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Resiliency grant bill tabled as committee flags budgetary impact
Summary
House Bill 937 would create a Virginia Resiliency Grant Program to help communities (notably rural Southwest Virginia) recover when federal disaster aid is unavailable; the subcommittee praised the idea but tabled it to address a significant fiscal impact.
Delegate Franklin introduced House Bill 937 to establish a Virginia Resiliency Grant Program and Fund intended to provide state‑level support when federal disaster assistance is unavailable or insufficient for rural communities.
"This fund is a direct result of the devastation that was caused by Hurricane Helene for folks in Southwest Virginia," Delegate Franklin said, arguing the fund would act as a backstop for communities that fall through federal damage thresholds. He asked the subcommittee to start the fund now rather than wait for a later budget cycle.
Jeremy Bennett of the Virginia Association of Counties and Ian Blair of Wetlands Watch testified in favor, urging the committee to back additional state resources for pre‑disaster mitigation and post‑disaster recovery. Bennett said additional state efforts to help localities recover and prepare for the next disaster would be "greatly appreciated."
Committee members expressed broad sympathy for the proposal but flagged a sizeable fiscal impact on capital outlay and preceding year revenues (one member cited a $5,000,000 capital outlay and additional revenue needs). A motion was made to gently table HB 937 to address fiscal concerns; the chair confirmed the bill was tabled for further budget consideration (tally not specified in the transcript).
