There is established within the Department of Financial Services the My Safe Florida Home Program. The department shall provide fiscal accountability, contract management, and strategic leadership for the program, consistent with this section. This section does not create an entitlement for property owners or obligate the state in any way to fund the inspection or retrofitting of residential property in this state. Implementation of this program is subject to annual legislative appropriations. It is the intent of the Legislature that, subject to the availability of funds, the My Safe Florida Home Program provide licensed inspectors to perform hurricane mitigation inspections of eligible homes and grants to fund hurricane mitigation projects on those homes. The department shall implement the program in such a manner that the total amount of funding requested by accepted applications, whether for inspections, grants, or other services or assistance, does not exceed the total amount of available funds. If, after applications are processed and approved, funds remain available, the department may accept applications up to the available amount. The program shall develop and implement a comprehensive and coordinated approach for hurricane damage mitigation pursuant to the requirements provided in this section.
(1) HURRICANE MITIGATION INSPECTIONS. — (a) To be eligible for a hurricane mitigation inspection under the program: 1. A home must be a single-family, detached residential property or a townhouse as defined in s. 481.203; 2. A home must be site-built and owner-occupied; and 3. The homeowner must have been granted a homestead exemption on the home under chapter 196. (b)1. An application for a hurricane mitigation inspection must contain a signed or electronically verified statement made under penalty of perjury that the applicant has submitted only one inspection application on the home or that the application is allowed under subparagraph 2., and the application must have documents attached which demonstrate that the applicant meets the requirements of paragraph (a). 2. An applicant may submit a subsequent hurricane mitigation inspection application for the same home only if: a. The original hurricane mitigation inspection application has been denied or withdrawn because of errors or omissions in the application; b. The original hurricane mitigation inspection application was denied or withdrawn because the home did not meet the eligibility criteria for an inspection at the time of the previous application, and the homeowner reasonably believes the home now is eligible for an inspection; or c. The program’s eligibility requirements for an inspection have changed since the original application date, and the applicant reasonably believes the home is eligible under the new requirements. (c) An applicant meeting the requirements of paragraph (a) may receive an inspection of a home under the program without being eligible for a grant under subsection (2) or applying for such grant. (d) Licensed inspectors are to provide home inspections of eligible homes to determine what mitigation measures are needed, what insurance premium discounts may be available, and what improvements to existing residential properties are needed to reduce the property’s vulnerability to hurricane damage. An inspector may inspect a townhouse as defined in s. 481.203 to determine if opening protection mitigation as listed in subparagraph (2)(e)1. would provide improvements to mitigate hurricane damage. (e) The department shall contract with wind certification entities to provide hurricane mitigation inspections. The inspections provided to homeowners, at a minimum, must include: 1. A home inspection and report that summarizes the results and identifies recommended improvements a homeowner may take to mitigate hurricane damage. 2. A range of cost estimates regarding the recommended mitigation improvements. 3. Information regarding estimated premium discounts, correlated to the current mitigation features and the recommended mitigation improvements identified by the inspection. (f) To qualify for selection by the department as a wind certification entity to provide hurricane mitigation inspections, the entity must, at a minimum, meet the following requirements: 1. Use hurricane mitigation inspectors who are licensed or certified as: a. A building inspector under s. 468.607; b. A general, building, or residential contractor under s. 489.111; c. A professional engineer under s. 471.015; d. A professional architect under s. 481.213; or e. A home inspector under s. 468.8314 and who have completed at least 3 hours of hurricane mitigation training approved by the Construction Industry Licensing Board, which training must include hurricane mitigation techniques, compliance with the uniform mitigation verification form, and completion of a proficiency exam. 2. Use hurricane mitigation inspectors who also have undergone drug testing and a background screening. The department may conduct criminal record checks of inspectors used by wind certification entities. Inspectors must submit a set of fingerprints to the department for state and national criminal history checks and must pay the fingerprint processing fee set forth in s. 624.501. The fingerprints must be sent by the department to the Department of Law Enforcement and forwarded to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for processing. The results must be returned to the department for screening. The fingerprints must be taken by a law enforcement agency, designated examination center, or other department-approved entity. 3. Provide a quality assurance program including a reinspection component.
(2) HURRICANE MITIGATION GRANTS. — Financial grants shall be used by homeowners to make improvements recommended by an inspection which increase resistance to hurricane damage. 1 (a) A homeowner is eligible for a hurricane mitigation grant if all of the following criteria are met: 1. The home must be eligible for an inspection under subsection (1). 2. The home must be a dwelling with an insured value of $700,000 or less. Homeowners who are low-income persons, as defined in s. 420.0004(11), are exempt from this requirement. 3. The home must undergo an acceptable hurricane mitigation inspection as provided in subsection (1). 4. The building permit application for initial construction of the home must have been made before January 1, 2008. 5. The homeowner must agree to make his or her home available for inspection once a mitigation project is completed. 6. The homeowner must agree to provide to the department information received from the homeowner’s insurer identifying the discounts realized by the homeowner because of the mitigation improvements funded through the program. 7.a. The homeowner must be a low-income person or moderate-income person as defined in s. 420.0004. b. The hurricane mitigation inspection must have occurred within the previous 24 months from the date of application. c. Notwithstanding subparagraph 2., homeowners who are low-income persons, as defined in s. 420.0004(11), are not exempt from the requirement that the home must be a dwelling with an insured value of $700,000 or less. d. This subparagraph expires July 1, 2026. (b)1. An application for a grant must contain a signed or electronically verified statement made under penalty of perjury that the applicant has submitted only one grant application or that the application is allowed under subparagraph 2., and the application must have documents attached demonstrating that the applicant meets the requirements of paragraph (a). 2. An applicant may submit a subsequent grant application if: a. The original grant application was denied or withdrawn because the application contained errors or omissions; b. The original grant application was denied or withdrawn because the home did not meet the eligibility criteria for a grant at the time of the previous application, and the homeowner reasonably believes that the home now is eligible for a grant; or c. The program’s eligibility requirements for a grant have changed since the original application date, and the applicant reasonably believes that he or she is an eligible homeowner under the new requirements. 3. A grant application must include a statement from the homeowner which contains the name and state license number of the contractor that the homeowner acknowledges as the intended contractor for the mitigation work. The program must electronically verify that the contractor’s state license number is accurate and up to date before grant approval. (c) All grants must be matched on the basis of $1 provided by the applicant for $2 provided by the state up to a maximum state contribution of $10,000 toward the actual cost of the mitigation project, except as provided in paragraph (h). (d) All hurricane mitigation performed under the program must be based upon the securing of all required local permits and inspections and must be performed by properly licensed contractors. (e) When recommended by a hurricane mitigation inspection, grants for eligible homes may be used for the following improvements: 1. Opening protection, including exterior doors, garage doors, windows, and skylights. 2. Reinforcing roof-to-wall connections. 3. Improving the strength of roof-deck attachments. 4. Secondary water resistance for roof. (f) When recommended by a hurricane mitigation inspection, grants for townhouses, as defined in s. 481.203, may only be used for opening protection. (g) The department may require that improvements be made to all openings, including exterior doors, garage doors, windows, and skylights, as a condition of reimbursing a homeowner approved for a grant. The department may adopt, by rule, the maximum grant allowances for any improvement allowable under paragraph (e) or paragraph (f). (h) Low-income homeowners, as defined in s. 420.0004(11), who otherwise meet the applicable requirements of this subsection are eligible for a grant of up to $10,000 and are not required to provide a matching amount to receive the grant. (i)1. The department shall develop a process that ensures the most efficient means to collect and verify inspection applications and grant applications to determine eligibility. The department may direct hurricane mitigation inspectors to collect and verify grant application information or use the Internet or other electronic means to collect information and determine eligibility. 2. The department shall prioritize the review and approval of such inspection applications and grant applications in the following order: a. First, applications from low-income persons, as defined in s. 420.0004, who are at least 60 years old; b. Second, applications from all other low-income persons, as defined in s. 420.0004; c. Third, applications from moderate-income persons, as defined in s. 420.0004, who are at least 60 years old; d. Fourth, applications from all other moderate-income persons, as defined in s. 420.0004; and e. Last, all other applications. 3. The department shall start accepting inspection applications and grant applications no earlier than the effective date of a legislative appropriation funding inspections and grants, as follows: a. Initially, from applicants prioritized under sub-subparagraph 2.a.; b. From applicants prioritized under sub-subparagraph 2.b., beginning 15 days after the program initially starts accepting applications; c. From applicants prioritized under sub-subparagraph 2.c., beginning 30 days after the program initially starts accepting applications; d. From applicants described in sub-subparagraph 2.d., beginning 45 days after the program initially starts accepting applications; and e. From all other applicants, beginning 60 days after the program initially starts accepting applications. 4. The program may accept a certification directly from a low-income homeowner or moderate-income homeowner who meets the requirements of s. 420.0004(11) or (12), respectively, if the homeowner provides such certification in a signed or electronically verified statement made under penalty of perjury. (j) A homeowner who receives a grant shall finalize construction and request a final inspection, or request an extension for an additional 6 months, within 1 year after grant approval. If a homeowner fails to comply with this paragraph, his or her application is deemed abandoned and the grant money reverts to the department.
(3) REQUESTS FOR INFORMATION. — The department may request that an applicant provide additional information. An application is deemed withdrawn by the applicant if the department does not receive a response to its request for additional information within 60 days after the notification of any apparent error or omission.
(4) EDUCATION, CONSUMER AWARENESS, AND OUTREACH. — (a) The department may undertake a statewide multimedia public outreach and advertising campaign to inform consumers of the availability and benefits of hurricane inspections and of the safety and financial benefits of residential hurricane damage mitigation. The department may seek out and use local, state, federal, and private funds to support the campaign. (b) The program may develop brochures for distribution to Citizens Property Insurance Corporation and other licensed entities or nonprofits that work with the department to educate the public on the benefits of the program. Citizens Property Insurance Corporation must distribute the brochure to policyholders of the corporation each year the program is funded. The brochures may be made available electronically.
(5) FUNDING. — The department may seek out and leverage local, state, federal, or private funds to enhance the financial resources of the program.
(6) RULES. — The department shall adopt rules pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to govern the program; implement the provisions of this section; including rules governing hurricane mitigation inspections and grants, mitigation contractors, and training of inspectors and contractors; and carry out the duties of the department under this section.
(7) HURRICANE MITIGATION INSPECTOR LIST. — The department shall develop and maintain as a public record a current list of hurricane mitigation inspectors authorized to conduct hurricane mitigation inspections pursuant to this section.
(8) CONTRACT MANAGEMENT. — (a) The department may contract with third parties for grants management, inspection services, contractor services for low-income homeowners, information technology, educational outreach, and auditing services. Such contracts are considered direct costs of the program and are not subject to administrative cost limits. The department shall contract with providers that have a demonstrated record of successful business operations in areas directly related to the services to be provided and shall ensure the highest accountability for use of state funds, consistent with this section. (b) The department shall implement a quality assurance and reinspection program that determines whether initial inspections and home improvements are completed in a manner consistent with the intent of the program. The department may use valid random sampling in order to perform the quality assurance portion of the program.
(9) INTENT. — It is the intent of the Legislature that grants made to residential property owners under this section shall be considered disaster-relief assistance within the meaning of s. 139 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.
(10) REPORTS. — The department shall make an annual report on the activities of the program that shall account for the use of state funds and indicate the number of inspections requested, the number of inspections performed, the number of grant applications received, the number and value of grants approved, and the estimated average annual amount of insurance premium discounts and total estimated annual amount of insurance premium discounts homeowners received from insurers as a result of mitigation funded through the program. The report must be delivered to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives by February 1 of each year.