State Sen. Edd Houck, D-Spotsylvania announced Monday he will introduce a bill to provide state income tax credit to homeowners in nearby Louisa County in need of earthquake relief aid. The Aug. 23 earthquake left 1,400 residents in Louisa County impacted by the natural disaster.
Gov. Bob McDonnell appealed to the Federal Emergency Management Agency last month after Virginia's application for aid to Louisa was rejected. Houck said he will draft the legislation and pre-file it "with an emergency clause to take effect immediately.". He added that he supported McDonnell's appeal to FEMA, but believed immediate response to the situation was necessary.
"The personal stories I have heard are heartbreaking, and these victims need help," Houck said in a statement. "We cannot afford to wait for federal aid which may or may not come ... The human need is urgent, and a unique crisis requires a unique solution."
This one-time Earthquake Assistance Tax Credit would allow individuals whose homes were destroyed or damaged by the earthquake to apply for a credit on their income tax in the amount of the damage, Houck Campaign Manager Craig Bieber said. The Virginia Department of Emergency Management would define eligible homeowners in Louisa as those who have damage to their homes which was directly caused by the earthquake and is not covered by their insurance. Those who do not have income tax would be eligible for a refund.
Bieber said the process would be similar to filing for a homeowner insurance claim.
The initial request to FEMA was for $15 million, but Houck said he believes the repairs may require $22 million. Historic homes, the foundation of houses and chimneys were damaged, he said.\n"A lot of these homes are unsafe even though a lot of people are living in them," McDonnell spokesperson Jeff Caldwell said.
Bieber said he believes the tax credit could help most of those affected by the earthquake.
"The hope is that it will compensate over 1,000 home owners in Louisa County," he said. "Right now, anybody who is in a situation where the house has been damaged has nowhere to go. Their insurance company is not going to pay the claim [and] FEMA has denied to provide assistance, so you have people who are literally homeless. This is designed to get those people back in their homes."
FEMA spokesperson Brad Carroll said in an email that the earthquake-related damages in Louisa County "were not of such severity and magnitude to be beyond the capabilities of the commonwealth, affected local governments, and voluntary agencies."
Caldwell said McDonnell was not going to drop the issue.
"He felt very strongly that FEMA needed to reconsider this decision; just because it's in a rural part of Virginia doesn't mean it should be overlooked," he said.
This tax credit would go through the legislative process when the General Assembly reconvenes in January.
As of now, FEMA has not given a definitive time frame for its decision to the governor's appeal, though Carroll said it "will continue to work closely with the state throughout this process."
"We hope to hear back from them soon, but we have no idea when that time might come," Caldwell said.
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