(Santa Cruz, CA) - Assemblymember Bill Monning (D - Carmel) thanked the Governor today for appealing the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA's) June 21, 2011, decision to deny a Presidential Declaration of a Major Disaster for the series of severe storms that occurred in March of 2011. The storms seriously impacted the City of Capitola, Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties.

"I want to thank Governor Brown for appealing FEMA's initial denial of California's request for federal assistance to fund the recovery and repairs associated with damage sustained from the severe winter storms this past March," stated Assemblymember Monning. "I also want to thank Mike Dayton, the Acting Secretary of the California Emergency Management Agency (CalEMA) and his staff for all their hard work in gathering additional documentation to submit to the Governor's Office. We will continue to work together to assist the communities impacted by the March storms."

A Presidential Declaration of a Major Disaster by Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) would pay for 75% of the recovery costs. Federal funds would offset the recovery costs incurred by the effected communities and local governments that are struggling to address the damage with extremely limited fiscal resources.

Assemblymember Monning was first elected to represent the 27th Assembly District in 2008 and re-elected in 2010. The 27th Assembly District includes portions of Monterey, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz Counties. Prior to his election to the Assembly, Assemblymember Monning was a Professor at the Monterey College of Law and a Professor of International Negotiation and Conflict Resolution at the Monterey Institute of International Studies.

Contact: Adam Spickler @ (831) 425-1503
Jody Fujii @ (916) 319-2027