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Committee backs using surplus emergency assessments to expand Fortified Homes; bill reported as amended
Summary
The House Insurance Committee reported House Bill 11‑87 as amended, a measure allowing excess emergency-assessment funds from Louisiana Citizens to be allocated to the Louisiana Fortified Homes program after related debt is paid; the Department of Insurance estimates roughly $50 million could be available after the bond is retired and a reserve is held.
House Bill 11‑87, introduced for Representative Sawyer and amended in committee, would establish a formal process to direct any surplus emergency‑assessment funds from the Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corporation to the Louisiana Fortified Homes program once outstanding debt is satisfied.
Tim Temple, Louisiana’s elected insurance commissioner, told the committee that, following retirement of the relevant bond on June 1, projections show “somewhere around $64,000,000” in collections with about $14,000,000 held in reserve for potential claims, leaving roughly “$50,000,000 that could be allocated toward the program.” Temple and the bill sponsor said the Fortified Homes program — which has awarded more than 4,656 fortified roofs since its first grant round in November 2023 — is designed to reduce future insurance losses by strengthening roofs in coastal parishes.
Committee members questioned timing and targeting. The department said it expects an accounting period after bond retirement and estimated funds could move to the Fortified program in the September–October timeframe, at which point another round of grants would be opened. Temple emphasized that every legislative dollar allocated to the program has gone to roofs rather than administrative costs.
Vice Chairman Ilk moved to report the bill favorably as amended; with no objections, the committee reported HB 11‑87 as amended for floor consideration.
The bill’s next steps are committee reporting and scheduling on the House floor. If enacted, the measure would create a statutory mechanism for disposing of certain excess emergency‑assessment receipts and directing them to hazard‑mitigation grants administered through the Fortified Homes program.
