| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to the My Safe Florida Home Program; |
| 3 | amending s. 215.5586, F.S.; deleting a requirement that |
| 4 | the Department of Financial Services set aside from |
| 5 | appropriated funds a specified amount of money to |
| 6 | implement the no-interest loan component of the program; |
| 7 | providing an effective date. |
| 8 |
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| 9 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 10 |
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| 11 | Section 1. Subsection (8) of section 215.5586, Florida |
| 12 | Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 13 | 215.5586 My Safe Florida Home Program.--There is |
| 14 | established within the Department of Financial Services the My |
| 15 | Safe Florida Home Program. The department shall provide fiscal |
| 16 | accountability, contract management, and strategic leadership |
| 17 | for the program, consistent with this section. This section does |
| 18 | not create an entitlement for property owners or obligate the |
| 19 | state in any way to fund the inspection or retrofitting of |
| 20 | residential property in this state. Implementation of this |
| 21 | program is subject to annual legislative appropriations. It is |
| 22 | the intent of the Legislature that the My Safe Florida Home |
| 23 | Program provide inspections for at least 400,000 site-built, |
| 24 | single-family, residential properties and provide grants to at |
| 25 | least 35,000 applicants before June 30, 2009. The program shall |
| 26 | develop and implement a comprehensive and coordinated approach |
| 27 | for hurricane damage mitigation that shall include the |
| 28 | following: |
| 29 | (8) NO-INTEREST LOANS.--The department shall implement a |
| 30 | no-interest loan program by October 1, 2008, contingent upon the |
| 31 | selection of a qualified vendor and execution of a contract |
| 32 | acceptable to the department and the vendor. The department |
| 33 | shall enter into partnerships with the private sector to provide |
| 34 | loans to owners of site-built, single-family, residential |
| 35 | property to pay for mitigation measures listed in subsection |
| 36 | (2). A loan eligible for interest payments pursuant to this |
| 37 | subsection may be for a term of up to 3 years and cover up to |
| 38 | $5,000 in mitigation measures. The department shall pay the |
| 39 | creditor the market rate of interest using funds appropriated |
| 40 | for the My Safe Florida Home Program. In no case shall the |
| 41 | department pay more than the interest rate set by s. 687.03. To |
| 42 | be eligible for a loan, a loan applicant must first obtain a |
| 43 | home inspection and report that specifies what improvements are |
| 44 | needed to reduce the property's vulnerability to windstorm |
| 45 | damage pursuant to this section and meet loan underwriting |
| 46 | requirements set by the lender. The department shall set aside |
| 47 | $10 million from funds appropriated for the My Safe Florida Home |
| 48 | Program to implement this subsection. The department may adopt |
| 49 | rules pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to implement this |
| 50 | subsection which may include eligibility criteria. |
| 51 | Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law. |