Gov. Andy Beshear joined state lawmakers in the Capitol Rotunda last week to sign a nearly $212.7 million relief package that will provide critical help over the next six months to Eastern Kentucky communities devastated by the deadly flooding that began July 26.
The Governor called a special session last week after working with legislative leaders on the relief needed to help Eastern Kentucky.
“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.”
Senate President Robert Stivers, House Speaker David Osborne and House Mountain Caucus Chair John Blanton shared their support for the legislation.
“Each day since the floodwaters began rising in Eastern Kentucky, we have made every effort to maximize available federal dollars while allocating these available state funds,” Stivers said. “The sequence of our actions and the commitment we’ve demonstrated today will have a long-lasting impact on Eastern Kentucky’s future. The passage of this bill and the actions we’ll take in future sessions demonstrate our thoughtful plan to rebuild our communities.”
Osborne said he hoped the people of Eastern Kentucky would see the move as a reminder that elected officials hear them and see the devastation that the flooding has caused.
“The legislators in impacted areas worked tirelessly to pass a plan that includes funding to support the region’s rebuilding efforts,” Osborne said. “As we have with similar efforts in Western Kentucky, we remain committed to working with state and local leaders as well as other stakeholders as the rebuilding process continues and needs evolve.”
Blanton emphasized how strong, proud and resilient the people of Kentucky are.
“We will get through this,” Blanton said. “But we need a little help along the way and this is that help. I can’t say thank you enough to the Governor, Rocky and the entire executive branch and to leadership in the Senate and the House. To steal a phrase from the Governor, this is not a bipartisan bill, it’s a nonpartisan bill. But I’m going to add one to that: This is a Kentucky bill. This is Kentuckians coming together to help Kentuckians.”
The Governor said the nearly $212.7 million Eastern Kentucky 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 located 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 would 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 andextendsthe 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.”