Housing and Community Development - Homeowner's Extreme Weather Mitigation and Preparation Grant Program
Impact
The bill mandates the allocation of funds starting at $5,000,000 for the program each fiscal year beginning in 2025. Homeowners may apply for nonmatching grants up to $5,000, with criteria set for household income and insurance coverage of the property. Local governments and nonprofits can also apply for matching grants to assist projects that protect single-family homes, which further extends the program's impact to a wider community level beyond just individual homeowners.
Summary
House Bill 190 establishes the Homeowner's Extreme Weather Mitigation and Preparation Grant Program aimed at assisting homeowners, local governments, and nonprofit organizations in preparing and repairing residential properties to mitigate water damage caused by extreme weather events. This program will be administered by the Department of Housing and Community Development and will make available funding for various mitigation projects intended to prevent significant environmental damage to residences, particularly focusing on water damage.
Contention
Discussion around HB 190 may center on the appropriate level of funding and oversight required for such programs, as well as concerns that the grant application process could be prohibitive for some homeowners without adequate support or resources. Some members may argue about the potential for bureaucratic inefficiencies in grant distribution and whether local governments have the capacity to effectively implement these programs designed to assist vulnerable populations against climate-related impacts.
Enacts into law components of legislation relating to disaster relief for extreme weather events in Central New York, long-term climate resilience property improvements, and insurance discounts for climate mitigation efforts; establishes the central New York extreme weather relief and resiliency grant program to provide grants to certain persons and entities that suffered damage from covered events (Part A); expands and strengthens the resilient and ready program by providing grants to homeowners impacted by extreme weather events and providing grants for long-term climate resilience improvements for snow and tornado-related weather hazards (Part B); establishes the central New York property/casualty insurance resiliency incentive program to facilitate property/casualty insurance discounts for mitigation efforts (Part C).
Enacts into law components of legislation relating to disaster relief for extreme weather events in Central New York, long-term climate resilience property improvements, and insurance discounts for climate mitigation efforts; establishes the central New York extreme weather relief and resiliency grant program to provide grants to certain persons and entities that suffered damage from covered events (Part A); expands and strengthens the resilient and ready program by providing grants to homeowners impacted by extreme weather events and providing grants for long-term climate resilience improvements for snow and tornado-related weather hazards (Part B); establishes the central New York property/casualty insurance resiliency incentive program to facilitate property/casualty insurance discounts for mitigation efforts (Part C).