July 5, 2023 by Nanci Theoret
Florida Weekly Correspondent
Flooding caused by Hurricane Ian. The new Florida budget includes $4 billion for relief efforts in Southwest Florida. COURTESY PHOTO
Florida’s new budget includes $75.2 million for bridge repairs in Lee County and $17.6 million for Lee County schools as part of over $4 billion earmarked for hurricane recovery and relief in Southwest Florida and other communities hard hit by Hurricanes Ian and Nicole and severe storms in 2022.
The record $116.5 billion budget also funds $350 million in grant recovery programs and provides $1.735 billion in new hurricane money for emergency preparedness, beach renourishment projects and grants to single-family property owners improving their home’s storm resiliency.
State lawmakers representing Southwest Florida said the money will provide much-needed financial and infrastructure assistance to families, businesses and governments facing the long road to recovery since Ian’s Sept. 28 landfall. The Category 5 hurricane caused nearly $113 billion in damage — the nation’s third costliest storm on record and the most expensive in Florida, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The new money plus funding authorized during special legislative sessions brings total state hurricane spending to over $5.4 billion, said Sen. Majority Leader Ben Albritton, R-Wauchula, whose District 26 includes Charlotte County and a portion of Lee County.
“I am thrilled that the legislature this year has allocated more than $5.4 billion toward hurricane recovery in Southwest Florida and building resiliency to withstand future storms,” said Albritton. “My district stretches deep into the communities impacted by Hurricane Ian, and rest assured I will make sure these funds go to support the families, businesses and neighborhoods that need them the most.”
It’s unclear if any of the $4 billion in hurricane funding in the proposed budget approved by Florida lawmakers in May were among Gov. Ron DeSantis’ vetoes of sewer and stormwater improvements, resiliency initiatives and hardened infrastructure projects.
Many of the projects funded in the budget, effective July 1, include recommendations from the Senate Select Committee on Resiliency, chaired by Albritton. The committee was created by Sen. President Kathleen Passidomo, R-Naples, in November to review recovery efforts and spearhead resiliency planning against future storms.
Passidomo did not return requests for comment.
In a news release in May, she said, “Florida’s executive branch, led by Governor DeSantis, continues to mount an extraordinary effort in the state response to Hurricanes Ian and Nicole. In the roughly six months since these devastating storms, we have gained a deeper understanding of the long-term impacts on communities across our state.”
The budget funds $75.2 million for four hurricane-damaged bridges in Lee County, including $51.7 million toward the Sanibel Causeway, $12.4 million for Matlacha, $6 million for project development and environment studies for Big Hickory, Little Carlos Pass and New Pass bridges and $5.1 million for miscellaneous repairs to county bridges and roads.
As part of $1.735 billion in additional spending for hurricane response and recovery, the Lee County School District will receive $17.6 million for repairs and rebuilding projects.
The additional money also allocates $1.4 billion to an emergency preparedness and response fund, $106 million to the Department of Environmental Protection for beach recovery and renourishment and $100 million to the My Safe Florida, which offers free resiliency inspections and subsequent grants to single-family property owners to strengthen their homes against future hurricanes. The response and recovery funding also provides $61.9 million in assistance to local initiatives for impacted communities and $50 million in hurricane restoration reimbursement grants for beach erosion.
The $4 billion in hurricane spending also establishes the Hurricane Ian and Nicole grant recovery program with $350 million available to local governments, special districts and school boards. The funding is intended to help alleviate revenue losses and operating deficits, repair and replace roads, sewer and water infrastructure, renourish beaches and complete debris removal. Administered by the Division of Emergency Management, money will be distributed to governments and districts providing documentation of insufficient state, federal and private funds or inadequate insurance reimbursement.
In the aftermath of Hurricane Ian, lawmakers met in two special sessions, approving $751.5 million in disaster relief funding in December and an additional $700 million in January through bills authored by Sen. Jonathan Martin, R-Fort Myers, and Albritton, respectively. The legislation provided tax relief for owners of destroyed homes, housing assistance for displaced Floridians, funding to help local governments secure FEMA public assistance grants, as well as money to reconstruct impacted beaches and water infrastructure.
Resiliency has become the rallying cry to combat future devastation against severe storms and hurricanes. Passidomo formed the Senate Select Committee on Resiliency to identify legislation and provide resources to help local governments prepare and respond to future storms. In February, the state awarded over $275 million through the Resilient Florida grant program, funding 75 projects in coastal and inland communities. Among those receiving funding were Boca Raton, Delray Beach, West Palm Beach, Palm Beach, Palm Beach County and the South Florida Water Management District. There were no awards in Lee, Collier or Charlotte counties, and information regarding possible local applicants was not available.