| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to a uniform home grading scale; |
| 3 | repealing s. 215.55865, F.S., relating to the required |
| 4 | adoption by the Financial Services Commission of a |
| 5 | uniform home grading scale to grade the ability of a |
| 6 | home to withstand the wind load from certain tropical |
| 7 | storms or hurricanes; amending s. 215.5586, F.S., to |
| 8 | conform; providing an effective date. |
| 9 |
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| 10 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 11 |
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| 12 | Section 1. Section 215.55865, Florida Statutes, is |
| 13 | repealed. |
| 14 | Section 2. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section |
| 15 | 215.5586, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 16 | 215.5586 My Safe Florida Home Program.-There is |
| 17 | established within the Department of Financial Services the My |
| 18 | Safe Florida Home Program. The department shall provide fiscal |
| 19 | accountability, contract management, and strategic leadership |
| 20 | for the program, consistent with this section. This section does |
| 21 | not create an entitlement for property owners or obligate the |
| 22 | state in any way to fund the inspection or retrofitting of |
| 23 | residential property in this state. Implementation of this |
| 24 | program is subject to annual legislative appropriations. It is |
| 25 | the intent of the Legislature that the My Safe Florida Home |
| 26 | Program provide trained and certified inspectors to perform |
| 27 | inspections for owners of site-built, single-family, residential |
| 28 | properties and grants to eligible applicants as funding allows. |
| 29 | The program shall develop and implement a comprehensive and |
| 30 | coordinated approach for hurricane damage mitigation that may |
| 31 | include the following: |
| 32 | (1) HURRICANE MITIGATION INSPECTIONS.- |
| 33 | (a) Certified inspectors to provide home-retrofit |
| 34 | inspections of site-built, single-family, residential property |
| 35 | may be offered to determine what mitigation measures are needed, |
| 36 | what insurance premium discounts may be available, and what |
| 37 | improvements to existing residential properties are needed to |
| 38 | reduce the property's vulnerability to hurricane damage. The |
| 39 | Department of Financial Services shall contract with wind |
| 40 | certification entities to provide hurricane mitigation |
| 41 | inspections. The inspections provided to homeowners, at a |
| 42 | minimum, must include: |
| 43 | 1. A home inspection and report that summarizes the |
| 44 | results and identifies recommended improvements a homeowner may |
| 45 | take to mitigate hurricane damage. |
| 46 | 2. A range of cost estimates regarding the recommended |
| 47 | mitigation improvements. |
| 48 | 3. Insurer-specific information regarding premium |
| 49 | discounts correlated to the current mitigation features and the |
| 50 | recommended mitigation improvements identified by the |
| 51 | inspection. |
| 52 | 4. A hurricane resistance rating scale specifying the |
| 53 | home's current as well as projected wind resistance |
| 54 | capabilities. As soon as practical, the rating scale must be the |
| 55 | uniform home grading scale adopted by the Financial Services |
| 56 | Commission pursuant to s. 215.55865. |
| 57 | Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2012. |