| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to the Manufactured Housing and Mobile |
| 3 | Home Mitigation and Enhancement Program; providing |
| 4 | legislative findings and intent; creating the program for |
| 5 | certain purposes; requiring Tallahassee Community College |
| 6 | to develop the program in consultation with certain |
| 7 | entities; specifying certain requirements of the program |
| 8 | as to certain concerns of the Department of Highway Safety |
| 9 | and Motor Vehicles relating to manufactured homes and |
| 10 | mobile homes; specifying the program as a grant program |
| 11 | for improvement of mobile home and manufactured home |
| 12 | parks; providing for distribution of the grants to |
| 13 | Tallahassee Community College for certain purposes; |
| 14 | requiring Citizens Property Insurance Corporation to grant |
| 15 | certain insurance discounts, credits, rate differentials, |
| 16 | or deductible reductions for property insurance premiums |
| 17 | for manufactured home or mobile home owners; specifying |
| 18 | criteria for such premiums; specifying funding for tie- |
| 19 | down enhancement systems; providing appropriations; |
| 20 | providing effective dates. |
| 21 |
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| 22 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 23 |
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| 24 | Section 1. (1)(a) The Legislature finds that: |
| 25 | 1. Manufactured and mobile homes provide safe and |
| 26 | affordable housing to many residents of this state. |
| 27 | 2. There is a substantial state interest in helping these |
| 28 | residents improve their home's hurricane preparedness since many |
| 29 | of the residents living in this type of housing are on fixed or |
| 30 | low incomes. |
| 31 | 3. The 2004 and 2005 hurricane seasons proved that |
| 32 | manufactured and mobile homes constructed and installed in |
| 33 | compliance with building codes adopted after Hurricane Andrew |
| 34 | withstood major hurricanes. |
| 35 | 4. The 2004 and 2005 hurricane seasons demonstrated |
| 36 | specific causes of property loss in manufactured and mobile |
| 37 | homes and that those causes can be addressed and property loss |
| 38 | significantly reduced through various mitigation and enhancement |
| 39 | techniques. |
| 40 | 5. There is a crisis in obtaining property insurance for |
| 41 | manufactured and mobile homes and the Citizens Property |
| 42 | Insurance Corporation has become the primary insurer of |
| 43 | manufactured and mobile homes in this state. |
| 44 | (b) Based upon the findings set forth in paragraph (a), it |
| 45 | is the intent of the Legislature that the property insurance |
| 46 | premiums charged by the Citizens Property Insurance Corporation |
| 47 | for manufactured and mobile homes shall reflect: |
| 48 | 1. The improvements created through the mitigation and |
| 49 | enhancement techniques developed under the program set forth in |
| 50 | this section. |
| 51 | 2. The location of the home. |
| 52 | 3. The fact that a home has been constructed and installed |
| 53 | in compliance with building codes adopted after Hurricane |
| 54 | Andrew. |
| 55 | (2) There is created the Manufactured Housing and Mobile |
| 56 | Home Mitigation and Enhancement Program. The purpose of the |
| 57 | program is to enhance and improve the performance of |
| 58 | manufactured and mobile homes during storm events in order to |
| 59 | reduce property loss. |
| 60 | (3) Tallahassee Community College shall develop this |
| 61 | program in consultation with the Federation of Manufactured Home |
| 62 | Owners of Florida, Inc., the Florida Manufactured Housing |
| 63 | Association, and the Department of Highway Safety and Motor |
| 64 | Vehicles. |
| 65 | (4) The program shall require the mitigation of damage to |
| 66 | or enhancement of homes for the areas of concern raised by the |
| 67 | Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles in the 2004-2005 |
| 68 | Hurricane Reports on the effects of the 2004 and 2005 hurricanes |
| 69 | on manufactured and mobile homes in this state. The mitigation |
| 70 | or enhancement shall include, but not be limited to, problems |
| 71 | associated with weakened trusses, studs, and other structural |
| 72 | components caused by wood rot or termite damage; site-built |
| 73 | additions; or tie-down systems and may also address any other |
| 74 | issues deemed appropriate by the Federation of Manufactured Home |
| 75 | Owners of Florida, Inc., the Florida Manufactured Housing |
| 76 | Association, and the Department of Highway Safety and Motor |
| 77 | Vehicles. The program shall include an education and outreach |
| 78 | component to ensure that owners of manufactured and mobile homes |
| 79 | are aware of the benefits of participation. |
| 80 | (5) The program shall be a grant program that ensures |
| 81 | entire manufactured home communities and mobile home parks may |
| 82 | be improved wherever practicable. The moneys appropriated for |
| 83 | this program shall be distributed directly to Tallahassee |
| 84 | Community College for the uses set forth under this act. |
| 85 | (6)(a) Upon evidence of completion of the program, the |
| 86 | Citizens Property Insurance Corporation shall grant insurance |
| 87 | discounts, credits, or other rate differentials or appropriate |
| 88 | reductions in the deductible for the manufactured home owner's |
| 89 | or mobile home owner's property insurance premium for that year, |
| 90 | on a pro rata basis. The discount on the premium shall be |
| 91 | applied to subsequent renewal premium amounts. |
| 92 | (b) Premiums of the Citizens Property Insurance |
| 93 | Corporation shall reflect the location of the home and the fact |
| 94 | that the home has been installed in compliance with building |
| 95 | codes adopted after Hurricane Andrew. |
| 96 | (7)(a) The portion of the program that enhances tie-down |
| 97 | systems shall continue to be funded by the moneys allocated in |
| 98 | s. 215.559(4), Florida Statutes. |
| 99 | (b) The remainder of the program shall be funded as |
| 100 | provided in the General Appropriations Act. |
| 101 | Section 2. The sum of $7,500,000 is appropriated for |
| 102 | fiscal year 2006-2007 from the General Revenue Fund to the |
| 103 | Tallahassee Community College to implement the Manufactured |
| 104 | Housing and Mobile Home Mitigation and Enhancement Program |
| 105 | created by this act. This section shall take effect July 1, |
| 106 | 2006. |
| 107 | Section 3. Except as otherwise expressly provided in this |
| 108 | act, this act shall take effect upon becoming a law. |