With parts of Florida鈥檚 Gulf Coast still reeling from Hurricane Helene and much of the state girding for Hurricane Milton, Senate President Kathleen Passidomo said Tuesday that storm-related issues likely 鈥渨ill dominate鈥� the next legislative session.
Milton, described by Tampa Police Chief Lee Bercaw as what could be the 鈥渟torm of the century,鈥� is projected to barrel into west central Florida late Wednesday and sweep across the state. Mandatory evacuations for millions of people have been ordered.
Gov. Ron DeSantis and state Emergency Management director Kevin Guthrie held a conference call with state lawmakers Tuesday afternoon to advise them about the potentially catastrophic storm, which is expected to make landfall less than two weeks after Helene caused a dozen deaths and severe damage in the state.
DeSantis and Guthrie answered questions about preparations for Milton and the recovery from Helene, which made landfall in Taylor County and devastated other coastal areas as it moved up the Gulf of Mexico, Passidomo told The News Service of Florida.
READ MORE: Time to evacuate is running out as Hurricane Milton closes in on Florida
Passidomo, a Naples Republican whose home was damaged by Hurricane Ian in 2022, said she thought the state was prepared to deal with the double punch of Helene and Milton hitting the Gulf Coast.
DeSantis gave lawmakers 鈥渁n overview of where we鈥檙e at, what we鈥檝e done to prepare for it,鈥� Passidomo said.
鈥淲e talked a little bit about having to deal with the aftermath of Helene 鈥� being somewhat in the same area鈥� and having to grapple with issues such as debris removal, she said.
Passidomo, whose tenure as Senate president will end after the Nov. 5 elections but who has two more years in the Senate, said damage from Helene and Milton likely will be the focus of the next legislative session, which is scheduled to begin in March.
鈥淔rankly, although he (DeSantis) didn鈥檛 talk about this now, once we鈥檙e through this cycle, we鈥檙e going to have to start looking at 鈥� a whole new 鈥� this is my feeling 鈥� a whole new philosophy of reconstruction and resilience and resiliency in our state,鈥� Passidomo, a real estate attorney, said. 鈥淎 lot of these little homes, they鈥檙e going to be destroyed. Some of them already have been, in Helene. And how are we going to rebuild? It's going to be a challenge. I think that's going to dominate our next session.鈥�
Fifty-one counties in Florida on Tuesday were under a state of emergency for Milton, which had 155 mph maximum sustained winds as of 8 a.m. Wednesday, making it a Category 4 hurricane. After making landfall on the Gulf Coast, it is expected to remain a hurricane as it crosses Florida, causing storm surge on both coasts.
鈥淭hink about it. If some of these older buildings are going to get wind and storm, it鈥檚 going to be awful. When Ian went through Naples, we had a lot of older condominiums that got destroyed. 鈥� I think that鈥檚 something that鈥檚 going to dominate the conversation 鈥� how we鈥檙e going to rebuild, how we鈥檙e going to insure these buildings,鈥� Passidomo said.
When asked if lawmakers should gather in a special session after the election to address storm-related issues, Passidomo said it is too early to tell.
鈥淯ntil the storm actually makes it through, everything鈥檚 speculative. And there鈥檚 also got to be a time for assessing damage. The worst thing you can do is to jump in there and do something without knowing exactly where you鈥檙e going to end up,鈥� Passidomo added.
The Legislature held a special session in 2022 focused on insurance issues and providing money to communities affected by Hurricane Ian and Hurricane Nicole.
One measure allocated $350 million to the Florida Division of Emergency Management to match Federal Emergency Management Agency public-assistance grants; $150 million to the Florida Housing Finance Corp. to assist property owners and renters with housing repairs; and $100 million to beach-erosion projects.
DeSantis described Tuesday鈥檚 call with legislators as a briefing on state resources 鈥渢hat are being offered and being utilized.鈥�
He said a similar call was held with members of the state鈥檚 congressional delegation and that he鈥檚 talked with President Joe Biden and FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell. The Biden administration has approved what is known as 鈥減re-landfall鈥� assistance for the state.
鈥淲e will get a landfall, a (federal) major disaster declaration, approved once the storm hits, and that will be (for) things like debris removal and individual assistance,鈥� DeSantis said during a news conference at Florida Horse Park in Ocala, a staging area for utility workers.
More than 43,000 utility workers are in position to begin restoring power after Milton, with crews in place from states as far away as California, officials said Tuesday.
Florida Department of Transportation Secretary Jared Perdue said traffic and congestion were heavy Tuesday as people evacuated from coastal areas.
鈥淭his is a good thing,鈥� Perdue said. 鈥淧eople are evacuating, they're heeding the evacuation orders.鈥�
