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Senate committee reorganizes governor’s disaster fund, doubles mitigation pot to $6 million
Summary
Committee approved HB1214 to combine and clarify response/recovery/catastrophic allocations and to increase mitigation funding from $3 million to $6 million; emergency management officials said the change improves flexibility and that catastrophic funds still require a state declaration (and federal declaration when applicable).
Lawmakers on the State Agencies committee moved a written cleanup to the state disaster fund and approved a $3 million increase to mitigation funding.
Senator Charles Beckham presented HB1214, and AJ Gary, director of the Arkansas Division of Emergency Management, explained the existing line-item structure: $2 million for response, $5 million for recovery, $3.25 million for catastrophic and $3 million for mitigation. He said the bill consolidates response, recovery and catastrophic funding into clearer categories and increases mitigation funding to $6 million to support local mitigation projects.
Committee members pressed on triggers for spending catastrophic funds, whether federal disaster declarations remain required and how the administration has been moving funds under current law. Gary said the catastrophic account has historically been available when thresholds are met, including state disaster declarations and, for certain catastrophic funds, a federal declaration; he said the bill clarifies legal language without changing the procedural approvals required to spend funds.
Senators asked whether the change would effectively give the governor broader discretion to spend; Gary and department staff said standard approval procedures with Department of Finance and Administration oversight remain in place.
The committee moved HB1214 on a do-pass motion and the bill passed in committee.
