August 24, 2012

Special Session: Disaster Relief for Duluth

Government has a responsibility to provide basic necessities to the population, among them aid after unforeseen natural disasters. However, I believe that the State’s responsibility is to repair critical infrastructure to restore commerce and provide relief to individuals and private businesses when help is beyond their ability to protect their property through personal responsibility.

However, this disaster bill dwarfs anything that we have had in the past and is the single largest in the history of Minnesota. There have been 32 previous disaster bills, totaling $488million and in this bill alone we are spending $168 million. To me, this represents a gross over reach by state agencies for unwarranted spending.

The bill presented at today’s special session included far more than just the essentials for getting Duluth through this emergency. Thus, I chose to vote against the bill for these reasons: 

• The bill was given to the Senate by the Governor and legislative leaders as a take it or leave package. I had no opportunity through the committee process to change, reduce or remove funding or policy wording that I believe to be inappropriate. I was simply asked to rubber stamp this bill. The lack of the legislative process was a major part of why I could not support the bill.
• $12 million will be distributed to assist individuals with flood damage that the Federal government declined to provide in disaster relief. Furthermore, flood insurance is available for all property owners and their decision not to purchase the coverage should not be the burden of the taxpayers. In fact, Federal subsidized flood insurance is available to everyone and is very inexpensive if the property is not in a flood plain as was the case in Duluth. The passage of this bill continues the dangerous precedent of the state being an insurer of natural disasters and acts of god without the individual responsibility of purchasing necessary insurance coverage.
• 100% of the state and local money required to obtain matching funds from FEMA will be paid by the state. Given the fact that local government does not have to pay for any of the relief makes me wonder if there are grant applications that are not an exaggeration of the real need.
• There is $6 million being paid to individuals in wind damaged areas other than the Duluth flood zone and this area is not part of a “Presidential Declaration of Disaster.” Again, individuals should be personally responsible for buying homeowner’s insurance for wind damage.
• $2 million will be paid to the DNR for an anticipated loss of timber sales. The bill does not provide loss of profits for private businesses, but the taxpayers are paying money to a state agency for a loss of profits that has not yet occurred in an area that is not located in a “Presidential Declaration of Disaster” area? I do not believe this is an appropriate use of funds.
• We are appropriating money out of the general fund for an unknown amount of money for “flood net tax capacity loss” and providing an extension for individuals to pay the second half of real estate taxes, which amounts to an unfunded mandate to the local units of government.
• $500,000 in grants to assess family homelessness and housing needs.
• $750,000 for education impact aid for possible loss of students in the Duluth area.
• The bill contains a new policy, which creates two special contingency accounts for disaster relief. These accounts will be funded by the repayment of loans to homeowners that were paid out of the general fund. With these two accounts, a state agency and not the legislature will determine the distribution and amount of future disaster grants. This is yet another example of the growth of government.
   

Respectfully,
 

Scott

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