HM 0191

1	House Memorial
2	A memorial to the Congress of the United States, urging
3	the review and reorganization of Federal Emergency
4	Management Agency policies and administrative procedures
5	for the purpose of avoiding delays in cleanup and
6	reimbursement in the aftermath of declared disasters.
7
8	WHEREAS, in the summer of 2004, the State of Florida
9	endured an unprecedented incidence of four consecutive
10	hurricanes striking the state in a period of two months, causing
11	enormous destruction to property and infrastructure and leaving
12	70 people dead throughout the state, and
13	WHEREAS, though much reconstruction and rebuilding has been
14	accomplished in the aftermath of Hurricanes Frances, Charley,
15	Jeanne, and Ivan, many Florida communities are continuing to
16	struggle with rebuilding efforts, and
17	WHEREAS, during the recovery process, the Governor's Office
18	has worked diligently in securing funds for our state from the
19	Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and
20	WHEREAS, though the Federal Emergency Management Agency has
21	provided much-needed assistance, many South Florida communities
22	are currently being required to submit to new, needlessly
23	restrictive bureaucratic policies in order to obtain relief from
24	the agency, and
25	WHEREAS, as a result of these new bureaucratic policies,
26	South Florida communities are now confronted with unnecessary
27	regulatory hurdles in obtaining FEMA funds that have delayed
28	cleanup efforts and badly needed federal reimbursements and that
29	continue to negatively impact the lives of Florida citizens, and
30	WHEREAS, under the new FEMA policies and administrative
31	processes, instead of appropriate local governments acting as a
32	conduit for management and disbursement of FEMA moneys and
33	debris removal, each private community or homeowners'
34	association is required to apply for such assistance on its own,
35	in effect making it impossible for a city to obtain a blanket
36	reimbursement to cover its cleanup costs for the city's entire
37	jurisdiction, and
38	WHEREAS, under these new policies, municipalities such as
39	the City of Coconut Creek have been advised that they will not
40	be reimbursed by FEMA for cleanup services provided to private
41	communities within the municipality, whether gated or otherwise,
42	and have been instructed to advise such private communities to
43	manage their debris removal and apply on an individual basis to
44	FEMA for reimbursement, a process that is both administratively
45	and operationally unsound, and
46	WHEREAS, certain legislative districts in the state
47	encompass nearly 100 condominium and homeowners' associations,
48	and many South Florida communities, such as Weston, are composed
49	almost entirely of private communities, and
50	WHEREAS, these private communities are not equipped or
51	prepared to undertake the FEMA application process and manage
52	the level of administrative detail required under the new FEMA
53	policies and processes, and
54	WHEREAS, faced with the task of applying for, securing, and
55	managing FEMA funds on their own, many private communities will
56	experience significant delays in receiving funding or in some
57	cases may not obtain FEMA reimbursement under these policies at
58	all, and
59	WHEREAS, besides creating a bureaucratic nightmare, the new
60	FEMA guidelines pose an enormous problem for local government
61	solid waste management systems, and
62	WHEREAS, South Florida municipalities have the proven
63	ability to provide citywide coordination of such large-scale
64	cleanup efforts and can best provide an economy of scale as well
65	as the most reasonable cost for these services, and
66	WHEREAS, the need for solid waste removal does not respect
67	private community boundaries, and citizens expect their local
68	governments to provide these services regardless of where they
69	are located, and
70	WHEREAS, in a city such as Orlando, which operates its own
71	solid waste system, the new FEMA policy means that the city
72	would have to obtain reimbursement for cleanup through each
73	homeowners' association or condominium association for areas
74	that the city is already obligated to serve, and
75	WHEREAS, it is in the best interests of the citizens of
76	this state for local municipalities to be granted jurisdiction
77	for the application and management of FEMA funds in the
78	aftermath of a declared disaster, as has been the case in the
79	past following other devastating hurricanes, and
80	WHEREAS, it is imperative that the Federal Emergency
81	Management Agency reorganize its current policies and
82	administrative processes in order to avoid further delays in
83	ongoing cleanup and reimbursement efforts resulting from
84	Hurricanes Frances, Charley, Jeanne, and Ivan, and to avoid such
85	delays in the future, NOW, THEREFORE,
86
87	Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
88
89	That the Congress of the United States is urged to initiate
90	the review and reorganization of Federal Emergency Management
91	Agency policies and administrative processes for the purpose of
92	avoiding delays in cleanup and reimbursement in the aftermath of
93	declared disasters.
94	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be
95	dispatched to the President of the United States, to the
96	President of the United States Senate, to the Speaker of the
97	United States House of Representatives, and to each member of
98	the Florida delegation to the United States Congress.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.