The Senate has unanimously passed a measure that would boost hurricane relief and recovery efforts and enhance Florida’s response to storms.

The bill (SB 180), from Sen. Nick DiCeglie, would support Florida homeowners following a storm with clear, streamlined permitting resources — a likely welcome upgrade after the active 2024 hurricane season uncovered the pain many in DiCeglie’s Pinellas County Gulf Coast district suffered as they sought to rebuild.

The bill would also enhance debris management and removal processes, another challenge that plagued DiCeglie’s district last year, especially with the one-two punch that was Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton.

Additionally, the measure would increase disaster management planning, emergency resource coordination, financial transparency, and reporting across state and local government disaster management operations.

“Multiple major hurricanes ravaged Florida last year, leaving extensive damage statewide,” DiCeglie said. “After a storm, Floridians need a clear path to recovery, not roadblocks.”

“When local bureaucracy overshadows the needs of citizens, Floridians are left picking up the pieces,” he added. “We’re fighting for families to focus on rebuilding without additional delays or burdens, especially for those who sustained damage or lost their homes. Working with our state and local emergency responders, we can streamline restoration efforts and improve emergency response coordination, fortifying and strengthening our communities before the next storm.”

Specifically, DiCeglie’s bill, if enacted, would prohibit local governments from increasing permit and inspection fees for six months after a hurricane or tropical storm emergency declaration.

On debris removal, the bill would require local governments to establish at least one debris management site, to be approved by the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). Local governments would also be required to lay out procedures and needed resources to facilitate expedient debris removal.

DiCeglie himself was impacted by the storms last year, and his home in Indian Rocks Beach was not far from beaches requiring nourishment to mitigate erosion from the storm. In some areas, damage is still easily identifiable as recovery continues. DiCeglie’s bill addresses that by allowing DEP to waive or reduce match requirements for beach nourishment projects for local governments located in counties, like his, impacted by the 2024 storms.

That would address the ongoing holdup with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that requires all residents to sign easement waivers before beach nourishment can begin, which still has not happened.

Additionally, the bill would require local governments to post a recovery permitting guide, addressing issues with property owner confusion navigating rules regarding the permit process.

The bill would also address post-disaster permitting planning, requiring local governments to develop plans to provide for specific building permit and inspection procedures and ensure adequate staffing to expedite inspections.

The bill also includes tax savings for those who had agriculture equipment damaged, if that equipment was out of commission for 60 days as a result of last year’s storms.

The bill would address storm preparedness too, with a requirement that the Department of Emergency Management conduct an annual readiness session in each region by April 1 of each year. Hurricane seasons begin June 1. The sessions would address preparation processes, response efforts, expedited rebuilding and best practices on agency and resource coordination.

The bill also clarifies a number of storm preparedness and response issues, including for storm shelters, mutual aid agreements, disaster response equipment inventory, agencies that help identify people with special needs sheltering, and more.

“Florida has set a high bar as the nation’s model in storm response and recovery. It’s a testament to our first responders and emergency personnel, as well as the strength and resilience of Floridians in the aftermath of a devastating hurricane,” Senate President Ben Albritton said.

“We can always do better. We are incorporating lessons learned and identifying new opportunities to support community restoration and enhance disaster management through proactive planning and coordination. Through these initiatives, Floridians can focus on what matters most: rebuilding their homes, their lives, and their communities.”

Post Views: 0

Two weeks after he fielded questions from Senators about his views on the Central American country and its importance to international trade and foreign policy, Kevin Marino Cabrera has been confirmed as U.S. Ambassador to Panama.

Cabrera’s confirmation came on a 51-45 vote along party lines.

He shared a statement shortly after, thanking President Donald Trump for nominating him in December and the Senators who voted for him Wednesday.

“As Ambassador, I will be guided by a simple question articulated by Secretary (of State Marco Rubio): does this policy make America safer, stronger, and more prosperous? Alongside this principle, I will carry with me the values that have guided my service in Miami-Dade: a commitment to accessibility, accountability, and delivering results.”

The confirmation marks the latest political elevation of Cabrera, 34, who has served as an elected member of the Miami-Dade County Commission for the past two and a half years.

Prior to joining the 13-member panel in late 2022 with an endorsement from Trump, Cabrera worked as a lobbyist and political operative. He led Trump’s 2020 campaign in Florida. Last year, he was elected as a Republican State Committeeman.

Of note, Cabrera must resign from the County Commission before taking the Ambassador job.

During his confirmation hearing March 25, Cabrera fielded questions from both sides of the political aisle on how he views his potential role.

Asked about Trump’s calls for the U.S. to reclaim control of the Panama Canal for national security purposes, Cabrera said his job would be to “serve at the pleasure of the President” and reiterated Trump’s assertion that “all the options are on the table.”

“Part of ‘all the options’ includes diplomacy,” he said, adding, “President Trump is our Commander in Chief, and I stand behind him and his policies.”

He stressed that as an Ambassador, he would endeavor to fulfill Trump’s foreign policy mandate to make the U.S. “stronger, safer and more prosperous” while doing his best to maintain the Panama Canal’s neutrality.

But there are concerns. The Chinese Communist Party has exercised increased influence on the region and Panama, which Cabrera noted was both the first Central American country to enter and leave China’s massive Belt and Road infrastructure initiative.

China’s tendrils are likely still embedded there, Cabrera said.

“You’ve seen it in cities like Colón, with the cybersecurity grants (China gave) for cameras in the area. You don’t know where that cloud information might be stored, who has access to it, and some of the reports were they have cranes that have been given to them by the Chinese government as well,” he said.

The hearing never grew heated and featured only one potentially contentious exchange. That came from U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, Hillary Clinton’s running 2016 mate against Trump.

Kaine asked about a 2018 incident in which Cabrera, then working as a lobbyist, was caught on video protesting alongside members of the far-right Proud Boys group outside the office of former Democratic U.S. Rep. Donna Shalala. In the video, Cabrera can be seen pounding his fist on Shalala’s office door.

Cabrera has repeatedly maintained that he was exercising his First Amendment rights and denounced the Proud Boys and “any group that espouses any sort of hate.” He repeated that statement, verbatim, when Kaine asked him to condemn the Proud Boys.

“I believe there is no place for (hate), and we have to work together, and I think it would make for a better world,” he said.

Kaine thanked him for being clear on the matter. On Wednesday, he voted “no” alongside every other Senate Democrat. Four Senators — Independent Bernie Sanders and Republicans Josh Hawley, Markwayne Mullin and Tommy Tuberville — didn’t vote.

Post Views: 0