Following a recent report from New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli that found the increasing frequency of severe weather in the state has taken a toll on New Yorkers, property and the economy, Sen. Joseph Griffo and Assemblywoman Marianne Buttenschon are pushing for legislation they have introduced that would support residents and communities hit hard by extreme weather and ensure that local governments are prepared for future events.
Assemblywoman Buttenschon
According to the Comptroller’s report, severe weather events, including thunderstorm-related damaging wind and flash flooding, are increasing in New York. Since 1998, there have been an average of 2.5 weather events per year in the state that have resulted in federal disaster or emergency declarations with authorized annual assistance averaging $958.6 million. Sen. Griffo and Assemblywoman Buttenschon’s bill (S.7761/A.8780), which is in committee, would:
Establish the Central New York Extreme Weather Relief and Resiliency Grant Program that would provide grants for small businesses, farms, owners of multiple dwellings, homeowners associations and not-for-profit organizations that sustained direct physical damage under one of the covered extreme weather events which they can apply for to cover repairs. The reason for these specific regions is because they have been some the hardest hit areas over the last several years and have experienced a lack of sustained commitment of necessary resources from the state.
Expand and strengthen the state’s Resilient and Ready Storm Damage Recovery and Resilient Retrofit programs to offer additional emergency home repair assistance and/or reimbursement to impacted homeowners recent extreme weather events in the region and those that may occur in the future.
Create the Central New York property/casualty insurance resiliency incentive program to facilitate property/casualty insurance discounts for mitigation efforts. As a result of this program, property/casualty insurers in New York would be encouraged to offer loss mitigation tools and services to policyholders for free or reduced cost.
“Central New York and the Mohawk Valley, much like other regions in the state, have struggled with extreme weather over the past several years,” Sen. Griffo said. “These events, including destructive tornadoes and winter storms, have caused significant challenges, and the recovery process can be an expensive and time-consuming endeavor. The legislation that I have introduced along with Assemblywoman Buttenschon will provide residents, communities and local governments will additional resources that can help them to prepare for, respond to and recover from severe weather.”
“It is evident that we are going to continue to have to place challenging weather conditions throughout the Mohawk Valley as a priority,” Assemblywoman Buttenschon said. “I appreciate the Comptroller highlighting this issue as well as the support of my colleague in the Senate, Sen. Griffo, partnering with me to highlight this in the legislative body. Whether we accomplish this through legislation or through the Comptroller‘s office we need to ensure that those affected by extreme weather are able to receive the necessary assistance they deserve.”
