Governor Chet Culver says it’s now less likely he’ll call a special legislative session to deal with flood repairs, now that the federal government has decided to pay a bigger share. Still, the governor says he’s keeping options open. FEMA will cover 90% of the costs to repair flood-damaged public buildings, beyond the traditional 75%.
Culver says that move saved the state more than one-hundred million dollars. The governor says: "If we wouldn’t have received that 90-10 distinction, in all likelihood, I would have had to ask the legislature to come up with 120-million dollars. That was one reason I was seriously considering a special session. That (FEMA announcement) was certainly a step in the right direction."
Culver says he’s still waiting to hear from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development on the release of 85-million dollars earmarked for Iowa. Culver says, "If I don’t have a comfort level that we will have that money relatively soon to actually help communities like Cedar Rapids, New Hartford and others then we will probably have a special (session) to just move forward."
Culver says we should know by the middle of this month how soon that money will be available and whether or not a special session will be necessary.
