From the desk of Senator David Pearce

Important Interim Committees Named

It seems our state has been a magnet for natural disasters this year. We have run the gamut — from the blizzard that affected 44 Missouri counties in late January and early February and the tornadoes in April that destroyed homes in the St. Louis area and forced Lambert-St. Louis International Airport to close temporarily. Later this spring, heavy rain fall caused flooding in most of southern Missouri leading to the intentional breach of the Birds Point levy that brought with it the destruction of approximately 130,000 aces of fertile farmland. And the devastating EF-5 tornado that ripped through Joplin, leaving 158 residents dead and homes and businesses devastated. Just three days later, Sedalia survived a tornado that damaged buildings and homes and injured 25 people. And now, we are poised to experience flooding along the Missouri River for the remainder of the summer. There has been so much for Missourians to endure.

To address this string of events, a new Senate Interim Committee was created to examine the ways the legislature could help Missourians find a sense of normalcy after disaster. The Senate Interim Committee on Natural Disaster Recovery was created in order to take in-depth looks at the various forms disaster recovery needs to take. Three subcommittees will focus on emergency, fiscal, and insurance response.

Emergency response will address a physical response to a natural disaster, such as emergency crews, utility crews and disaster relief. Fiscal response will focus on who will pay for clean up and care of those areas until the area can be productive again. Insurance response will examine how affected individuals and businesses file insurance after a disaster and how they are addressed by their insurance companies, as well as what the qualifying factors are for a disaster in order for the insurance company to provide restitution.

Losing one’s home and belongings to an act of God is difficult. Having to fight to receive assistance, wondering how bills will get paid, or if the insurance policy is in place to cover costs are not things anyone should have to worry about. The goal of this committee, along with its subcommittees, is to examine how we in the Capitol can do our best to provide for Missourians in their hour of need. It is my hope that we can come up with simple, yet effective answers for our future.

As always, please feel free to contact me or my staff with any questions or concerns at any time. We look forward to hearing your comments and suggestions and trying to answer any questions you may have. You can reach us by phone at 866-277-0882 (toll-free) or 573-751-2272, or by fax at 573-526-7381.

Senator David Pearce serves Bates, Cass, Johnson and Vernon counties in the 31st State Senatorial District.