Legislation speeds relief to affected communities
FRANKFORT — Kentucky will spend nearly $212.7 million over the next six months to help rebuild eastern Kentucky communities devastated by the deadly flooding that began July 26.
Gov. Andy Beshear joined state lawmakers Friday in the Capitol Rotunda to sign the relief package that will provide critical help.
“Today, we stand here together in our Capitol Rotunda – and we stand united,” Beshear said. “We stand united in our love and compassion for those who have lost loved ones in the flood. And we stand united in our purpose to help the people of Eastern Kentucky rebuild their lives and their communities.”
The governor said the relief plan is much like the aid provided to help Western Kentucky rebuild following last December’s tornadoes and includes:
• $200 million from the Budget Reserve Trust Fund – the state’s $2.7 billion rainy day fund – to EKSAFE.
○ $115 million of that $200 million will be provided to the Department of Military Affairs Division of Emergency Management to provide financial support to cities, counties, school districts, state agencies and nonprofit or public utility service providers in areas named in the Presidential Declaration of a Major Disaster.
The use of this portion includes reimbursement for services, personnel and equipment provided during the response and recovery phases; cost of replacement or repair of publicly owned buildings and their contents; and advancement of funds to local governments, utilities and school districts awaiting insurance claims and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) disaster assistance.
○ $45 million to be provided to the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet’s highways budget for the state matching funds to pay for bridge and road repairs and replacement.
○ $40 million will be provided to the Department of Education for financial assistance to school districts to support repairs of school building facilities, additional transportation costs for displaced students and wrap-around services for schoolchildren and their families recovering from the impacts of the storms and flooding.
• Nearly $12.7 million in fiscal year 2022-2023 from the State Fiscal Recovery Fund of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 is earmarked for EKSAFE. These funds will go toward water and sewer infrastructure projects, the building of replacement school facilities and housing sites not previously used, but now designed to mitigate the risk of future flooding.
Other assistance to school districts impacted by the flooding
The legislation will also provide the commissioner of education flexibility to waive up to 15 student attendance days through Jan. 20, 2023, due to the flooding.
“We are also making sure our school employees are secure by ensuring that days ‘waived’ will count as days worked,” Gov. Beshear said. “And school districts may modify their school calendars and allow additional employee emergency leave, if necessary due to the disaster.”
Under the bill’s provisions, a school district may temporarily assign students to remote instruction due to uninhabitable school buildings. Up to 20 days of remote instruction may be permitted, with safeguards. It also expedites the approval process for school district facility plans to renovate, repair and replace flood-damaged school buildings.
Finally, the bill will provide SEEK Funding Relief to both Eastern Kentucky flood-affected areas and Western Kentucky tornado-affected areas.
This bill also provides some additional spending flexibility for the Western Kentucky SAFE funds and extends the funding through June 30, 2026. So far, more than $67 million has been provided from this fund to help Western Kentucky cities, counties, utilities and schools with the costs of recovery.
“In this session, we are taking care of our Eastern Kentucky communities – just like we did for Western Kentucky – while also making sure they have the flexibility needed as they continue to rebuild,” Gov. Beshear said. “After many dark days in this emergency response, we are seeing a little more hope in the path forward toward stabilization and rebuilding.”
Kentucky lost at least 39 Kentuckians and thousands of families have lost everything due to the flooding. To learn more about the recovery efforts, visit the governor’s disaster relief resources website and click here to donate to Team Eastern Kentucky Flood Relief Fund.