More hurricane relief, home hardening to be considered
All members of the Florida Legislature are back in town this morning for a special session that begins at 10am. On the agenda, beyond support for Israel and additional state sanctions against Iran are two issues of interest to our insurance and disaster management readers: additional aid for Hurricane Idalia victims and more money for Florida’s hurricane home-hardening program.
HB 1C by Rep. Jason Shoaf (R-Port St. Joe) and a similar Senate bill SB 2-C by Senator Corey Simon (R-Tallahassee) would provide tax relief for families and businesses, key assistance for agriculture and aquaculture producers, and aid for local governments in the 16-county area impacted by Hurricane Idalia’s August 30 landfall on Florida’s Big Bend region. Specifically, the bills include:
- Property tax reductions for damaged or destroyed farmland and equipment;
- Sales tax exemptions for replacing agricultural fencing and making farm building repairs;
- A tax exemption for fuel bought for agricultural reasons from Aug. 30 through June 30, 2024;
- $30 million so the state can pay the entire match requirement for FEMA Public Assistance to local governments;
- An additional $25 million to the Florida Housing Finance Corporation for its hurricane housing recovery program;
- $50 million to the Division of Emergency Management for housing repair grants; and
- Creation of an Agriculture and Aquaculture Producers Natural Disaster Recovery Loan Program.
The bill also provides additional funding for the overwhelmingly popular My Safe Florida Home grant program. The program offers grants of up to $10,000 on a $2 to $1 match to incentivize homeowners to harden their homes from future hurricanes and reduce their insurance premiums as a result. Last spring the Legislature re-established the original 2006 program with $100 million beginning this past July 1, but the number of applications exceeded that funding by more than 17,000. The House bill includes an additional $181.5 million to accommodate the backlog.
The Department of Financial Services, which administers the grant program, estimates the improvements will save an average of $1,000 in insurance premiums per home that takes part in the program. Owners of a site-built single-family house or townhouse can apply for a free home hurricane inspection. They receive an inspection report detailing the strength of the home against hurricanes and recommended improvements to increase that strength.
You can read more in the staff analysis on HB 1C. The Senate bill will be heard this morning at 11:30am before the Fiscal Policy Committee and the House bill will be heard this afternoon before the Appropriations Committee. You can watch the meetings live and afterward on-demand at The Florida Channel website.
Also to be taken up in this week’s special session are bills that would provide more funding for the state’s school voucher program to accommodate an increase in students with unique abilities and money for additional security infrastructure at Jewish day schools to counter anti-Semitic violence. Lawmakers will also hold various non-session committee meetings this week as well.
LMA Newsletter of 11-6-23
