligible for a grant, the 151 following criteria must be met: 152 1. The homeowner must have been granted a homestead 153 exemption on the home under chapter 196. 154 2. The home must be a dwelling with an insured value of 155 $700,000$500,000or less. Homeowners who are low-income 156 persons, as defined in s. 420.0004(11), are exempt from this 157 requirement. 158 3. The home must undergohave undergonean acceptable 159 hurricane mitigation inspection as provided in subsection (1) 160after July 1, 2008. 161 4.The home must be located in the “wind-borne debris162region” as that term is defined in the Florida Building Code.1635.The building permit application for initial construction 164 of the home must have been made before January 1, 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 has 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 state contribution of $10,000 toward the actual cost of the 176 mitigation project. 177 (c) The program shall create a process in which contractors 178 agree to participate and homeowners select from a list of 179 participating contractors. All mitigation must be based upon the 180 securing of all required local permits and inspections and must 181 be performed by properly licensed contractors.Mitigation182projects are subject to random reinspection of up to at least 5183percent of all projects.Hurricane mitigation inspectors 184 qualifying for the program may also participate as mitigation 185 contractors as long as the inspectors meet the department’s 186 qualifications and certification requirements for mitigation 187 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 3.Brace gable ends.2014.Reinforcing roof-to-wall connections. 202 4.5.Improving the strength of roof-deck attachments. 2036.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 be used only 207 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 (g)(f)Grants may be used on a previously inspected 215 existing structure or on a rebuild. A rebuild is defined as a 216 site-built, single-family dwelling under construction to replace 217 a home that was destroyed or significantly damaged by a 218 hurricane and deemed unlivable by a regulatory authority. The 219 homeowner must be a low-income homeowner as defined in paragraph 220 (h)(g), must have had a homestead exemption for that home 221 beforeprior tothe hurricane, and must be intending to rebuild 222 the home as that homeowner’s homestead. 223 (h)(g)Low-income homeowners, as defined in s. 224 420.0004(11), who otherwise meet the requirements of paragraphs 225 (a), (c), (e), and (g)(f)are eligible for a grant of up to 226 $10,000$5,000and are not required to provide a matching amount 227 to receive the grant.Additionally, for low-income homeowners,228grant funding may be used for repair to existing structures229leading to any of the mitigation improvements provided in230paragraph (e), limited to 20 percent of the grant value.The 231 program may accept a certification directly from a low-income 232 homeowner that the homeowner meets the requirements of s. 233 420.0004(11) if the homeowner provides such certification in a 234 signed or electronically verified statement made under penalty 235 of perjury. 236(h)Thedepartment shall establish objective, reasonable237criteria for prioritizing grant applications, consistent with238the requirements of this section.239 (i) The department shall develop a process that ensures the 240 most efficient means to collect and verify grant applications to 241 determine eligibility and may direct hurricane mitigation 242 inspectors to collect and verify grant application information 243 or use the Internet or other electronic means to collect 244 information and determine eligibility. 245 (3) EDUCATION,ANDCONSUMER AWARENESS, AND OUTREACH.— 246 (a) The department may undertake a statewide multimedia 247 public outreach and advertising campaign to inform consumers of 248 the availability and benefits of hurricane inspections and of 249 the safety and financial benefits of residential hurricane 250 damage mitigation. The department may seek out and use local, 251 state, federal, and private funds to support the campaign. 252 (b) The program may develop brochures for distribution to 253 Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, general contractors, 254 roofing contractors, and real estate brokers and sales 255 associates who are licensed under part I of chapter 475 which 256 provide information on the benefits to homeowners of residential 257 hurricane damage mitigation. Citizens Property Insurance 258 Corporation is encouraged to distribute the brochure to its 259 policyholders. Contractors are encouraged to distribute the 260 brochures to homeowners at the first meeting with a homeowner 261 who is considering contracting for home or roof repair or 262 contracting for the construction of a new home. Real estate 263 brokers and sales associates are encouraged to distribute the 264 brochure to clients before the purchase of a home. The brochures 265 may be made available electronically. 266 (4) FUNDING.—The department may seek out and leverage 267 local, state, federal, or private funds to enhance the financial 268 resources of the program. 269 (5) RULES.—The Department of Financial Services shall adopt 270 rules pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to govern the 271 program; implement the provisions of this section; including 272 rules governing hurricane mitigation inspections and grants, 273 mitigation contractors, and training of inspectors and 274 contractors; and carry out the duties of the department under 275 this section. 276 (6) HURRICANE MITIGATION INSPECTOR LIST.—The department 277 shall develop and maintain as a public record a current list of 278 hurricane mitigation inspectors authorized to conduct hurricane 279 mitigation inspections pursuant to this section. 280 (7)PUBLIC OUTREACH FOR CONTRACTORS AND REAL ESTATE BROKERS281AND SALES ASSOCIATES.—The program shall develop brochures for282distribution to general contractors, roofing contractors, and283real estate brokers and sales associates licensed under part I284of chapter 475 explaining the benefits to homeowners of285residential hurricane damage mitigation. The program shall286encourage contractors to distribute the brochures to homeowners287at the first meeting with a homeowner who is considering288contracting for home or roof repairs or contracting for the289construction of a new home. The program shall encourage real290estate brokers and sales associates licensed under part I of291chapter 475 to distribute the brochures to clients prior to the292purchase of a home. The brochures may be made available293electronically.294(8)CONTRACT MANAGEMENT.— 295 (a) The department may contract with third parties for 296 grants management, inspection services, contractor services for 297 low-income homeowners, information technology, educational 298 outreach, and auditing services. Such contracts areshall be299 considered direct costs of the program and areshallnotbe300 subject to administrative cost limits, but contracts valued at301$1 million or more shall be subject to review and approval by302the Legislative Budget Commission. The department shall contract 303 with providers that have a demonstrated record of successful 304 business operations in areas directly related to the services to 305 be provided and shall ensure the highest accountability for use 306 of state funds, consistent with this section. 307 (b) The department shall implement a quality assurance and 308 reinspection program that determines whether initial inspections 309 and home improvements are completed in a manner consistent with 310 the intent of the program. The department may use valid random 311 sampling in order to perform the quality assurance portion of 312 the program. 313 (8)(9)INTENT.—It is the intent of the Legislature that 314 grants made to residential property owners under this section 315 shall be considered disaster-relief assistance within the 316 meaning of s. 139 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as 317 amended. 318 (9)(10)REPORTS.—The department shall make an annual report 319 on the activities of the program that shall account for the use 320 of state funds and indicate the number of inspections requested, 321 the number of inspections performed, the number of grant 322 applications received, the number and value of grants approved, 323 and the estimated average annual amount of insurance premium 324 discounts and total estimated annual amount of insurance premium 325 discounts homeowners received from insurers as a result of 326 mitigation funded through the program. The report mustshallbe 327 delivered to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the 328 House of Representatives by February 1 of each year. 329 Section 2. For the purpose of incorporating the amendments 330 made by this act to section 215.5586, Florida Statutes, in a 331 reference thereto, subsection (3) of section 215.5588, Florida 332 Statutes, is reenacted to read: 333 215.5588 Florida Disaster Recovery Program.— 334 (3) Up to 78 percent of these funds may be used to 335 complement the grants awarded by the Department of Financial 336 Services under s. 215.5586 and fund other eligible disaster 337 related activities supporting housing rehabilitation, hardening, 338 mitigation, and infrastructure improvements at the request of 339 the local governments in order to assist the State of Florida in 340 better serving low-income homeowners in single-family housing 341 units, including, but not limited to, condominiums. Up to 20 342 percent of the funds may be used to provide inspections and 343 mitigation improvements to multifamily units receiving rental 344 assistance under projects of the United States Department of 345 Housing and Urban Development or the Rural Development Division 346 of the United States Department of Agriculture. 347 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023.