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<br />In order for state and 1,:lcal governments to exercise the <br />power and responsibility to complete this two-pronged approach to <br />eliminating flood dangers and damages, enabling legislation must be <br />adc)pted providing for flood plain ]~egulation and ma,nagernent. After <br />consulting the Attorney General anel based on the info:rmation and <br />:rel:ommendati,ons submitted to the c()mmittee, the members are proposing <br />thl3t the General Assembly adopt le~lislation along the lines of that <br />I:ontainedin Bill D accompanying this report. In E~ffect, this pro- <br />posed legislation would specificaLly provide local governing bodies <br />with flood plain regulation powers.. <br /> <br />As part of its assignment, the committee considered the <br />necessity of two amendments to the constitution. Under the provisions <br />of our constitution, the state is j:)rohibited from making appropria- <br />tions to private individuals or gr~ups such as persons suffering <br />damages resOlting from natural disasters (Section 34, Article VI. <br />Further, the question was raised dllJring the committee I s study as to <br />whether our constitution should inClude a statement providing for <br />continuity of government In the eV'f'mt of a major disaster in the fu- <br />ture. The committee believes that no changes in our constitution are <br />necessary. However, the Rules of the General Assembly should be <br />amended to provide for successors to the Speaker of the House of Repre- <br />sentatives and to the President PrC) Tern of the Senate in the event <br />these officials are incapacitated while the General Assembly is not in <br />session, thereby considerably lengthening the list of those officials <br />succeeding to the office of Governor. <br /> <br />The latest figures repol:ted to the committee on the emergency <br />fi.nancing program adopted in the 1965 special session are contained in <br />Appendix B of the accompanying research report. On the basis .of this <br />information, .it appears that therElmay be some $250,000 in state funds <br />re!mai.ning after the completion of the flood-caused restoration work. <br />However, the Chief Engineer of thll Department of Highways indicates <br />that a complete and accurate breakdown of costs as compared to original <br />estimates will be available around January 1, 1966, and this informa-' <br />tion will be provided the members of the General A.ssE!mbly at that time. <br /> <br />In 'concluding its report, the committee would point out that <br />complete information on the June flood disasters i.s sti.ll not yet <br />available and that the members have reached their conclusions on the <br />basis of preliminary or tentative information in some cases. In addi- <br />tion, several groups are conducting studies which could prove signifi- <br />cant in the consideration of future legislative action on preventative <br />ml~asures or post-disaster recovery operations. Consequently, as a <br />r'~sult of the!>e studies and the dE!velopment of additional information, <br />the members of the General Assembly may well receive additional recom- <br />m,andations from these groups for consideration in the 1967 regular <br />s,ession. <br /> <br />~ <br /> <br />%v <br />