Hurricane Loss Mitigation Program

Introduction

In 1999, the Florida Legislature passed the "Bill Williams Residential Safety and Preparedness Act," creating the Hurricane Loss Mitigation Program, (section 215.559, Florida Statues), with an annual appropriation of $10 million. These funds derive from the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund, (section 215.555, F.S.) and are provided to the Florida Department for administration. Section 215.559, F.S., establishes minimum funding levels for specific interests and creates an advisory council to make recommendation to the Department on developing programs.

Based on section 215.559, F.S., $3 million is to be used for retrofitting existing facilities to be used as public shelters. The remaining $7 million allocation is divided as follows: 40 percent, or $2.8 million shall be used to mitigate future losses for mobile homes, 10 percent, or $700,000, shall be directed to the Type I Center of the State University System dedicated to hurricane research -- Florida International University, and the remaining $3.5 million shall be directed to programs developed by the Department with advice from the advisory council to help prevent or reduce losses or to reduce the cost of rebuilding after a disaster.
To track and understand the use of the $10 million allocation, the Legislature in subsection 215.559 (7), F.S., requires the Department to provide the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the President of the Senate, and the Majority and Minority Leaders of the House of Representatives and the Senate with an annual report on programs implemented under the Hurricane Loss Mitigation Program. The annual report must include: 1) a full report of program activities; 2) an accounting of program activities; and, 3) an evaluation of these activities.

The first annual report is due to the Legislature on January 1, 2001. The statute specifies a second report is to be provided to the Legislature on January 1, 2002. The legislation requires that the State University System consult with the Department and assist the Department with preparing the report required in the subsection.

The following report meets this legislative mandate. Developed by the Department with input from the Florida International University, it includes three sections and recommendations, as follows:

Section I: This section provides a background of Florida's hurricane risk. It chronicles the impact of Hurricane Andrew on our state and outlines the proactive steps taken by the Florida Legislature to bring our state back from the brink of economic disaster. This section covers the insurance crisis, the creative measures enacted by the Legislature to ensure that insurance policies would be written in the State of Florida, and the development of a statewide reinsurance fund to provide insurance companies with an economic foundation for doing business in our state. It provides the history behind allocating funds to be used expressly for hazard mitigation - which lead ultimately to the passage of the Bill Williams Residential Safety and Preparedness Act, and the Hurricane Loss Mitigation Program.

Section II: This section takes a look back at the mitigation activities funded through the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund from its initial funding of mitigation programs in State Fiscal Year 1997-1998 through State Fiscal Year 1999-2000. It traces the evolution of these mitigation initiatives, highlights the successes of the past and the present, and provides an evaluation of the kinds of projects and programs that have been funded using these resources.

Section III: This final section addresses the legislatively mandated requirement to provide a full program report of activities including the accounting of program activities, and their evaluation. This section goes far beyond chronicling the activities of the program from July 1, 2000 through January 1, 2000, as required in statute. It looks to the future. Based on the successes of the past, it outlines the direction in which the program is headed. Finally, this section provides a look at new federal legislation - amendments to the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Recovery Act - which will reward states for the kinds of measures being undertaken by the Hurricane Loss Mitigation Program.
Investing now in disaster loss reduction - hazard mitigation - yields huge dividends in the future. This report demonstrates how the activities undertaken by the State of Florida since Hurricane Andrew, up to and including the development of the Hurricane Loss Mitigation Program, make Florida a national leader in strengthening our state before disaster strikes.

Section I - Florida Responds to Disaster
An Historical Perspective

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