HB 7103

1
A bill to be entitled
2An act relating to mitigation enhancement; amending s.
3215.5586, F.S.; revising eligibility criteria for
4qualifying as a wind certification entity for certain
5purposes; deleting an obsolete provision; requiring the
6Department of Financial Services to implement a quality
7assurance program; revising authority of the department to
8require certain improvements to be made as a condition of
9reimbursing a homeowner approved for a grant; deleting a
10provision authorizing the department to transfer certain
11funds to Volunteer Florida Foundation, Inc., for certain
12purposes; deleting a requirement that Volunteer Florida,
13Inc., undertake certain activities; requiring the
14department to develop a no-interest loan program by a
15certain date; expanding authority of the department to
16contract with additional third parties for certain
17purposes; amending s. 627.062, F.S.; requiring insurers to
18account for county ordinances and local amendments to the
19Florida Building Code in certain rate filings; amending s.
20627.711, F.S.; requiring insurers to accept as valid
21uniform mitigation verification forms certified by the
22department or signed by certain professionals; providing
23an effective date.
24
25Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
26
27     Section 1.  Subsection (1), paragraphs (e) and (j) of
28subsection (2), and subsections (8) and (10) of section
29215.5586, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
30     215.5586  My Safe Florida Home Program.--There is
31established within the Department of Financial Services the My
32Safe Florida Home Program. The department shall provide fiscal
33accountability, contract management, and strategic leadership
34for the program, consistent with this section. This section does
35not create an entitlement for property owners or obligate the
36state in any way to fund the inspection or retrofitting of
37residential property in this state. Implementation of this
38program is subject to annual legislative appropriations. It is
39the intent of the Legislature that the My Safe Florida Home
40Program provide inspections for at least 400,000 site-built,
41single-family, residential properties and provide grants to at
42least 35,000 applicants before June 30, 2009. The program shall
43develop and implement a comprehensive and coordinated approach
44for hurricane damage mitigation that shall include the
45following:
46     (1)  HURRICANE MITIGATION INSPECTIONS.--
47     (a)  Free home-retrofit inspections of site-built, single-
48family, residential property shall be offered throughout the
49state to determine what mitigation measures are needed, what
50insurance premium discounts may be available, and what
51improvements to existing residential properties are needed to
52reduce the property's vulnerability to hurricane damage. The
53Department of Financial Services shall contract with wind
54certification entities to provide free hurricane mitigation
55inspections. The inspections provided to homeowners, at a
56minimum, must include:
57     1.  A home inspection and report that summarizes the
58results and identifies recommended improvements a homeowner may
59take to mitigate hurricane damage.
60     2.  A range of cost estimates regarding the recommended
61mitigation improvements.
62     3.  Insurer-specific information regarding premium
63discounts correlated to the current mitigation features and the
64recommended mitigation improvements identified by the
65inspection.
66     4.  A hurricane resistance rating scale specifying the
67home's current as well as projected wind resistance
68capabilities. As soon as practical, the rating scale must be the
69uniform home grading scale adopted by the Financial Services
70Commission pursuant to s. 215.55865.
71     (b)  To qualify for selection by the department as a wind
72certification entity to provide hurricane mitigation
73inspections, the entity shall, at a minimum:
74     1.  Use hurricane mitigation inspectors who:
75     a.  Are certified as a building code inspector under s.
76468.607;
77     b.  Are licensed as a general contractor or residential
78contractor under s. 489.111;
79     c.  Are licensed as a professional engineer under s.
80471.015 and have passed the appropriate equivalency test of the
81Building Code training program as required by s. 553.841;
82     d. Are licensed as a professional architect under s.
83481.213; or
84     e.a.  Have at least 2 years' prior experience in
85residential construction or residential building inspection and
86have received specialized training in hurricane mitigation
87procedures. Such training may be provided by a class offered
88online or in person.
89     2.  Use hurricane mitigation inspectors who:
90     a.b.  Have undergone drug testing and level 2 background
91checks pursuant to s. 435.04. The department may is authorized
92to conduct criminal record checks of inspectors used by wind
93certification entities. Inspectors must submit a set of the
94fingerprints to the department for state and national criminal
95history checks and must pay the fingerprint processing fee set
96forth in s. 624.501. The fingerprints shall be sent by the
97department to the Department of Law Enforcement and forwarded to
98the Federal Bureau of Investigation for processing. The results
99shall be returned to the department for screening. The
100fingerprints shall be taken by a law enforcement agency,
101designated examination center, or other department-approved
102entity. Hurricane mitigation inspectors participating in the
103program on January 25, 2007, shall have until June 1, 2007, to
104meet the requirements for a criminal record check.
105     b.c.  Have been certified, in a manner satisfactory to the
106department, to conduct the inspections.
107     3.2.  Provide a quality assurance program including a
108reinspection component.
109     (c)  The department shall implement a quality assurance
110program that includes a statistically valid number of
111reinspections.
112     (d)(c)  An application for an inspection must contain a
113signed or electronically verified statement made under penalty
114of perjury that the applicant has submitted only a single
115application for that home.
116     (e)(d)  The owner of a site-built, single-family,
117residential property may apply for and receive an inspection
118without also applying for a grant pursuant to subsection (2) and
119without meeting the requirements of paragraph (2)(a).
120     (2)  MITIGATION GRANTS.--Financial grants shall be used to
121encourage single-family, site-built, owner-occupied, residential
122property owners to retrofit their properties to make them less
123vulnerable to hurricane damage.
124     (e)  When recommended by a hurricane mitigation inspection,
125grants may be used for the following improvements only:
126     1.  Opening protection.
127     2.  Exterior doors, including garage doors.
128     3.  Brace gable ends.
129
130The department may require that improvements be made to all
131openings, including exterior doors and garage doors, as a
132condition of reimbursing a homeowner who has been approved
133approving an application for a grant if the department
134determines that improvements to less than all openings would not
135substantially improve the structure's ability to withstand
136hurricane damage.
137     (j)  The department shall transfer the amount of $40
138million from funds appropriated to the program, including up to
1395 percent for administrative costs, to Volunteer Florida
140Foundation, Inc., for provision of inspections and grants to
141low-income homeowners, as defined in s. 420.0004(10), consistent
142with this section. Volunteer Florida Foundation, Inc., shall be
143responsible for inspections and grants management for low-income
144homeowners and shall report its activities and account for state
145funds on a quarterly and annual basis to the Chief Financial
146Officer, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the
147House of Representatives.
148     (8)  NO-INTEREST LOANS.--The department shall may develop a
149no-interest loan program by August 31, 2008 December 31, 2007,
150to encourage the private sector to provide loans to owners of
151site-built, single-family, residential property to pay for
152mitigation measures listed in subsection (2). A loan eligible
153for interest payments pursuant to this subsection may be for a
154term of up to 3 years and cover up to $5,000 in mitigation
155measures. The department shall pay the creditor the market rate
156of interest using funds appropriated for the My Safe Florida
157Home Program. In no case shall the department pay more than the
158interest rate set by s. 687.03. To be eligible for a loan, a
159loan applicant must first obtain a home inspection and report
160that specifies what improvements are needed to reduce the
161property's vulnerability to windstorm damage pursuant to this
162section and meet loan underwriting requirements set by the
163lender. The department may set aside up to $10 million from
164funds appropriated for the My Safe Florida Home Program to
165implement this subsection. The department shall adopt rules
166pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to implement this
167subsection which may include eligibility criteria.
168     (10)  CONTRACT MANAGEMENT.--The department may contract
169with third parties for grants management, inspection services,
170contractor services for low-income homeowners, information
171technology, educational outreach, and auditing services. Such
172contracts shall be considered direct costs of the program and
173shall not be subject to administrative cost limits, but
174contracts valued at $500,000 or more shall be subject to review
175and approval by the Legislative Budget Commission. The
176department shall contract with providers that have a
177demonstrated record of successful business operations in areas
178directly related to the services to be provided and shall ensure
179the highest accountability for use of state funds, consistent
180with this section.
181     Section 2.  Paragraph (k) is added to subsection (2) of
182section 627.062, Florida Statutes, to read:
183     627.062  Rate standards.--
184     (2)  As to all such classes of insurance:
185     (k)  With respect to residential property insurance rate
186filings, the rate filing must account for county ordinances and
187local amendments to the Florida Building Code that effectuate
188the reduction or elimination of geologic hazards and ordinances
189geared toward reducing insurer risk from geologic hazards.
190
191The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to workers'
192compensation and employer's liability insurance and to motor
193vehicle insurance.
194     Section 3.  Subsection (2) of section 627.711, Florida
195Statutes, is amended to read:
196     627.711  Notice of premium discounts for hurricane loss
197mitigation; uniform mitigation verification inspection form.--
198     (2)  By July 1, 2007, the Financial Services Commission
199shall develop by rule a uniform mitigation verification
200inspection form that shall be used by all insurers when
201factoring discounts for wind insurance. In developing the form,
202the commission shall seek input from insurance, construction,
203and building code representatives. Further, the commission shall
204provide guidance as to the length of time the inspection results
205are valid. An insurer shall accept as valid a uniform mitigation
206verification form certified by the Department of Financial
207Services or signed by:
208     (a)  An approved My Safe Florida Home wind inspector;
209     (b)  A building code inspector certified under s. 468.607;
210     (c)  A general or residential contractor licensed under s.
211489.111;
212     (d)  A professional engineer licensed under s. 471.015 who
213has passed the appropriate equivalency test of the Building Code
214training program as required by s. 553.841; or
215     (e)  A professional architect licensed under s. 481.213.
216     Section 4.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2008.


CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.