A bill

 

TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING SECTION 38-75-485, RELATING TO the SOUTH CAROLINA HURRICANE DAMAGE MITIGATION PROGRAM, SO AS TO PROVIDE THE PROGRAM MUST BE KNOWN AS THE "SC SAFE HOME PROGRAM," TO ESTABLISH THE PURPOSE OF THE PROGRAM, TO REVISE GRANT ELIGIBILITY AND AWARD AMOUNTS, TO AUTHORIZE ANNUAL BULLETIN-BASED ALLOCATIONS, TO ESTABLISH NEEDS-BASED PRIORITIZATION OF GRANTS, TO CLARIFY USE AND DISTRIBUTION OF TAX REVENUES, AND TO MAKE CONFORMING AND TECHNICAL CHANGES.

 

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

 

SECTION 1.  Section 38-75-485 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

 

    Section 38-75-485. (A) There is established within the Department of Insurance, the South Carolina Hurricane Damage Mitigation Program to aid eligible homeowners in retrofitting insurable property to reduce losses due to hurricane, tornado, or other catastrophic windstorm events. This program shall be known as the "SC Safe Home Program."  The advisory committee, established pursuant to Section 38-75-470, shall provide advice and assistance to the program administrator with regard to his administration of the program.

    (B) This section does not create an entitlement for property owners or obligate the State in any way to fund the inspection or retrofitting of residential property in this State.  Implementation of this program is subject to the availability of funds through annual legislative appropriations, receipt of federal grants or funds, or funding from other sources.

    (C) The program shall develop and implement a comprehensive and coordinated approach for hurricane damage mitigation that includes the following:

       (1) The program may award matching or nonmatching grants based upon the availability of funds.  The program administrator also shall apply for financial grants to be used to assist single-family, site-built or manufactured or modular, owner-occupied, residential property owners to retrofit their primary legal residence to make them less vulnerable to hurricane damage.

           (a) To be eligible for a matching grant, a residential property must:

               (i) be the applicant's primary legal residence;

               (ii) be actually owned and occupied by the applicant;

               (iii) be the owner's legal residence as described in Section 12-43-220(c);

               (iv) be a single-family, site-built, manufactured, or modular, owner-occupied residential property;

               (v) be a residential property covered by a current homeowners or dwelling insurance policy that:

                  (A) is issued by an insurer licensed in this State or a surplus lines insurer, where the policy is lawfully placed by a broker authorized to do business in this State; and

                  (B) provides insurance coverage of the residential property equal to or greater than the fair market value of the residential property as defined in Section 12-37-3135(a)(2) and reflected in the county records;

               (vi) have undergone an acceptable wind certification and hurricane mitigation inspection in accordance with program requirements.

           (b) All matching grants must be matched on a dollar-for-dollar basis up to the maximum allowed depending on the type of retrofit.  Grants will be awarded based on the following requirements:

               (i) a Resilient Mitigation Award will be awarded for roof retrofits meeting SC Safe Homes Retrofit Guidelines and Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety Fortified Roof Retrofit Guidelines for a residential property and may not exceed seven thousand five hundred dollarsthe dollar amount outlined in the annual allocation bulletin published by the Department of Insurance for nonmatching grant awards or six thousand dollars for matching grants;  and

               (ii) a Sustainable Mitigation Award will be awarded for  roof retrofits meeting SC Safe Home Retrofit Guidelines only or for Window Replacement and Opening Protection Retrofits meeting SC Safe Home Opening Protection Guidelines for residential property and mayshall not exceed five thousand dollars for nonmatching grants awards or four thousand dollarsthe dollar amount outlined in the annual allocation bulletin published by the Department of Insurance for matching grants.  For Hurricane Shuttering and Protective Barrier Systems only meetingmust meet SC Safe Home Opening Protection Guidelines, grants may not exceed three thousand dollars and must not exceed the dollar amount outlined in the annual allocation bulletin published by the Department of Insurance for both matching and nonmatching grants.

           (c) The program must create a process in which mitigation contractors agree to participate and seek reimbursement from the State and homeowners. selectedHomeowners may select the contractor of their choice from a list of participating contractors provided on the SC Safe Home Program webpage under Participating Contractors and Inspectors.  All mitigation projects must be based upon the securing of all required local permits and inspections.To be eligible for a mitigation grant, all required local permits and inspections must be secured and the property must have successfully completed a SC Safe Home Program inspection.  Mitigation projects are subject to random reinspection.  The program may reinspect up to ten percent of all projects in any fiscal year.

           (d) Matching fund grants also must be made available to local governments and nonprofit entities, on a first-come, first-served basis, for projects that reduce hurricane damage to single-family, site-built or manufactured or modular owner-occupied, residential property, provided that:

               (i) no matching grant for any one local government or nonprofit entity may exceed fifty thousand dollarsthe dollar amount outlined in the annual allocation bulletin published by the Department of Insurance  in any fiscal year;

               (ii) the total amount of matching grants awarded to all local governments and nonprofit entities combined may not exceed two hundred fifty thousand dollarsthe dollar amount outlined in the annual allocation bulletin published by the Department of Insurance in any fiscal year;  and

               (iii) the difference between two hundred fifty thousand dollars and the total amount of grants awarded to all local governments and nonprofit entities combined in any fiscal year may be applied to grants to individual homeowners who meet the qualifications for a grant described in subitems (a) through (d) or in subitem (g).subject to the availability of funds and a disaster declaration by the Governor, the director may award additional loss mitigation grants for SC Safe Home Program eligible residential properties within ninety days following a wind or hail-related catastrophic event that do not exceed the dollar amount outlined in the annual allocation bulletin published by the Department of Insurance; and

               (iv) grants awarded by the SC Safe Home Program must be used for approved mitigation projects to retrofit an insurable property to resist losses due to hurricane, tornado, or other catastrophic windstorm events if permitted under the SC Safe Home Program operating rules and procedures. Any nonprofit must administer the grant in accordance with SC Safe Home Program standards, operating rules, and procedures. The nonprofit entity must prepare and maintain documentation required by the SC Safe Home Program and produce that documentation immediately upon the request of the director or his designee.

           (e) Grants may be used for the following improvements:

               (i) roof deck attachment;

               (ii) secondary water barrier;

               (iii) roof covering;

               (iv) brace gable ends;

               (v) reinforce roof-to-wall connections;

               (vi) opening protection;

               (vii) exterior doors, including garage doors;

               (viii) tie downs;

               (ix) problems associated with weakened trusses, studs, and other structural components;

               (x) inspection and repair or replacement of manufactured home piers, anchors, and tiedown straps;  and

               (xi) any other mitigation techniques approved by the advisory committee.

           (f) To be eligible for a nonmatching grant, a residential property must comply with the requirements set forth in subsection (C)(1)(a), (c), and (e).

               (i) For nonmatching grants, applicants who otherwise meet the requirements of subitems (a), (c), and (e) may be eligible for a grant of up to seven thousand five hundred dollars for a Resilient Mitigation Grant Award and may not be required to provide a matching amount to receive a Resilient Mitigation Grant Award, up to five thousand dollars for a Sustainable Mitigation Grant Award or up to three thousand dollars for a Sustainable Mitigation Hurricane Shutters and Protective Barrier Systems Award.  These grants must be used to retrofit single-family, site-built or manufactured or modular, owner-occupied, residential properties in order to make them less vulnerable to hurricane damage.  The grant must be used for the retrofitting measures set forth in Section 38-75-485(C)(1)(e).

               (ii) Nonmatching grant award amounts will be determined based on the cost of the mitigation project and a percentage of the total adjusted household income of the applicant according to the most recent federal income tax return.  Those applicants with a total annual adjusted gross household income of which does not exceed eighty percent of the median annual adjusted gross income for households within the county in which the person or family resides may be eligible for the maximum grant award amount.  Applicants with a higher total annual adjusted household income may be awarded a lower amount.  The director or his designee shall issue a bulletin annually that sets forth the maximum grant award amounts based on the total annual adjusted gross household income of the applicant adjusted for family size relative to the county area median income or the state median family income, whichever is higher, as published annually by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.  If the cost of the mitigation project exceeds the amount of the grant award, the remaining cost is the applicant's responsibility.

       (2) The department shall define by order or regulation the details of the mitigation measures necessary to qualify for the grants described in this section.

       (3) Multimedia public education, awareness, and advertising efforts designed to specifically address mitigation techniques must be employed, as well as a component to support ongoing consumer resources and referral services. Additionally, the SC Safe Home Program shall support ongoing consumer education resources and referral services.

       (4) The department shall use its best efforts to obtain grants or funds from the federal government to supplement the financial resources of the program.  In addition to state appropriations, if any, this program must be implemented by the department through the use of the premium taxes due to this State by the South Carolina Wind and Hail Underwriting Association, and onefive percent of the premium taxes collected annually and remitted to the Department of Insurance.

       (5) Mitigation grants for insurable residential properties are subject to the availability of funds and must meet the eligibility criteria established by the SC Safe Home Program. Grant funding shall be allocated as follows:

           (a) mitigation grants in the seacoast area, as defined by Section 38-75-310, of the State shall be funded by the premium taxes collected by the South Carolina Wind and Hail Joint Underwriting Association; and

           (b) of the five percent of additional premium taxes collected pursuant to item (4):

               (i) fifty percent shall be allocated to residential and loss mitigation grants in the seacoast area, as defined by Section 38-75-310, of the State; and

               (ii) fifty percent shall be allocated to retrofitting eligible insurable residential properties on a first-come, first-served basis and to local loss mitigation grants in other parts of the State.

       (6)(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, all grants awarded under this program shall be allocated on a needs basis, prioritizing applicants with the greatest financial need for assistance in completing hurricane mitigation retrofits. The director shall establish criteria for determining financial need and shall prioritize grant awards to ensure that program funds are directed toward homeowners who would otherwise be unable to afford the cost of retrofitting their properties without grant assistance. In making determinations of financial need, the director may consider factors including, but not limited to:

               (i) total household income adjusted for family size;

               (ii) the ratio of retrofitting costs to household income;

               (iii) whether the applicant qualifies for other need-based assistance programs; and

               (iv) any other relevant factors that demonstrate the applicant's financial capacity or inability to complete hurricane mitigation improvements without grant assistance.

           (b) The director shall publish guidance on the needs-based criteria and allocation methodology to ensure transparency and consistency in grant awards.

       (5)(7) The director or his designee may promulgate regulations necessary to implement the provisions of this article.

 

SECTION 2.  This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

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