TALLAHASSEE, Fla.— Florida Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and State Fire Marshal Jimmy Patronis issued the following statement on organization session. 

 

“I’m thrilled to start my second session as your CFO and look forward to working with the 2019 legislature to help build a better, stronger Florida. In just one year, we secured PTSD benefits for our first responders, helped make it easier for Floridians to protect themselves from fraud, and worked to make Florida a leader on issues impacting our finances and economy. We aren’t stopping there. The work we’ve done and our commitment to fiscal responsibility has earned Florida a AAA credit rating from all three credit reporting agencies for the first time.
 
“We must continue this progress, but there are key issues we can’t go another year without addressing. Cancer rates among our firefighters are alarming. Assignment of Benefits fraud has taken hold of our property insurance market causing rates to rise. Hurricane Michael insured losses grow every day. I look forward to tackling these, and many other, issues facing our state, no matter who supports our work or actively works against us. Challenges will not deter our goal of protecting your money, our first responders, and our state’s economy.”

 
Hurricane Michael Data

• As of November 19, there were 125,356 insurance claims made totaling an estimated $3.4 billion ($3,430,014,424).
 
• As of November 14, Citizens Property Insurance Corporation had 3,189 claims estimated at $142 million.

 

 
• In 2016 alone cancer caused 70 percent of career firefighter line of duty deaths across the nation, and firefighters have a nearly 15 percent higher risk of dying from cancer.

• Approximately 4,000 decontamination kits were awarded through a $1 million grant to the firefighter cancer mitigation grant program, a joint initiative with the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center and CFO and State Fire Marshal Jimmy Patronis’ office. These kits will help mitigate firefighters’ exposure to cancer-causing products.