Source: Office of Cyndi Carrasco / Indiana Statehouse
INDIANAPOLIS — The tornado outbreak of 2023 cost lives, money and resources across Indiana. One state senator hopes to turn that negative into a positive.
“I’m really, really excited about this bill,” says Republican State Senator Cyndi Carrasco of Indianapolis.
Carrasco has introduced a bill into the 2024 legislative session that would essentially sharpen the state’s response to emergencies and disasters, like last year’s fatal tornado outbreak through the spring and summer.
“What the bill does is it makes changes to the state disaster relief fund to really increase the maximum award for individual assistance,” State Rep. Carrasco explains, “it changes the (relief financial) formula so that it’s more simplified because, as you might imagine at a time of disaster, you need to have fast, efficient access to funds to be able to take care of folks.”
Carrasco, who lost the race for Marion County Prosecutor’s Office in 2022 to current prosecutor Ryan Mears, says her main objective with this bill and any other legislative work she becomes involved with is to promote public safety.
The bill would also set up some preemptive measures to make sure people are ready for the next disaster situation, “the changes that we proposed would, for the first time, allow locals to access state dollars take proactive measures.”
Aside from her work as a state senator, Cyndi Carrasco serves as head legal advisor for the University of Indianapolis. She represents UIndy in all legal matters and serves as legal advisor to the school’s president, board of trustees, and senior administrators and will also oversee the school’s police department and human resources office.
The 2024 legislative session began Monday, January 8th and lasts through mid-March.
