Florida Senate - 2025 CS for CS for SB 592
By the Committees on Regulated Industries; and Banking and
Insurance; and Senators Leek and Pizzo
580-02871-25 2025592c2
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.; limiting
4 participation in the My Safe Florida Condominium Pilot
5 Program to certain structures or buildings; revising
6 the approval requirements to receive a mitigation
7 grant; deleting the amount of grant funding designated
8 for certain projects; revising the improvements for
9 which a grant may be used; requiring that improvements
10 be verified during the final hurricane mitigation
11 inspection to qualify for grant funds; specifying that
12 mitigation grants may be awarded only for mitigation
13 improvements that will result in a mitigation credit,
14 discount, or other rate differential; requiring the
15 Department of Financial Services to require that
16 certain improvements be made under certain
17 circumstances; providing an effective date.
18
19 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
20
21 Section 1. Present paragraphs (a) through (d) of subsection
22 (2) of section 215.55871, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as
23 paragraphs (b) through (e), respectively, a new paragraph (a) is
24 added to that subsection, and present paragraph (b) of
25 subsection (2) and subsection (5) of that section are amended,
26 to read:
27 215.55871 My Safe Florida Condominium Pilot Program.—There
28 is established within the Department of Financial Services the
29 My Safe Florida Condominium Pilot Program to be implemented
30 pursuant to appropriations. The department shall provide fiscal
31 accountability, contract management, and strategic leadership
32 for the pilot program, consistent with this section. This
33 section does not create an entitlement for associations or unit
34 owners or obligate the state in any way to fund the inspection
35 or retrofitting of condominiums in the state. Implementation of
36 this pilot program is subject to annual legislative
37 appropriations. It is the intent of the Legislature that the My
38 Safe Florida Condominium Pilot Program provide licensed
39 inspectors to perform inspections for and grants to eligible
40 associations as funding allows.
41 (2) PARTICIPATION.—
42 (a) Participation in the pilot program is limited to
43 structures or buildings on the condominium property which are
44 three or more stories in height, provided that each structure or
45 building that is the subject of the mitigation grant contains
46 two or more single-family dwellings.
47 (c)(b) In order to apply for a grant under subsection (5)
48 which improves one or more units within a condominium, an
49 association must receive both of the following:
50 1. Approval by a majority vote of the board of
51 administration or a majority vote of the total voting interests
52 of the association to participate in a mitigation inspection.
53 2. Approval by at least 75 percent A unanimous vote of all
54 persons with voting interests who reside unit owners within the
55 structure or building that is the subject of the mitigation
56 grant.
57 (5) MITIGATION GRANTS.—Financial grants may be used by
58 associations to make improvements recommended in a hurricane
59 mitigation inspection report which increase the condominium’s
60 resistance to hurricane damage.
61 (a) An application for a mitigation grant must:
62 1. Contain a signed or electronically verified statement
63 made under penalty of perjury by the president of the board of
64 administration that the association has submitted only a single
65 application for each property that the association operates or
66 maintains.
67 2. Include a notarized statement from the president of the
68 board of administration containing the name and license number
69 of each contractor the association intends to use for the
70 mitigation project.
71 3. Include a notarized statement from the president of the
72 board of administration which commits to the department that the
73 association will complete the mitigation improvements. If the
74 grant will be used to improve units, the application must also
75 include an acknowledged statement from each unit owner who is
76 required to provide approval for a grant under paragraph (2)(c)
77 (2)(b).
78 (b) An association may select its own contractors for the
79 mitigation project as long as each contractor meets all
80 qualification, certification, or licensing requirements in
81 general law. A mitigation project must be performed by a
82 properly licensed contractor who has secured all required local
83 permits necessary for the project. The department must
84 electronically verify that the contractor’s state license number
85 is accurate and up to date before approving a grant application.
86 (c) An association awarded a grant must complete the entire
87 mitigation project in order to receive the final grant award and
88 must agree to make the property available for a final inspection
89 once the mitigation project is finished to ensure the mitigation
90 improvements are completed in a manner consistent with the
91 intent of the pilot program and meet or exceed the applicable
92 Florida Building Code requirements. Construction must be
93 completed and the association must submit a request to the
94 department for a final inspection, or request an extension of
95 time, within 1 year after receiving grant approval. If the
96 association fails to comply with this paragraph, the application
97 is deemed abandoned and the grant money reverts back to the
98 department.
99 (d) Grant projects shall be funded as follows:
100 1. All grants must be matched on the basis of $1 provided
101 by the association for $2 provided by the state toward the
102 actual cost of the project.
103 2. For roof-related projects, the grant contribution is $11
104 per square foot multiplied by the square footage of the
105 replacement roof, not to exceed $1,000 per unit, with a maximum
106 grant award of 50 percent of the cost of the project.
107 3. For opening protection-related projects, the grant
108 contribution is a maximum of $750 per replacement window or
109 door, not to exceed $1,500 per unit, with a maximum grant award
110 of 50 percent of the cost of the project.
111 2.4. An association may receive grant funds for both roof
112 related and opening protection-related projects, but the maximum
113 total grant award may not exceed $175,000 per association.
114 3.5. The department may not accept grant applications or
115 maintain a waiting list for grants after the cumulative value of
116 the grants awarded have fully obligated the appropriation,
117 unless otherwise expressly authorized by the Legislature.
118 (e) When recommended by a hurricane mitigation inspection
119 report, grants for eligible associations may be used for the
120 following improvements:
121 1. Opening protection improvements, including all of the
122 following:
123 a. Exterior doors.,
124 b. Garage doors.,
125 c. Windows., and
126 d. Skylights.
127 e. Wind-driven rain mitigation devices for sliding glass
128 doors.
129 2. Roof-related improvements, including all of the
130 following:
131 a.2. Reinforcing roof-to-wall connections.
132 b.3. Improving the strength of roof-deck attachments.
133 c.4. Installing secondary water resistance for roof.
134 d. Replacing the roof covering.
135 (f) Improvements must be verified during the final
136 hurricane mitigation inspection to qualify for grant funds
137 Grants may be used for a previously inspected existing structure
138 on the property.
139 (g)1. If improvements to protect the property which
140 complied with the current applicable building code at the time
141 have been previously installed, the association must use a
142 mitigation grant to install improvements that do both of the
143 following:
144 1.a. Comply with or exceed the applicable building code in
145 effect at the time the association applied for the grant.
146 2.b. Provide more hurricane protection than the
147 improvements that the association previously installed.
148 (h)2. The association may not use a mitigation grant to:
149 1.a. Install the same type of improvements that were
150 previously installed; or
151 2.b. Pay a deductible for a pending insurance claim for
152 damage that is part of the property for which grant funds are
153 being received.
154 (i)(h) The department shall develop a process that ensures
155 the most efficient means to collect and verify inspection and
156 grant applications to determine eligibility. The department may
157 direct hurricane mitigation inspectors to collect and verify
158 inspection and grant application information or use the Internet
159 or other electronic means to collect information and determine
160 eligibility.
161 (j) Grant funds may be awarded only for each mitigation
162 improvement that, when applied to the structure or building,
163 will result in a mitigation credit, discount, or other rate
164 differential. If necessary for the building or structure to
165 qualify for a mitigation credit, discount, or other rate
166 differential, the department must require that improvements be
167 made to all openings, including exterior doors, garage doors,
168 windows, and skylights, as a condition of reimbursing a
169 condominium association approved for a grant.
170 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025.