Florida Statutes § 215.55871 — My Safe Florida Condominium Pilot Program.

215.55871 My Safe Florida Condominium Pilot Program.—There is established within the Department of Financial Services the My Safe Florida Condominium Pilot Program to be implemented pursuant to appropriations. The department shall provide fiscal accountability, contract management, and strategic leadership for the pilot program, consistent with this section. This section does not create an entitlement for associations or unit owners or obligate the state in any way to fund the inspection or retrofitting of condominiums in the state. Implementation of this pilot program is subject to annual legislative appropriations. It is the intent of the Legislature that the My Safe Florida Condominium Pilot Program provide licensed inspectors to perform inspections for and grants to eligible associations as funding allows.(1) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term:(a) “Association” has the same meaning as in s. 718.103. (b) “Association property” means property, real and personal, which is owned or leased by, or is dedicated by a recorded plat to, an association for the use and benefit of its members and is located in the service area. (c) “Board of administration” has the same meaning as in s. 718.103. (d) “Condominium” has the same meaning as in s. 718.103. For purposes of this section, the term does not include detached units on individual parcels of land. (e) “Condominium property” means the lands, leaseholds, and personal property that are subjected to condominium ownership, whether or not contiguous, and all improvements thereon and all easements and rights appurtenant thereto intended for use in connection with the condominium and are located in the service area. (f) “Department” means the Department of Financial Services. (g) “Property” means association property and condominium property, as applicable, located in the service area. (h) “Service area” means the area of the state which is 15 miles inward of a coastline, as that term is defined in s. 376.031. (i) “Unit” has the same meaning as in s. 718.103. (j) “Unit owner” has the same meaning as in s. 718.103. (2) PARTICIPATION.—(a) Participation in the pilot program is limited to structures or buildings on the condominium property which are three or more stories in height, provided that each structure or building that is the subject of a mitigation grant contains at least two single-family dwellings. (b) In order to apply for an inspection under subsection (4) or a grant under subsection (5) for association property or condominium property, an association must receive approval by a majority vote of the board of administration or a majority vote of the total voting interests of the association to participate in the pilot program. An association may not apply for an inspection under subsection (4) or a grant under subsection (5) for association property or condominium property unless the association has complied with the inspection requirements in ss. 553.899 and 718.112(2)(g) and (h). An association may not apply for a grant under subparagraph (5)(e)1. for association property or condominium property unless the windows of the association property or condominium property are established as common elements in the declaration. (c) In order to apply for a grant under subsection (5) which improves one or more units within a condominium, an association must receive both of the following:1. Approval by a majority vote of the board of administration or a majority vote of the total voting interests of the association to participate in a mitigation inspection. 2. Approval by at least 75 percent of all unit owners who reside within the structure or building that is the subject of the mitigation grant. (d) A unit owner may participate in the pilot program through a mitigation grant awarded to the association but may not participate individually in the pilot program. (e) The votes required under this subsection may take place at the annual budget meeting of the association or at a unit owner meeting called for the purpose of taking such vote. Before a vote of the unit owners may be taken, the association must provide to the unit owners a clear disclosure of the pilot program on a form created by the department. The president and the treasurer of the board of administration must sign the disclosure form indicating that a copy of the form was provided to each unit owner of the association. The signed disclosure form and the minutes from the meeting at which the unit owners voted to participate in the pilot program must be maintained as part of the official records of the association. Within 14 days after an affirmative vote to participate in the pilot program, the association must provide written notice in the same manner as required under s. 718.112(2)(d) to all unit owners of the decision to participate in the pilot program. (3) HURRICANE MITIGATION INSPECTORS.—(a) Licensed inspectors are to provide inspections of the property to determine the mitigation measures that are needed, the insurance premium discounts that may be available to the association, and the improvements to existing properties of the association that are needed to reduce a property’s vulnerability to hurricane damage. (b) The department shall contract with wind certification entities to provide hurricane mitigation inspections. To qualify for selection by the department as a wind certification entity to provide hurricane mitigation inspections, the entity must, at a minimum, meet all of the following requirements:1. Use hurricane mitigation inspectors who are licensed or certified as:a. A building inspector under s. 468.607; b. A general, building, or residential contractor under s. 489.111; c. A professional engineer under s. 471.015; d. A professional architect under s. 481.213; or e. A home inspector under s. 468.8314 who has completed at least 3 hours of hurricane mitigation training approved by the Construction Industry Licensing Board, which must include hurricane mitigation techniques, compliance with the uniform mitigation verification form, and completion of a proficiency exam. 2. Use hurricane mitigation inspectors who 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 full set of fingerprints to the department or to a vendor, an entity, or an agency authorized under s. 943.053(13). The department, vendor, entity, or agency shall forward the fingerprints to the Department of Law Enforcement for state processing, and the Department of Law Enforcement shall forward the fingerprints to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for national processing. Fees for state and federal fingerprint processing shall be borne by the inspector. The state cost for fingerprint processing shall be as provided in s. 943.053(3)(e). The results must be returned to the department for screening. The fingerprints must be taken by a law enforcement agency, designated examination center, or other department-approved entity. 3. Provide a quality assurance program including a reinspection component. (4) HURRICANE MITIGATION INSPECTIONS.—(a) The inspections provided to an association under this section must, at a minimum, include all of the following:1. An inspection of the property, and a report that summarizes the results and identifies recommended improvements the association may take to mitigate hurricane damage. 2. A range of cost estimates regarding the recommended mitigation improvements. 3. Information regarding estimated insurance premium discounts, correlated to the current mitigation features and the recommended mitigation improvements identified by the inspection. (b) An application for an inspection must contain a signed or electronically verified statement made under penalty of perjury by the president of the board of administration that the association has submitted only a single application for each property that the association operates or maintains. (c) An association may apply for and receive an inspection without also applying for a grant under subsection (5). (5) MITIGATION GRANTS.—Financial grants may be used by associations to make improvements recommended in a hurricane mitigation inspection report which increase the condominium’s resistance to hurricane damage.(a) An application for a mitigation grant must:1. Contain a signed or electronically verified statement made under penalty of perjury by the president of the board of administration that the association has submitted only a single application for each property that the association operates or maintains. 2. Include a notarized statement from the president of the board of administration containing the name and license number of each contractor the association intends to use for the mitigation project. 3. Include a notarized statement from the president of the board of administration which commits to the department that the association will complete the mitigation improvements. If the grant will be used to improve units, the application must also include an acknowledged statement from each unit owner who is required to provide approval for a grant under paragraph (2)(c). (b) An association may select its own contractors for the mitigation project as long as each contractor meets all qualification, certification, or licensing requirements in general law. A mitigation project must be performed by a properly licensed contractor who has secured all required local permits necessary for the project. The department must electronically verify that the contractor’s state license number is accurate and up to date before approving a grant application. (c) An association awarded a grant must complete the entire mitigation project in order to receive the final grant award and must agree to make the property available for a final inspection once the mitigation project is finished to ensure the mitigation improvements are completed in a manner consistent with the intent of the pilot program and meet or exceed the applicable Florida Building Code requirements. Construction must be completed and the association must submit a request to the department for a final inspection, or request an extension of time, within 1 year after receiving grant approval. If the association fails to comply with this paragraph, the application is deemed abandoned and the grant money reverts back to the department. (d) Grant projects shall be funded as follows:1. All grants must be matched on the basis of $1 provided by the association for $2 provided by the state toward the actual cost of the project. 2. An association may receive grant funds for both roof-related and opening protection-related projects, but the maximum total grant award may not exceed $175,000 per association. 3. The department may not accept grant applications or maintain a waiting list for grants after the cumulative value of the grants awarded have fully obligated the appropriation, unless otherwise expressly authorized by the Legislature. (e) Grant funds may only be used for water intrusion mitigation devices or mitigation improvements that will result in a mitigation credit, discount, or other rate differential for the building or structure to which such device or improvement is applied or made. When recommended by a hurricane mitigation inspection report, grants for eligible associations may be used for the following improvements:1. Opening protection improvements, including all of the following:a. Exterior doors. b. Garage doors. c. Windows. d. Skylights. 2. Roof improvements, including all of the following:a. Reinforcing roof-to-wall connections. b. Improving the strength of roof-deck attachments. c. Installing secondary water resistance for the roof. d. Replacing the roof covering. (f) Improvements must be identified in the final hurricane mitigation inspection in order for an association to receive grant funds. (g) If improvements to protect the property that complied with the current applicable building code at the time have been previously installed, the association must use a mitigation grant to install improvements that do both of the following:1. Comply with or exceed the applicable building code in effect at the time the association applied for the grant. 2. Provide more hurricane protection than the improvements that the association previously installed. (h) The association may not use a mitigation grant to:1. Install the same type of improvements that were previously installed; or 2. Pay a deductible for a pending insurance claim for damage that is part of the property for which grant funds are being received. (i) The department shall develop a process that ensures the most efficient means to collect and verify inspection and grant applications to determine eligibility. The department may direct hurricane mitigation inspectors to collect and verify inspection and grant application information or use the Internet or other electronic means to collect information and determine eligibility. (j) Grant funds may only be awarded for a mitigation improvement that will result in a mitigation credit, discount, or other rate differential for the building or structure to which the improvement is made. As a condition of awarding a grant, the department must require mitigation improvements to be made to all openings, including exterior doors, garage doors, windows, and skylights, if doing so is necessary for the building or structure to qualify for a mitigation credit, discount, or other rate differential. (6) CONTRACT MANAGEMENT.—(a) The department may contract with third parties for grants management, inspection services, contractor services, information technology, educational outreach, and auditing services. Such contracts are considered direct costs of the pilot program and are not subject to administrative cost limits. 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. (b) The department shall implement a quality assurance and reinspection program that determines whether initial inspections and mitigation improvements are completed in a manner consistent with the intent of the pilot program. The department may use a valid random sampling in order to perform the quality assurance portion of the pilot program. (7) REPORTS.—By February 1 of each year, the department shall submit a report to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives on the activities of the pilot program and the use of state funds. The report must include all of the following information:(a) The number of inspections requested. (b) The number of inspections performed. (c) The number of grant applications received. (d) The number of grants approved and the monetary value of each grant. (e) The estimated average annual amount of insurance premium discounts each association received and the total estimated annual amount of insurance premium discounts received by all associations participating in the pilot program. (f) The estimated average annual amount of insurance premium discounts each unit owner received as a result of the improvements to the building or structure. (8) REQUESTS FOR INFORMATION.—The department may request that an applicant provide additional information. An application is deemed withdrawn by the applicant if the department does not receive a response to its request for additional information within 60 days after it notifies the applicant of any apparent errors or omissions in the application. (9) RULES.—The department shall adopt rules pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to implement this section; to govern the program; to govern hurricane mitigation inspections and grants, mitigation contractors, and training of inspectors and contractors; and to carry out the duties of the department under this section.