about the extent of the damage. The hurricane created a 13% drop in visitors between October 1984 and October 1985 in Pinellas County, marking an early end to the annual "tourist season", which generally ends after Labor Day weekend; tourist spending fell accordingly. After the storm, residents were allowed to return to their neighborhoods on a by-town basis. Once authorized to enter their communities, many individuals inadvertently gained access to other municipalities in the area that were not ready for the return of civilians. In turn, dangerous situations arose amid preliminary cleanup operations. In Pinellas County, laws were proposed to unify the municipal decisions to accept residents after future disasters. As part of the proposed laws, the county sheriff, as opposed to local officials, would become responsible for allowing cities to reopen. Despite extensive resistance, county commissioners approved the change, giving the sitting sheriff power to override municipal evacuation orders. An additional ordinance was proposed to allow banning of alcohol sales during emergencies. During Hurricane Elena, intoxicated individuals created disorder at shelters and impeded evacuations by refusing to leave hurricane parties. To help the Apalachicola Bay shellfish industry recover, special regulations were put in place to monitor harvests, and $2 million was designated toward rehabilitation efforts. Using a portion of the funds, out-of-work oyster catchers were employed to repopulate crucial reefs. The state of Florida also issued a grant to help individuals in the crippled seafood industry make necessary payments. Efforts to help newly unemployed individuals in the shellfish industry continued in the months following the storm; local Tallahassee musicians organized a benefit concert in January 1986 to raise money for families of oystermen in Franklin County. On September 1 and 2, Florida Power Company received help from Gulf Coast companies to return power to 170,000 customers before the assisting companies' home areas were struck by the hurricane. Power was restored to most areas by September 4, with an exception being St. George's Island; service was expected to be restored after several additional days. More broadly, owners of heavily damaged homes in the state faced new regulations on coastal construction in the state, which went into effect less than a month after the storm. The new rules entailed more rigorous study of factors such as a property's prior history and surrounding buildings before approval to rebuild a demolished structure would be granted. Governor Graham preliminarily advised that houses more than