$470M in hurricane relief heading to vote

ATLANTA — The Georgia House is expected to vote today on proposals for $470 million in relief for damage from Hurricane Michael as lawmakers work rapidly to resolve a special session called by Gov. Nathan Deal.

House committees Wednesday approved $270 million in storm-related funding that includes emergency aid and debris cleanup while also advancing $200 million in tax incentives to encourage timber and pecan growers to replant vast acreage destroyed in southern Georgia.

Deal told lawmakers much of the cleanup and recovery money will be reimbursed by the federal government, though it’s unknown how long that might take. He said farmers whose crops were devastated need immediate assistance, and timber smashed by the storm must be removed to keep heaps of dead wood from becoming fuel for possible wildfires.

“Our state has been struck by a disaster unlike any that we have really seen,” Deal told the House Appropriations Committee. “The losses that are sustained and will have to be dealt with are of a magnitude that most of us have a hard time imagining.”

Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black blames the hurricane for more than $1.6 billion in ruined crops from pecans and cotton to corn and squash. The Georgia Forestry Commission estimates timber losses exceeded $762 million.

Georgians also claimed $696 million in insured losses to homes, businesses and vehicles — a higher cost than the state’s combined losses claimed from Hurricane Matthew in 2016 and Hurricane Irma last year.

Unwilling to wait until the legislature returns for its regular session in January, Deal ordered a special session that began Tuesday. Legislative leaders in the House and Senate are trying to wrap up their short agenda in five days.

Deal wants $69 million in additional funds to pay the state’s share for disaster response costs as well as debris removal being overseen by the Army Corps of Engineers. There’s also $55 million proposed for emergency assistance to farmers in counties damaged by the storm, plus another $20 million in emergency aid to assist cleanup by timberland owners.

The aid money covers just a fraction of the costs inflicted by the storm, which crossed Florida into southwest Georgia as a powerful Category 3 hurricane.