In the wake of Hurricane Helene's destruction, coupled with a massive dockworkers' strike, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced three executive orders on Thursday to help Floridians in disaster-struck areas access crucial supplies, vote in the upcoming election, and rehab their homes.
His executive actions follow a similar path to those taken after 2022's Hurricane Ian, which wiped out homes and power alike along the Southwestern coast. Unlike 2022, however, there was no widespread dockworkers' strike shutting down seaports from Texas to Maine putting a stranglehold on much-needed, post-disaster resources.
One of the three orders specifically targets the effects of the labor strike, which may cost up to $5 billion per day. It requires the Florida Department of Transportation to temporarily waive toll fees and size and weight restrictions for commercial vehicles to help expedite the goods and supplies Florida acquires from the beleaguered seaports.
Less than a week after the Category 4 Hurricane Helene slammed into Florida and destroyed homes and lives throughout the Southeast, 45,000 longshoremen nationwide went on strike, refusing to off-load supply cargo until their wages are upped and their jobs protected from automation.
In Florida, Gov. DeSantis said, this will negatively impact people from getting crucial resources such as medical equipment, vehicle parts, and hurricane supplies. At Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, about 41% of businesses will be impacted, at Port Miami 50% of the port's cargo capacity will be affected, and one-third of the commerce at JAXPort will be impacted, DeSantis stressed.
"If it goes on longer, it will lead to significant supply chain disruptions," he warned at a Manatee County press conference, explaining that for every 36 hours the strike continues, it will be equal to one week of disruptions. So, in a possible workaround, he invited all cargo ships with imports that aren't being offloaded to come to Florida—promising that the State and National Guard would be deployed to seaports to help off-load supplies in the dockworkers' absences, and that commercial vehicles transporting those goods will not be beholden to size, weight, or toll rules under his executive action.
The second executive order ensures that people in the twelve most disaster-rocked counties will be able to vote, "regardless of the storm", by authorizing the Supervisors of Elections to make "appropriate accommodations just like what was done after Hurricane Ian."
"If there's a polling place that's been destroyed, you have an ability to set up a different site, provide proper notice, and follow all the rest of state law," he said. "This will ensure that residents who were impacted by this storm and displaced still have the ability to vote in this November's election."
This order's timing is crucial: Floridians' deadline to register to vote for the Nov. 5 election is on Oct. 7, and their deadline to request a vote-by-mail ballot is Oct. 24. For citizens who may not have power or whose polling place was destroyed or without poll workers, this is an important first step to maintain election integrity one month before the general election.
Lastly, DeSantis ordered municipalities to temporarily lift the current 30-day time restriction on rentals in counties with a declared state of emergency. This means that Floridians scrambling to rehab their homes are no longer beholden to "arbitrary rules" and can dictate how long they need to rent a place as their Helene-damaged property is repaired.
"This will help provide immediate housing that will last 30 days or more for those who need it, but also cover those who need less than 30 days," the Governor said.
