[StBernard] Disaster Relief Update From State Senator Walter Boasso

[Westley Annis]

Disaster Relief Update From State Senator Walter Boasso 

February 18 , 2006


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Listed below is a summary of the outcome of key issues decided over the past
12 days of the Louisiana Legislature's 2nd post-Katrina legislative session.

If you have concerns about any of the issues considered in this special
session of the legislature, please do not hesitate to contact my district
office at 504-270-9258.

With best regards,
Senator Walter J. Boasso
Louisiana State Senate District 1

 

  

KEY SESSION ISSUES

SPECIAL SESSION 2006

Hurricane Protection/Flood Control:

C Southeast Louisiana Hurricane Protection Reforms (Senate Bill 8) (Senate
Bill 9- Const. Amendment) - The change in state law and the proposed change
in the state constitution, which will be considered by voters in a Sept.
30th statewide election, establishes the Southeast Louisiana Flood
Protection Authority - East and the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection
Authority - West, abolishing the existing levee boards in the region while
maintaining the existing levee taxing districts.

C The east authority focuses on flood control issues in the Pontchartrain
Basin and affects seven parishes - the east banks of Orleans and Jefferson
parishes, St. Bernard Parish, areas of St. Tammany and Tangipahoa parishes
below Interstate 12. The east banks of St. Charles and St. John the Baptist
parishes are impacted only as it relates to proposed "regional" flood
control projects that would impact those parishes directly.

C The west authority focuses on Barataria Basin flood control issues and
impacts the west banks of Orleans and Jefferson parishes.

C Proposed new taxes to finance new flood control projects must be approved
by a majority of the voters in each parish expected to pay the tax. 

C Authority members will be appointed by the governor from a list of
qualified nominees submitted by independent engineering groups and public
interest groups. The majority of the members must be qualified professionals
in fields related to such things as flood control, the law or accounting. 

C Members must abide by strict ethics rules relating to political
campaigning, lobbying and conducting businesses with family members. 

C The non-flood related assets of the Orleans Levee Board are transferred to
the state until local and state officials decide what the final disposition
of those assets should be. The current Orleans Levee Police force is
disbanded.

C The Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, established in the
November special session to oversee local levee boards and set state levee
priorities, will serve act as the local sponsor for the construction,
operation and maintenance of hurricane, storm damage reduction, flood
control and coastal restoration projects in the new authorities. The U.S.
Corps of Engineers has assured state officials that this meets the federal
requirement that the state establish a single state entity for southeast
Louisiana and New Orleans before $12 million in federal funds for a study of
needed levee improvements can be spent.

C The new authorities will begin operation January 1, 2007, if the
constitutional amendment is approved by voters in September. 

Public Safety:

C Uniform Statewide Building Code Implementation (Senate Bill 5) - Allows
licensed state contractors, in addition to the already authorized state
licensed engineers and architects, to review plans and inspect the
construction of residential single-family dwellings under the state's new
statewide building code requirements. The licensed contractors' authority to
conduct such reviews and inspections expires January 2, 2007. Also allows
the State Fire Marshall to certify additional third-party providers to help
municipalities and parishes implement the wind and flood protection
requirements in the code. Parishes at high risk for hurricane related damage
must begin implementing the requirements of the new code on an emergency
basis by the end of February, 2006. The State Fire Marshall must provide
assistance to any local government entity that requests help implementing
the new construction code requirements. 

Recovery:

C Gulf Opportunity Zone Act (House Bill 93) - Sets up a framework for the
state to take advantage of the federal relief package to aid local
governments and the state with infrastructure repairs; to help local
governments avoid defaulting on bonded indebtedness; to aid businesses in
the 32 storm impacted parishes to rebuild.

C Allows the state to issue up to $200 million in tax credit bonds in
connection with the relief package without impacting the constitutional
limit on state bond issues. The state must match the amount of bonds sold.
The bonds must be repaid in two years.


C Allows the state and local governments to refinance existing debt to free
up cash for other uses.

C Authorizes the state Department of Economic Development to develop a
program to allow small businesses to borrow money at a tax-free,
low-interest rate under the federal private activity bond program with the
state guaranteeing up to 50% of the loan. The state's liability will be
capped at $70 million. The loans will be approved by the State Bond
Commission. 

C Louisiana Recovery Authority Law (House Bill 59) - Establishes the
Louisiana Recovery Authority (LRA), created by the governor to develop a
statewide road map for rebuilding after the storms, in state law within the
governor's office. Requires legislative input, oversight and approval of LRA
plans for rebuilding and expenditure of recovery funds. The Joint Budget
Committee will routinely review the plans and expenditures of the authority.
If the expenditure exceeds $10 million, the legislature must approve the
spending by mail ballot if members are not in session, by legislative
instrument if they are in session. Increase membership of the board to 33,
requiring at least two representatives for each congressional districts. The
authority sunsets 2016. 

C Abandoned Property (House Bill 1) - Reduces by two months the waiting
period for local governments to claim abandoned property for sale,
utilization or destruction after a court officially declares the property
unclaimed. Local government officials asked for the change to reduce the
costs of maintaining abandoned properties and to provide the option for
renovating structures for housing evacuees. 

C Public Employees Recovery Assistance (House Bill 6) - Allows a public
employee who experienced economic losses because of the hurricanes to
receive donations up to $10,000 from a list of pre-approved non-profit
organizations. The organizations must report the donations to the state
ethics board. 

C Disaster Relief Tax Break (House Bill 21) - Extends the changes in the
state income tax laws approved during the November 2005 special session to
make sure that storm victims do not pay additional state income taxes if
they take advantage of the federal income tax breaks available to storm
victims on their 2005 tax returns to the 2004 tax year as well. After the
November session, Congress decided to allow storm victims to take the
federal tax break for uninsured storm losses in the 2004 or 2005 tax year.
*An amendment was added to extend the state income tax break until January
2008 for active duty military personnel serving out of state. The tax
exemption applies to those military personnel whose total compensation paid
for their services outside Louisiana is less than $30,000.*

Insurance:

C Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corporation (LCPI) Issues -

C Senate Bill 14 reassures investors that the Louisiana Citizens Property
Insurance Corporation will not default on bonds issued to cover claims after
the hurricanes. Keeps the LCPI from dissolving until the bonds are repaid.
The LCPI has approval to borrow up to $1.4 billion in bonding to try to
cover its deficit of $824 million. 

C House Bill 2 authorizes the LCPI to seek and receive Community Development
Block Grant Funds to help pay off bonds issued to cover claims and other
costs associated with the storms. Any block grant funds received will be
credited on a pro-rata basis back to the insurers who were assessed to pay
back the bonds. The insurers will then return the "recovered" amounts to the
policy holders. 

C Damage Claims/Settlements -

C House Bill 17 prohibits the automatic denial of claims to damaged property
based on failure to report damage in a timely manner. Provides for a 180-day
period to report damage, which would not start until a declaration of
emergency is over. This would only affect policies issued after the
effective date of the act.

C House Bill 97 requires homeowners' insurers to disclose in writing whether
there is an increased deductible for wind or named storm damage. Also
requires disclosure to state that the policy determines the process of a
notification of the damage as well as the legal time limit for a claim to be
adjusted, settled or paid, including penalties. 

C Senate Bill 31 provides that, when an insurance settlement is paid to a
mortgage holder for a residence, any leftover funds after the property is
replaced or repaired to the satisfaction of both parties shall be paid from
the escrow account to the mortgage holder, including interest. 

C Senate Bill 7 establishes that insurers cannot use either the existence of
a floodwater mark or the fact that a home was removed from its foundation as
an exclusive reason to deny coverage, without considering other evidence.
*Sen. Quinn, the author of the bill, intends to address this issue again in
the regular session to prohibit insurance companies from denying coverage of
any damages if there is evidence any damaged was caused by an "uncovered"
cause.

Elections:

C Voting by Mail for Displaced Voters - 

C House Bill 12 allows voters displaced by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, who
registered to vote by mail between the 2000 presidential race and Rita's
landfall September 24 and have not voted since that registration, to vote by
mail rather than in person as normally required. To vote by mail, the
displaced residents must sign a notarized or witnessed affidavit swearing
that they are displaced, properly registered voters. State law allows a
similar exception to the "first-time voting in person" requirement for
students attending school away from home, elderly and handicapped voters and
military personnel serving overseas. The exception for displaced voters
expires July 16, 2006.

C Senate Bill 50 allows qualified displaced voters to receive a mail ballot
for one year, rather than having to request the ballot for each election. A
similar privilege is provided to military personnel who must renew their
mail ballot requests every two years rather than for each election. Election
officials estimate about 6,000 displaced voters will be eligible for the
mail ballots. 

C Satellite Voting Sites for Displaced Voters (Senate Bill 22) - Allows
displaced voters, registered to vote prior to the storms, to vote early in
municipal elections at registrar of voters' offices in Caddo, Calcasieu,
East Baton Rouge, Jefferson, Ouachita, Rapides, St. Tammany, Lafayette,
Tangipahoa and Terrebonne parishes. The special voting option expires July
16, 2006. attesting to their that by from Eliminates the corporate franchise
tax on new debt incurred by businesses with at least 50% of its property
located in or at least 50% of its revenues derived from Katrina and Rita
FEMA Individual Assistance areas. 

C Statewide Election Date Change (House Bill 18, House Bill 27, House Bill
28) - Reschedules the planned April 29th statewide election to consider
proposed changes in the state constitution regarding coastal restoration and
homestead exemption issues to the regularly scheduled statewide election
September 30th. Cancelling the special statewide election saves the state
$2.8 million.