Florida 2024 Regular Session

Florida House Bill H0371 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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3	3	HM 371 2024
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10	10	F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
11	11	R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
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13	13	House Memorial 1
14	14	A memorial to the Congress of the United States, 2
15	15	urging Congress to establish a federal catastrophe 3
16	16	pool. 4
17	17	5
18	18	WHEREAS, the United States has a history of catastrophic 6
19	19	natural disasters, including, but not limited to, hurricanes, 7
20	20	tornadoes, floods, wildfires, earthquakes, and volcanic 8
21	21	eruptions, and 9
22	22	WHEREAS, homeowner losses from catastrophic natural 10
23	23	disasters have been on the rise as climate change triggers more 11
24	24	frequent and increasingly more destructive hurricanes, 12
25	25	tornadoes, floods, wildfires, earthquakes, and volcanic 13
26	26	eruptions, and 14
27	27	WHEREAS, insurance companies continue to raise premiums in 15
28	28	an attempt to remain solvent in the wake of increased claims 16
29	29	resulting from catastrophic natural disasters, and 17
30	30	WHEREAS, small private insurance companies cannot single -18
31	31	handedly afford substantial losses from having to pay claims 19
32	32	from catastrophic natural disasters, and 20
33	33	WHEREAS, many parts of the nation, especially the State of 21
34	34	Florida, have been overburdened by the increase in insurance 22
35	35	rates and the unavailability of insurance, and 23
36	36	WHEREAS, multiple insurance companies have become insolvent 24
37	37	or have stopped writing insurance in the State of Florida, and 25 
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39	39	HM 371 2024
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46	46	F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
47	47	R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
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49	49	WHEREAS, Citizens Prop erty Insurance, the State of 26
50	50	Florida's public insurer of last resort, has seen an increase of 27
51	51	more than 544,311 insurance policies since September 2020 and 28
52	52	now issues more than 1 million insurance policies, and 29
53	53	WHEREAS, residents of the State of Florida h ave not 30
54	54	received direct financial relief from the various measures taken 31
55	55	by the Florida Legislature to address the continuous rising cost 32
56	56	of insurance premiums, and 33
57	57	WHEREAS, states currently have limited funding to cover 34
58	58	insurance losses from federally de clared catastrophic natural 35
59	59	disasters, and 36
60	60	WHEREAS, Hurricane Ian caused damages totaling an estimated 37
61	61	$115 billion, and the Federal Government spent $5.2 billion in 38
62	62	recovery as a result of the hurricane, and 39
63	63	WHEREAS, Hurricane Idalia is projected to hav e caused 40
64	64	damages totaling $20 billion, but the full amount of federal 41
65	65	funding for the recovery is yet to be determined, and 42
66	66	WHEREAS, the Federal Government has provided, and will 43
67	67	continue to provide, resources to pay for losses from future 44
68	68	catastrophic natural disasters, NOW, THEREFORE, 45
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70	70	Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 47
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72	72	That the Congress of the United States is urged to 49
73	73	establish a federal catastrophe pool to spread the risk and 50 
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75	75	HM 371 2024
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79	79	CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
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82	82	F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
83	83	R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
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85	85	reduce the cost of insurance premiums and assist insurance 51
86	86	companies and residents of the State of Florida and this nation 52
87	87	when catastrophic natural disasters strike. 53
88	88	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of State dispatch 54
89	89	copies of this memorial to the President of the United States, 55
90	90	the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the 56
91	91	United States House of Representatives, and each member of the 57
92	92	Florida delegation to the United States Congress. 58