Florida House unanimously passes relief bill to Big Bend after Idalia
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Florida House unanimously passed a bill Tuesday providing additional relief and recovery for communities in the Big Bend that suffered from Hurricane Idalia.
The bill, CS/HB 1C, was introduced by Rep. Jason Shoaf, R-Blounstown, who explained the bill on the floor. The Senate is taking up a similar bill.
“The storm had a significant impact on agricultural production in the region,” Shoaf said. “More than 3.3 million acres of Florida agriculture land were affected, including damage to agriculture related infrastructure that will need to be repaired or replaced, post-storm cleanup expenses and production losses that may carry over to 2024 and beyond.”
Shoaf explained that the bill provides a “number of tax relief provisions” for agriculture producers.
He added that there will be a sales tax expedition for certain fencing and building material used to repair non-residential farm buildings, as well as fuel tax refund for agriculture shipments and debris removal from properties.
“The bill also appropriates funds to assist those communities most impacted by this disaster in our state,” Shoaf said. “It specifies that the legislature intends to provide the entire match requirement for FEMA public assistance to local government in our state, within counties designated in the FEMA disaster area.”
The legislation appropriates $25 million from the Local Government Housing Trust Fund to the Florida Housing Finance Corporation to fund the Hurricane Housing Recovery Program for eligible counties and municipalities.
He added that the bill appropriates $50 million from the General Revenue Fund for the Hurricane Recovery Grant Program for local governments within counties designated in the FEMA disaster area.
