HM 739

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 2 months, causing
11	enormous destruction to property and infrastructure and leaving
12	70 people dead throughout the state, and
13	WHEREAS, in the summer of 2005, the State of Florida again
14	endured an incidence of four consecutive hurricanes striking the
15	state in a period of 4 1/2 months, causing enormous destruction
16	to property and infrastructure and leaving 67 people dead
17	throughout the state, and
18	WHEREAS, though much reconstruction and rebuilding has been
19	accomplished in the aftermath of Hurricanes Frances, Charley,
20	Jeanne, and Ivan, many Florida communities are continuing to
21	struggle with rebuilding efforts, and
22	WHEREAS, during the recovery process, the Governor's Office
23	has worked diligently in securing funds for our state from the
24	Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and
25	WHEREAS, though the Federal Emergency Management Agency has
26	provided much-needed assistance, many South Florida communities
27	are currently being required to submit to new, needlessly
28	restrictive bureaucratic policies in order to obtain relief from
29	the agency, and
30	WHEREAS, as a result of these new bureaucratic policies,
31	South Florida communities are now confronted with unnecessary
32	regulatory hurdles in obtaining FEMA funds that have delayed
33	cleanup efforts and badly needed federal reimbursements and that
34	continue to negatively impact the lives of Florida citizens, and
35	WHEREAS, under the new FEMA policies and administrative
36	processes, instead of appropriate local governments acting as a
37	conduit for management and disbursement of FEMA moneys and
38	debris removal, each private community or homeowners'
39	association is required to apply for such assistance on its own,
40	in effect making it impossible for a city to obtain a blanket
41	reimbursement to cover its cleanup costs for the city's entire
42	jurisdiction, and
43	WHEREAS, under these new policies, municipalities such as
44	the City of Coconut Creek have been advised that they will not
45	be reimbursed by FEMA for cleanup services provided to private
46	communities within the municipality, whether gated or otherwise,
47	and have been instructed to advise such private communities to
48	manage their debris removal and apply on an individual basis to
49	FEMA for reimbursement, a process that is both administratively
50	and operationally unsound, and
51	WHEREAS, certain legislative districts in the state
52	encompass nearly 100 condominium and homeowners' associations,
53	and many South Florida communities, such as Weston, are composed
54	almost entirely of private communities, and
55	WHEREAS, these private communities are not equipped or
56	prepared to undertake the FEMA application process and manage
57	the level of administrative detail required under the new FEMA
58	policies and processes, and
59	WHEREAS, faced with the task of applying for, securing, and
60	managing FEMA funds on their own, many private communities will
61	experience significant delays in receiving funding or in some
62	cases may not obtain FEMA reimbursement under these policies at
63	all, and
64	WHEREAS, besides creating a bureaucratic nightmare, the new
65	FEMA guidelines pose an enormous problem for local government
66	solid waste management systems, and
67	WHEREAS, South Florida municipalities have the proven
68	ability to provide citywide coordination of such large-scale
69	cleanup efforts and can best provide an economy of scale as well
70	as the most reasonable cost for these services, and
71	WHEREAS, the need for solid waste removal does not respect
72	private community boundaries, and citizens expect their local
73	governments to provide these services regardless of where they
74	are located, and
75	WHEREAS, in a city such as Orlando, which operates its own
76	solid waste system, the new FEMA policy means that the city
77	would have to obtain reimbursement for cleanup through each
78	homeowners' association or condominium association for areas
79	that the city is already obligated to serve, and
80	WHEREAS, it is in the best interests of the citizens of
81	this state for local municipalities to be granted jurisdiction
82	for the application and management of FEMA funds in the
83	aftermath of a declared disaster, as has been the case in the
84	past following other devastating hurricanes, and
85	WHEREAS, it is imperative that the Federal Emergency
86	Management Agency reorganize its current policies and
87	administrative processes in order to avoid further delays in
88	ongoing cleanup and reimbursement efforts resulting from
89	Hurricanes Frances, Charley, Jeanne, and Ivan, and to avoid such
90	delays in the future, NOW, THEREFORE,
91
92	Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
93
94	That the Congress of the United States is urged to initiate
95	the review and reorganization of Federal Emergency Management
96	Agency policies and administrative processes for the purpose of
97	avoiding delays in cleanup and reimbursement in the aftermath of
98	declared disasters.
99	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be
100	dispatched to the President of the United States, to the
101	President of the United States Senate, to the Speaker of the
102	United States House of Representatives, and to each member of
103	the Florida delegation to the United States Congress.

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