HB 7103

1
A bill to be entitled
2An act relating to the My Safe Florida Home Program;
3amending s. 215.5586, F.S.; requiring that wind
4certification entities meet certain minimum criteria to
5qualify for selection by the Department of Financial
6Services; deleting a provision requiring hurricane
7mitigation inspectors participating in the program to meet
8the requirements for a criminal record check by a
9specified date; authorizing the department to require that
10improvements be made to all openings of a structure,
11including exterior doors and garage doors, as a condition
12of reimbursing a homeowner for a grant; deleting a
13provision authorizing the department to transfer certain
14funds to Volunteer Florida Foundation, Inc., for certain
15purposes; deleting a requirement that Volunteer Florida,
16Inc., undertake certain activities; requiring the
17department to implement a no-interest loan program by a
18certain date; providing program requirements; requiring
19the department to set aside certain moneys for certain
20purposes; authorizing the department to adopt rules;
21authorizing the department to contract with third parties
22for contractor services and technology; amending s.
23627.711, F.S.; requiring insurers to accept as valid
24uniform mitigation verification forms certified by the
25department or signed by certain professionals; providing
26an effective date.
27
28Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
29
30     Section 1.  Subsection (1), paragraphs (e) and (j) of
31subsection (2), and subsections (8) and (10) of section
32215.5586, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
33     215.5586  My Safe Florida Home Program.--There is
34established within the Department of Financial Services the My
35Safe Florida Home Program. The department shall provide fiscal
36accountability, contract management, and strategic leadership
37for the program, consistent with this section. This section does
38not create an entitlement for property owners or obligate the
39state in any way to fund the inspection or retrofitting of
40residential property in this state. Implementation of this
41program is subject to annual legislative appropriations. It is
42the intent of the Legislature that the My Safe Florida Home
43Program provide inspections for at least 400,000 site-built,
44single-family, residential properties and provide grants to at
45least 35,000 applicants before June 30, 2009. The program shall
46develop and implement a comprehensive and coordinated approach
47for hurricane damage mitigation that shall include the
48following:
49     (1)  HURRICANE MITIGATION INSPECTIONS.--
50     (a)  Free home-retrofit inspections of site-built, single-
51family, residential property shall be offered throughout the
52state to determine what mitigation measures are needed, what
53insurance premium discounts may be available, and what
54improvements to existing residential properties are needed to
55reduce the property's vulnerability to hurricane damage. The
56Department of Financial Services shall contract with wind
57certification entities to provide free hurricane mitigation
58inspections. The inspections provided to homeowners, at a
59minimum, must include:
60     1.  A home inspection and report that summarizes the
61results and identifies recommended improvements a homeowner may
62take to mitigate hurricane damage.
63     2.  A range of cost estimates regarding the recommended
64mitigation improvements.
65     3.  Insurer-specific information regarding premium
66discounts correlated to the current mitigation features and the
67recommended mitigation improvements identified by the
68inspection.
69     4.  A hurricane resistance rating scale specifying the
70home's current as well as projected wind resistance
71capabilities. As soon as practical, the rating scale must be the
72uniform home grading scale adopted by the Financial Services
73Commission pursuant to s. 215.55865.
74     (b)  To qualify for selection by the department as a wind
75certification entity to provide hurricane mitigation
76inspections, the entity shall, at a minimum, meet the following
77requirements:
78     1.  Use hurricane mitigation inspectors who:
79     a.  Are certified as a building inspector under s. 468.607;
80     b.  Are licensed as a general or residential contractor
81under s. 489.111;
82     c.  Are licensed as a professional engineer under s.
83471.015 and who have passed the appropriate equivalency test of
84the Building Code Training Program as required by s. 553.841;
85     d.  Are licensed as a professional architect under s.
86481.213; or
87     e.a.  Have at least 2 years of prior experience in
88residential construction or residential building inspection and
89have received specialized training in hurricane mitigation
90procedures. Such training may be provided by a class offered
91online or in person.
92     2.  Use hurricane mitigation inspectors who also:
93     a.b.  Have undergone drug testing and level 2 background
94checks pursuant to s. 435.04. The department may is authorized
95to conduct criminal record checks of inspectors used by wind
96certification entities. Inspectors must submit a set of the
97fingerprints to the department for state and national criminal
98history checks and must pay the fingerprint processing fee set
99forth in s. 624.501. The fingerprints shall be sent by the
100department to the Department of Law Enforcement and forwarded to
101the Federal Bureau of Investigation for processing. The results
102shall be returned to the department for screening. The
103fingerprints shall be taken by a law enforcement agency,
104designated examination center, or other department-approved
105entity; and. Hurricane mitigation inspectors participating in
106the program on January 25, 2007, shall have until June 1, 2007,
107to meet the requirements for a criminal record check.
108     b.c.  Have been certified, in a manner satisfactory to the
109department, to conduct the inspections.
110     3.2.  Provide a quality assurance program including a
111reinspection component.
112     (c)  The department shall implement a quality assurance
113program that includes a statistically valid number of
114reinspections.
115     (d)(c)  An application for an inspection must contain a
116signed or electronically verified statement made under penalty
117of perjury that the applicant has submitted only a single
118application for that home.
119     (e)(d)  The owner of a site-built, single-family,
120residential property may apply for and receive an inspection
121without also applying for a grant pursuant to subsection (2) and
122without meeting the requirements of paragraph (2)(a).
123     (2)  MITIGATION GRANTS.--Financial grants shall be used to
124encourage single-family, site-built, owner-occupied, residential
125property owners to retrofit their properties to make them less
126vulnerable to hurricane damage.
127     (e)  When recommended by a hurricane mitigation inspection,
128grants may be used for the following improvements only:
129     1.  Opening protection.
130     2.  Exterior doors, including garage doors.
131     3.  Brace gable ends.
132
133The department may require that improvements be made to all
134openings, including exterior doors and garage doors, as a
135condition of reimbursing a homeowner approved approving an
136application for a grant if the department determines that
137improvements to less than all openings would not substantially
138improve the structure's ability to withstand hurricane 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 enter into partnerships with
155December 31, 2007, to encourage the private sector to provide
156loans to owners of site-built, single-family, residential
157property to pay for mitigation measures listed in subsection
158(2). A loan eligible for interest payments pursuant to this
159subsection may be for a term of up to 3 years and cover up to
160$5,000 in mitigation measures. The department shall pay the
161creditor the market rate of interest using funds appropriated
162for the My Safe Florida Home Program. In no case shall the
163department pay more than the interest rate set by s. 687.03. To
164be eligible for a loan, a loan applicant must first obtain a
165home inspection and report that specifies what improvements are
166needed to reduce the property's vulnerability to windstorm
167damage pursuant to this section and meet loan underwriting
168requirements set by the lender. The department shall may set
169aside up to $10 million from funds appropriated for the My Safe
170Florida Home Program to implement this subsection. The
171department may shall adopt rules pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and
172120.54 to implement this subsection which may include
173eligibility criteria.
174     (10)  CONTRACT MANAGEMENT.--The department may contract
175with third parties for grants management, inspection services,
176contractor services for low-income homeowners, information
177technology, educational outreach, and auditing services. Such
178contracts shall be considered direct costs of the program and
179shall not be subject to administrative cost limits, but
180contracts valued at $500,000 or more shall be subject to review
181and approval by the Legislative Budget Commission. The
182department shall contract with providers that have a
183demonstrated record of successful business operations in areas
184directly related to the services to be provided and shall ensure
185the highest accountability for use of state funds, consistent
186with this section.
187     Section 2.  Subsection (2) of section 627.711, Florida
188Statutes, is amended to read:
189     627.711  Notice of premium discounts for hurricane loss
190mitigation; uniform mitigation verification inspection form.--
191     (2)  By July 1, 2007, the Financial Services Commission
192shall develop by rule a uniform mitigation verification
193inspection form that shall be used by all insurers when
194submitted by policyholders for the purpose of factoring
195discounts for wind insurance. In developing the form, the
196commission shall seek input from insurance, construction, and
197building code representatives. Further, the commission shall
198provide guidance as to the length of time the inspection results
199are valid. An insurer shall accept as valid a uniform mitigation
200verification form certified by the Department of Financial
201Services or signed by:
202     (a)  A hurricane mitigation inspector employed by an
203approved My Safe Florida Home wind certification entity;
204     (b)  A building code inspector certified under s. 468.607;
205     (c)  A general or residential contractor licensed under s.
206489.111;
207     (d)  A professional engineer licensed under s. 471.015 who
208has passed the appropriate equivalency test of the Building Code
209training program as required by s. 553.841; or
210     (e)  A professional architect licensed under s. 481.213.
211     Section 3.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2008.


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