OKLAHOMA CITY –
Governor Mary Fallin today applauded the Oklahoma Legislature for passing a bill
transferring $45 million from the state’s Rainy Day Fund to the Emergency Fund.
The funds will be administered by the Oklahoma Office of Emergency Management
and used to reimburse local governments for relief efforts related to natural
disasters, including the May 19 and May 20 tornadoes.
“The tornadoes
that struck several Oklahoma communities this week were absolutely devastating,”
said Fallin. “We are currently in an all-hands-on-deck effort to recover and
rebuild. My thanks go out to our Legislature for helping to ensure that
communities hit hard by storm and tornado damage will have the support they need
moving forward. “
Money from the
fund will match 12.5 percent of federal dollars spent to reimburse counties,
cities, and towns for infrastructure damages that occur under a presidential
disaster declaration. It will also be used to cover extraordinary response costs
incurred by state agencies while responding to natural disasters.
Senate Bill SB
249 passed unanimously in both the Oklahoma House of Representatives and the
Oklahoma State Senate. It was authored by Senate Pro Tem Brian Bingman in the
Senate and Representative Jason Nelson in the House.
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