Florida Senate - 2025 SB 592
By Senator Leek
7-01039-25 2025592__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to the My Safe Florida Condominium
3 Pilot Program; amending s. 215.55871, F.S.; revising
4 the definition of the term “condominium”; limiting
5 participation in the My Safe Florida Condominium Pilot
6 Program to certain condominiums; revising the approval
7 requirements to receive a mitigation grant; deleting
8 the amount of grant funding designated for certain
9 projects; revising the improvements for which a grant
10 may be used; providing an effective date.
11
12 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
13
14 Section 1. Present paragraphs (a) through (d) of subsection
15 (2) of section 215.55871, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as
16 paragraphs (b) through (e), respectively, a new paragraph (a) is
17 added to that subsection, and paragraph (d) of subsection (1),
18 present paragraph (b) of subsection (2), and subsection (5) of
19 that section are amended, to read:
20 215.55871 My Safe Florida Condominium Pilot Program.—There
21 is established within the Department of Financial Services the
22 My Safe Florida Condominium Pilot Program to be implemented
23 pursuant to appropriations. The department shall provide fiscal
24 accountability, contract management, and strategic leadership
25 for the pilot program, consistent with this section. This
26 section does not create an entitlement for associations or unit
27 owners or obligate the state in any way to fund the inspection
28 or retrofitting of condominiums in the state. Implementation of
29 this pilot program is subject to annual legislative
30 appropriations. It is the intent of the Legislature that the My
31 Safe Florida Condominium Pilot Program provide licensed
32 inspectors to perform inspections for and grants to eligible
33 associations as funding allows.
34 (1) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term:
35 (d) “Condominium” has the same meaning as in s. 718.103.
36 For purposes of this section, the term does not include detached
37 units on individual parcels of land.
38 (2) PARTICIPATION.—
39 (a) Participation in the pilot program is limited to
40 condominiums that are three stories or more in height, and the
41 structure or building that is the subject of the mitigation
42 grant must include at least one residential unit within such
43 structure or building.
44 (c)(b) In order to apply for a grant under subsection (5)
45 which improves one or more units within a condominium, an
46 association must receive both of the following:
47 1. Approval by a majority vote of the board of
48 administration or a majority vote of the total voting interests
49 of the association to participate in a mitigation inspection.
50 2. Approval by at least 75 percent A unanimous vote of all
51 unit owners who reside within the structure or building that is
52 the subject of the mitigation grant.
53 (5) MITIGATION GRANTS.—Financial grants may be used by
54 associations to make improvements recommended in a hurricane
55 mitigation inspection report which increase the condominium’s
56 resistance to hurricane damage.
57 (a) An application for a mitigation grant must:
58 1. Contain a signed or electronically verified statement
59 made under penalty of perjury by the president of the board of
60 administration that the association has submitted only a single
61 application for each property that the association operates or
62 maintains.
63 2. Include a notarized statement from the president of the
64 board of administration containing the name and license number
65 of each contractor the association intends to use for the
66 mitigation project.
67 3. Include a notarized statement from the president of the
68 board of administration which commits to the department that the
69 association will complete the mitigation improvements. If the
70 grant will be used to improve units, the application must also
71 include an acknowledged statement from each unit owner who is
72 required to provide approval for a grant under paragraph (2)(c)
73 (2)(b).
74 (b) An association may select its own contractors for the
75 mitigation project as long as each contractor meets all
76 qualification, certification, or licensing requirements in
77 general law. A mitigation project must be performed by a
78 properly licensed contractor who has secured all required local
79 permits necessary for the project. The department must
80 electronically verify that the contractor’s state license number
81 is accurate and up to date before approving a grant application.
82 (c) An association awarded a grant must complete the entire
83 mitigation project in order to receive the final grant award and
84 must agree to make the property available for a final inspection
85 once the mitigation project is finished to ensure the mitigation
86 improvements are completed in a manner consistent with the
87 intent of the pilot program and meet or exceed the applicable
88 Florida Building Code requirements. Construction must be
89 completed and the association must submit a request to the
90 department for a final inspection, or request an extension of
91 time, within 1 year after receiving grant approval. If the
92 association fails to comply with this paragraph, the application
93 is deemed abandoned and the grant money reverts back to the
94 department.
95 (d) Grant projects shall be funded as follows:
96 1. All grants must be matched on the basis of $1 provided
97 by the association for $2 provided by the state toward the
98 actual cost of the project.
99 2. For roof-related projects, the grant contribution is $11
100 per square foot multiplied by the square footage of the
101 replacement roof, not to exceed $1,000 per unit, with a maximum
102 grant award of 50 percent of the cost of the project.
103 3. For opening protection-related projects, the grant
104 contribution is a maximum of $750 per replacement window or
105 door, not to exceed $1,500 per unit, with a maximum grant award
106 of 50 percent of the cost of the project.
107 2.4. An association may receive grant funds for both roof
108 related and opening protection-related projects, but the maximum
109 total grant award may not exceed $175,000 per association.
110 3.5. The department may not accept grant applications or
111 maintain a waiting list for grants after the cumulative value of
112 the grants awarded have fully obligated the appropriation,
113 unless otherwise expressly authorized by the Legislature.
114 (e) When recommended by a hurricane mitigation inspection
115 report, grants for eligible associations may be used for the
116 following improvements:
117 1. Opening protection, including exterior doors, garage
118 doors, windows, and skylights.
119 2. Roof-related improvements, as follows:
120 a. For buildings with a pitched roof:
121 (I)2. Reinforcing roof-to-wall connections.
122 (II)3. Improving the strength of roof-deck attachments.
123 (III)4. Providing secondary water resistance for the roof.
124 (IV) Replacing the roof covering, if necessary, for any of
125 the improvements listed in sub-sub-subparagraphs (I)-(III).
126 b. For buildings with a flat roof,
127 (f) Grants may be used for a previously inspected existing
128 structure on the property.
129 (g)1. if improvements to protect the property that which
130 complied with the current applicable building code at the time
131 have been previously installed, the association must use a
132 mitigation grant to install improvements that do both of the
133 following:
134 (I)a. Comply with or exceed the applicable building code in
135 effect at the time the association applied for the grant.
136 (II)b. Provide more hurricane protection than the
137 improvements that the association previously installed.
138 (f)2. The association may not use a mitigation grant to:
139 1.a. Install the same type of improvements that were
140 previously installed; or
141 2.b. Pay a deductible for a pending insurance claim for
142 damage that is part of the property for which grant funds are
143 being received.
144 (g)(h) The department shall develop a process that ensures
145 the most efficient means to collect and verify inspection and
146 grant applications to determine eligibility. The department may
147 direct hurricane mitigation inspectors to collect and verify
148 inspection and grant application information or use the Internet
149 or other electronic means to collect information and determine
150 eligibility.
151 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025.