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 implement a no-interest loan program by a
15certain date; providing program requirements; requiring
16the department to set aside certain moneys for certain
17purposes; authorizing the department to adopt rules;
18expanding authority of the department to contract with
19additional third parties for certain purposes; amending s.
20627.062, F.S.; requiring insurers to account for county
21ordinances and local amendments to the Florida Building
22Code in certain rate filings; amending s. 627.711, F.S.;
23requiring insurers to accept as valid uniform mitigation
24verification forms certified by the department or signed
25by certain professionals; providing an effective date.
26
27Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
28
29     Section 1.  Subsection (1), paragraphs (e) and (j) of
30subsection (2), and subsections (8) and (10) of section
31215.5586, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
32     215.5586  My Safe Florida Home Program.--There is
33established within the Department of Financial Services the My
34Safe Florida Home Program. The department shall provide fiscal
35accountability, contract management, and strategic leadership
36for the program, consistent with this section. This section does
37not create an entitlement for property owners or obligate the
38state in any way to fund the inspection or retrofitting of
39residential property in this state. Implementation of this
40program is subject to annual legislative appropriations. It is
41the intent of the Legislature that the My Safe Florida Home
42Program provide inspections for at least 400,000 site-built,
43single-family, residential properties and provide grants to at
44least 35,000 applicants before June 30, 2009. The program shall
45develop and implement a comprehensive and coordinated approach
46for hurricane damage mitigation that shall include the
47following:
48     (1)  HURRICANE MITIGATION INSPECTIONS.--
49     (a)  Free home-retrofit inspections of site-built, single-
50family, residential property shall be offered throughout the
51state to determine what mitigation measures are needed, what
52insurance premium discounts may be available, and what
53improvements to existing residential properties are needed to
54reduce the property's vulnerability to hurricane damage. The
55Department of Financial Services shall contract with wind
56certification entities to provide free hurricane mitigation
57inspections. The inspections provided to homeowners, at a
58minimum, must include:
59     1.  A home inspection and report that summarizes the
60results and identifies recommended improvements a homeowner may
61take to mitigate hurricane damage.
62     2.  A range of cost estimates regarding the recommended
63mitigation improvements.
64     3.  Insurer-specific information regarding premium
65discounts correlated to the current mitigation features and the
66recommended mitigation improvements identified by the
67inspection.
68     4.  A hurricane resistance rating scale specifying the
69home's current as well as projected wind resistance
70capabilities. As soon as practical, the rating scale must be the
71uniform home grading scale adopted by the Financial Services
72Commission pursuant to s. 215.55865.
73     (b)  To qualify for selection by the department as a wind
74certification entity to provide hurricane mitigation
75inspections, the entity shall, at a minimum:
76     1.  Use hurricane mitigation inspectors who:
77     a.  Are certified as a building code inspector under s.
78468.607;
79     b.  Are licensed as a general contractor or residential
80contractor under s. 489.111;
81     c.  Are licensed as a professional engineer under s.
82471.015 and have passed the appropriate equivalency test of the
83Building Code training program as required by s. 553.841;
84     d. Are licensed as a professional architect under s.
85481.213; or
86     e.a.  Have at least 2 years' prior experience in
87residential construction or residential building inspection and
88have received specialized training in hurricane mitigation
89procedures. Such training may be provided by a class offered
90online or in person.
91     2.  Use hurricane mitigation inspectors who:
92     a.b.  Have undergone drug testing and level 2 background
93checks pursuant to s. 435.04. The department may is authorized
94to conduct criminal record checks of inspectors used by wind
95certification entities. Inspectors must submit a set of the
96fingerprints to the department for state and national criminal
97history checks and must pay the fingerprint processing fee set
98forth in s. 624.501. The fingerprints shall be sent by the
99department to the Department of Law Enforcement and forwarded to
100the Federal Bureau of Investigation for processing. The results
101shall be returned to the department for screening. The
102fingerprints shall be taken by a law enforcement agency,
103designated examination center, or other department-approved
104entity. Hurricane mitigation inspectors participating in the
105program on January 25, 2007, shall have until June 1, 2007, to
106meet the requirements for a criminal record check.
107     b.c.  Have been certified, in a manner satisfactory to the
108department, to conduct the inspections.
109     3.2.  Provide a quality assurance program including a
110reinspection component.
111     (c)  The department shall implement a quality assurance
112program that includes a statistically valid number of
113reinspections.
114     (d)(c)  An application for an inspection must contain a
115signed or electronically verified statement made under penalty
116of perjury that the applicant has submitted only a single
117application for that home.
118     (e)(d)  The owner of a site-built, single-family,
119residential property may apply for and receive an inspection
120without also applying for a grant pursuant to subsection (2) and
121without meeting the requirements of paragraph (2)(a).
122     (2)  MITIGATION GRANTS.--Financial grants shall be used to
123encourage single-family, site-built, owner-occupied, residential
124property owners to retrofit their properties to make them less
125vulnerable to hurricane damage.
126     (e)  When recommended by a hurricane mitigation inspection,
127grants may be used for the following improvements only:
128     1.  Opening protection.
129     2.  Exterior doors, including garage doors.
130     3.  Brace gable ends.
131
132The department may require that improvements be made to all
133openings, including exterior doors and garage doors, as a
134condition of reimbursing a homeowner who has been approved
135approving an application for a grant if the department
136determines that improvements to less than all openings would not
137substantially improve the structure's ability to withstand
138hurricane damage.
139     (j)  The department shall transfer the amount of $40
140million from funds appropriated to the program, including up to
1415 percent for administrative costs, to Volunteer Florida
142Foundation, Inc., for provision of inspections and grants to
143low-income homeowners, as defined in s. 420.0004(10), consistent
144with this section. Volunteer Florida Foundation, Inc., shall be
145responsible for inspections and grants management for low-income
146homeowners and shall report its activities and account for state
147funds on a quarterly and annual basis to the Chief Financial
148Officer, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the
149House of Representatives.
150     (8)  NO-INTEREST LOANS.--The department shall implement may
151develop a no-interest loan program by October 1, 2008,
152contingent upon the selection of a qualified vendor and
153execution of a contract acceptable to the department and the
154vendor. The department shall partner with December 31, 2007, to
155encourage the private sector to provide loans to owners of site-
156built, single-family, residential property to pay for mitigation
157measures listed in subsection (2). A loan eligible for interest
158payments pursuant to this subsection may be for a term of up to
1593 years and cover up to $5,000 in mitigation measures. The
160department shall pay the creditor the market rate of interest
161using funds appropriated for the My Safe Florida Home Program.
162In no case shall the department pay more than the interest rate
163set by s. 687.03. To be eligible for a loan, a loan applicant
164must first obtain a home inspection and report that specifies
165what improvements are needed to reduce the property's
166vulnerability to windstorm damage pursuant to this section and
167meet loan underwriting requirements set by the lender. The
168department shall may set aside up to $10 million from funds
169appropriated for the My Safe Florida Home Program to implement
170this subsection. The department may shall adopt rules pursuant
171to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to implement this subsection which
172may include eligibility criteria.
173     (10)  CONTRACT MANAGEMENT.--The department may contract
174with third parties for grants management, inspection services,
175contractor services for low-income homeowners, information
176technology, educational outreach, and auditing services. Such
177contracts shall be considered direct costs of the program and
178shall not be subject to administrative cost limits, but
179contracts valued at $500,000 or more shall be subject to review
180and approval by the Legislative Budget Commission. The
181department shall contract with providers that have a
182demonstrated record of successful business operations in areas
183directly related to the services to be provided and shall ensure
184the highest accountability for use of state funds, consistent
185with this section.
186     Section 2.  Paragraph (k) is added to subsection (2) of
187section 627.062, Florida Statutes, to read:
188     627.062  Rate standards.--
189     (2)  As to all such classes of insurance:
190     (k)  With respect to residential property insurance rate
191filings, the rate filing must account for county ordinances and
192local amendments to the Florida Building Code that effectuate
193the reduction or elimination of geologic hazards and ordinances
194geared toward reducing insurer risk from geologic hazards.
195
196The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to workers'
197compensation and employer's liability insurance and to motor
198vehicle insurance.
199     Section 3.  Subsection (2) of section 627.711, Florida
200Statutes, is amended to read:
201     627.711  Notice of premium discounts for hurricane loss
202mitigation; uniform mitigation verification inspection form.--
203     (2)  By July 1, 2007, the Financial Services Commission
204shall develop by rule a uniform mitigation verification
205inspection form that shall be used by all insurers when
206factoring discounts for wind insurance. In developing the form,
207the commission shall seek input from insurance, construction,
208and building code representatives. Further, the commission shall
209provide guidance as to the length of time the inspection results
210are valid. An insurer shall accept as valid a uniform mitigation
211verification form certified by the Department of Financial
212Services or signed by:
213     (a)  An approved My Safe Florida Home wind inspector;
214     (b)  A building code inspector certified under s. 468.607;
215     (c)  A general or residential contractor licensed under s.
216489.111;
217     (d)  A professional engineer licensed under s. 471.015 who
218has passed the appropriate equivalency test of the Building Code
219training program as required by s. 553.841; or
220     (e)  A professional architect licensed under s. 481.213.
221     Section 4.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2008.


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