Gov. Edwards tells Restore Louisiana to reopen flood disaster applications
The
But Gov.
"Given the pending agreement reached in
About 6,000 households in 51 parishes found themselves in the duplication dilemma when they, as instructed when applying for assistance, filed for low-interest
"The tragedy of the thing is they (
Restore
"Essentially, we would recalculate (the property owner's) grant and no longer count SBA loan as a duplication. That means the SBA loan won't get subtracted from the grant amount," Forbes said.
Say Restore Louisiana appraisers calculated
The state was forbidden by the federal Duplication of Benefits ban to approve the property owner from receiving any disaster recovery dollars, which usually comes from
Even if the property owners were approved for a SBA loan but chose not to use the money -- as many did because they couldn't afford the repayments -- they still were unable to collect the recovery funds under this scenario, he said.
Under the bipartisan compromise agreed to over the weekend, Restore Louisiana can now grant the additional
The legislation, if signed into law, would open up about
The money can be used to repay the SBA loans, reimburse earlier expenses or continue rebuilding, he said. The amount available will be based appraisers' calculations of damages caused by flooding, which is connected to Restore Louisiana application process.
Those who already have applied to Restore Louisiana and were denied benefits won't have to go through the eligibility requirements and damage assessments again, Forbes said.
The state has a handle on how many households received SBA authorization that cost them grant money, he said. But many -- perhaps hundreds -- knew they couldn't receive any additional disaster funds and didn't bother to file with Restore Louisiana. Forbes is hoping those property owners will begin the process by taking the Louisiana Restore survey.
The initial survey, which takes about 15 minutes, helps determine if the flood-impacted homeowner meets eligibility standards. If so, the property-owner then will fill out an application, which triggers the appraisal.
Edwards and the
"We want to have everything in place for when the guidance is ready, we can start issuing grants" without further delay," Forbes said.
The survey is accessible online at restore.la.gov or by calling 1-866-735-2001 from
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