Florida Senate - 2026                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. SB 1706
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì808108)Î808108                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                  Comm: RCS            .                                
                  02/19/2026           .                                
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       The Committee on Appropriations (Pizzo) recommended the
       following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with directory and title amendments)
    2  
    3         Delete lines 114 - 169
    4  and insert:
    5  for a grant under sub-subparagraph (5)(e)1.a. subparagraph
    6  (5)(e)1. for association property or condominium property unless
    7  the windows of the association property or condominium property
    8  are established as common elements in the declaration.
    9         (e)(c) In order to apply for a grant under subsection (5)
   10  which improves one or more units within a condominium, an
   11  association must receive both of the following:
   12         1. Approval by a majority vote of the board of
   13  administration or a majority vote of the total voting interests
   14  of the association to participate in a mitigation inspection.
   15         2. Approval by at least 75 percent of all unit owners who
   16  reside within the structure or building that is the subject of
   17  the mitigation grant.
   18         (f)(d) A unit owner may participate in the pilot program
   19  through a mitigation grant awarded to the association but may
   20  not participate individually in the pilot program.
   21         (g)(e) The votes required under this subsection may take
   22  place at the annual budget meeting of the association or at a
   23  unit owner meeting called for the purpose of taking such vote.
   24  Before a vote of the unit owners may be taken, the association
   25  must provide to the unit owners a clear disclosure of the pilot
   26  program on a form created by the department. The president and
   27  the treasurer of the board of administration must sign the
   28  disclosure form indicating that a copy of the form was provided
   29  to each unit owner of the association. The signed disclosure
   30  form and the minutes from the meeting at which the unit owners
   31  voted to participate in the pilot program must be maintained as
   32  part of the official records of the association. Within 14 days
   33  after an affirmative vote to participate in the pilot program,
   34  the association must provide written notice in the same manner
   35  as required under s. 718.112(2)(d) to all unit owners of the
   36  decision to participate in the pilot program.
   37         (5) MITIGATION GRANTS.—Financial grants may be used by
   38  associations to make improvements that recommended in a
   39  hurricane mitigation inspection report which increase the
   40  condominium’s resistance to hurricane damage as provided in this
   41  subsection.
   42         (a) An application for a mitigation grant must:
   43         1. Contain a signed or electronically verified statement
   44  made under penalty of perjury by the president of the board of
   45  administration that the association has submitted only a single
   46  application for each property that the association operates or
   47  maintains.
   48         2. Include a notarized statement from the president of the
   49  board of administration containing the name and license number
   50  of each contractor the association intends to use for the
   51  mitigation project.
   52         3. Include a notarized statement from the president of the
   53  board of administration which commits to the department that the
   54  association will complete the mitigation improvements. If the
   55  grant will be used to improve units, the application must also
   56  include an acknowledged statement from each unit owner who is
   57  required to provide approval for a grant under paragraph (2)(e)
   58  (2)(c).
   59         4.Include documentation deemed sufficient by the
   60  department under paragraph (2)(b) for verifying household
   61  income.
   62         (b) An association may select its own contractors for the
   63  mitigation project as long as each contractor meets all
   64  qualification, certification, or licensing requirements in
   65  general law. A mitigation project must be performed by a
   66  properly licensed contractor who has secured all required local
   67  permits necessary for the project. The department must
   68  electronically verify that the contractor’s state license number
   69  is accurate and up to date before approving a grant application.
   70         (c) An association awarded a grant must complete the entire
   71  mitigation project in order to receive the final grant award and
   72  must agree to make the property available for a final inspection
   73  once the mitigation project is finished to ensure the mitigation
   74  improvements are completed in a manner consistent with the
   75  intent of the pilot program and meet or exceed the applicable
   76  Florida Building Code requirements. Construction must be
   77  completed and the association must submit a request to the
   78  department for a final inspection, or request an extension of
   79  time, within 1 year after receiving grant approval. If the
   80  association fails to comply with this paragraph, the application
   81  is deemed abandoned and the grant money reverts back to the
   82  department.
   83         (d) Grant projects shall be funded as follows:
   84         1. All grants must be matched on the basis of $1 provided
   85  by the association for $2 provided by the state toward the
   86  actual cost of the project.
   87         2. An association may receive grant funds for both roof
   88  related and opening protection-related projects, but the maximum
   89  total grant award may not exceed $175,000 per association.
   90         3. The department may not accept grant applications or
   91  maintain a waiting list for grants after the cumulative value of
   92  the grants awarded have fully obligated the appropriation,
   93  unless otherwise expressly authorized by the Legislature.
   94         (e) Grant funds may only be used for the following:
   95         1.water intrusion mitigation devices or Mitigation
   96  improvements recommended in a hurricane mitigation inspection
   97  report which that will result in a mitigation credit, discount,
   98  or other rate differential for the building or structure to
   99  which the improvement is such device or improvement is applied
  100  or made, including. When recommended by a hurricane mitigation
  101  inspection report, grants for eligible associations may be used
  102  for the following improvements:
  103         a.1. Opening protection improvements, including all of the
  104  following:
  105         (I)a. Exterior doors.
  106         (II)b. Garage doors.
  107         (III)c. Windows.
  108         (IV)d. Skylights.
  109         b.2. Roof improvements, including all of the following:
  110         (I)a. Reinforcing roof-to-wall connections.
  111         (II)b. Improving the strength of roof-deck attachments.
  112         (III)c. Installing secondary water resistance for the roof.
  113         (IV)d. Replacing the roof covering.
  114         2.Water intrusion mitigation devices designed to prevent
  115  wind-driven rainwater intrusion through the tracks of sliding
  116  glass doors. Grant funds authorized under this subparagraph are
  117  not contingent upon a recommendation in a hurricane mitigation
  118  inspection report. However, a hurricane mitigation inspector
  119  must verify the use of such a device.
  120         (f) Except for the water intrusion mitigation devices as
  121  specified in subparagraph (e)2., mitigation improvements must be
  122  identified in the final hurricane mitigation inspection report
  123  in order for an association to receive grant funds.
  124         (g) If improvements to protect the property which that
  125  complied with the current applicable building code at the time
  126  have been previously installed, the association must use a
  127  mitigation grant to install improvements that do both of the
  128  following:
  129         1. Comply with or exceed the applicable building code in
  130  effect at the time the association applied for the grant.
  131         2. Provide more hurricane protection than the improvements
  132  that the association previously installed.
  133         (h) The association may not use a mitigation grant to:
  134         1. Install the same type of improvements that were
  135  previously installed; or
  136         2. Pay a deductible for a pending insurance claim for
  137  damage that is part of the property for which grant funds are
  138  being received.
  139         (i) The department shall develop a process that ensures the
  140  most efficient means to collect and verify inspection and grant
  141  applications to determine eligibility. The department may direct
  142  hurricane mitigation inspectors to collect and verify inspection
  143  and grant application information or use the Internet or other
  144  electronic means to collect information and determine
  145  eligibility.
  146  
  147  ====== D I R E C T O R Y  C L A U S E  A M E N D M E N T ======
  148  And the directory clause is amended as follows:
  149         Delete lines 22 - 23
  150  and insert:
  151         Section 1. Subsections (1), (2), and (5) of section
  152  215.55871, Florida Statutes,
  153  
  154  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
  155  And the title is amended as follows:
  156         Delete lines 13 - 16
  157  and insert:
  158         program under certain circumstances; authorizing
  159         financial grants to be used by associations for a
  160         specified purpose; requiring that an application for a
  161         mitigation grant include documentation to verify
  162         household income; requiring limiting the award of
  163         grant funds; making clarifying changes; requiring a
  164         hurricane mitigation inspector to verify the
  165         possession of water intrusion mitigation devices;
  166         requiring an association to