AccuWeather's Leslie Hudson reports from Fern Park, Florida, where the state encourages its residents to stay storm-ready by offering hurricane preparation items tax-free.

Florida

Hurricane-prone states in the US are expanding initiatives to help residents prepare for storms by offering tax relief on essential supplies and home improvements. Florida has introduced a year-round tax-free policy for items such as batteries, generators, and energy-efficient appliances, making it easier for residents to get storm-ready. Other states like Texas, Virginia, and Alabama also have tax-free holidays for preparedness, while some states are considering reinstating similar programs.

State leaders emphasize the importance of year-round disaster preparedness, noting that recent hurricane seasons have caused significant economic losses. In addition to emergency kits, residents are encouraged to consider home upgrades that improve resilience, many of which may also be eligible for tax breaks. These measures aim to reduce the impact of future storms and promote safer, more resilient communities.

Getting storm-ready grows across hurricane-prone states

Acura's Leslie Hudson is live in Fern Park, Florida with some simple preps that can save you big bucks before the storm threatens. See a little breeze in Leslie's hair, that's always a good sign. I know, that breeze knocked my AirPod right out of my ear, so it's gusty out here even. But it's, I know, but it's been beautiful, you guys. The humidity, much lower, so thank you for bringing some of that cooler weather down here to Florida. We certainly could use it. We know it's short-lived, but we'll take what we can get. But today we're talking about tax relief holidays. And here in Florida, they offer some of the broadest and most affordable tax relief holidays in the country. They offer this for folks in the state of Florida year-round now, that is a new policy that just passed this past summer. But there are other states that are also taking note. So in parts like Texas, Virginia, and Alabama, preparedness tax-free holidays are also going on throughout different parts of the year for those states. But areas like North Carolina, Georgia, and Louisiana, they don't specifically have hurricane relief holidays. They have had them at some point in their legislature, or have either been suspended, or they're waiting to go back in front of their congressional leaders to see if they're gonna reenact those. But there are back-to-school holidays and other savings in other states as well in these hurricane-prone areas to try and encourage consumers that live in these states to be disaster-ready year-round. But as of many parts of summer here in Florida, hurricane preps, as I mentioned, are permanently tax-free. That can include anything from batteries, carbon monoxide alarms, some portable generators, tarps, and even more. The best way to control your destiny at your local home is to take matters into your own hands, and that is to have some personal preparedness. Now, damage and economic loss reached about $500 billion last year's hurricane season. So the push to get storm-ready is growing across many of these hurricane-prone states. State leaders say that disasters illuminate why preparedness needs to be year-round in these hurricane areas. And it's more than just stocking up on your hurricane kit. It can mean home upgrades that add resilience as well. An example would be a solar heater. You can actually install a solar heater you can actually get a break on those, a tax break on those, and not just when the power is out, you can buy those year-round depending on where you live. Also, big tag items that are energy savers like refrigerators, washer and dryers, even air conditioners, those also can be tax-free. Here in Florida, those are actually now tax-free year-round. So you don't even have to be preparing for a disaster if you need one of those big tag items. You can actually get it tax-free here in the state of Florida. But there are some other states in the Southeast and the Mid-Atlantic that also offer those perks. So make sure you check with your local leaders to find out if you're one of those states that gets one of those tax breaks either certain times of the year or you're in a tax holiday at this time. So again, you guys, I just wanna make sure that folks know that there is all kinds of home improvements that you can do that will last you year-round that will not only make your home more disaster-ready, but it also can be important home upgrades for your home in the event that you wanna sell it or just wanna upgrade it for future use. Reporting live from Fern Park, I'm Leslie Hudson, back to you. All right, Leslie, we appreciate the update. She'll need like a sweatshirt and a hoodie out there soon. She looks cool. Ooh, get cool in Florida.

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