Florida Senate - 2021 (NP) SR 1190



By Senator Farmer





34-01402-21 20211190__
1 Senate Resolution
2 A resolution expressing the Legislature’s support for
3 investment in 21st century resilient infrastructure
4 solutions, projects, and policy proposals to support
5 long-term climate resilience, which includes a
6 reduction of pollution and the development of clean
7 energy systems, clean transportation options, flood
8 protections, and other improvements in neighborhood
9 livability.
10
11 WHEREAS, rising concentrations of global heat-trapping
12 gases as a result of human activity are warming the earth’s
13 atmosphere and directly contributing to higher average
14 temperatures, more extreme weather and hurricanes, sea-level
15 rise, higher transmission rates of vector-borne diseases,
16 economic destabilization, and biodiversity loss, and
17 WHEREAS, climate resiliency is a lens through which all
18 infrastructure investments and public policy may be examined,
19 and which encapsulates a broad spectrum of social and physical
20 infrastructure improvements meant to help communities and
21 industries overcome the shocks and stressors associated with a
22 warming planet, and
23 WHEREAS, the impacts of shocks and stressors at the
24 community level are determined by the vulnerability of the
25 system and the capacity of those affected to withstand them, and
26 WHEREAS, state and local leaders increasingly will be
27 confronted with the need to prepare communities and
28 infrastructure to withstand 21st century threats while improving
29 families’ economic stability and protecting the air, water, and
30 natural areas that residents of this state deeply value, and
31 WHEREAS, the State of Florida acknowledges that the average
32 number of days with a heat index above 100°F is rising, and that
33 this state is projected to experience 123 days with a heat index
34 above 100°F by 2036, and
35 WHEREAS, given this state’s rising temperature trends, air
36 conditioning can be a lifesaver for children, the elderly, and
37 people with disabilities, as heat is the number one weather
38 related killer in the United States, killing more people on
39 average each year than floods, lightning, tornadoes, and
40 hurricanes combined, and
41 WHEREAS, for low-income households, paying higher energy
42 bills to run air-conditioning units means having less money
43 available for groceries, rent, and health care, and these
44 households often suffer doubly, as poor quality housing that is
45 not well insulated or energy efficient leads to even higher
46 bills to keep a residence cool, and
47 WHEREAS, climbing temperatures worsen outdoor air quality
48 and public health, as common air pollutants such as ground ozone
49 disproportionately impact low-income communities, Latinos,
50 African Americans, the poor, the elderly, and our children, and
51 WHEREAS, this state lacks significant petroleum and natural
52 gas reserves, and investments in equitable renewable energy
53 systems such as solar provide significant job opportunities and
54 reduce our reliance on heat-trapping gas emitting fossil fuels,
55 and
56 WHEREAS, risk management experts estimate that for every $1
57 invested in building resilient communities and infrastructure,
58 $6 is saved in future costs, including economic disruptions,
59 property damage, public health crises, and deaths caused by
60 extreme weather disasters and other crises, and
61 WHEREAS, if the Legislature invested $283 million across
62 this state in infrastructure to prepare areas vulnerable to sea
63 level rise and extreme weather, Florida taxpayers could save
64 nearly the same amount that they paid to repair damage from
65 Hurricane Irma, approximately $1.7 billion, and
66 WHEREAS, scientists project that over the next 30 years,
67 this state’s sea level will rise by an additional 13 inches, and
68 if this rate continues to accelerate, by the end of the century,
69 the sea level around this state could rise more than 6 feet, and
70 WHEREAS, vulnerable communities are defined as economically
71 disadvantaged communities, communities of color, and tribal
72 communities that are more vulnerable to the impacts of a warming
73 world, NOW, THEREFORE,
74
75 Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida:
76
77 That Florida must lead in 21st century resilient
78 infrastructure solutions and that the Legislature intends to
79 reduce the public health and economic threats of more extreme
80 weather, harmful heat-trapping air pollutants, and sea-level
81 rise by expanding investment in clean renewable energy and
82 transportation systems, flood protections, and other
83 improvements through policy initiatives and infrastructure
84 projects.
85 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that resiliency projects and
86 policies should benefit our most underserved and disadvantaged
87 communities first and should be designed with community input.