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Subcommittee schedules site visit to State Emergency Operations Center, reviews $200M-plus in appropriations
Summary
The state administration budget subcommittee opened a meeting to confirm a quorum and announce a site visit to the current and new State Emergency Operations Center, where members were told the project has received just over $200 million in legislative and agency funding.
An unidentified committee member opened the state administration budget subcommittee meeting and announced a site visit to the current and new State Emergency Operations Center (EOC), saying members would tour facilities and review project funding.
The meeting’s opening speaker said the current EOC and the new EOC are managed by DMS and are both part of the Florida facilities pool, and that Division of Emergency Management (DEM) staff will lead the tour of the current site while DMS staff will guide the visit to the new center.
The speaker provided a breakdown of appropriations for the project as reported at the meeting: a legislative appropriation to DMS totaling $100,000,000 across earlier fiscal years and an additional $80,000,000 in a subsequent fiscal year; DEM budget authority for equipment and technology described at the meeting — including $17,800,000 in a fiscal-year span referenced in the transcript and $5,000,000 in the current fiscal year. The speaker summarized those figures by saying the total appropriated amount for the project is just over $200,000,000.
Direct quote: “It’s important for us to get out and actually see what the taxpayers are getting for the funding that flows through our subcommittee,” the meeting’s opening speaker said.
Committee staff gave logistical instructions for the site visit: members were asked to proceed to the vans outside the House building north loading zone and to look for vans labeled “EOC.” No formal motions or votes were recorded during the opening and roll call portion of the meeting; the session established a quorum before departing for the site visit.
Why it matters: The tours will let the subcommittee see how legislative and agency funds have been applied to the EOC’s construction, technology and equipment — program areas that the subcommittee oversees. Officials identified DMS (the managing agency for the facilities) and DEM (the agency providing operations staff) as the presenters for the day.
Next steps: The committee departed for the site visit immediately after the opening remarks; DMS and DEM staff were scheduled to provide tours and answer members’ questions at the current and new EOC facilities.
