Declarations

FEMA Farewell?

“This just means you should not expect to see FEMA on the ground unless it’s 9/11, Katrina, Superstorm Sandy.”

— Carrie Speranza, who used to advise the agency and is now president of the U.S. Council of the International Association of Emergency Managers, commenting on “Abolishing FEMA,” the memo addressed from then-acting FEMA head Cameron Hamilton to his bosses at the Department of Homeland Security. The memo outlines a number of functions that “should be drastically reformed, transferred to another agency, or abolished in their entirety,” possibly as soon as late 2025. Potential changes included eliminating long-term housing assistance for disaster survivors, halting enrollments in the National Flood Insurance Program, and providing smaller amounts of aid for fewer incidents.

Record Fire Risk

“Don’t say this is going to be the worst fire season. You say that every year.”

— Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo, jokingly, to State Forester and Fire Warden Kacey KC at a June wildfire briefing in Carson City, Nevada. KC’s cautious forecast for the coming fire season didn’t quite comply with the governor’s request. The state is “abnormally dry for this time of year,” she told him, primarily because of minimal snow at lower elevations during the winter followed by a warm spring that rapidly melted the snowpack at higher elevations. The annual briefing brought together a conglomeration of agencies and groups, including the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, Nevada National Guard, and city, county, and tribal representatives.

Reining in Rates

“With factors such as distracted driving, excessive speeding, and increased automobile repair costs putting upward pressure on insurance rates, I am happy that we were able to hold the average increase to 5%.”

— North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey commenting on the state’s automobile insurance rates, which are poised to increase statewide by a 5% average this fall. The settlement is lower than the average 22.6% rate increase for private passenger vehicles that had been initially requested in February by the North Carolina Rate Bureau, which represents insurance companies. The agreement also includes an average statewide 16.3% decrease on motorcycle liability insurance rates. The rate changes will take effect on new and renewed policies starting Oct. 1.

Better Battery Boom

“Batteries are very good at handling these types of events. Things have gotten a lot better than a couple years ago.”

— Andrew Gilligan, director of commercial strategy at Fluence Energy Inc., a battery developer with three storage sites in Texas. When temperatures recently climbed to seasonal levels not seen in over a century, power demand surged. Meanwhile, scores of natural gas-powered generators were offline, getting tuned up for summer. Battery banks kicked in to cover 8% of demand, keeping power flowing. In the 12 months through April, energy storage in the U.S. rose from roughly 18 gigawatts to 25 gigawatts, a 41% increase, according to a Bloomberg Green analysis of federal data.

The Right to Invest

“We are very happy with the resolution and Bally’s decision not to use race in this investment. This case should serve as a warning to other companies that hope to dole out investment opportunities based on race. It is illegal, and we’ll fight it wherever we can.”

— Attorney Dan Lennington, who represented Richard Fisher, Phillip Aronoff, and the American Alliance for Equal Rights (AAER) in a discrimination case against gaming company Bally. Bally initially offered a 25% stake in a Chicago development to only women and minority investors to win the casino license from the Illinois city in 2022. The suit claimed the men’s civil rights had been violated because they were white men.

Lower Coverage Costs for Cabbies

“For years, New York City’s for-hire drivers have been crushed by an unjust, outdated insurance mandate that inflated costs, limited their options, and unleashed widespread fraud. In the middle of an affordability crisis, drivers were stuck paying the price for a broken system. But today, the Council came through.”

— New York City Council Member Carmen De La Rosa on the June 11 vote to lower for-hire vehicles’ per-person personal injury protection (PIP) coverage from a minimum limit of $200,000 to $100,000 and prohibiting the Taxi and Limousine Commission from requiring those licensed in the city to have PIP liability coverage over 200% of what’s required for drivers elsewhere in the state.