“The situation is that you hope you never have to do this, you hope that we never have another natural disaster on this scale,” he said. “(But) in a county this size with the metropolitan areas that we have, things like this will happen. It will be very helpful to have something that we can react a little better with. “
Keith noted what a lengthy and arduous process it was to get in touch with affected property owners after the 2019 storms.
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“After the storms, many people were displaced and it was difficult to reach those displaced,” he said. “My co-workers and I spent hundreds of hours in remote locations across the county … It would have been a much easier and more efficient way to deal with the situation if House Bill 51 had been in place at the time.”
The current legislation stipulates that the auditor should send the required documents to the data subjects by post. According to Greene County’s chartered accountant David Graham, this step in the process after the 2019 storms created additional complications.
“I sent four different mailings to get people to return the form,” said Graham. “But the only address I have is where the property is, and the building is no longer there. Therefore it is very difficult to reach people. “
HB 51 passed through the House of Representatives without resistance, whereupon it was presented to the Senate and reassigned to the Ways and Means Committee, where it currently has its seat. However, Lampton’s office told the Dayton Daily News that the same language was attached to another bill that they hope will expedite the process. They are optimistic that the measure will go through both chambers by the end of the month.
On February 9, Lampton spoke to the House Ways and Means Committee about the bill.
“This is common sense legislation to simplify the process and take unnecessary red tape from citizens in the event of a disaster,” he said. “HB 51 enables us to help our citizens when they have experienced a traumatic, life-changing event.”