Gov. DeSantis knocks Legislature for not passing budget before hurricane season

Gov. Ron DeSantis slammed the Legislature for not passing a budget in time to help Floridians prepare for hurricane season, which officially kicks off Sunday.

DeSantis, who has been at odds with House Republicans all year, criticized lawmakers for not finalizing the budget to add new funding for My Safe Florida Home grants, which help homeowners prepare for hurricanes and storms.

“At least get the people on the waitlist who were already approved for repairs. Let them do it and make the repairs so that all this will be done in advance of this hurricane season,” DeSantis said at a press conference in Jupiter as he urged Floridians to start preparing for what is expected to be a busy hurricane season in the Atlantic.

“They were told to apply for this. The program ran out of money. It needed to be replenished. They’ve been waiting for this, and it was a huge missed opportunity to be able to replenish that so that they could have gotten these repairs done in time for this hurricane season.”

DeSantis also criticized lawmakers for another effect of the budget delay, as Floridians stocking up on their hurricane emergency kits are missing out on a sales tax holiday.

“We usually do the hurricane tax preparedness holidays the first two weeks of hurricane season, and then we do two weeks at kind of the height of hurricane season. But they haven’t even done the budget yet, so we don’t have any of the tax holidays in place,” DeSantis said.

The National Hurricane Center is predicting “a 60% chance of an above-normal season” with an estimated six to 10 hurricanes in the Atlantic, according to the agency’s outlook for the hurricane season running June 1 to Nov. 30.

That’s not welcomed news for Floridians who evacuated, dealt with flood damage or sheltered in place from high winds during last year’s trio of hurricanes in Debby, Helene and Milton.

“We do deserve a little bit of a break,” DeSantis quipped Friday.

He told Floridians to get ready and develop a household plan that takes into account the most vulnerable members’ needs: children, seniors and pets. “Let’s prepare as if we’re going to have major events, and then let’s hope that we get a respite this year.”

DeSantis told residents to do their homework and know if they live in an evacuation zone, a low lying, flood prone area, a mobile home or an unsafe structure.

“It’s also important for residents to know their home and its ability to withstand strong winds and heavy rain,” DeSantis said.

DeSantis recommended people create a disaster supply kit good for seven days worth of food and water. Other emergency supplies should be batteries, flashlights, reusable ice, portable power banks and more as well as car tanks filled with gas.

Meanwhile, the state is training personnel and replenished 3.5 million gallons of water, 3.7 million nonperishable meals, 1.4 million tarps and other supplies to get ready to help, said Florida Division of Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie. 

For more information on emergency preparedness visit: www.floridadisaster.org/planprepare.