(1) HURRICANE MITIGATION INSPECTIONS.—
(a) Certified inspectors to provide home-retrofit inspections of site-built, single-family, residential property may be offered to determine what mitigation measures are needed, what insurance premium discounts may be available, and what improvements to existing residential properties are needed to reduce the property’s vulnerability to hurricane damage. The Department of Financial Services shall contract with wind certification entities to provide hurricane mitigation inspections. The inspections provided to homeowners, at a minimum, must include:
1. A home inspection and report that summarizes the results and identifies recommended improvements a homeowner may take to mitigate hurricane damage.
2. A range of cost estimates regarding the recommended mitigation improvements.
3. Insurer-specific information regarding premium discounts correlated to the current mitigation features and the recommended mitigation improvements identified by the inspection.
(b) To qualify for selection by the department as a wind certification entity to provide hurricane mitigation inspections, the entity shall, at a minimum, meet the following requirements:
1. Use hurricane mitigation inspectors who:
a. Are certified as a building inspector under s. 468.607;
b. Are licensed as a general or residential contractor under s. 489.111;
c. Are licensed as a professional engineer under s. 471.015 and who have passed the appropriate equivalency test of the building code training program as required by s. 553.841;
d. Are licensed as a professional architect under s. 481.213; or
e. Have at least 2 years of experience in residential construction or residential building inspection and have received specialized training in hurricane mitigation procedures. Such training may be provided by a class offered online or in person.
2. Use hurricane mitigation inspectors who also:
a. Have undergone drug testing and a background screening. The department may conduct criminal record checks of inspectors used by wind certification entities. Inspectors must submit a set of the fingerprints to the department for state and national criminal history checks and must pay the fingerprint processing fee set forth in s. 624.501. The fingerprints shall be sent by the department to the Department of Law Enforcement and forwarded to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for processing. The results shall be returned to the department for screening. The fingerprints shall be taken by a law enforcement agency, designated examination center, or other department-approved entity; and
b. Have been certified, in a manner satisfactory to the department, to conduct the inspections.
3. Provide a quality assurance program including a reinspection component.
(c) The department shall implement a quality assurance program that includes a statistically valid number of reinspections.
(d) An application for an inspection must contain a signed or electronically verified statement made under penalty of perjury that the applicant has submitted only a single application for that home.
(e) The owner of a site-built, single-family, residential property may apply for and receive an inspection without also applying for a grant pursuant to subsection (2) and without meeting the requirements of paragraph (2)(a).
(2) MITIGATION GRANTS.—Financial grants shall be used to encourage single-family, site-built, owner-occupied, residential property owners to retrofit their properties to make them less vulnerable to hurricane damage.
1(a) For a homeowner to be eligible for a grant, the following criteria must be met:
1. The homeowner must have been granted a homestead exemption on the home under chapter 196.
2. The home must be a dwelling with an insured value of $500,000 or less. Homeowners who are low-income persons, as defined in s. 420.0004(11), are exempt from this requirement.
3. The home must have undergone an acceptable hurricane mitigation inspection after July 1, 2008.
4. The home must be located in the “wind-borne debris region” as that term is defined in the Florida Building Code.
5. The building permit application for initial construction of the home must have been made before January 1, 2008.
6. The homeowner must agree to make his or her home available for inspection once a mitigation project is completed.
An application for a grant must contain a signed or electronically verified statement made under penalty of perjury that the applicant has submitted only a single application and must have attached documents demonstrating the applicant meets the requirements of this paragraph.
1(b) All grants must be matched on the basis of $1 provided by the applicant for $2 provided by the state up to a maximum state contribution of $10,000 toward the actual cost of the mitigation project.
(c) The program shall create a process in which contractors agree to participate and homeowners select from a list of participating contractors. All mitigation must be based upon the securing of all required local permits and inspections and must be performed by properly licensed contractors. Mitigation projects are subject to random reinspection of up to at least 5 percent of all projects. Hurricane mitigation inspectors qualifying for the program may also participate as mitigation contractors as long as the inspectors meet the department’s qualifications and certification requirements for mitigation contractors.
(d) Matching fund grants shall also be made available to local governments and nonprofit entities for projects that will reduce hurricane damage to single-family, site-built, owner-occupied, residential property. The department shall liberally construe those requirements in favor of availing the state of the opportunity to leverage funding for the My Safe Florida Home Program with other sources of funding.
(e) When recommended by a hurricane mitigation inspection, grants may be used for the following improvements:
1. Opening protection.
2. Exterior doors, including garage doors.
3. Brace gable ends.
4. Reinforcing roof-to-wall connections.
5. Improving the strength of roof-deck attachments.
6. Upgrading roof covering from code to code plus.
7. Secondary water barrier for roof.
The department may require that improvements be made to all openings, including exterior doors and garage doors, as a condition of reimbursing a homeowner approved for a grant. The department may adopt, by rule, the maximum grant allowances for any improvement allowable under this paragraph.
(f) Grants may be used on a previously inspected existing structure or on a rebuild. A rebuild is defined as a site-built, single-family dwelling under construction to replace a home that was destroyed or significantly damaged by a hurricane and deemed unlivable by a regulatory authority. The homeowner must be a low-income homeowner as defined in paragraph (g), must have had a homestead exemption for that home prior to the hurricane, and must be intending to rebuild the home as that homeowner’s homestead.
(g) Low-income homeowners, as defined in s. 420.0004(11), who otherwise meet the requirements of paragraphs (a), (c), (e), and (f) are eligible for a grant of up to $5,000 and are not required to provide a matching amount to receive the grant. Additionally, for low-income homeowners, grant funding may be used for repair to existing structures leading to any of the mitigation improvements provided in paragraph (e), limited to 20 percent of the grant value. The program may accept a certification directly from a low-income homeowner that the homeowner meets the requirements of s. 420.0004(11) if the homeowner provides such certification in a signed or electronically verified statement made under penalty of perjury.
(h) The department shall establish objective, reasonable criteria for prioritizing grant applications, consistent with the requirements of this section.
(i) The department shall develop a process that ensures the most efficient means to collect and verify grant applications to determine eligibility and may direct hurricane mitigation inspectors to collect and verify grant application information or use the Internet or other electronic means to collect information and determine eligibility.
(3) EDUCATION AND CONSUMER AWARENESS.—The department may undertake a statewide multimedia public outreach and advertising campaign to inform consumers of the availability and benefits of hurricane inspections and of the safety and financial benefits of residential hurricane damage mitigation. The department may seek out and use local, state, federal, and private funds to support the campaign.
(4) FUNDING.—The department may seek out and leverage local, state, federal, or private funds to enhance the financial resources of the program.
(5) RULES.—The Department of Financial Services shall adopt rules pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to govern the program; implement the provisions of this section; including rules governing hurricane mitigation inspections and grants, mitigation contractors, and training of inspectors and contractors; and carry out the duties of the department under this section.
(6) HURRICANE MITIGATION INSPECTOR LIST.—The department shall develop and maintain as a public record a current list of hurricane mitigation inspectors authorized to conduct hurricane mitigation inspections pursuant to this section.
(7) PUBLIC OUTREACH FOR CONTRACTORS AND REAL ESTATE BROKERS AND SALES ASSOCIATES.—The program shall develop brochures for distribution to general contractors, roofing contractors, and real estate brokers and sales associates licensed under part I of chapter 475 explaining the benefits to homeowners of residential hurricane damage mitigation. The program shall encourage contractors to distribute the brochures to homeowners at the first meeting with a homeowner who is considering contracting for home or roof repairs or contracting for the construction of a new home. The program shall encourage real estate brokers and sales associates licensed under part I of chapter 475 to distribute the brochures to clients prior to the purchase of a home. The brochures may be made available electronically.
(8) CONTRACT MANAGEMENT.—The department may contract with third parties for grants management, inspection services, contractor services for low-income homeowners, information technology, educational outreach, and auditing services. Such contracts shall be considered direct costs of the program and shall not be subject to administrative cost limits, but contracts valued at $1 million or more shall be subject to review and approval by the Legislative Budget Commission. The department shall contract with providers that have a demonstrated record of successful business operations in areas directly related to the services to be provided and shall ensure the highest accountability for use of state funds, consistent with this section.
(9) INTENT.—It is the intent of the Legislature that grants made to residential property owners under this section shall be considered disaster-relief assistance within the meaning of s. 139 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.
1(10) REPORTS.—The department shall make an annual report on the activities of the program that shall account for the use of state funds and indicate the number of inspections requested, the number of inspections performed, the number of grant applications received, the number and value of grants approved, and the average annual amount of insurance premium discounts and total annual amount of insurance premium discounts homeowners received from insurers as a result of mitigation funded through the program. The report shall be delivered to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives by February 1 of each year.
History.—s. 2, ch. 2006-12; s. 4, ch. 2007-1; s. 1, ch. 2007-126; s. 40, ch. 2008-4; s. 1, ch. 2008-248; s. 1, ch. 2009-10; s. 2, ch. 2009-87; s. 3, ch. 2010-114; s. 15, ch. 2011-189; s. 2, ch. 2012-92; s. 2, ch. 2020-144; s. 3, ch. 2022-268.
1Note.—Section 4(4), ch. 2022-268, provides that “[t]he department may adopt emergency rules pursuant to s. 120.54, Florida Statutes, at any time, as are necessary to implement this section and s. 215.5586, Florida Statutes, as amended by this act. The Legislature finds that such emergency rulemaking authority is necessary to address a critical need in the state’s problematic property insurance market. The Legislature further finds that the uniquely short timeframe needed to effectively implement this section for the 2022-2023 fiscal year requires that the department adopt rules as quickly as practicable. Therefore, in adopting such emergency rules, the department need not make the findings required by s. 120.54(4)(a), Florida Statutes. Emergency rules adopted under this section are exempt from s. 120.54(4)(c), Florida Statutes, and shall remain in effect until replaced by rules adopted under the nonemergency rulemaking procedures of chapter 120, Florida Statutes, which must occur no later than July 1, 2023.” Section 4(5), ch. 2022-268, provides for the expiration of s. 4, ch. 2022-268, effective October 1, 2024.
Structure Florida Statutes
Title XIV - Taxation and Finance
Chapter 215 - Financial Matters: General Provisions
215.02 - Manner of Paying Money Into the Treasury.
215.03 - Party to Be Reimbursed on Reversal of Judgment for State.
215.04 - Department of Financial Services to Report Delinquents.
215.05 - Department of Financial Services to Certify Accounts of Delinquents.
215.06 - Certified Accounts of Delinquents as Evidence.
215.07 - Preference of State in Case of Insolvency.
215.08 - Delinquent Collectors to Be Reported to State Attorney.
215.09 - Delinquent Collectors; Forfeiture of Commissions.
215.10 - Delinquent Collectors; Suspension.
215.11 - Defaulting Officers; Department of Financial Services to Report to Clerk.
215.12 - Defaulting Officers; Duty of Clerk.
215.15 - School Appropriations to Have Priority.
215.179 - Solicitation of Payment.
215.18 - Transfers Between Funds; Limitation.
215.195 - Agency Deposits Relating to the Statewide Cost Allocation Plan.
215.196 - Architects Incidental Trust Fund; Creation; Assessment.
215.197 - Federal Grants Trust Fund.
215.198 - Operating Trust Fund.
215.199 - Audit and Warrant Clearing Trust Fund.
215.20 - Certain Income and Certain Trust Funds to Contribute to the General Revenue Fund.
215.211 - Service Charge; Elimination or Reduction for Specified Proceeds.
215.22 - Certain Income and Certain Trust Funds Exempt.
215.23 - When Contributions to Be Made.
215.24 - Exemptions Where Federal Contributions or Private Grants.
215.245 - Contracts With Federal Government; Indemnification Authorized in Certain Circumstances.
215.25 - Manner of Contributions; Rules and Regulations.
215.26 - Repayment of Funds Paid Into State Treasury Through Error.
215.31 - State Funds; Deposit in State Treasury.
215.311 - State Funds; Exceptions.
215.32 - State Funds; Segregation.
215.3206 - Trust Funds; Termination or Re-Creation.
215.3207 - Trust Funds; Establishment; Criteria.
215.3208 - Trust Funds; Legislative Review.
215.321 - Regulatory Trust Fund.
215.34 - State Funds; Noncollectible Items; Procedure.
215.35 - State Funds; Warrants and Their Issuance.
215.36 - State Funds; Laws Not Repealed.
215.405 - State Agencies and the Judicial Branch Authorized to Collect Costs of Fingerprinting.
215.42 - Purchases From Appropriations, Proof of Delivery.
215.425 - Extra Compensation Claims Prohibited; Bonuses; Severance Pay.
215.43 - Public Bonds, Notes, and Other Securities.
215.431 - Issuance of Bond Anticipation Notes.
215.44 - Board of Administration; Powers and Duties in Relation to Investment of Trust Funds.
215.4401 - Board of Administration; Public Record Exemptions.
215.441 - Board of Administration; Appointment of Executive Director.
215.442 - Executive Director; Reporting Requirements; Public Meeting.
215.444 - Investment Advisory Council.
215.45 - Sale and Exchange of Securities.
215.47 - Investments; Authorized Securities; Loan of Securities.
215.4701 - Trademarks, Copyrights, or Patents.
215.4702 - Investments in Publicly Traded Companies Operating in Northern Ireland.
215.471 - Divestiture by the State Board of Administration; Reporting Requirements.
215.472 - Prohibited Investments.
215.473 - Divestiture by the State Board of Administration; Sudan; Iran.
215.474 - Analyses of Technology and Growth Investments.
215.475 - Investment Policy Statement.
215.4755 - Certification and Disclosure Requirements for Investment Advisers and Managers.
215.48 - Consent and Ratification of Appropriate Board, Agency, or of the Judicial Branch.
215.49 - Making Funds Available for Investment.
215.50 - Custody of Securities Purchased; Income.
215.51 - Investment Accounts; Changes, Notice, Etc.
215.515 - Investment Accounts; Charges for Services.
215.52 - Rules and Regulations.
215.53 - Powers of Existing Officers and Boards, the Judicial Branch, and Agencies Not Affected.
215.55 - Federal Use of State Lands Trust Fund; County Distribution.
215.551 - Federal Use of State Lands Trust Fund; County Distribution; Requests by Counties.
215.555 - Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund.
215.5551 - Reinsurance to Assist Policyholders Program.
215.557 - Reports of Insured Values.
215.5586 - My Safe Florida Home Program.
215.5588 - Florida Disaster Recovery Program.
215.559 - Hurricane Loss Mitigation Program.
215.5595 - Insurance Capital Build-Up Incentive Program.
215.55952 - Annual Report on Economic Impact of a 1-in-100-Year Hurricane.
215.56005 - Tobacco Settlement Financing Corporation.
215.5601 - Lawton Chiles Endowment Fund.
215.5602 - James and Esther King Biomedical Research Program.
215.56021 - Exemptions From Public Records and Public Meetings Requirements; Peer Review Panels.
215.58 - Definitions Relating to State Bond Act.
215.59 - State Bonds, Revenue Bonds; Issuance.
215.60 - State Bonds for Financing Road Acquisition and Construction.
215.605 - State Bonds for Right-of-Way Acquisition or Bridge Construction.
215.61 - State System of Public Education Capital Outlay Bonds.
215.615 - Fixed-Guideway Transportation Systems Funding.
215.616 - State Bonds for Federal Aid Highway Construction.
215.617 - Bonds for State-Funded Infrastructure Bank.
215.619 - Bonds for Everglades Restoration.
215.62 - Division of Bond Finance.
215.64 - Powers of the Division.
215.65 - Bond Fee Trust Fund, Expenditures; Schedule of Fees.
215.655 - Arbitrage Compliance Program, Expenditures; Schedule of Fees.
215.66 - Request for Issuance of Bonds; Procedure Requirements.
215.67 - Issuance of State Bonds.
215.68 - Issuance of Bonds; Form; Maturity Date, Execution, Sale.
215.69 - State Board of Administration to Administer Funds.
215.70 - State Board of Administration to Act in Case of Defaults.
215.71 - Application of Bond Proceeds.
215.72 - Covenants With Bondholders.
215.73 - Approval of Bond Issue by State Board of Administration.
215.75 - Bonds Securities for Public Bodies.
215.76 - Exemption of Bonds From Taxation.
215.82 - Validation; When Required.
215.821 - Issuance of Bonds by State Agencies.
215.83 - Construction of State Bond Act.
215.835 - Rulemaking Authority.
215.84 - Government Bonds; Maximum Rate of Interest.
215.845 - Certain Special Laws Establishing Interest Rates on Bonds Prohibited.
215.85 - Direct Deposit of Public Funds.
215.86 - Management Systems and Controls.
215.91 - Florida Financial Management Information System; Board; Council.
215.92 - Definitions Relating to Florida Financial Management Information System Act.
215.93 - Florida Financial Management Information System.
215.94 - Designation, Duties, and Responsibilities of Functional Owners.
215.95 - Financial Management Information Board.
215.96 - Coordinating Council and Design and Coordination Staff.
215.962 - Standards for State Agency Use of Card-Based Technology.
215.965 - Disbursement of State Moneys.
215.966 - Refinancing of Bonds.
215.97 - Florida Single Audit Act.
215.971 - Agreements Funded With Federal or State Assistance.
215.98 - State Debt Fiscal Responsibility.
215.981 - Audits of State Agency Direct-Support Organizations and Citizen Support Organizations.