Senate panel gives first OK to bill revising eligibility to state condo-hardening grant program

A bill to revise eligibility requirements for a relatively new state-run grant program aimed at hardening condominiums across Florida just cleared its first Senate hurdle with uniform support.

Members of the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee voted 10-0 for the measure (SB 1706), which would change the My Safe Florida Condominium Pilot Program.

Established in 2024 with a $30 million appropriation, the program is meant to provide free hurricane mitigation inspections and matching grants to eligible condo associations.

The program, an offshoot of the My Safe Florida Home Program, was initially limited to condos within 15 miles of the coast and was subject to additional restrictions last year. To date, about 700 inspections have been completed through the program, according to Senate staff analysis, but the state has only approved a small share of grant applications.

SB 1706 would expand eligibility statewide but narrow participation to older condo buildings where at least 80% of units are owned and occupied by households earning no more than 80% of the area median income.

That would shift the program toward lower- and moderate-income residents and, consequently, make it more available to those who most need it, said Hollywood independent Sen. Jason Pizzo, the bill’s sponsor.

“The My Safe Florida Condo Pilot Program was incredibly popular, even if the rollout was slower than an iguana in Coral Gables last week,” he said.

“But what we want to do is really target where the resources should go in top priority.”

SB 1706, effective July 1, would require the Department of Financial Services to verify household income, permit periodic recertification and mandate income documentation with grant applications.

It also would also limit grants by requiring associations to complete 100% of recommended upgrades that strengthen doors and windows to wind and debris to qualify for mitigation credits or insurance discounts.

The Community Association Institute and International Association of Certified Home Inspectors signaled support for the legislation at the committee meeting Wednesday.

Senate Majority Leader Jim Boyd, a Bradenton Republican who works in insurance and investments, praised Pizzo’s bill, which he said improves a “very important program.”

SB 1706 will next go to the Senate Regulated Industries Committee, its second of three committee stops in the chamber. A House companion (HB 1497) by House Democratic Leader-designate Christine Hunschofsky of Parkland advanced through the first of three committees to which it was referred late last month on a unanimous vote.