THE BILL ITSELF
HB 1045
My Safe Florida Home Program
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A bill to be entitled
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An act relating to My Safe Florida Home Program;
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amending s. 215.5586, F.S.; requiring the Department
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of Financial Services to notify applicants in
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specified circumstances; authorizing applicants to
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submit subsequent applications in certain
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circumstances; prohibiting an application from being
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deemed withdrawn if an applicant responds to notice
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and makes certain demonstrations; providing an
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effective date.
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Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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Section 1. Paragraph (j) of subsection (2) and subsection (3) of section 215.5586, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
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215.5586 My Safe Florida Home Program.—There is
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established within the Department of Financial Services the My
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Safe Florida Home Program. The department shall provide fiscal
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accountability, contract management, and strategic leadership
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for the program, consistent with this section. This section does
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not create an entitlement for property owners or obligate the
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state in any way to fund the inspection or retrofitting of
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residential property in this state. Implementation of this
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program is subject to annual legislative appropriations. It is
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the intent of the Legislature that, subject to the availability
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of funds, the My Safe Florida Home Program provide licensed
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inspectors to perform hurricane mitigation inspections of
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eligible homes and grants to fund hurricane mitigation projects
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on those homes. The department shall implement the program in
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such a manner that the total amount of funding requested by
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accepted applications, whether for inspections, grants, or other
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services or assistance, does not exceed the total amount of
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available funds. If, after applications are processed and
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approved, funds remain available, the department may accept
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applications up to the available amount. The program shall
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develop and implement a comprehensive and coordinated approach
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for hurricane damage mitigation pursuant to the requirements
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provided in this section.
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(2) HURRICANE MITIGATION GRANTS.—Financial grants shall be
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used by homeowners to make improvements recommended by an
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inspection which increase resistance to hurricane damage.
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(j) A homeowner who receives a grant shall finalize
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construction and request a final inspection, or request an
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extension for an additional 6 months, within 1 year after grant
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approval. If a homeowner fails to comply with this paragraph,
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his or her application is deemed abandoned and the grant money
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reverts to the department. The department must notify the
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applicant if an application is deemed abandoned. If the
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applicant responds to such notification within 5 business days
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and demonstrates good cause for the failure to comply with this
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paragraph, the applicant may submit a subsequent grant
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application.
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(3) REQUESTS FOR INFORMATION.—The department may request
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that an applicant provide additional information. An application
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is deemed withdrawn by the applicant if the department does not
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receive a response to its request for additional information
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within 60 days after the notification of any apparent error or
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omission. The department must notify the applicant if an
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application has been deemed withdrawn. If the applicant responds
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to such notification within 5 business days, demonstrates good
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cause for any error or omission, and corrects any error or
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omission in that time period, the application may not be deemed
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withdrawn.
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Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.