HB 1593

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to hurricane-relief funding; amending s.
3	252.37, F.S.; providing an exception to the time limit for
4	application by a local government for a waiver of all or a
5	portion of the required match for financial assistance
6	from the Federal Government under the federal Public
7	Assistance Program; providing for expiration of the
8	exception; providing an effective date.
9
10	WHEREAS, the 2004 hurricane season was one of the deadliest
11	in history for the State of Florida, with the state enduring
12	Tropical Storm Bonnie and Hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan, and
13	Jeanne all within a very compressed period of time and incurring
14	tremendous devastation as a consequence of those storms, and
15	WHEREAS, immediately following the occurrence of Hurricane
16	Ivan, the Governor's Office issued Executive Order 04-229 on
17	October 8, 2004, and
18	WHEREAS, Executive Order 04-229 states in part that, on
19	October 7, 2004, the President of the United States authorized
20	federal funds for public assistance under the Robert T. Stafford
21	Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, 42 U.S.C. s. 5121
22	(the Stafford Act), and
23	WHEREAS, section 252.37, Florida Statutes, 2003, authorized
24	the Governor to expend any grants, gifts, or payments in aid of
25	emergency prevention, mitigation, preparedness, response, or
26	recovery, and
27	WHEREAS, the funds authorized by the President on October
28	7, 2004, under the Stafford Act constituted such a grant, gift,
29	or payment, and
30	WHEREAS, former Governor of Florida, Jeb Bush, in issuing
31	Executive Order 04-229, directed that the nonfederal share of
32	the total eligible costs for public assistance under the
33	Stafford Act be divided equally between the state and the
34	affected local governments eligible for such public assistance,
35	and
36	WHEREAS, Executive Order 04-229 also provides that "the
37	Executive Office of the Governor may approve a waiver of all or
38	a portion of the local match, subject to legislative notice and
39	review under section 216.177, Florida Statutes, if it is
40	determined that such a match cannot be provided or that doing so
41	would effect a documented hardship on the local entity, provided
42	that the local government applies for the waiver by no later
43	than September 24, 2006," and
44	WHEREAS, Executive Order 04-229 went into effect on October
45	8, 2004, and was scheduled to expire on October 8, 2006, unless
46	extended, and
47	WHEREAS, in response to the devastation of the 2004
48	hurricane season, the Florida Legislature held the 2004 Special
49	Session A of the Legislature from December 13, 2004, through
50	December 16, 2004, and
51	WHEREAS, on December 16, 2004, the Florida Legislature
52	passed House Bill 19-A, relating to hurricane-relief funding,
53	which was approved by the Governor on December 21, 2004, and
54	WHEREAS, House Bill 19-A created section 252.37(5)(b),
55	Florida Statutes, which provided that "the Executive Office of
56	the Governor may approve a waiver, subject to the requirement
57	for legislative notice and review under s. 216.177, of all or a
58	portion of the required match for public assistance projects for
59	local governments if the Executive Office of the Governor
60	determines that such a match requirement cannot be provided, or
61	that doing so would impose a documented hardship on the local
62	government, and if the local government applies for the waiver
63	within the first 18 months after the disaster is declared," and
64	WHEREAS, section 252.37(5)(b), Florida Statutes, as created
65	by House Bill 19-A, 2004 Special Session A of the Florida
66	Legislature, clearly establishes the filing deadline for local
67	match waivers as being 18 months after the declaration of a
68	disaster, and
69	WHEREAS, this deadline was enacted into law in conflict
70	with the deadline of September 24, 2006, established under
71	Executive Order 04-229, and
72	WHEREAS, because the state of emergency resulting from
73	Hurricane Ivan was declared on September 10, 2004, the deadline
74	for a local government to apply for the waiver of all or a
75	portion of the required match for public assistance projects
76	under section 252.37(5)(b), Florida Statutes, was March 10,
77	2006, a full 6 months earlier than the deadline of September 24,
78	2006, set forth in Executive Order 04-229, and
79	WHEREAS, though the passage of House Bill 19-A moved the
80	deadline for local governments to apply for the waiver of the
81	required match for public assistance projects ahead by a full 6
82	months, no direct notice of this change in the deadline was ever
83	provided to such applicants, and substantially identical local
84	match waiver application forms were issued, and
85	WHEREAS, to this date, no press releases notifying the
86	public of this change have been discovered, nor have any
87	postings of the change been found on any relevant Internet
88	websites, and
89	WHEREAS, the City of Gulf Breeze in Santa Rosa County filed
90	its local match waiver application form for damages resulting
91	from Hurricane Ivan on September 1, 2006, relying on information
92	from the original form made available to them which specifically
93	sets forth September 24, 2006, as the deadline for the
94	application, and
95	WHEREAS, though the application was clearly timely filed in
96	accordance with the application deadline established in
97	Executive Order 04-229, the waiver application for the City of
98	Gulf Breeze was summarily rejected without evaluation as failing
99	to be in conformance with the deadline of March 10, 2006,
100	established in section 252.37(5)(b), Florida Statutes, and
101	WHEREAS, subsequent correspondence between the City of Gulf
102	Breeze and the Governor's Office under then Governor Jeb Bush
103	indicated "that the Governor would not object to a narrow
104	extension of the statutory 18-month timeframe as it applies to
105	the 2004 hurricanes - Charley, Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne," NOW,
106	THEREFORE,
107
108	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
109
110	Section 1.  Subsection (5) of section 252.37, Florida
111	Statutes, is amended to read:
112	252.37  Financing.--
113	(5)  Unless otherwise specified in the General
114	Appropriations Act:
115	(a)  Whenever the state accepts financial assistance from
116	the Federal Government or its agencies under the federal Public
117	Assistance Program and such financial assistance is conditioned
118	upon a requirement for matching funds, the state shall provide
119	the entire match requirement for state agencies and one-half of
120	the required match for grants to local governments. The affected
121	local government shall be required to provide one-half of the
122	required match prior to receipt of such financial assistance.
123	(b)  The Executive Office of the Governor may approve a
124	waiver, subject to the requirement for legislative notice and
125	review under s. 216.177, of all or a portion of the required
126	match for public assistance projects for local governments if
127	the Executive Office of the Governor determines that such a
128	match requirement cannot be provided, or that doing so would
129	impose a documented hardship on the local government, and,
130	except as provided in paragraph (c), if the local government
131	applies for the waiver within the first 18 months after the
132	disaster is declared.
133	(c)  A local government that applied for a waiver of all or
134	a portion of the required match for public assistance projects
135	in compliance with the deadline for such application established
136	by Executive Order 04-229, issued on October 8, 2004, and whose
137	application was rejected for failure to meet the deadline
138	established pursuant to paragraph (b) is eligible to make
139	application for such waiver until midnight on January 1, 2008.
140	The provisions of this paragraph shall expire and be void on
141	July 1, 2008.
142	Section 2.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.

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