Hazard Mitigation and Relocation Assistance Act of 1993

Summary: Hazard Mitigation and Relocation Assistance Act of 1993 - Amends the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to: (1) increase from 50 to 75 percent of the cost of hazard mitigation measures the amount authorized to be contributed by the President when determined to be cost-effective while substantially reducing the damage or loss suffered in a major disaster; (2) increase the total Federal contributions authorized for damages from a major disaster to 15 percent of the estimated aggregate amounts of grants to be provided under such Act for such disaster; and (3) provide the terms and conditions under which the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency may provide property acquisition and relocation assistance in connection with flood damaged property. 
States that the purchase of any real property under a qualified buyout program (the federally assisted purchase of property damaged by the major Midwest flood of 1993) shall not constitute the making of Federal financial assistance available for the cost of a program resulting in the acquisition of real property or in an owner of real property being a displaced person within the meaning of the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Hazard Mitigation and Relocation 
Assistance Act of 1993''.

SEC. 2. HAZARD MITIGATION.

    (a) Federal Share and Total Contributions.--Section 404 of The 
Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 
U.S.C. 5170c) is amended--
        (1) in the first sentence, by striking ``50 percent'' and 
    inserting ``75 percent''; and
        (2) in the last sentence, by striking ``10 percent'' and all 
    that follows through the end of the sentence and inserting ``15 
    percent of the estimated aggregate amount of grants to be made (less 
    any associated administrative costs) under this Act with respect to 
    the major disaster.''.
    (b) Applicability.--The amendments made by this section shall apply 
to any major disaster declared by the President pursuant to The Robert 
T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 
et seq.) on or after June 10, 1993.

SEC. 3. PROPERTY ACQUISITION AND RELOCATION ASSISTANCE.

    Section 404 of The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170c) is amended--
        (1) by inserting ``(a) In General.--'' before ``The President''; 
    and
        (2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(b) Property Acquisition and Relocation Assistance.--
        ``(1) General authority.--In providing hazard mitigation 
    assistance under this section in connection with flooding, the 
    Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency may provide 
    property acquisition and relocation assistance for projects that 
    meet the requirements of paragraph (2).
        ``(2) Terms and conditions.--An acquisition or relocation 
    project shall be eligible to receive assistance pursuant to 
    paragraph (1) only if--
            ``(A) the applicant for the assistance is otherwise eligible 
        to receive assistance under the hazard mitigation grant program 
        established under subsection (a); and
            ``(B) on or after the date of enactment of this subsection, 
        the applicant for the assistance enters into an agreement with 
        the Director that provides assurances that--
                ``(i) any property acquired, accepted, or from which a 
            structure will be removed pursuant to the project will be 
            dedicated and maintained in perpetuity for a use that is 
            compatible with open space, recreational, or wetlands 
            management practices;
                ``(ii) no new structure will be erected on property 
            acquired, accepted or from which a structure was removed 
            under the acquisition or relocation program other than--

                    ``(I) a public facility that is open on all sides 
                and functionally related to a designated open space;
                    ``(II) a rest room; or
                    ``(III) a structure that the Director approves in 
                writing before the commencement of the construction of 
                the structure; and

                ``(iii) after receipt of the assistance, with respect to 
            any property acquired, accepted or from which a structure 
            was removed under the acquisition or relocation program--

                    ``(I) no subsequent application for additional 
                disaster assistance for any purpose will be made by the 
                recipient to any Federal entity; and
                    ``(II) no assistance referred to in subclause (I) 
                will be provided to the applicant by any Federal source.

        ``(3) Statutory construction.--Nothing in this subsection is 
    intended to alter or otherwise affect an agreement for an 
    acquisition or relocation project carried out pursuant to this 
    section that was in effect on the day before the date of enactment 
    of this subsection.''.

SEC. 4. TREATMENT OF REAL PROPERTY BUYOUT PROGRAMS.

    (a) Inapplicability of URA.--The purchase of any real property under 
a qualified buyout program shall not constitute the making of Federal 
financial assistance available to pay all or part of the cost of a 
program or project resulting in the acquisition of real property or in 
any owner of real property being a displaced person (within the meaning 
of the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition 
Policies Act of 1970).
    (b) Definition of ``Qualified Buyout Program''.--For purposes of 
this section, the term ``qualified buyout program'' means any program 
that--
        (1) provides for the purchase of only property damaged by the 
    major, widespread flooding in the Midwest during 1993;
        (2) provides for such purchase solely as a result of such 
    flooding;
        (3) provides for such acquisition without the use of the power 
    of eminent domain and notification to the seller that acquisition is 
    without the use of such power;
        (4) is carried out by or through a State or unit of general 
    local government; and
        (5) is being assisted with amounts made available for--
            (A) disaster relief by the Federal Emergency Management 
        Agency; or
            (B) other Federal financial assistance programs.







                                Speaker of the House of Representatives.







                             Vice President of the United States and    
                                                President of the Senate.