PANAMA CITY— A measure in the $1.1 trillion federal budget may bring Florida’s homeowners some flood insurance relief.
The spending plan would delay some premium increases caused by the changes in the flood insurance program, though it’s difficult to put a number on how many homeowners would be helped, according to a news release by U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla. Fewer than a quarter of the policies would be affected, according to one estimate.
“We’ve accomplished a small step toward the solution of the huge flood insurance hikes, but we still have a long way to go,” he said.
Nelson has been fighting at the federal level to delay the flood insurance cost increases, a result of the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012.
“Congress, it seems, is finally hearing the pleas of some of the homeowners,” Nelson said in a statement Tuesday, adding, “This is only a partial solution and there is still work to be done.”
But higher premiums for businesses, vacation homes and often-flooded properties would be unchanged, along with a new rule preventing homeowners from transferring insurance subsidies to those who buy their houses, the AP reports.
A cadre of senators has been crusading on the issue for months, arguing the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) should review the affordability of flood insurance and the accuracy of its new flood maps.
The budget measure would prevent federal dollars from being used to enforce higher premiums on homes that were added under the new maps, the news release said. FEMA also would be given 60 days to submit a report to Congress on how to make flood insurance rates more affordable.
The budget unveiled Monday is the finalized spending plan to which Congress agreed in December. It will fund the federal government through October, and the House is expected to vote on it Wednesday.
Another positive sign for those suffering from higher premiums is that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., supported a separate piece of legislation, backed by Nelson and others, that would halt the rate hikes while FEMA takes a second look at the new flood maps and reconsiders the affordable insurance.
The 2012 legislation was intended to stabilize the flood insurance program by nixing some subsidies, but it also hit homeowners hard as rates skyrocketed after the law took effect Oct. 1, prompting a backlash.
The flood relief effort has found bipartisan support in Florida; Gov. Rick Scott sent the president a letter Thursday asking him to stall the law’s implementation.
“You delayed implementation of the Affordable Care Act, but you have failed to delay a law that saddles Floridians with unfair and unaffordable rate hikes,” Scott said.
His letter included horror stories, such as a Pinellas County family that had its insurance premium jump from $4,300 to about $44,000.
Scott concluded: “Act now and undo the effects of this mistaken law before it cripples Florida’s real-estate market, harms even more Floridians, and reverses our state’s burgeoning economic recovery.”
U.S. Rep. Steve Southerland, R-Panama City, called the budget provision a “solid first step.”
“I am committed to fighting not just for the North and Northwest Floridians impacted by the map changes, but also those who are struggling to sell their homes because of the reforms,” he said in a statement. “We cannot rest until a long-term solution is in place that eases the burden on homeowners and ensures access to affordable flood insurance.”