House Policy & Budget Council Amends, Passes HB 7021

House Bill 7021 by State Representative Ron Reagan was amended and approved today, April 14, 2008 by the House Policy and Budget Council. Representative Reagan also sponsored the amendment to HB 7021.

HB 7021 provides for a risk reduction plan proposed by Florida Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink and lowers the amount of coverage available through the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund (“FHCF”) Temporary Increase in Coverage Limits (“TICL”) to $9 billion with a 30 percent co-payment. The amendment passed onto HB 7021 today authorizes the FHCF to offer an additional $7 million below the FHCF mandatory layer with no retention for limited apportionment companies and companies participating in the Insurance Capital Build-Up Incentive Program.

The $7 million offer contained in HB 7021 is different than the Senate version of CFO Sink’s plan, which provides for an additional layer of reinsurance below the FHCF mandatory layer for limited apportionment companies of $10 million with a 30 percent co-payment.

Florida Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink applauded members of the Florida House Policy & Budget Council for unanimously passing HB 7021, saying that “Through fiscally responsible legislation, we can eliminate $5.5 billion in hurricane assessments if our state gets hit by a bad storm,” said CFO Sink. “Representative Reagan and his colleagues today have shown leadership in passing this bipartisan proposal to reduce the risk of hurricane assessments on Florida’s families and businesses.”

Companion Senate Bill 2156 by Senator Bill Posey (R-Rockledge) was unanimously passed last week by the Senate Committee on General Government Appropriations and awaits a hearing on the Senate Floor.

 

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