Florida Senate - 2024 CS for SB 1766
By the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources; and
Senator Rodriguez
592-02670-24 20241766c1
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to flood damage prevention; providing
3 a short title; creating s. 553.845, F.S.; providing
4 legislative findings; providing definitions; providing
5 specified maximum voluntary freeboard requirements for
6 new construction and substantial improvements to
7 existing construction; prohibiting voluntary freeboard
8 from being used in the calculation of the maximum
9 allowable height for certain construction; authorizing
10 local governments to adopt by ordinance a minimum
11 voluntary freeboard requirement or a maximum voluntary
12 freeboard that exceeds certain requirements; requiring
13 the Florida Building Commission to develop and adopt
14 by rule minimum freeboard requirements by a specified
15 date and to incorporate such requirements into the
16 next edition of the Florida Building Code; requiring
17 the commission to review the freeboard requirements in
18 the Florida Building Code every 5 years beginning on a
19 specified date and to make certain recommendations to
20 the Legislature; providing an effective date.
21
22 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
23
24 Section 1. This act may be cited as the “Flood Damage
25 Prevention Act of 2024.”
26 Section 2. Section 553.845, Florida Statutes, is created to
27 read:
28 553.845 Flood damage prevention.—
29 (1) The Legislature finds that:
30 (a) The state is vulnerable to the adverse effects of
31 flooding resulting from the frequency and intensity of rainfall
32 and an increase in storm surge and sea level rise. These adverse
33 effects pose a significant risk to existing and future
34 structures in the state.
35 (b) Public and private investments in our communities are
36 important for economic growth, and protecting all structures
37 from flooding is essential to maintaining resilient communities.
38 (c) The mitigation of property damage constitutes a valid
39 and recognized objective of the Florida Building Code.
40 (d) It is important to develop a consistent, statewide
41 approach to minimizing flooding in the state to mitigate
42 property damage and encourage continued investment in our
43 communities.
44 (e) Minimum freeboard requirements are critical to
45 addressing the devastating effects of flooding, and delaying the
46 adoption and implementation of such requirements constitutes a
47 threat to the health, safety, and welfare of the state.
48 (2) For purposes of this section, the term:
49 (a) “Coastal high-hazard area” means a special flood hazard
50 area along the coast, as delineated by a Flood Insurance Rate
51 Map issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which has
52 additional hazards due to wind and wave action.
53 (b) “Freeboard” means the additional height, usually
54 expressed as a factor of safety in feet, above the base flood
55 elevation in determining the level at which a structure’s lowest
56 floor or the bottom of the lowest horizontal structural member
57 must be elevated in accordance with floodplain management
58 regulations and the Florida Building Code. If a base flood
59 elevation is not determined for a structure that is not located
60 in a special flood hazard area as designated by a Flood
61 Insurance Rate Map issued by the Federal Emergency Management
62 Agency, the term “freeboard” means the highest adjacent grade at
63 the foundation of a structure.
64 (c) “Maximum allowable height” means the maximum height
65 allowed for a structure in the applicable zoning district.
66 (d) “Substantial improvement” has the meaning as in s.
67 161.54(12).
68 (e) “Voluntary freeboard” means the additional height above
69 the freeboard required by floodplain management regulations and
70 the Florida Building Code. If freeboard is not required by
71 floodplain management regulations and the Florida Building Code,
72 the term “voluntary freeboard” means the additional height above
73 the highest adjacent grade at the foundation of a structure.
74 (3) The maximum voluntary freeboard for all new
75 construction and substantial improvements to existing
76 construction, whether residential, commercial, industrial, or
77 nonresidential, is 10 feet, including within a coastal high
78 hazard area.
79 (4) For all new construction or substantial improvements to
80 an existing commercial, industrial, nonresidential, or
81 residential structure, including a manufactured home, voluntary
82 freeboard may not be used in the calculation of the maximum
83 allowable height for the structure.
84 (5) A local government may adopt by ordinance a minimum
85 voluntary freeboard requirement or a maximum voluntary freeboard
86 that exceeds the requirements in the Florida Building Code or
87 those established in this section.
88 (6) The commission shall develop and adopt by rule minimum
89 voluntary freeboard requirements by November 1, 2024, which
90 shall take immediate effect, and shall incorporate such
91 requirements into the next edition of the Florida Building Code.
92 (7) Beginning in January 2029, and every 5 years
93 thereafter, the commission shall review the freeboard
94 requirements in the Florida Building Code and make
95 recommendations to the Legislature regarding any necessary
96 revisions to such requirements.
97 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024.