The Florida Senate

215.559  Hurricane Loss Mitigation Program.--

(1)  There is created a Hurricane Loss Mitigation Program. The Legislature shall annually appropriate $10 million of the moneys authorized for appropriation under s. 215.555(7)(c) from the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund to the Department of Community Affairs for the purposes set forth in this section.

(2)(a)  Seven million dollars in funds provided in subsection (1) shall be used for programs to improve the wind resistance of residences and mobile homes, including loans, subsidies, grants, demonstration projects, and direct assistance; cooperative programs with local governments and the Federal Government; and other efforts to prevent or reduce losses or reduce the cost of rebuilding after a disaster.

(b)  Three million dollars in funds provided in subsection (1) shall be used to retrofit existing facilities used as public hurricane shelters. The department must prioritize the use of these funds for projects included in the September 1, 2000, version of the Shelter Retrofit Report prepared in accordance with s. 252.385(3), and each annual report thereafter. The department must give funding priority to projects in regional planning council regions that have shelter deficits and to projects that maximize use of state funds.

(3)  At least 40 percent of the total appropriation for loans, subsidies, grants, demonstration projects, and direct assistance for the first year of the programs shall be used for mobile homes, including programs to inspect and improve tie-downs, construct and provide safety structures, and provide other means to reduce losses. In the second year of the programs, at least 30 percent of the total appropriation shall be used for mobile homes, and thereafter at least 20 percent shall be used for such purposes.

(4)  Of moneys provided to the Department of Community Affairs, 10 percent shall be allocated to the Operations and Maintenance Trust Fund in the general office of the Board of Regents, to be used by the Type I Center within the State University System dedicated to hurricane research, to support programs of research and development relating to hurricane loss reduction devices and techniques for residences and mobile homes and relating to the development of credible data on potential loss reductions. The State University System shall consult with the Department of Community Affairs and assist the department with the report required under subsection (7).

(5)  The Department of Community Affairs shall develop the programs in consultation with an advisory council appointed by the secretary consisting of a representative of the Department of Insurance, a representative of home builders, a representative of insurance companies, a representative of the Federation of Mobile Home Owners, a representative of the Florida Association of Counties, and a representative of the Florida Manufactured Housing Association who is a mobile home manufacturer or supplier.

(6)  Moneys provided to the Department of Community Affairs under this section are intended to supplement other funding sources of the Department of Community Affairs and may not supplant other funding sources of the Department of Community Affairs.

(7)  On January 1st of 2001 and 2002, the Department of Community Affairs shall provide a full report and accounting of activities under this section and an evaluation of such activities to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the President of the Senate, and the Majority and Minority Leaders of the House of Representatives and the Senate.

(8)  This section is repealed June 30, 2002.

History.--s. 2, ch. 99-305; s. 1, ch. 2000-140.