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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, The Public Assistance Program of the Federal |
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Emergency Management Agency provides grants to state and local |
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governments to assist them with their response to and recovery from |
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disasters; and |
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WHEREAS, Under current FEMA policy, the agency sets a |
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gross-value financial damage threshold that must be met before a |
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disaster declaration is issued to allow qualification for the |
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Public Assistance Program; and |
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WHEREAS, Property values often vary greatly in counties and |
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cities struck by catastrophic events, and some communities within |
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an affected area have lower than average property values that place |
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them at a severe disadvantage in seeking aid; and |
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WHEREAS, An economically distressed community may suffer the |
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same degree of destruction as an affluent neighborhood nearby, but |
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the dollar amount of damage would be less because the original |
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property value was much lower; as a result, a less prosperous |
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community might not be able to meet the gross-value financial |
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damage threshold established by FEMA, even if the impact of the |
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disaster was just as significant as in the other communities; and |
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WHEREAS, The need for disaster relief in a community is not |
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evenly reflected in the dollar amount of damage, and communities |
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should not be penalized because they were less affluent than their |
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neighbors before misfortune befell the entire area; now, therefore, |
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be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 83rd Texas |
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Legislature hereby respectfully request that the Federal Emergency |
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Management Agency amend its financial threshold criteria for |
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providing disaster aid to allow assistance to communities whose |
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average property value is lower than the applicable local county or |
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city average; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That the chief clerk forward an official copy of |
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this resolution to the administrator of the Federal Emergency |
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Management Agency. |