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Senate Budget Committee Weighs Florida's Role in Hurricane Maria Recovery

October 25, 2017 - 12:45pm

The storm may be over, but recovery is still a long road ahead -- and state lawmakers now have to grapple with how, exactly, Florida will help its Puerto Rican neighbors get back on their feet after Hurricane Maria.

The Florida Senate Appropriations Committee met Wednesday morning to hear firsthand how Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico after making landfall on the island last month.  At the heart of Wednesday’s meeting: a question of authority as to whether or not Gov. Rick Scott can use state funds through an emergency order to help Puerto Rico without the state legislature’s approval.

The Senate Appropriations Committee handles all budget-related matters for that chamber. Sen. Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater, who heads the committee, said there was no doubt Florida should help its “brothers and sisters” in Puerto Rico, but wondered just how closely the governor and the legislature should work together on the matter. 

“The question that has been raised is not about helping these people, it’s about whether the Gov. has the constitutional authority [to help] Puerto Rico,” Latvala told fellow lawmakers during the meeting. “[It’s] not whether we need to help or we’re [going to] help, the question is should we have more cooperation and consultation with the legislature.”

Puerto Rico was hit hard by Hurricane Maria, which made landfall as a Category 4 storm last month. The storm was the strongest to strike the island in nearly a century.

High-speed winds and heavy rains ravaged the island’s power grid, leaving 3.5 million people without power. 

Five weeks later, most of the island is still in the dark. Preliminary estimates found it could take up to six months to restore electricity to Puerto Rico.

The storm’s death toll has steadily climbed in recent weeks, creeping to 51 as of Tuesday. 

Sen. Victor Torres, D-Orlando, provided an emotional firsthand testimony of the devastation left from Hurricane Maria.

“My family, our friends and our fellow American citizens living on the island of Puerto Rico are in a desperate situation,” said Torres, recalling his visit to Puerto Rico this month. “No pictures or videos can fully show the level of devastation on the Puerto Rican island [except] seeing it for yourself firsthand.”

Torres, who represents a district with a high concentration of Puerto Ricans, pleaded with committee to help with funding, calling the federal response to the disaster “poorly prepared” and “improperly managed.”

“I ask you for appropriate action as if it were your family members who were suffering in the same circumstances,” Torres pleaded, growing emotional.

Torres said education was a top priority for the citizens of Puerto Rico. Florida has already stepped in to help in that sector, but the state must determine how it will handle an influx of students both from Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Gov. Rick Scott already pledged to offer Puerto Rican students in-state tuition rates at Florida colleges and universities and the Florida Department of Education waived teacher requirements for educators hoping to work or continue studying in the wake of the monster storm.

Commissioner of Education Pam Stewart said Wednesday a total of over 3,000 students had enrolled in Florida schools following the hurricane -- around 3,000 from Puerto Rico and nearly 500 from the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Stewart said those numbers weren’t high enough to require additional funding from the state, but indicated that situation could change as time goes on and more people immigrate to Florida.

“As of right now, 3,066 doesn’t represent a great deal more than what was appropriated for the amount of students enrolling in Florida currently,” said Stewart. “Should we find ourselves in a situation where we would need to, it would be appropriate to approach this [to the] Legislature.”

 

Reach reporter Allison Nielsen by email at allison@sunshinestatenews.com or follow her on Twitter: @AllisonNielsen.


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