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Gov. Charlie Crist and other state officials on Tuesday agreed to beef up Florida's catastrophe fund so that it can more quickly pay damages after a major hurricane. During a special meeting of the Florida Cabinet, Crist, Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink and Attorney General Bill McCollum approved a pre-storm financing deal to bolster the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund's cash position.

The fund remains able to pay $57 billion in damages, but some lawmakers and other state officials have been concerned that not enough of that money - just $5 billion this year -- available to pay for home and business damages immediately after a storm.

But by selling what are known as ``floating rate notes,'' a form of short-term, higher interest borrowing, Crist and other states officials predict the state disaster fund will be better able to quickly cover damages when a storm is more sever than what private insurance companies cover. The action, which will be finalized at a July 31 Cabinet meeting, could make $12 billion or more available almost immediately after a storm.