Special Hurricane Michael Legislative Session Begins Tuesday

ATLANTA, GA -- A special legislative session convenes Tuesday to deal with the aftermath and damages of last month's Hurricane Michael. Gov. Nathan Deal called for a special session in late October. The storm devastated southwest and central Georgia, right through the heart of Georgia's No. 1 industry.

“Many of Georgia’s communities were severely impacted by Hurricane Michael as families, businesses and farmers sustained significant financial losses,” said Deal. “In response, I have asked the General Assembly to reconvene and take immediate action to provide relief funding and spur economic recovery for the affected areas. Our state appropriations need to be amended to minimize financial losses following the storm and to ensure Georgia’s continued prosperity in the coming months. I look forward to working with the General Assembly and the leadership of both chambers to provide much-needed support for those affected by Hurricane Michael.”

The special legislative session will be convened for the limited purposes of providing emergency funding to state agencies and local governments following Hurricane Michael and ratifying Deal’s executive order dated July 30, 2018. The special session will also include providing for general law regarding taxation related to recovery and rebuilding from the impact of Hurricane Michael and taxation related to the subjects of that executive order.

"Michael's impact has been the most widespread and devastating hurricane in recollection to impact Georgia's agriculture industry," said Agriculture Commissioner Gary W. Black. "Crops, animals and infrastructure have all taken a substantial loss."

Poultry contributes $23.3 billion to Georgia's economy and has reported the most widespread power outages and loss. To date, the GDA has received reports of 84 chicken houses, estimated to have held more than two million chickens, that were destroyed. The farms, dairies and processing plants impacted were in Appling, Colquitt, Coffee, Decatur, Evans, Houston, Mitchell, Randolph, Lee and Wilcox Counties.

As Georgia farmers feared, the state's main cash crops of cotton, pecans and peanuts have been devastated to the tune of an estimated $2 billion worth of damage to the Georgia economy, Julie McPeake, chief communication officer for the Georgia Department of Agriculture told Patch.

Cotton, which is the state's top row crop and ranks second in the nation, also suffered massive loss due to the hurricane. Damaging winds drove much of the fiber to the ground for a total loss or tangled the cotton, making it much harder to extract clean lint during the ginning process.

SEE ALSO:

• Hurricane Michael Devastates Georgia's Agricultural Industry
• Girl Fatally Crushed By Carport During Hurricane Michael
• Hurricane Michael: Storm Brings Down Trees In Cherokee County
• Hurricane Michael In GA: Girl Dies, $2B Crop Loss

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PANAMA CITY, FL - OCTOBER 20: Kimbrely Brock sits on the steps of a friend's trailer that was destroyed by Hurricane Michael at the Bay Oaks Village trailer park on October 20, 2018 in Panama City, Florida. Much of Panama City remains without electricity or running water since Hurricane Michael slammed into the Florida Panhandle on October 10, as a category 4 storm, causing massive damage and claiming around 30 lives. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)