Governor DeSantis utilizes state’s Emergency Preparedness and Response Fund to help Floridians stuck in Israel

Reporter: Kellie Miller
Published: Updated:
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Fla. Gov. DeSantis. CREDIT: CBS News

Nearly 20,000 Americans, including many Floridians, are still in the war zone. To help them, Governor Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency in Florida, allowing him to use money from the state’s Emergency Preparedness and Response Fund.

  1. The Emergency Preparedness and Response Fund is created within the Executive Office of the Governor.
  2. “The fund is established for use as a depository for moneys specifically transferred or appropriated to the fund. The moneys deposited in the fund are available as a primary funding source for the Governor for purposes of preparing or responding to a disaster declared by the Governor as a state of emergency that exceeds regularly appropriated funding sources.”

The governor’s main focus is organizing chartered flights to bring Floridians in Israel back home. However, he also said that this declaration aims to protect the Jewish population in their schools and places of worship.

Additionally, the emergency declaration says, “the Governor, the Florida Department of State, the Florida Highway Patrol, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Florida Attorney General, the Florida Department of Education, and the State University System Board of Governors have deployed numerous resources, including legal guidance, to impacted communities and law enforcement agencies throughout the state to ensure that Florida does not tolerate the harassment of its citizens and to prevent terrorist activities, including the unlawful harboring and financial support of foreign terrorist organizations…”

[ READ FULL EXECUTIVE ORDER HERE: https://www.flgov.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/EO-23-208-1.pdf ]

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