Following some parliamentary maneuvering to speed up the process, the Kentucky House and Senate Wednesday approved tornado relief legislation. The measure calls for $200 million in state funding to aid counties hit by the December natural disaster.
In detailing the bill, Murray Senator Jason Howell spoke of two pictures of Cayce in Fulton County. One was of white brick on his home church, still standing after the storm. “The second picture was of a bunch of men in the community, leaning on trucks at the four-way stop. All of my life, when our community faced a problem, this is how it got solved. Plans got made and then things got done. That’s where we are today. As it’s time to get down to the business of rebuilding our communities,” said Howell.
Campbellsville Senator Max Wise detailed the challenges of one family who had their home destroyed in the December tornado and then had a second home damaged in a separate tornadic event just a few weeks later.
Lawmakers from impacted districts in both chambers offered emotional stories from what has been described as the Commonwealth’s worst natural disaster. Louisville Senator Morgan McGarvey was among those outside the tornadoes’ paths who also offered thoughts. “This storm didn’t hit democratic homes or republican homes. It hit Kentuckians’ homes,” said McGarvey.
In a signal of legislative unity, the House passed the legislation 90 to zero and the Senate’s approval was also unanimous 32-zero.
