TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Today, the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) announced that an initial draft of the State Action Plan for the $633 million in federal funding available to Florida through the Community Development Block Grant – Mitigation (CDBG-MIT) program has been posted.

The State Action Plan provides a high-level strategy for how the funding will be used to address eligible communities’ disaster mitigation needs. Development of the State Action Plan has involved significant input from state agency partners and local governments, as well as the public through seven public workshops hosted across the state, statewide webinars and an online survey of community priorities. DEO now seeks input on the draft State Action Plan with a 45-day public comment period.

“The Community Development Block Grant - Mitigation program is a once in a lifetime opportunity to provide Florida the resources it needs to make important and necessary investments in our communities,” said Ken Lawson, Executive Director of the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity. “Governor DeSantis has charged us to bring ideas to the table that will make Florida more resilient for the future. Together, with our community partners across the state, we have developed the first step in making this a reality.”

The State Action Plan has been posted on the Rebuild Florida mitigation page.

All Floridians are encouraged to review the State Action Plan. Comments on the State Action Plan may be submitted to DEO until January 20, 2020 at 5:00 p.m. EST. Comments may be submitted by email to CDBG-MIT@deo.myflorida.com or by mail to:

Florida Department of Economic Opportunity
Office of Disaster Recovery
Attention: CDBG-Mitigation Program
The Caldwell Building
107 East Madison Street, MSC-400
Tallahassee, FL 32399

Comments will be included in the final version of the State Action Plan which will be posted publicly on the Rebuild Florida mitigation page.

After the public comment period, DEO will make final revisions to the State Action Plan before submitting to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for approval. HUD will have 60 days to review the State Action Plan after it is submitted.

Additional information about the CDBG-MIT program, including a recorded webinar, and copies of the presentation given at public workshops is available at RebuildFlorida.gov.

About Rebuild Florida

Rebuild Florida is a partnership of DEO and HUD. Launched in September 2018, Rebuild Florida uses federal funding for Florida’s long-term recovery efforts from the devastating impacts of hurricanes. For more information visit RebuildFlorida.gov.