State Sen. Cyndi Carrasco, R-Indianapolis, files a bill addressing disaster resources on Jan. 3 at the Indiana Statehouse in Indianapolis.
Provided photo
After a year filled with tornadoes, a local lawmaker’s bill would help speed up access to resources after disasters.
Indiana Senate Bill 190 would improve the accessibility of the state’s Disaster Relief Fund, while also upping the maximum amount of individual aid. The bill, authored by State Sen. Cyndi Carrasco, also enables governments to apply for funds proactively for the first time.
“You never know when something like this is going to strike,” the southside Indianapolis Republican said. “It’s so important to make sure that our local communities are able to respond in a timely and efficient manner.”
Carrasco authored the bill in light of the tornadoes that struck and caused damage in Johnson County last year and after conversations she had with the Indiana Department of Homeland Security. State officials told her some tweaks could be made to improve access to the State Disaster Relief Fund.
SB 190 would change the formula for the fund to make it simpler, changing the calculations used to determine the amount of financial assistance an eligible entity could receive from the fund. It also increases the maximum award for individual assistance for property damage from $10,000 to $25,000, the bill’s text shows.
The increase is to keep up with today’s realities, Carrasco said.
One of the biggest changes the bill makes to the fund is for local communities. Under SB 190, local governments could use dollars from the fund proactively, rather than after the fact, by using funding for disaster mitigation projects.
“The proposal is for local communities to be able to apply for dollars to institute disaster relief plans and to institute mitigation efforts to ensure that should a natural disaster or man-made disaster occur, that local communities are much better prepared,” she said.
A fiscal impact statement prepared by the Legislative Services Agency shows that the bill would increase expenditures to the fund and that IDHS would see an increased workload. The changes are still within the agency’s routine functions though, and should be able to be implemented without additional funds.
SB 190 is Carrasco’s first bill as a state senator, having been selected in an October caucus to replace the late Sen. Jack Sandlin. It has been a “whirlwind” the last few months, but Carrasco is excited to start legislating and to author the bill, she said.
“It’s a bill that will enable local communities to be able to make their communities safer,” Carrasco said. “It would allow individuals to be able to access dollars quickly because, as you know, in times of a disaster there’s a lot of confusion; there’s a lot of issues that can come up. We need to make sure that the process to be able to access the dollars is efficient, and it’s fast and it can be done.”
Being able to incentivize local governments to proactively implement preventative measures is also a benefit of the bill. If local governments apply and qualify for the disaster funds, it has the potential to increase the amount of dollars that go back to the communities from the fund, she said.
“This is a really great bill. … This is precisely the reason why I am so honored to be in this office, to author legislation like this that is going to hopefully make an impact, a real impact to Hoosiers’ lives,” Carrasco said.
