Southern Legislative Conference

For farmers in Florida, Alabama and Georgia, the timing of the Hurricane Michael could not have been worse. Just as harvest season for many vegetable and row crops was beginning, like a plague of locusts, Michael devoured nearly every farm in its path. This SLC Regional Resource, current as of April 15, 2019, reviews the agricultural impact of Hurricane Michael on Florida, Alabama and Georgia. Across the three states, cotton and timber were hardest hit, but damage to other agricultural products and infrastructure was equally devastating.

This SLC Regional Resource raises policy considerations and highlights the connections between the ongoing opioid crisis and the national shortage of organs for transplantation. In addition, this report looks at the history and process of organ donation and transplants; actions taken at the state and federal level to facilitate organ donation; and how the national opioid crisis is affecting transplant rates.

Part II in a series, this report explores the resources, capacity and transmission; policies and incentives; and economic impacts of wind energy generation in three Southern states: Texas, Oklahoma and Virginia.

Part I of this SLC Special Series Report detailed many of the broader concerns that long-term care poses for Southern states, including challenging demographic shifts, deteriorating health status among key segments of the population and prohibitively high costs of various LTC services. Part II outlines the role that insurance plays in financing long-term care and reviews potential insurance-related solutions that could create more affordable care in the future for states and LTC recipients.