JUPITER, Fla. — Gov. Ron DeSantis was in Jupiter on Friday morning to lay out the importance of preparing for natural disasters as hurricane season begins Sunday.
Speaking at a Home Depot on Indiantown Road, the governor was joined by Kevin Guthrie, Director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, and other local lawmakers, including state Rep. Gayle Harrell, R-Stuart.
WATCH BELOW: Gov. Ron DeSantis urges Floridians to prepare for upcoming hurricane season
Currently, there is no sales tax holiday like years past to save money on supplies like batteries, generators and flashlights to prepare for disasters. This comes as Florida lawmakers still work to pass a budget for the upcoming fiscal year.
"I do anticipate that there will be disaster preparedness tax holidays that will be enacted soon," DeSantis said. "Obviously, it's got to be enacted this month (June) because you've got to get a budget done by the end of the month. ... One way or another, we are going to get you tax-free disaster preparedness."
Despite no sales tax holiday currently in place, Guthrie said he and lawmakers are working to add more products to the list of items that would be tax-free, including a sliding glass door flood control product.
Guthrie also detailed how the emergency management department is already preparing for storm season.
"The division has already begun pre-staging response resources throughout the state of Florida," Guthrie said. "We've already replenished 3.5 million gallons of water, 3.7 million shelf-stable meals, 1.4 million tarps, 415,000 linear feet of Tiger dams."
WATCH BELOW: Hurricane supplies sit on shelves as Floridians await tax holiday
The emergency management director said 52 disaster response contracts are already in place, along with 20 logistical staging areas that have already been preidentified.
Guthrie urged drivers to keep their gas tanks half full during storm season.
"Keep your electric vehicles and your gas tanks halfway full," Guthrie said. "When it gets to the halfway mark, that is the new empty. Go ahead and fill it back up."
Guthrie also discussed the launch of the Broadcast Emergency Alerts and Communication Operations Network (BEACON), which leverages artificial intelligence and is designed to work when the power is out or when networks fail. The alert system will be broadcast on WLRN HD-3.
Also, currently, there is no additional money for the popular My Safe Florida Home grant program to help homeowners fortify their homes for storm season.
DeSantis called the ongoing state budget battle in Tallahassee "totally avoidable."
"It was not something that needed to happen," DeSantis said. "You guys should already be enjoying tax holidays right now, and you'd be saving."
This was the governor's second trip to Palm Beach County this week. On Wednesday, he was in Loxahatchee Groves for a bill signing event at Big Dog Ranch.
