Florida Senate - 2019                            (NP)    SR 1844
       
       
        
       By Senator Montford
       
       
       
       
       
       3-03854C-19                                           20191844__
    1                          Senate Resolution                        
    2         A resolution to the Congress of the United States
    3         urging members of Congress to immediately pass a
    4         federal supplemental appropriations package for
    5         disaster relief and recovery to assist those
    6         attempting to rebuild their lives in the wake of
    7         Hurricane Michael.
    8  
    9         WHEREAS, on October 10, 2018, Hurricane Michael made
   10  landfall near Mexico Beach as an extraordinarily powerful
   11  Category 4 hurricane, and, as a result of the storm, a state and
   12  national disaster was declared, and
   13         WHEREAS, the impacted Panhandle region of Florida includes
   14  Bay, Calhoun, Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf, Hamilton, Holmes,
   15  Jackson, Jefferson, Leon, Liberty, Madison, Okaloosa, Suwannee,
   16  Taylor, Wakulla, Walton, and Washington Counties, and
   17         WHEREAS, Hurricane Michael damaged or destroyed more than
   18  144,000 insured homes in Florida, thus far resulting in more
   19  than $6 billion in property insurance claims, and agricultural
   20  losses or damages in this state are believed to be approaching
   21  $1.5 billion, and
   22         WHEREAS, the impacts of the fourth-strongest Atlantic
   23  hurricane ever to make landfall in the United States are still
   24  evident in the Panhandle, and
   25         WHEREAS, some residents in the impacted counties are still
   26  in the process of repairing and restoring their properties and
   27  businesses, while others are still without a permanent place to
   28  live, and
   29         WHEREAS, local hospitals, educational facilities, and other
   30  community facilities are still struggling to recover from the
   31  impacts of the storm so that they may return to full delivery of
   32  services to area residents, and
   33         WHEREAS, economic losses in fiscally constrained counties
   34  pose additional challenges, and overcoming those challenges
   35  requires the full support of federal and state governmental
   36  agencies and resources, and
   37         WHEREAS, the Legislature is committed to assisting those
   38  impacted counties and their residents in recovering from the
   39  devastation of Hurricane Michael, both in the short term and in
   40  the long term, and
   41         WHEREAS, the Legislature recognizes not only its role but
   42  also the role of the federal government in accelerating Federal
   43  Emergency Management Agency payments to survivors of previous
   44  disasters and in allocating vital resources for the people of
   45  Northwest Florida so that they may rebuild in the aftermath of
   46  Hurricane Michael, NOW, THEREFORE,
   47  
   48  Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida:
   49  
   50         That the Congress of the United States is urged to
   51  immediately pass a federal supplemental appropriations package
   52  for disaster relief and recovery which provides needed resources
   53  to residents, businesses, local governments, and other entities
   54  in the Florida Panhandle and to recognize the crucial role of
   55  these federal resources in addressing the diverse and unique
   56  challenges of rebuilding after Hurricane Michael.
   57         BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of State dispatch
   58  copies of this resolution to the President of the United States,
   59  to the President of the United States Senate, to the Speaker of
   60  the United States House of Representatives, and to each member
   61  of the Florida delegation to the United States Congress.