II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 3128 

To reauthorize the National Flood Insurance Program, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 1, 2021 

Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself, Mr. CASSIDY, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. 

VAN HOLLEN, Mrs. HYDE-SMITH, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. WICKER, and Mrs. 

GILLIBRAND) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 

A BILL 

To reauthorize the National Flood Insurance Program, and 

for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Flood Insur5 ance Program Reauthorization and Reform Act of 2021’’. 

6 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

7 The table of contents for this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title. 

Sec. 2. Table of contents. 

Sec. 3. Definitions. 

TITLE I—REAUTHORIZATION AND AFFORDABILITY 


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Sec. 101. Reauthorization. 

Sec. 102. Cap on annual premium increases. 

Sec. 103. Targeted means-tested assistance. 

Sec. 104. Optional monthly installment premium payment plans. 

Sec. 105. Study on business interruption coverage. 

Sec. 106. Cooperative coverage fairness. 

Sec. 107. Coverage limits. 

Sec. 108. Study on participation rates. 

Sec. 109. National Flood Insurance Act definitions regarding the Write Your 

Own Program. 

TITLE II—MITIGATION AND MAPPING 

Sec. 201. Mitigation for high-risk properties. 

Sec. 202. Increased cost of compliance coverage. 

Sec. 203. Flood mitigation assistance grants. 

Sec. 204. Urban mitigation opportunities. 

Sec. 205. Community Rating System Regional Coordinator. 

Sec. 206. Mitigation loan program. 

Sec. 207. Revolving loan funds. 

Sec. 208. Mapping modernization. 

Sec. 209. Levee-protected areas. 

Sec. 210. Community-wide flood mitigation activities. 

TITLE III—SOLVENCY 

Sec. 301. Forbearance on NFIP interest payments. 

Sec. 302. Cap on Write Your Own company compensation. 

Sec. 303. Third-party service provider costs; transparency. 

Sec. 304. Availability of NFIP claims data. 

Sec. 305. Refusal of mitigation assistance. 

Sec. 306. Multiple structure mitigation. 

TITLE IV—POLICYHOLDER PROTECTION AND FAIRNESS 

Sec. 401. Earth movement fix and engineer standards. 

Sec. 402. Coverage of pre-FIRM condominium basements and study on street 

raising. 

Sec. 403. Guidance on remediation and policyholder duties. 

Sec. 404. Appeal of decisions relating to flood insurance coverage. 

Sec. 405. Accountability for underpayments and overpayments by Write Your 

Own companies. 

Sec. 406. Policyholders’ right to know. 

Sec. 407. Exclusion of service providers from participation in the National 

Flood Insurance Program. 

Sec. 408. Deadline for claim processing. 

Sec. 409. No manipulation of engineer reports. 

Sec. 410. Improved training of floodplain managers, agents, and adjusters. 

Sec. 411. Flood insurance continuing education and training. 

Sec. 412. Shifting of attorney fees and other expenses. 

Sec. 413. Restriction on defense of claims litigation. 

Sec. 414. Reforming use of proof of loss forms. 

Sec. 415. Agent Advisory Council. 

Sec. 416. Disclosure of flood risk information prior to transfer of property. 


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1 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis4 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Federal 

5 Emergency Management Agency. 

6 (2) NATIONAL FLOOD INSURANCE PROGRAM.— 

7 The term ‘‘National Flood Insurance Program’’ 

8 means the program established under the National 

9 Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4001 et 

10 seq.). 

11 (3) NATIONAL FLOOD MITIGATION FUND.—The 

12 term ‘‘National Flood Mitigation Fund’’ means the 

13 fund established under section 1367 of the National 

14 Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4104d). 

15 (4) WRITE YOUR OWN COMPANY.—The term 

16 ‘‘Write Your Own Company’’ has the meaning given 

17 the term in section 1370(a) of the National Flood 

18 Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4121(a)), as 

19 amended by section 109 of this Act. 

20 TITLE I—REAUTHORIZATION 

21 AND AFFORDABILITY 

22 SEC. 101. REAUTHORIZATION. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

24 (1) FINANCING.—Section 1309(a) of the Na25 tional Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 


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1 4016(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘September 30, 

2 2021’’ and inserting ‘‘September 30, 2026’’. 

3 (2) PROGRAM EXPIRATION.—Section 1319 of 

4 the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 

5 U.S.C. 4026) is amended by striking ‘‘September 

6 30, 2021’’ and inserting ‘‘September 30, 2026’’. 

7 (3) RETROACTIVE EFFECTIVE DATE.—If this 

8 Act is enacted after December 3, 2021, the amend9 ments made by paragraphs (1) and (2) shall take ef10 fect as if enacted on December 3, 2021. 

11 (b) CONTINUED OPERATION DURING LAPSE OF AP12 PROPRIATIONS.—Section 1310(f) of the National Flood 

13 Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4017(f)) is amended— 

14 (1) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘(f)’’; and 

15 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(2)(A) In this paragraph, the term ‘period of a lapse 

17 in appropriations from the Fund’ means a period, on or 

18 after the first day of a fiscal year, during which an appro19 priation Act for the fiscal year with respect to the Fund 

20 has not been enacted and continuing appropriations are 

21 not in effect for the fiscal year with respect to the Fund. 

22 ‘‘(B) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), during a period 

23 of a lapse in appropriations from the Fund, amounts in 

24 the Fund not otherwise appropriated shall be available to 

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1 gram under this title, subject to the same terms and condi2 tions (except with respect to the period of availability), 

3 and in an amount not greater than the rate for operations, 

4 provided for the Fund in the most recently enacted regular 

5 or continuing appropriation Act. 

6 ‘‘(C) Amounts in the Fund shall be available under 

7 subparagraph (B) for a fiscal year during the period be8 ginning on the first day of a period of a lapse in appropria9 tions from the Fund during the fiscal year and ending on 

10 the date on which the regular appropriation Act for the 

11 fiscal year with respect to the Fund is enacted (whether 

12 or not such law makes amounts available from the Fund) 

13 or a law making continuing appropriations with respect 

14 to the Fund is enacted, as the case may be. 

15 ‘‘(D) Expenditures and obligations made under this 

16 paragraph shall be charged to the Fund whenever a reg17 ular appropriation Act, or a law making continuing appro18 priations, with respect to the Fund is enacted for the ap19 plicable fiscal year.’’. 

20 SEC. 102. CAP ON ANNUAL PREMIUM INCREASES. 

21 (a) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘covered 

22 cost’’— 

23 (1) means— 


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1 (A) the amount of an annual premium 

2 with respect to any policy for flood insurance 

3 under the National Flood Insurance Program; 

4 (B) any surcharge imposed with respect to 

5 a policy described in subparagraph (A) (other 

6 than a surcharge imposed under section 

7 1304(b) of the National Flood Insurance Act of 

8 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4011(b))), including a sur9 charge imposed under section 1308A(a) of that 

10 Act (42 U.S.C. 4015a(a)); and 

11 (C) a fee described in paragraph (1)(B)(iii) 

12 or (2) of section 1307(a) of the National Flood 

13 Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4014(a)); 

14 and 

15 (2) does not include any cost associated with 

16 the purchase of insurance under section 1304(b) of 

17 the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 

18 U.S.C. 4011(b)), including any surcharge that re19 lates to insurance purchased under such section 

20 1304(b). 

21 (b) LIMITATION ON INCREASES.— 

22 (1) LIMITATION.— 

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—During the 5-year pe24 riod beginning on the date of enactment of this 

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1 tional Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 

2 4015(e)), and subject to subparagraph (B), the 

3 Administrator may not, in any year, increase 

4 the amount of any covered cost by an amount 

5 that is more than 9 percent, as compared with 

6 the amount of the covered cost during the pre7 vious year, except where the increase in the cov8 ered cost relates to an exception under para9 graph (1)(C)(iii) of such section 1308(e). 

10 (B) DECREASE OF AMOUNT OF DEDUCT11 IBLE OR INCREASE IN AMOUNT OF COV12 ERAGE.—In the case of a policyholder described 

13 in section 1308(e)(1)(C)(ii) of the National 

14 Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 

15 4015(e)(1)(C)(ii)), the Administrator shall es16 tablish a process by which the Administrator 

17 determines an increase in covered costs for the 

18 policyholder that is— 

19 (i) proportional to the relative change 

20 in risk based on the action taken by the 

21 policyholder; and 

22 (ii) in compliance with subparagraph 

23 (A). 

24 (2) NEW RATING SYSTEMS.— 


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1 (A) CLASSIFICATION.—With respect to a 

2 property, the limitation under paragraph (1) 

3 shall remain in effect for each year until the 

4 covered costs with respect to the property re5 flect full actuarial rates, without regard to 

6 whether, at any time until the year in which 

7 those covered costs reflect full actuarial rates, 

8 the property is rated or classified under the 

9 Risk Rating 2.0 methodology (or any substan10 tially similar methodology). 

11 (B) NEW POLICYHOLDER.—If a property 

12 to which the limitation under paragraph (1) ap13 plies is sold before the covered costs for the 

14 property reflect full actuarial rates determined 

15 under the Risk Rating 2.0 methodology (or any 

16 substantially similar methodology), that limita17 tion shall remain in effect for each year until 

18 the year in which those full actuarial rates 

19 takes effect. 

20 (c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in sub21 section (b) may be construed as prohibiting the Adminis22 trator from reducing, in any year, the amount of any cov23 ered cost, as compared with the amount of the covered 

24 cost during the previous year. 


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1 (d) AVERAGE HISTORICAL LOSS YEAR.—Section 

2 1308 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 

3 U.S.C. 4015) is amended by striking subsection (h) and 

4 inserting the following: 

5 ‘‘(h) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—For purposes of this 

6 section, the calculation of an ‘average historical loss year’ 

7 shall be computed in accordance with generally accepted 

8 actuarial principles.’’. 

9 (e) DISCLOSURE WITH RESPECT TO THE AFFORD10 ABILITY STANDARD.—Section 1308(j) of the National 

11 Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4015(j)) is 

12 amended, in the second sentence, by inserting ‘‘and shall 

13 include in the report the number of those exceptions as 

14 of the date on which the Administrator submits the report 

15 and the location of each policyholder insured under those 

16 exceptions, organized by county and State’’ after ‘‘of the 

17 Senate’’. 

18 SEC. 103. TARGETED MEANS-TESTED ASSISTANCE. 

19 (a) MEANS-TESTED PROGRAM.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter I of the National 

21 Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4011 et 

22 seq.) is amended by inserting after section 1308A 

23 (42 U.S.C. 4015a) the following: 

24 ‘‘SEC. 1308B. FLOOD INSURANCE ASSISTANCE. 

25 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 ‘‘(1) COVERED PROPERTY.—The term ‘covered 

2 property’ means— 

3 ‘‘(A) a primary residential dwelling de4 signed for the occupancy of from 1 to 4 fami5 lies; or 

6 ‘‘(B) personal property relating to a dwell7 ing described in subparagraph (A). 

8 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE POLICYHOLDER.—The term ‘eli9 gible policyholder’ means a policyholder with a 

10 household income that is not more than 120 percent 

11 of the area median income for the area in which the 

12 property to which the policy applies is located. 

13 ‘‘(3) HOUSING EXPENSES.—The term ‘housing 

14 expenses’ means, with respect to a household, the 

15 total amount that the household spends in a year 

16 on— 

17 ‘‘(A) mortgage payments or rent; 

18 ‘‘(B) property taxes; 

19 ‘‘(C) homeowners insurance; and 

20 ‘‘(D) premiums for flood insurance under 

21 the national flood insurance program. 

22 ‘‘(4) INSURANCE COSTS.—The term ‘insurance 

23 costs’ means, with respect to a covered property for 

24 a year— 


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1 ‘‘(A) risk premiums and fees estimated 

2 under section 1307 and charged under section 

3 1308; 

4 ‘‘(B) surcharges assessed under sections 

5 1304 and 1308A; and 

6 ‘‘(C) any amount established under section 

7 1310A(c). 

8 ‘‘(b) AUTHORITY.—Subject to the availability of ap9 propriations, the Administrator is authorized to carry out 

10 a means-tested program under which the Administrator 

11 provides assistance to eligible policyholders in the form of 

12 graduated discounts for insurance costs with respect to 

13 covered properties. 

14 ‘‘(c) ELIGIBILITY.—To determine eligibility for 

15 means-tested assistance under this section, the Adminis16 trator may accept any of the following with respect to an 

17 eligible policyholder: 

18 ‘‘(1) Income verification from the National Di19 rectory of New Hires established under section 

20 453(i) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 653(i)). 

21 ‘‘(2) A self-certification of eligibility by the eli22 gible policyholder that is provided under penalty of 

23 perjury pursuant to section 1746 of title 28, United 

24 States Code. 


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1 ‘‘(3) Any other method identified by the Admin2 istrator in interim guidance, or a final rule, issued 

3 under subsection (e). 

4 ‘‘(d) DISCOUNT.—The Administrator may establish 

5 graduated discounts available to eligible policyholders 

6 under this section, which shall be based on the following 

7 factors: 

8 ‘‘(1) The percentage by which the household in9 come of an eligible policyholder is equal to, or less 

10 than, 120 percent of the area median income for the 

11 area in which the property to which the policy ap12 plies is located. 

13 ‘‘(2) The housing expenses of an eligible policy14 holder. 

15 ‘‘(3) The number of eligible policyholders par16 ticipating in the program established under this sec17 tion. 

18 ‘‘(4) The availability of funding. 

19 ‘‘(5) Any other factor that the Administrator 

20 finds reasonable and necessary to carry out the pur21 poses of this section. 

22 ‘‘(e) IMPLEMENTATION.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall 

24 issue final rules to implement this section. 

25 ‘‘(2) INTERIM GUIDANCE.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year 

2 after the date of enactment of this section, the 

3 Administrator shall issue interim guidance to 

4 implement this section, which shall— 

5 ‘‘(i) include— 

6 ‘‘(I) a description of how the Ad7 ministrator will determine— 

8 ‘‘(aa) eligibility for house9 holds to participate in the pro10 gram established under this sec11 tion; and 

12 ‘‘(bb) assistance levels for el13 igible households to which assist14 ance is provided under this sec15 tion; 

16 ‘‘(II) the methodology that the 

17 Administrator will use to determine 

18 the amount of assistance provided to 

19 eligible households under this section; 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(III) any requirements to which 

22 eligible policyholders to which assist23 ance is provided under this section 

24 will be subject; and 

25 ‘‘(ii) expire on the later of— 


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1 ‘‘(I) the date that is 84 months 

2 after the date of enactment of this 

3 section; or 

4 ‘‘(II) the date on which the final 

5 rules issued under paragraph (1) take 

6 effect. 

7 ‘‘(B) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing 

8 in subparagraph (A) may be construed to pre9 clude the Administrator from amending the in10 terim guidance issued under that subparagraph. 

11 ‘‘(f) COLLECTION OF DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMA12 TION.—The Administrator, in order to evaluate and mon13 itor the effectiveness of this section, and to comply with 

14 the reporting requirements under subsection (g), may re15 quest demographic information, and other information, 

16 with respect to an eligible policyholder to which assistance 

17 is provided under this section, which may include— 

18 ‘‘(1) the income of the eligible policyholder, as 

19 compared with the area median income for the area 

20 in which the property to which the policy applies is 

21 located; and 

22 ‘‘(2) demographic characteristics of the eligible 

23 policyholder, including the race and ethnicity of the 

24 eligible policyholder. 

25 ‘‘(g) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years 

2 after the date of enactment of this section, and bien3 nially thereafter, the Administrator shall submit to 

4 Congress a report regarding the implementation and 

5 effectiveness of this section. 

6 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—Each report submitted under 

7 paragraph (1) shall include information regarding, 

8 for the period covered by the report— 

9 ‘‘(A) the distribution of household area 

10 median income for eligible policyholders to 

11 which assistance is provided under this section; 

12 ‘‘(B) the number of eligible policyholders 

13 to which assistance is provided under this sec14 tion, which shall be disaggregated by income 

15 and demographic characteristics; 

16 ‘‘(C) the cost of providing assistance under 

17 this section; and 

18 ‘‘(D) the average amount of assistance 

19 provided to an eligible policyholder under this 

20 section, which shall be disaggregated as de21 scribed in subparagraph (B). 

22 ‘‘(h) RISK COMMUNICATION.—For the purposes of 

23 the communication required under section 1308(l), the 

24 Administrator shall provide to an eligible policyholder to 

25 which assistance is provided under this section a full flood 


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1 risk determination with respect to the property of the eligi2 ble policyholder, which shall reflect the insurance costs 

3 with respect to the property before that assistance is pro4 vided. 

5 ‘‘(i) FUNDING.— 

6 ‘‘(1) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

7 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Ad8 ministrator to carry out this section— 

9 ‘‘(A) $250,000,000 for fiscal year 2022; 

10 ‘‘(B) $340,000,000 for fiscal year 2023; 

11 ‘‘(C) $400,000,000 for fiscal year 2024; 

12 ‘‘(D) $500,000,000 for fiscal year 2025; 

13 and 

14 ‘‘(E) $600,000,000 for fiscal year 2026. 

15 ‘‘(2) NOTIFICATION.—If, in a fiscal year, the 

16 Administrator determines that the amount made 

17 available to carry out this section is insufficient to 

18 provide assistance under this section, the Adminis19 trator shall submit to Congress a notification of the 

20 remaining amounts necessary to provide that assist21 ance for that fiscal year. 

22 ‘‘(3) DISTRIBUTION OF PREMIUM.—With re23 spect to the amount of the discounts provided under 

24 this section in a fiscal year, and any administrative 

25 expenses incurred in carrying out this section for 


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1 that fiscal year, the Administrator shall, from 

2 amounts made available to carry out this section for 

3 that fiscal year, deposit in the National Flood Insur4 ance Fund established under section 1310 an 

5 amount equal to those discounts and administrative 

6 expenses, except to the extent that section 1310A 

7 applies to any portion of those discounts or adminis8 trative expenses, in which case the Administrator 

9 shall deposit an amount equal to those amounts to 

10 which section 1310A applies in the National Flood 

11 Insurance Reserve Fund established under section 

12 1310A.’’. 

13 (2) USE OF SAVINGS.—In addition to any 

14 amounts made available to the Administrator to 

15 carry out section 1308B of the National Flood In16 surance Act of 1968, as added by paragraph (1), the 

17 Administrator shall use any amounts saved as a di18 rect result of the amendments made by section 

19 302(a) of this Act to carry out such section 1308B. 

20 (b) NATIONAL FLOOD INSURANCE ACT OF 1968.— 

21 The National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 

22 4001 et seq.) is amended— 

23 (1) in section 1308(e) (42 U.S.C. 4015(e))— 

24 (A) in paragraph (1)— 


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1 (i) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

2 ‘‘or’’ at the end; 

3 (ii) in subparagraph (C)(iii), by add4 ing ‘‘or’’ at the end; and 

5 (iii) by adding at the end the fol6 lowing: 

7 ‘‘(D) in the case of a property with respect 

8 to which assistance is provided under section 

9 1308B, if— 

10 ‘‘(i) the applicable policyholder is no 

11 longer eligible to receive assistance under 

12 that section; 

13 ‘‘(ii) the assistance so provided has 

14 been decreased under that section; or 

15 ‘‘(iii) the Administrator is not author16 ized, or lacks appropriated funds, to carry 

17 out that section;’’; and 

18 (B) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘period; 

19 and’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘period, ex20 cept in the case of a property with respect to 

21 which assistance is provided under section 

22 1308B if a condition described in clause (i), 

23 (ii), or (iii) of paragraph (1)(D) is applicable; 

24 and’’; and 

25 (2) in section 1366(d) (42 U.S.C. 4104c(d))— 


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1 (A) by redesignating paragraph (3) as 

2 paragraph (4); and 

3 (B) by inserting after paragraph (2) the 

4 following: 

5 ‘‘(3) FLOOD INSURANCE ASSISTANCE.—In the 

6 case of mitigation activities to structures insured by 

7 policyholders that are eligible for assistance under 

8 section 1308B, in an amount up to 100 percent of 

9 all eligible costs.’’. 

10 (c) INFORMATION COMPARISONS WITH THE NA11 TIONAL DIRECTORY OF NEW HIRES FOR FLOOD INSUR12 ANCE ASSISTANCE INCOME VERIFICATION.—Section 

13 453(j) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 653(j)) is 

14 amended by adding at the end the following new para15 graph: 

16 ‘‘(12) INFORMATION COMPARISONS FOR FLOOD

17 INSURANCE ASSISTANCE.— 

18 ‘‘(A) FURNISHING OF INFORMATION BY

19 FEMA.—The Administrator of the Federal 

20 Emergency Management Agency (in this para21 graph, referred to as the ‘Administrator’) shall 

22 furnish to the Secretary, on such periodic basis 

23 as determined by the Administrator in consulta24 tion with the Secretary, information in the cus25 tody of the Administrator for comparison with 


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1 information in the National Directory of New 

2 Hires, in order to obtain information in such 

3 Directory with respect to individuals who are 

4 applying for, or receiving benefits under, section 

5 1308B of the National Flood Insurance Act of 

6 1968. 

7 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENT TO SEEK MINIMUM

8 INFORMATION.—The Administrator shall seek 

9 information pursuant to this paragraph only to 

10 the extent necessary to verify the employment 

11 and income of individuals described in subpara12 graph (A). 

13 ‘‘(C) DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY.— 

14 ‘‘(i) INFORMATION DISCLOSURE.—The 

15 Secretary, in cooperation with the Admin16 istrator, shall compare information in the 

17 National Directory of New Hires with in18 formation provided by the Administrator 

19 with respect to individuals described in 

20 subparagraph (A), and shall disclose infor21 mation in such Directory regarding such 

22 individuals to the Administrator, in accord23 ance with this paragraph, for the purposes 

24 specified in this paragraph. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) CONDITION ON DISCLOSURE.— 

2 The Secretary shall make disclosures in ac3 cordance with clause (i) only to the extent 

4 that the Secretary determines that such 

5 disclosures do not interfere with the effec6 tive operation of the program under this 

7 part. 

8 ‘‘(D) USE OF INFORMATION BY FEMA.— 

9 The Administrator may use information result10 ing from a data match pursuant to this para11 graph only— 

12 ‘‘(i) for the purpose of verifying the 

13 employment and income of individuals de14 scribed in subparagraph (A); and 

15 ‘‘(ii) after removal of personal identi16 fiers, to conduct analyses of the employ17 ment and income reporting of individuals 

18 described in subparagraph (A). 

19 ‘‘(E) DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION BY

20 FEMA.— 

21 ‘‘(i) PURPOSE OF DISCLOSURE.—The 

22 Administrator may make a disclosure 

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1 come of individuals described in subpara2 graph (A). 

3 ‘‘(ii) DISCLOSURES PERMITTED.— 

4 Subject to clause (iii), the Administrator 

5 may disclose information resulting from a 

6 data match pursuant to this paragraph 

7 only to contractors of the Federal Emer8 gency Management Agency, private insur9 ance companies participating in the Write 

10 Your Own Program of the Federal Emer11 gency Management Agency, the Inspector 

12 General of the Department of Homeland 

13 Security, and the Attorney General, in con14 nection with the administration of a pro15 gram described in subparagraph (A). In16 formation obtained by the Administrator 

17 pursuant to this paragraph shall not be 

18 made available under section 552 of title 5, 

19 United States Code. 

20 ‘‘(iii) CONDITIONS ON DISCLOSURE.— 

21 Disclosures under this paragraph shall 

22 be— 

23 ‘‘(I) made in accordance with 

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1 tablished by the Administrator and 

2 approved by the Secretary; 

3 ‘‘(II) subject to audit in a man4 ner satisfactory to the Secretary; and 

5 ‘‘(III) subject to the sanctions 

6 under subsection (l)(2). 

7 ‘‘(iv) RESTRICTIONS ON REDISCLO8 SURE.—A person or entity to which infor9 mation is disclosed under this subpara10 graph may use or disclose such informa11 tion only as needed for verifying the em12 ployment and income of individuals de13 scribed in subparagraph (A), subject to the 

14 conditions in clause (iii) and such addi15 tional conditions as agreed to by the Sec16 retary and the Administrator. 

17 ‘‘(F) REIMBURSEMENT OF HHS COSTS.— 

18 The Administrator shall reimburse the Sec19 retary, in accordance with subsection (k)(3), for 

20 the costs incurred by the Secretary in fur21 nishing the information requested under this 

22 paragraph. 

23 ‘‘(G) CONSENT.—The Administrator shall 

24 not seek, use, or disclose information under this 

25 paragraph relating to an individual without the 


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1 prior written consent of such individual (or of 

2 a person legally authorized to consent on behalf 

3 of such individual).’’. 

4 SEC. 104. OPTIONAL MONTHLY INSTALLMENT PREMIUM 

5 PAYMENT PLANS. 

6 Section 1308(g) of the National Flood Insurance Act 

7 of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4015(g)) is amended— 

8 (1) by striking ‘‘With respect to’’ and inserting 

9 the following: 

10 ‘‘(1) ANNUAL OR MONTHLY OPTION.—Subject 

11 to paragraph (2), with respect to’’; and 

12 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(2) MONTHLY INSTALLMENT.—With respect 

14 to a policyholder that opts under paragraph (1) to 

15 pay premiums on a monthly basis, the Administrator 

16 may charge the policyholder an annual fee of not 

17 more than $15. 

18 ‘‘(3) EXEMPTION FROM RULE MAKING; PILOT

19 PROGRAM.—During the period beginning on the date 

20 of enactment of this paragraph and ending on the 

21 date on which the Administrator promulgates regu22 lations carrying out paragraph (1), the Adminis23 trator may, notwithstanding any other provision of 

24 law— 


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1 ‘‘(A) adopt policies and procedures to carry 

2 out that paragraph without— 

3 ‘‘(i) undergoing notice and comment 

4 rule making under section 553 of title 5, 

5 United States Code; or 

6 ‘‘(ii) conducting regulatory analyses 

7 otherwise required by statute, regulation, 

8 or Executive order; or 

9 ‘‘(B) carry out that paragraph by estab10 lishing a pilot program that gradually imple11 ments the requirements of that paragraph.’’. 

12 SEC. 105. STUDY ON BUSINESS INTERRUPTION COVERAGE. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall conduct 

14 a study on the feasibility and soundness of offering cov15 erage for interruption business losses caused by a flood 

16 under the National Flood Insurance Program (referred to 

17 in this section as ‘‘business interruption coverage’’). 

18 (b) CONTENTS.—In conducting the study under sub19 section (a), the Administrator shall, at a minimum— 

20 (1) evaluate insurance industry best practices 

21 for offering business interruption coverage, including 

22 the types of coverage provided and the utilization 

23 rate; 

24 (2) estimate the potential risk premium rates 

25 for business interruption coverage based on the flood 


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1 risk reflected in the flood insurance rate map or 

2 other risk metrics in effect at the time of purchase; 

3 (3) analyze the operational and administrative 

4 expenses associated with providing business inter5 ruption coverage and adjusting claims; 

6 (4) identify potential obstacles that may prevent 

7 the Administrator from offering business interrup8 tion coverage; 

9 (5) evaluate the benefits of providing business 

10 interruption coverage; 

11 (6) analyze any potential impacts on the finan12 cial position of the National Flood Insurance Pro13 gram; and 

14 (7) develop a feasibility implementation plan 

15 and projected timelines for offering business inter16 ruption coverage. 

17 (c) AVAILABILITY OF EXPERTS.—In conducting the 

18 study under subsection (a), the Administrator may accept 

19 and utilize the personnel and services of any other Federal 

20 agency, and appoint and fix the compensation of tem21 porary personnel without regard to the provisions of title 

22 5, United States Code, governing appointments in the 

23 competitive service, or employ experts and consultants in 

24 accordance with the provisions of section 3109 of such 

25 title, without regard to the provisions of chapter 51 and 


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1 subchapter III of chapter 53 of such title relating to classi2 fication and General Schedule pay rates. 

3 (d) DEADLINE.—The Administrator shall complete 

4 the study required under subsection (a) not later than 

5 September 30 of the second full fiscal year after the date 

6 of enactment of this Act. 

7 SEC. 106. COOPERATIVE COVERAGE FAIRNESS. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1306 of the National 

9 Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4013) is amended 

10 by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(e) COOPERATIVES.— 

12 ‘‘(1) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term 

13 ‘cooperative building’ has the meaning given the 

14 term in section 1312(d). 

15 ‘‘(2) EQUAL TREATMENT WITH CONDOMIN16 IUMS.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 

17 an owner of a share of a cooperative building shall 

18 be eligible to purchase flood insurance coverage 

19 under the national flood insurance program on the 

20 same terms as a condominium owner.’’. 

21 (b) PAYMENT OF CLAIMS.—Section 1312 of the Na22 tional Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4019) is 

23 amended— 

24 (1) in subsection (c)— 


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1 (A) in the subsection heading, by inserting 

2 ‘‘AND COOPERATIVE’’ after ‘‘CONDOMINIUM’’; 

3 (B) by inserting ‘‘or owners of a share of 

4 a cooperative building’’ after ‘‘condominium 

5 owners’’; and 

6 (C) by inserting ‘‘or cooperative associa7 tion’’ after ‘‘condominium association’’ each 

8 place that term appears; and 

9 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the terms ‘coop11 erative association’ and ‘cooperative building’ have the 

12 meanings given the terms by the Administrator.’’. 

13 SEC. 107. COVERAGE LIMITS. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1306 of the National 

15 Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4013), as amend16 ed by section 106(a), is amended— 

17 (1) in subsection (b)— 

18 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 

19 by striking ‘‘In addition to any other terms and 

20 conditions under subsection (a), such regula21 tions’’ and inserting ‘‘The Administrator’’; 

22 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

23 (i) by striking ‘‘shall be made’’ and 

24 inserting ‘‘may be made’’; and 


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1 (ii) by striking ‘‘$250,000’’ and in2 serting ‘‘the baseline amount’’; 

3 (C) in paragraph (3)— 

4 (i) by striking ‘‘shall be made’’ and 

5 inserting ‘‘may be made’’; and 

6 (ii) by striking ‘‘$100,000’’ and in7 serting ‘‘50 percent of the baseline 

8 amount’’; and 

9 (D) in paragraph (4)— 

10 (i) by striking ‘‘shall be made’’ each 

11 place that term appears and inserting 

12 ‘‘may be made’’; and 

13 (ii) by striking ‘‘$500,000’’ each place 

14 that term appears and inserting ‘‘200 per15 cent of the baseline amount’’; and 

16 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(f) DEFINITION.—Subject to paragraph (2), in this 

18 section, the term ‘baseline amount’ means an amount de19 termined by the Administrator that is equal to the max20 imum original principal obligation of a conventional mort21 gage secured by a single-family residence that may be pur22 chased by the Federal National Mortgage Association, as 

23 established under the seventh sentence of section 

24 302(b)(2) of the Federal National Mortgage Association 


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1 Charter Act (12 U.S.C. 1717(b)(2)), which the Adminis2 trator may not— 

3 ‘‘(1) increase more than once every 5 years; 

4 ‘‘(2) increase with respect to any particular 

5 property pursuant to the 11th or 12th sentence of 

6 such section 302(b)(2); or 

7 ‘‘(3) decrease.’’. 

8 (b) AUTHORITY OF ADMINISTRATOR TO SELL POLI9 CIES.—The Administrator may sell a policy for flood in10 surance under the National Flood Insurance Program that 

11 meets the requirements of paragraphs (2), (3), and (4) 

12 of section 1306(b) of the National Flood Insurance Act 

13 of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4013(b)), as amended by subsection 

14 (a), without regard to— 

15 (1) section 61.6 of title 44, Code of Federal 

16 Regulations, as in effect on the day before the date 

17 of enactment of this Act; or 

18 (2) any other provision of law. 

19 SEC. 108. STUDY ON PARTICIPATION RATES. 

20 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

21 (1) the term ‘‘500-year floodplain’’ has the 

22 meaning given the term in section 100202(a) of the 

23 Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 

24 2012 (40 U.S.C. 4004(a)); 


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1 (2) the terms ‘‘Federal agency lender’’, ‘‘im2 proved real estate’’, and ‘‘regulated lending institu3 tion’’ have the meanings given those terms in section 

4 3(a) of the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973 

5 (42 U.S.C. 4003(a)); and 

6 (3) the term ‘‘property with a Federally backed 

7 mortgage’’ means improved real estate or a mobile 

8 home securing a loan that was— 

9 (A) made by a regulated lending institu10 tion or Federal agency lender; or 

11 (B) purchased by the Federal National 

12 Mortgage Association or the Federal Home 

13 Loan Mortgage Corporation. 

14 (b) STUDY.—The Comptroller General of the United 

15 States shall conduct a study that proposes to address, 

16 through programmatic and regulatory changes, how to in17 crease the rate at which properties in the United States 

18 are covered by flood insurance. 

19 (c) CONSIDERATIONS.—In conducting the study re20 quired under subsection (b), the Comptroller General of 

21 the United States shall— 

22 (1) consider— 

23 (A) expanding participation in the Na24 tional Flood Insurance Program beyond areas 


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1 having special flood hazards to areas of mod2 erate or minimum risk with respect to flooding; 

3 (B) automatically enrolling consumers in 

4 the National Flood Insurance Program and 

5 providing those consumers with the opportunity 

6 to decline such enrollment; and 

7 (C) bundling flood insurance coverage that 

8 diversifies risk across all or multiple forms of 

9 peril; and 

10 (2) determine— 

11 (A) the percentage of properties with Fed12 erally backed mortgages located in an area hav13 ing special flood hazards that are covered by 

14 flood insurance that satisfies the requirement 

15 under section 102(b) of the Flood Disaster Pro16 tection Act of 1973 (42 U.S.C. 4012a(b)); and 

17 (B) the percentage of properties with Fed18 erally backed mortgages located in the 500-year 

19 floodplain that are covered by flood insurance 

20 that would satisfy the requirement described in 

21 subparagraph (A) if that requirement applied to 

22 such properties. 

23 (d) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after the 

24 date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 

25 of the United States shall submit to the Committee on 


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1 Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate and 

2 the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Rep3 resentatives a report regarding the results of the study 

4 conducted under subsection (b). 

5 SEC. 109. NATIONAL FLOOD INSURANCE ACT DEFINITIONS 

6 REGARDING THE WRITE YOUR OWN PRO7 GRAM. 

8 Section 1370(a) of the National Flood Insurance Act 

9 of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4121(a)) is amended— 

10 (1) in paragraph (14), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

11 end; 

12 (2) in paragraph (15), by striking the period at 

13 the end; and 

14 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(16) the term ‘Write Your Own Program’ 

16 means the program under which the Federal Emer17 gency Management Agency enters into a standard 

18 arrangement with private property insurance compa19 nies to— 

20 ‘‘(A) sell contracts for Federal flood insur21 ance under their own business lines of insur22 ance; and 

23 ‘‘(B) adjust and pay claims arising under 

24 the contracts described in subparagraph (A); 

25 and 


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1 ‘‘(17) the term ‘Write Your Own Company’ 

2 means a private property insurance company that 

3 participates in the Write Your Own Program.’’. 

4 TITLE II—MITIGATION AND 

5 MAPPING 

6 SEC. 201. MITIGATION FOR HIGH-RISK PROPERTIES. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 203 of the Robert T. 

8 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 

9 (42 U.S.C. 5133) is amended by adding at the end the 

10 following: 

11 ‘‘(n) FLOOD MITIGATION ACTIVITIES.—The Presi12 dent shall set aside from the Disaster Relief Fund an 

13 amount equal to 10 percent of the average amount appro14 priated to the Fund during the preceding 10 fiscal years 

15 to provide assistance for mitigation activities under section 

16 1366 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 

17 U.S.C. 4104c) for— 

18 ‘‘(1) severe repetitive loss structures; and 

19 ‘‘(2) properties insured under the national flood 

20 insurance program with the largest increase in the 

21 actuarial risk for the property compared to the actu22 arial risk for the previous fiscal year as a result of 

23 Risk Rating 2.0, as in effect on October 1, 2021.’’. 

24 (b) APPLICABILITY.—The amendment made to sec25 tion 203 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 


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1 Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5133) by subsection 

2 (a) shall apply to funds appropriated on or after the date 

3 of enactment of this Act. 

4 (c) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.— 

5 Effective on October 5, 2023, section 203 of the Robert 

6 T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 

7 (42 U.S.C. 5133) is amended by redesignating subsection 

8 (n), as added by subsection (a) of this section, as sub9 section (m). 

10 SEC. 202. INCREASED COST OF COMPLIANCE COVERAGE. 

11 Section 1304(b) of the National Flood Insurance Act 

12 of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4011(b)) is amended— 

13 (1) in paragraph (4), by redesignating subpara14 graphs (A) through (D) as clauses (i) through (iv), 

15 respectively, and adjusting the margins accordingly; 

16 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through 

17 (3) as subparagraphs (A) through (C), respectively, 

18 and adjusting the margins accordingly; 

19 (3) in subparagraph (C), as so redesignated, by 

20 striking the period at the end and inserting a semi21 colon; 

22 (4) by redesignating paragraph (4) as subpara23 graph (F), and adjusting the margins accordingly; 

24 (5) by inserting after subparagraph (C), as so 

25 redesignated, the following: 


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1 ‘‘(D) properties identified by the Adminis2 trator as priorities for mitigation activities be3 fore the occurrence of damage to or loss of 

4 property which is covered by flood insurance; 

5 ‘‘(E) properties outside an area having 

6 special flood hazards if the communities in 

7 which the properties are located have, under 

8 section 1361, established land use and control 

9 measures for the areas in which the properties 

10 are located; and’’; 

11 (6) by inserting before ‘‘The national flood in12 surance program’’ the following: ‘‘(1) IN GEN13 ERAL.—’’; 

14 (7) in the flush text following subparagraph 

15 (F)(iv), as so redesignated, by striking ‘‘The Admin16 istrator’’ and inserting the following: 

17 ‘‘(2) PREMIUM.—The Administrator’’; and 

18 (8) by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(3) AMOUNT OF COVERAGE.—Each policy for flood 

20 insurance coverage made available under this title shall 

21 provide coverage under this subsection having an aggre22 gate liability for any single property of $60,000. 

23 ‘‘(4) ELIGIBLE MITIGATION ACTIVITIES.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Eligible mitigation meth2 ods the cost of which is covered by coverage provided 

3 under this subsection shall include— 

4 ‘‘(i) alternative methods of mitigation iden5 tified in the guidelines issued pursuant to sec6 tion 1361(d); 

7 ‘‘(ii) pre-disaster mitigation projects for el8 igible structures; and 

9 ‘‘(iii) costs associated with the purchase, 

10 clearing, and stabilization of property that is 

11 part of an acquisition or relocation project that 

12 complies with subparagraph (B). 

13 ‘‘(B) ACQUISITION AND RELOCATION PROJECT

14 ELIGIBILITY AND REQUIREMENTS.— 

15 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—An acquisition or relo16 cation project shall be eligible to receive assist17 ance pursuant to subparagraph (A)(iii) only 

18 if— 

19 ‘‘(I) any property acquired, accepted, 

20 or from which a structure will be removed 

21 shall be dedicated and maintained in per22 petuity for a use that is compatible with 

23 open space, recreational, or wetland and 

24 natural floodplain management practices; 

25 and 


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1 ‘‘(II) any new structure erected on 

2 such property will be— 

3 ‘‘(aa) a public facility that is 

4 open on all sides and functionally re5 lated to a designated open space; 

6 ‘‘(bb) a restroom; or 

7 ‘‘(cc) a structure that the Admin8 istrator approves in writing before the 

9 commencement of the construction of 

10 the structure. 

11 ‘‘(ii) FURTHER ASSISTANCE.—If an acqui12 sition or relocation project is assisted pursuant 

13 to subparagraph (A)(iii)— 

14 ‘‘(I) no person may apply to a Federal 

15 entity for disaster assistance with regard 

16 to any property acquired, accepted, or 

17 from which a structure was removed as 

18 part of such acquisition or relocation 

19 project; and 

20 ‘‘(II) no Federal entity may provide 

21 disaster assistance for such property. 

22 ‘‘(iii) REQUIREMENT TO MAINTAIN FLOOD

23 INSURANCE COVERAGE.— 

24 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding 

25 any other provision of law, any assisted 


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1 structure shall, at all times, maintain in2 surance against flood damage, in accord3 ance with Federal law, for the life of such 

4 structure. 

5 ‘‘(II) TRANSFER OF PROPERTY.— 

6 ‘‘(aa) DUTY TO NOTIFY.—If any 

7 part of a property on which an as8 sisted structure is located is trans9 ferred, the transferor shall, not later 

10 than the date on which such transfer 

11 occurs, notify the transferee in writ12 ing, including in all documents evi13 dencing the transfer of ownership of 

14 the property, that such transferee is 

15 required to— 

16 ‘‘(AA) obtain flood insur17 ance in accordance with applica18 ble Federal law with respect to 

19 such assisted structure, if such 

20 structure is not so insured on the 

21 date on which the structure is 

22 transferred; and 

23 ‘‘(BB) maintain flood insur24 ance in accordance with applicaVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:29 Nov 04, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00039 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3128.IS S3128

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1 ble Federal law with respect to 

2 such structure. 

3 ‘‘(bb) FAILURE TO NOTIFY.—If a 

4 transferor fails to make a notification 

5 in accordance with item (aa) and such 

6 assisted structure is damaged by a 

7 flood disaster, the transferor shall pay 

8 the Federal Government an amount 

9 equal to the amount of any disaster 

10 relief provided by the Federal Govern11 ment with respect to such assisted 

12 structure. 

13 ‘‘(III) ASSISTED STRUCTURE DE14 FINED.—For the purposes of this clause, 

15 the term ‘assisted structure’ means a 

16 structure on property that is part of an ac17 quisition or relocation project assisted pur18 suant to subparagraph (A) that was, as 

19 part of such acquisition or relocation 

20 project— 

21 ‘‘(aa) altered; 

22 ‘‘(bb) improved; 

23 ‘‘(cc) replaced; 

24 ‘‘(dd) repaired; or 

25 ‘‘(ee) restored. 


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1 ‘‘(C) ELIGIBLE STRUCTURE DEFINED.—For 

2 purposes of this paragraph, the term ‘eligible struc3 ture’ means any structure that— 

4 ‘‘(i) was constructed in compliance with 

5 the Flood Insurance Rate Map and local build6 ing and zoning codes in effect on the date of 

7 construction of the structure; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) has not previously been altered, im9 proved, replaced, or repaired using assistance 

10 provided under this subsection. 

11 ‘‘(5) TREATMENT OF COVERAGE LIMITS.—Any 

12 amount of coverage provided for a property pursuant to 

13 this subsection shall not be considered or counted for pur14 poses of any limitation on coverage applicable to such 

15 property under section 1306(b) and any claim on such cov16 erage shall not be considered a claim for purposes of sec17 tion 1307(h) or subsection (a)(3) or (h)(3) of section 

18 1366. 

19 ‘‘(6) IMPLEMENTATION.—Notwithstanding any other 

20 provision of law, the Administrator may implement this 

21 subsection by adopting 1 or more standard endorsements 

22 to the Standard Flood Insurance Policy by publication of 

23 such standards in the Federal Register, or by comparable 

24 means.’’. 


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1 SEC. 203. FLOOD MITIGATION ASSISTANCE GRANTS. 

2 (a) FLOOD MITIGATION ASSISTANCE GRANT PRO3 GRAM PRIORITY.—Section 1366 of the National Flood In4 surance Act (42 U.S.C. 4104c) is amended— 

5 (1) in subsection (a)— 

6 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (1), (2), 

7 and (3) as subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C), re8 spectively, and adjusting the margins accord9 ingly; 

10 (B) in the second sentence of the matter 

11 preceding subparagraph (A), as so redesig12 nated, by striking ‘‘assistance shall be’’ and in13 serting the following: ‘‘assistance shall— 

14 ‘‘(1) be’’; 

15 (C) in paragraph (1)(C), as so redesig16 nated, by striking the period at the end and in17 serting ‘‘; and’’; and 

18 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(2) in addition to the requirement under para20 graph (1)(C), give priority to properties— 

21 ‘‘(A) that are repetitive loss structures; 

22 ‘‘(B) with respect to which the Adminis23 trator makes a determination that the premium 

24 rates with respect to a policy for flood insur25 ance coverage under this title— 

26 ‘‘(i) are unaffordable; or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) will soon become unaffordable as 

2 a result of a risk adjustment under Risk 

3 Rating 2.0, as in effect on the date of that 

4 determination; and 

5 ‘‘(C) for which aggregate losses exceed the 

6 replacement value of the properties.’’; and 

7 (2) in subsection (h), by adding at the end the 

8 following: 

9 ‘‘(4) UNAFFORDABLE.—The term 

10 ‘unaffordable’ means, with respect to the premium 

11 rates for a policy for flood insurance coverage under 

12 this title, that, in a year, those rates are in such an 

13 amount that the housing expenses (as defined in sec14 tion 1308B(a)) of the household that is the subject 

15 of the policy are, for that year, more than 30 per16 cent of the adjusted gross income (as defined in sec17 tion 62 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986).’’. 

18 (b) ADDITIONAL MITIGATION ASSISTANCE.— 

19 (1) APPROPRIATIONS FROM GENERAL FUND OF

20 TREASURY.—For each of the first 5 full fiscal years 

21 after the date of enactment of this Act, there is au22 thorized to be appropriated $1,000,000,000 to the 

23 National Flood Mitigation Fund to provide mitiga24 tion assistance under this subsection. 


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1 (2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—The authoriza2 tion of appropriations under subparagraph (A) shall 

3 not be construed to authorize the transfer or cred4 iting to the National Flood Mitigation Fund of any 

5 amounts from the National Flood Insurance Fund. 

6 SEC. 204. URBAN MITIGATION OPPORTUNITIES. 

7 (a) MITIGATION STRATEGIES.—Section 1361(d)(1) 

8 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 

9 4102(d)(1)) is amended— 

10 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

11 the end; 

12 (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

13 the end; and 

14 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (B) the fol15 lowing: 

16 ‘‘(C) with respect to buildings in dense 

17 urban environments, methods that can be de18 ployed on a block or neighborhood scale; and 

19 ‘‘(D) elevation of mechanical systems; 

20 and’’. 

21 (b) MITIGATION CREDIT.—Section 1308(k) of the 

22 National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 

23 4015(k)) is amended— 

24 (1) by striking ‘‘shall take into account’’ and 

25 inserting ‘‘shall— 


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1 ‘‘(1) take into account’’; 

2 (2) in paragraph (1), as so designated, by strik3 ing the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

4 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(2) offer a reduction of the risk premium rate 

6 charged to a policyholder in an amount that is not 

7 less than 10 percent of that rate if the policyholder 

8 implements any mitigation method described in 

9 paragraph (1).’’. 

10 SEC. 205. COMMUNITY RATING SYSTEM REGIONAL COORDI11 NATOR. 

12 Section 1315(b) of the National Flood Insurance Act 

13 of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4022(b)) is amended by adding at the 

14 end the following: 

15 ‘‘(5) REGIONAL COORDINATOR.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 

17 shall appoint a regional coordinator in each re18 gion served by a Regional Office (as defined in 

19 section 501 of the Homeland Security Act of 

20 2002 (6 U.S.C. 311)) to provide technical as21 sistance to small communities to enable those 

22 communities to effectively participate in and 

23 benefit from the community rating system pro24 gram. 


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1 ‘‘(B) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA2 TIONS.—There are authorized to be appro3 priated such sums as may be necessary to carry 

4 out this paragraph, which shall remain available 

5 until expended.’’. 

6 SEC. 206. MITIGATION LOAN PROGRAM. 

7 (a) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘mitiga8 tion measure’’ means, with respect to a structure, a meas9 ure undertaken to reduce the risk of flood damage to the 

10 structure. 

11 (b) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Administrator may es12 tablish a pilot program through which the Administrator 

13 may provide low-interest loans to policyholders under the 

14 National Flood Insurance Program for the purposes de15 scribed in subsection (c). 

16 (c) PURPOSES OF LOANS.—A loan provided to a pol17 icyholder under the pilot program established under sub18 section (b) shall be used to undertake mitigation measures 

19 with respect to the insured property that cost less than 

20 the cost of the estimated amount of premiums that would 

21 be paid with respect to the property during the 50-year 

22 period beginning in the year in which the loan is made 

23 and if those mitigation measures were not undertaken. 


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1 (d) SALE OF PROPERTY.—If a property with respect 

2 to which a loan has been made under this section is sold, 

3 upon that sale, the outstanding loan balance shall— 

4 (1) be repaid using the proceeds of the sale; or 

5 (2) carry over to the purchaser of the property 

6 if the purchaser so consents before the execution of 

7 the sale. 

8 SEC. 207. REVOLVING LOAN FUNDS. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter I of the National Flood 

10 Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4011 et seq.), as 

11 amended by section 103, is amended by adding at the end 

12 the following: 

13 ‘‘SEC. 1327. STATE OR TRIBAL GOVERNMENT REVOLVING 

14 LOAN FUNDS FOR FLOOD MITIGATION. 

15 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

16 ‘‘(1) COMMUNITY RATING SYSTEM.—The term 

17 ‘Community Rating System’ means the community 

18 rating system program carried out under section 

19 1315(b). 

20 ‘‘(2) INTENDED USE PLAN.—The term ‘in21 tended use plan’ means a plan prepared under sub22 section (d)(1). 

23 ‘‘(3) LOW-INCOME GEOGRAPHIC AREA.—The 

24 term ‘low-income geographic area’ means an area 

25 described in paragraph (1) or (2) of section 301(a) 


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•S 3128 IS

1 of the Public Works and Economic Development Act 

2 of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3161(a)). 

3 ‘‘(4) LOW-INCOME HOMEOWNER.—The term 

4 ‘low-income homeowner’ means the owner of a pri5 mary residence, the household income of which in a 

6 taxable year is not more than 80 percent of the me7 dian income for the area in which the residence is 

8 located. 

9 ‘‘(5) PARTICIPATING ENTITY.—The term ‘par10 ticipating entity’ means a State or Tribal govern11 ment that— 

12 ‘‘(A) has entered into an agreement under 

13 subsection (b)(1); and 

14 ‘‘(B) agrees to comply with the require15 ments of this section. 

16 ‘‘(6) PRE-FIRM BUILDING.—The term ‘pre17 FIRM building’ means a building for which con18 struction or substantial improvement occurred before 

19 the later of— 

20 ‘‘(A) December 31, 1974; or 

21 ‘‘(B) the effective date of the rate map 

22 published by the Administrator under section 

23 1360 for the area in which the building is lo24 cated. 


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•S 3128 IS

1 ‘‘(7) STATE OR TRIBAL GOVERNMENT LOAN

2 FUND.—The term ‘State or Tribal government loan 

3 fund’ means a flood mitigation assistance revolving 

4 loan fund established by a State or Tribal govern5 ment under this section. 

6 ‘‘(8) TRIBAL GOVERNMENT.—The term ‘Tribal 

7 government’ means the recognized government of an 

8 Indian tribe, or the governing body of an Alaska Na9 tive regional or village corporation, that has been de10 termined eligible to receive services from the Bureau 

11 of Indian Affairs. 

12 ‘‘(b) GENERAL AUTHORITY.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator may 

14 enter into an agreement with a State or Tribal gov15 ernment to provide a capitalization grant for the 

16 State or Tribal government to establish a revolving 

17 fund that will provide funding assistance to help 

18 homeowners, businesses, nonprofit organizations, 

19 and communities reduce flood risk in order to de20 crease— 

21 ‘‘(A) the loss of life and property; 

22 ‘‘(B) the cost of flood insurance; and 

23 ‘‘(C) Federal disaster payments. 

24 ‘‘(2) TIMING OF DEPOSIT AND AGREEMENTS

25 FOR DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.— 


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•S 3128 IS

1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than the 

2 last day of the fiscal year following the fiscal 

3 year in which a capitalization grant is made to 

4 a participating entity under paragraph (1), the 

5 participating entity shall— 

6 ‘‘(i) deposit the grant in the State or 

7 Tribal government loan fund of the partici8 pating entity; and 

9 ‘‘(ii) enter into 1 or more binding 

10 agreements that provide for the partici11 pating entity to distribute the grant funds 

12 for purposes authorized under subsection 

13 (c) such that— 

14 ‘‘(I) in the case of the initial 

15 grant made to a participating entity 

16 under this section, not less than 75 

17 percent of the amount of the grant 

18 shall be distributed before the end of 

19 the 2-year period beginning on the 

20 date on which the funds are deposited 

21 in the State or Tribal government 

22 loan fund of the participating entity; 

23 and 

24 ‘‘(II) in the case of any subse25 quent grant made to a participating 


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•S 3128 IS

1 entity under this section, not less than 

2 90 percent of the amount of the grant 

3 shall be distributed before the end of 

4 the 1-year period beginning on the 

5 date on which the funds are deposited 

6 in the State or Tribal government 

7 loan fund of the participating entity. 

8 ‘‘(B) NONCOMPLIANCE.—Except as pro9 vided in subparagraph (C), if a participating 

10 entity does not comply with subparagraph (A) 

11 with respect to a grant, the Administrator shall 

12 reallocate the grant in accordance with para13 graph (3)(B). 

14 ‘‘(C) EXCEPTION.—The Administrator 

15 may not reallocate any funds under subpara16 graph (B) to a participating entity that violated 

17 subparagraph (A) with respect to a grant made 

18 during the same fiscal year in which the funds 

19 to be reallocated were originally made available. 

20 ‘‘(3) ALLOCATION.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 

22 shall allocate amounts made available to carry 

23 out this section to participating entities— 

24 ‘‘(i) for the participating entities to 

25 deposit in the State or Tribal government 


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•S 3128 IS

1 loan fund established by the participating 

2 entity; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) except as provided in paragraph 

4 (6), in accordance with the requirements 

5 described in subparagraph (B). 

6 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS.—The requirements 

7 described in this subparagraph are as follows: 

8 ‘‘(i) Fifty percent of the total amount 

9 made available under subparagraph (A) 

10 shall be allocated so that each partici11 pating entity receives the percentage 

12 amount that is obtained by dividing the 

13 number of properties that were insured 

14 under the national flood insurance pro15 gram in that State or Tribal government 

16 jurisdiction, as applicable, in the fiscal 

17 year preceding the fiscal year in which the 

18 amount is allocated by the total number of 

19 properties that were insured under the na20 tional flood insurance program in the fiscal 

21 year preceding the fiscal year in which the 

22 amount is allocated. 

23 ‘‘(ii) Fifty percent of the total amount 

24 made available under subparagraph (A) 

25 shall be allocated so that each particiVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:29 Nov 04, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00052 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3128.IS S3128

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•S 3128 IS

1 pating entity receives a percentage of 

2 funds that is equal to the product obtained 

3 under clause (iii)(IV) with respect to that 

4 participating entity after following the pro5 cedures described in clause (iii). 

6 ‘‘(iii) The procedures described in this 

7 clause are as follows: 

8 ‘‘(I) Divide the total amount col9 lected in premiums for properties in10 sured under the national flood insur11 ance program in each participating 

12 entity during the previous fiscal year 

13 by the number of properties insured 

14 under the national flood insurance 

15 program in that State or Tribal gov16 ernment jurisdiction, as applicable, for 

17 that fiscal year. 

18 ‘‘(II) Add together each quotient 

19 obtained under subclause (I). 

20 ‘‘(III) For each participating en21 tity, divide the quotient obtained 

22 under subclause (I) with respect to 

23 that State or Tribal government juris24 diction, as applicable, by the sum ob25 tained under subclause (II). 


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1 ‘‘(IV) For each participating en2 tity, multiply the amount that is 50 

3 percent of the total amount made 

4 available under subparagraph (A) by 

5 the quotient obtained under subclause 

6 (III). 

7 ‘‘(iv) Except as provided in paragraph 

8 (5), in a fiscal year— 

9 ‘‘(I) a participating entity may 

10 not receive more than 15 percent of 

11 the total amount that is made avail12 able under subparagraph (A) in that 

13 fiscal year; and 

14 ‘‘(II) if a participating entity, 

15 based on the requirements under 

16 clauses (i) through (iii), would, but 

17 for the limitation under subclause (I) 

18 of this clause, receive an amount that 

19 is greater than the amount that the 

20 State or Tribal government jurisdic21 tion, as applicable, is authorized to re22 ceive under that subclause, the dif23 ference between the authorized 

24 amount and the amount otherwise due 

25 to the State or Tribal government juVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:29 Nov 04, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00054 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3128.IS S3128

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•S 3128 IS

1 risdiction, as applicable, under clauses 

2 (i) through (iii) shall be allocated to 

3 other participating entities— 

4 ‘‘(aa) that, in that fiscal 

5 year, have not received an 

6 amount under subparagraph (A) 

7 that is more than the authorized 

8 amount under subclause (I) of 

9 this clause; and 

10 ‘‘(bb) by using the require11 ments under clauses (i) through 

12 (iii), except that a participating 

13 entity may receive an allocation 

14 under this subclause only if the 

15 allocation does not result in the 

16 State or Tribal government juris17 diction, as applicable, receiving a 

18 total amount for the fiscal year 

19 under subparagraph (A) that is 

20 greater than the authorized 

21 amount under subclause (I). 

22 ‘‘(4) NO REVOLVING FUND REQUIRED.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any 

24 other provision of this section, and subject to 

25 subparagraph (B), a participating entity that 


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•S 3128 IS

1 receives less than $4,000,000 under paragraph 

2 (3)(B) in a fiscal year may distribute the funds 

3 directly in the form of grants or technical as4 sistance for a purpose described in subsection 

5 (c)(2), without regard to whether the partici6 pating entity has established a State or Tribal 

7 government loan fund. 

8 ‘‘(B) MATCHING.—A participating entity 

9 that exercises the authority under subparagraph 

10 (A) in a fiscal year shall provide matching 

11 funds from non-Federal sources in an amount 

12 that is equal to 25 percent of the amount that 

13 the participating entity receives under para14 graph (3)(B) in that fiscal year for purposes 

15 described in subparagraph (A). 

16 ‘‘(5) ALLOCATION OF REMAINING FUNDS.— 

17 After allocating amounts made available to carry out 

18 this section for a fiscal year in accordance with 

19 paragraph (3), the Administrator shall allocate any 

20 remaining amounts made available for that fiscal 

21 year to participating entities, using the procedures 

22 described in clauses (i) through (iii) of paragraph 

23 (3)(B). 

24 ‘‘(6) RESERVATION OF FUNDS.—The Adminis25 trator shall reserve not more than 1.5 percent of the 


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•S 3128 IS

1 amount made available to carry out this section in 

2 a fiscal year— 

3 ‘‘(A) for administrative costs incurred by 

4 the Federal Emergency Management Agency in 

5 carrying out this section; 

6 ‘‘(B) to provide technical assistance to re7 cipients of grants under this section; and 

8 ‘‘(C) to enter into grant agreements with 

9 insular areas, with the grant funds to be dis10 tributed— 

11 ‘‘(i) according to criteria established 

12 by the Administrator; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) for a purpose described in sub14 section (c)(2). 

15 ‘‘(c) USE OF FUNDS.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Amounts deposited in a 

17 State or Tribal government loan fund, including re18 payments of loans made from the fund and interest 

19 earned on the amounts in the fund, shall be used— 

20 ‘‘(A) consistent with paragraph (2) and 

21 subsection (g), to provide financial assistance 

22 for— 

23 ‘‘(i) homeowners, businesses, and non24 profit organizations that are eligible to 


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•S 3128 IS

1 participate in the national flood insurance 

2 program; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) any local government that par4 ticipates in the national flood insurance 

5 program; 

6 ‘‘(B) as a source of revenue and security 

7 for leveraged loans, the proceeds of which shall 

8 be deposited in the State or Tribal government 

9 loan fund; or 

10 ‘‘(C) for the sale of bonds as security for 

11 payment of the principal and interest on rev12 enue or general obligation bonds issued by the 

13 participating entity to provide matching funds 

14 under subsection (f), if the proceeds from the 

15 sale of the bonds are deposited in the State or 

16 Tribal government loan fund. 

17 ‘‘(2) PURPOSES.—A recipient of financial as18 sistance provided through amounts from a State or 

19 Tribal government loan fund— 

20 ‘‘(A) shall use the amounts to reduce— 

21 ‘‘(i) flood risk; or 

22 ‘‘(ii) potential claims for losses cov23 ered under the national flood insurance 

24 program; 


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•S 3128 IS

1 ‘‘(B) shall use the amounts in a cost-effec2 tive manner under requirements established by 

3 the participating entity, which may require an 

4 applicant for financial assistance to submit any 

5 information that the participating entity con6 siders relevant or necessary before the date on 

7 which the applicant receives the assistance; 

8 ‘‘(C) shall use the amounts for projects 

9 that— 

10 ‘‘(i) meet design and construction 

11 standards established by the Adminis12 trator; 

13 ‘‘(ii) are located in communities 

14 that— 

15 ‘‘(I) participate in the national 

16 flood insurance program; and 

17 ‘‘(II) have developed a commu18 nity flood risk mitigation plan that 

19 has been approved by the Adminis20 trator under section 1366; 

21 ‘‘(iii) address— 

22 ‘‘(I) a repetitive loss structure or 

23 a severe repetitive loss property; or 

24 ‘‘(II) flood risk in the 500-year 

25 floodplain, areas of residual flood risk, 


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•S 3128 IS

1 or other areas of potential flood risk, 

2 as identified by the Administrator; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(iv) address current risk and antici5 pate future risk, such as sea-level rise, and 

6 flood risk resulting from wildfire; 

7 ‘‘(D) may use the amounts— 

8 ‘‘(i) for projects relating to— 

9 ‘‘(I) structural elevation; 

10 ‘‘(II) floodproofing; 

11 ‘‘(III) the relocation or removal 

12 of buildings from the 100-year flood13 plain or other areas of flood risk, in14 cluding the acquisition of properties 

15 for such a purpose; 

16 ‘‘(IV) environmental restoration 

17 activities that directly reduce flood 

18 risk, including green infrastructure; 

19 ‘‘(V) any eligible activity de20 scribed in subparagraphs (A) through 

21 (G) of section 1366(c)(3); or 

22 ‘‘(VI) other activities determined 

23 appropriate by the Administrator; 

24 ‘‘(ii) with respect to a project de25 scribed in clause (i), only for expenditures 


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•S 3128 IS

1 directly related to a project described in 

2 that clause, including expenditures for 

3 planning, design, and associated pre-con4 struction activities; 

5 ‘‘(iii) to acquire, for the purposes of 

6 permanent protection, land, buildings, or a 

7 conservation easement from a willing seller 

8 or grantor, provided that— 

9 ‘‘(I) the use of the land will be 

10 committed in perpetuity, with assur11 ances from the recipient, that the land 

12 will only be used for open spaces, rec13 reational use, or wetland management 

14 practices; and 

15 ‘‘(II) no new structure will be 

16 erected on the property acquired other 

17 than— 

18 ‘‘(aa) a public facility that is 

19 open on all sides and functionally 

20 related to a designated open 

21 space; 

22 ‘‘(bb) a restroom; or 

23 ‘‘(cc) a structure that the 

24 Administrator approves in writ25 ing before the commencement of 


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•S 3128 IS

1 a construction of the structure; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(iv) the recipient may make no sub4 sequent application for disaster assistance 

5 for any purpose and no such assistance 

6 will be provided to the applicant from any 

7 Federal source; 

8 ‘‘(E) may not use the amounts— 

9 ‘‘(i) to construct buildings or expand 

10 existing buildings, unless the activity is for 

11 the purpose of flood mitigation; 

12 ‘‘(ii) to improve any structure, unless 

13 the recipient has obtained flood insurance 

14 coverage, which shall be maintained for the 

15 useful life of the structure, in an amount 

16 that is not less than the lesser of— 

17 ‘‘(I) the eligible project costs with 

18 respect to the structure; and 

19 ‘‘(II) the maximum insurable 

20 limit for the structure under the na21 tional flood insurance program cov22 erage for the structure; 

23 ‘‘(iii) to improve a residential property 

24 with an appraised value that is not less 

25 than 125 percent of the limitation on the 


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•S 3128 IS

1 maximum original principal obligation of a 

2 conventional mortgage that may be pur3 chased by the Federal National Mortgage 

4 Association or the Federal Home Loan 

5 Mortgage Corporation in the area in which 

6 the property is located, as established 

7 under section 302(b)(2) of the Federal Na8 tional Mortgage Association Charter Act 

9 (12 U.S.C. 1717(b)(2)) and section 

10 305(a)(2) of the Federal Home Loan 

11 Mortgage Corporation Act (12 U.S.C. 

12 1454(a)(2)); 

13 ‘‘(iv) for the direct benefit of a home14 owner if the annual household adjusted 

15 gross income of the homeowner during the 

16 previous fiscal year was not less than 

17 $200,000, as annually adjusted by the Ad18 ministrator to reflect changes in the Con19 sumer Price Index for All Urban Con20 sumers, as published by the Bureau of 

21 Labor Statistics of the Department of 

22 Labor and rounded to the nearest $25; or 

23 ‘‘(v) to acquire real property or an in24 terest in real property unless the property 

25 is purchased from a willing seller; and 


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•S 3128 IS

1 ‘‘(F) to the maximum extent practicable, 

2 shall, in using those amounts, give priority to 

3 projects that assist low-income homeowners and 

4 low-income geographical areas. 

5 ‘‘(d) INTENDED USE PLANS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—After providing the oppor7 tunity for public review and comment, each partici8 pating entity shall annually prepare a plan that 

9 identifies, for the year following the date of issuance 

10 of the intended use plan, the intended uses of the 

11 amounts available in the State or Tribal government 

12 loan fund of the participating entity. 

13 ‘‘(2) CONSULTATION DURING PREPARATION.— 

14 Each participating entity, in preparing an intended 

15 use plan, shall ensure that the State or Tribal gov16 ernment agency with primary responsibility for 

17 floodplain management— 

18 ‘‘(A) provides oversight with respect to the 

19 preparation of the intended use plan; and 

20 ‘‘(B) consults with any other appropriate 

21 State or Tribal government agency, including 

22 agencies responsible for coastal and environ23 mental management. 

24 ‘‘(3) CONTENTS.—A participating entity shall, 

25 in each intended use plan— 


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•S 3128 IS

1 ‘‘(A) include— 

2 ‘‘(i) an explanation of the mitigation 

3 and resiliency benefits the participating en4 tity intends to achieve, including by— 

5 ‘‘(I) reducing future damage and 

6 loss associated with flooding; 

7 ‘‘(II) reducing the number of se8 vere repetitive loss properties and re9 petitive loss structures in the State or 

10 Tribal government jurisdiction, as ap11 plicable; 

12 ‘‘(III) decreasing the number of 

13 flood insurance claims in the State or 

14 Tribal government jurisdiction, as ap15 plicable; and 

16 ‘‘(IV) increasing the rating under 

17 the Community Rating System for 

18 communities in the State or Tribal 

19 government jurisdiction, as applicable; 

20 ‘‘(ii) information with respect to the 

21 availability of, and the application process 

22 for receiving, financial assistance from the 

23 State or Tribal government loan fund of 

24 the participating entity; 


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•S 3128 IS

1 ‘‘(iii) the criteria and methods estab2 lished for the distribution of amounts from 

3 the State or Tribal government loan fund 

4 of the participating entity; 

5 ‘‘(iv) the amount of financial assist6 ance that the participating entity antici7 pates providing to— 

8 ‘‘(I) local government projects; 

9 and 

10 ‘‘(II) projects for homeowners, 

11 business, or nonprofit organizations; 

12 ‘‘(v) the expected terms of the assist13 ance provided under clause (iv); and 

14 ‘‘(vi) a description of the financial sta15 tus of the State or Tribal government loan 

16 fund and the short-term and long-term 

17 goals of the State or Tribal government 

18 loan fund; and 

19 ‘‘(B) provide, to the maximum extent prac20 ticable, that priority for the use of amounts 

21 from the State or Tribal government loan fund 

22 shall be given to projects that— 

23 ‘‘(i) address severe repetitive loss 

24 properties and repetitive loss structures; 


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•S 3128 IS

1 ‘‘(ii) assist low-income homeowners 

2 and low-income geographic areas; and 

3 ‘‘(iii) address flood risk for pre-FIRM 

4 buildings. 

5 ‘‘(4) PUBLICATION.—Each participating entity 

6 shall publish and periodically update a list of all 

7 projects receiving funding from the State or Tribal 

8 government loan fund of the participating entity, 

9 which shall include identification of— 

10 ‘‘(A) the community in which the project is 

11 located; 

12 ‘‘(B) the type and amount of assistance 

13 provided for each project; and 

14 ‘‘(C) the expected funding schedule and 

15 date of completion of each project. 

16 ‘‘(e) FUND MANAGEMENT.—Amounts in a State or 

17 Tribal government loan fund shall— 

18 ‘‘(1) remain available for providing financial as19 sistance under this section until distributed; 

20 ‘‘(2) if the amounts are not required for imme21 diate distribution or expenditure, be invested in in22 terest-bearing obligations; and 

23 ‘‘(3) except as provided in subsection (i), in24 clude only— 


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•S 3128 IS

1 ‘‘(A) amounts received from capitalization 

2 grants made under this section; 

3 ‘‘(B) repayments of loans made from the 

4 fund; and 

5 ‘‘(C) interest earned on amounts in the 

6 fund. 

7 ‘‘(f) MATCHING FUNDS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) FULL GRANT.—On or before the date on 

9 which a participating entity receives a capitalization 

10 grant, the participating shall deposit into the State 

11 or Tribal government loan fund of the participating 

12 entity, in addition to the amount of the capitaliza13 tion grant, an amount from non-Federal sources 

14 that is not less than 20 percent of the total amount 

15 of the capitalization grant. 

16 ‘‘(2) REDUCED GRANT.—If, with respect to a 

17 capitalization grant, a participating entity deposits 

18 in the State or Tribal government loan fund of the 

19 participating entity an amount from non-Federal 

20 sources that is less than 20 percent of the total 

21 amount of the capitalization grant that the partici22 pating entity would otherwise receive, the Adminis23 trator shall— 

24 ‘‘(A) reduce the amount of the capitaliza25 tion grant received by the participating entity 


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•S 3128 IS

1 to the amount that is 5 times the amount so 

2 deposited; and 

3 ‘‘(B) in accordance with subsection (b)(5), 

4 allocate the difference between the amount that 

5 the participating entity would have received if 

6 the participating entity had complied with para7 graph (1) and the amount of the reduced grant 

8 that the participating entity receives under sub9 paragraph (A). 

10 ‘‘(g) TYPES OF ASSISTANCE.—Unless otherwise pro11 hibited by law of a participating entity, the participating 

12 entity may use the amounts deposited into a State or Trib13 al government loan fund under this section only— 

14 ‘‘(1) to make a loan, on the condition that— 

15 ‘‘(A) the interest rate for the loan is not 

16 more than the market interest rate; 

17 ‘‘(B) the recipient of the loan will begin 

18 making principal and interest payments on the 

19 loan not later than 1 year after the date on 

20 which the project for which the loan was made 

21 is completed; 

22 ‘‘(C) the loan will be fully amortized not 

23 later than 20 years after the date on which the 

24 project for which the loan was made is com25 pleted, except that, in the case of a loan made 


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•S 3128 IS

1 for a project in a low-income geographic area or 

2 to a low-income homeowner, the State may pro3 vide a longer amortization period for the loan if 

4 that longer period— 

5 ‘‘(i) ends on a date that is not later 

6 than 30 years after the date on which the 

7 project is completed; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) is not longer than the expected 

9 design life of the project; 

10 ‘‘(D) the recipient of the loan dem11 onstrates, based on verified and documented in12 formation that, as of the date on which the loan 

13 is made, the recipient has a reasonable ability 

14 to repay the loan, according to the terms of the 

15 loan, except that this subparagraph may not be 

16 construed to authorize any reduction or limita17 tion in efforts to comply with the requirements 

18 of subsection (c)(2)(F); and 

19 ‘‘(E) payments of principal and interest 

20 with respect to the loan will be deposited into 

21 the State or Tribal government loan fund; 

22 ‘‘(2) to buy or refinance the debt obligation of 

23 a local government at an interest rate that is not 

24 more than the market interest rate; 


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•S 3128 IS

1 ‘‘(3) to guarantee, or purchase insurance for, a 

2 local obligation, the proceeds of which finance a 

3 project eligible for assistance under this section, if 

4 the guarantee or purchase, as applicable, would— 

5 ‘‘(A) improve credit market access; or 

6 ‘‘(B) reduce the interest rate with respect 

7 to the obligation; 

8 ‘‘(4) as a source of revenue or as security for 

9 the payment of principal and interest on revenue or 

10 general obligation bonds issued by the participating 

11 entity if the proceeds of the sale of the bonds will 

12 be deposited into the State or Tribal government 

13 loan fund; or 

14 ‘‘(5) to earn interest on those amounts. 

15 ‘‘(h) ASSISTANCE FOR LOW-INCOME HOMEOWNERS

16 AND LOW-INCOME GEOGRAPHIC AREAS.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

18 provision of this section, if a participating entity 

19 uses amounts from a State or Tribal government 

20 loan fund to provide financial assistance under sub21 section (c) in a low-income geographic area or to a 

22 low-income homeowner, the participating entity may 

23 provide additional subsidization to the recipient of 

24 the assistance, including forgiveness of the principal 

25 of a loan. 


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•S 3128 IS

1 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—For each fiscal year, the 

2 total amount of additional subsidization provided by 

3 a participating entity under paragraph (1) may not 

4 exceed 30 percent of the amount of the capitaliza5 tion grant allocated to the participating entity for 

6 that fiscal year. 

7 ‘‘(i) ADMINISTRATION OF FUND.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A participating entity may 

9 combine the financial administration of a State or 

10 Tribal government loan fund with the financial ad11 ministration of any other revolving fund established 

12 by the participating entity if— 

13 ‘‘(A) combining the administration of the 

14 funds would— 

15 ‘‘(i) be convenient and avoid adminis16 trative costs; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) not violate the law of the partici18 pating entity; and 

19 ‘‘(B) the Administrator determines that— 

20 ‘‘(i) amounts obtained from a grant 

21 made under this section, amounts obtained 

22 from the repayment of a loan made from 

23 a State or Tribal government loan fund, 

24 and interest earned on amounts in a State 

25 or Tribal government loan fund will be— 


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•S 3128 IS

1 ‘‘(I) accounted for separately 

2 from amounts from other revolving 

3 funds; and 

4 ‘‘(II) used only for purposes au5 thorized under this section; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) after consulting with the appro7 priate State or Tribal government agen8 cies, the authority to establish assistance 

9 priorities and carry out oversight and re10 lated activities, other than financial admin11 istration, with respect to flood assistance 

12 remains with the State or Tribal govern13 ment agency with primary responsibility 

14 for floodplain management. 

15 ‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATIVE AND TECHNICAL

16 COSTS.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For each fiscal year, a 

18 participating entity may use the amount de19 scribed in subparagraph (B) to— 

20 ‘‘(i) pay the reasonable costs of ad21 ministration of the programs under this 

22 section, including the recovery of reason23 able costs incurred in establishing a State 

24 or Tribal government loan fund; 


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•S 3128 IS

1 ‘‘(ii) provide appropriate oversight of 

2 projects authorized under this section; and 

3 ‘‘(iii) provide technical assistance and 

4 outreach to recipients in the State or Trib5 al government jurisdiction of amounts 

6 under this section, including with respect 

7 to updating hazard mitigation plans and 

8 participating in the Community Rating 

9 System, in an amount that is not more 

10 than 4 percent of the funds made available 

11 to the State or Tribal government jurisdic12 tion under this section. 

13 ‘‘(B) DESCRIPTION.—The amount de14 scribed in this subparagraph is an amount 

15 equal to the sum of— 

16 ‘‘(i) any fees collected by a partici17 pating entity to recover the costs described 

18 in subparagraph (A)(i), regardless of the 

19 source; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) the greatest of— 

21 ‘‘(I) $400,000; 

22 ‘‘(II) 0.2 percent of the value of 

23 the State or Tribal government loan 

24 fund of a participating entity, as of 


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1 the date on which the valuation is 

2 made; and 

3 ‘‘(III) an amount equal to 7 per4 cent of all grant awards made to a 

5 participating entity for the State or 

6 Tribal government loan fund of the 

7 participating entity under this section 

8 for the fiscal year. 

9 ‘‘(3) AUDIT AND REPORT.— 

10 ‘‘(A) AUDIT REQUIREMENT.—Not less fre11 quently than biennially, each participating enti12 ty shall conduct an audit of the State or Tribal 

13 government loan fund of the participating enti14 ty. 

15 ‘‘(B) REPORT.—Each participating entity 

16 shall submit to the Administrator a biennial re17 port regarding the activities of the participating 

18 entity under this section during the period cov19 ered by the report, including— 

20 ‘‘(i) the result of any audit conducted 

21 by the participating entity under subpara22 graph (A); and 

23 ‘‘(ii) a review of the effectiveness of 

24 the State or Tribal government loan fund 


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1 of the participating entity with respect 

2 to— 

3 ‘‘(I) the intended use plans of the 

4 participating entity; and 

5 ‘‘(II) meeting the objectives de6 scribed in subsection (b)(1). 

7 ‘‘(4) OVERSIGHT.—In conducting oversight with 

8 respect to State or Tribal government loan funds es9 tablished under this section, the Administrator— 

10 ‘‘(A) shall— 

11 ‘‘(i) periodically audit the funds in ac12 cordance with procedures established by 

13 the Comptroller General of the United 

14 States; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) not less frequently than once 

16 every 4 years, review each State or Tribal 

17 government loan fund to determine the ef18 fectiveness of the fund in reducing flood 

19 risk; and 

20 ‘‘(B) may, at any time— 

21 ‘‘(i) make recommendations to a par22 ticipating entity with respect to the admin23 istration of the State or Tribal government 

24 loan fund of the participating entity; or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) require specific changes with re2 spect to a State or Tribal government loan 

3 fund of the participating entity in order to 

4 improve the effectiveness of the fund. 

5 ‘‘(j) LIABILITY PROTECTIONS.—The Federal Emer6 gency Management Agency shall not be liable for any 

7 claim based on the exercise or performance of, or the fail8 ure to exercise or perform, a discretionary function or duty 

9 by the Agency, or an employee of the Agency, in carrying 

10 out this section. 

11 ‘‘(k) REGULATIONS.—The Administrator shall pro12 mulgate such guidance or regulations as may be necessary 

13 to carry out this section, including guidance or regulations 

14 that— 

15 ‘‘(1) ensure that each participating entity to 

16 which funds are allocated under this section uses the 

17 funds as efficiently as possible; 

18 ‘‘(2) reduce, to the maximum extent prac19 ticable, waste, fraud, and abuse with respect to the 

20 implementation of this section; and 

21 ‘‘(3) require any party that receives funds di22 rectly or indirectly under this section, including a 

23 participating entity and a recipient of amounts from 

24 a State or Tribal government loan fund, to use pro25 cedures with respect to the management of the 


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1 funds that conform to generally accepted accounting 

2 standards. 

3 ‘‘(l) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

4 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 

5 necessary to carry out this section for fiscal years 2022 

6 through 2031.’’. 

7 (b) CONSIDERATION OF MITIGATION MEASURES

8 FUNDED BY STATE LOAN FUNDS IN FLOOD INSURANCE

9 PREMIUM RATES.— 

10 (1) ESTIMATED RATES.—Section 

11 1307(a)(1)(A)(ii) of the National Flood Insurance 

12 Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4014(a)(1)(A)(ii)) is amend13 ed by striking ‘‘and similar measures’’ and inserting 

14 ‘‘similar measures, and any activities funded 

15 through amounts from a State or Tribal government 

16 loan fund established under section 1327’’. 

17 (2) CHARGEABLE RATES.—Section 1308(b)(1) 

18 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 

19 U.S.C. 4015(b)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘and 

20 similar measures’’ and inserting ‘‘similar measures, 

21 and any activities funded through amounts from a 

22 State or Tribal government loan fund established 

23 under section 1327’’. 


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1 SEC. 208. MAPPING MODERNIZATION. 

2 (a) AMENDMENTS TO THE BIGGERT-WATERS FLOOD

3 INSURANCE REFORM ACT OF 2012.—The Biggert-Waters 

4 Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012 (42 U.S.C. 4004 et 

5 seq.) is amended— 

6 (1) in section 100215 (42 U.S.C. 4101a)— 

7 (A) in subsection (b)— 

8 (i) in paragraph (1)— 

9 (I) by redesignating subpara10 graphs (A) through (E) as subpara11 graphs (B) through (F), respectively; 

12 (II) by inserting before subpara13 graph (B), as so redesignated, the fol14 lowing: 

15 ‘‘(A) the Director of the United States Ge16 ological Survey;’’; and 

17 (III) in subparagraph (F), as so 

18 redesignated— 

19 (aa) in the matter preceding 

20 clause (i), by striking ‘‘16’’ and 

21 inserting ‘‘17’’; 

22 (bb) in clause (xiii), by strik23 ing ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

24 (cc) in clause (xiv), by strik25 ing the period at the end and in26 serting ‘‘; and’’; and 


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1 (dd) by adding at the end 

2 the following: 

3 ‘‘(xv) an expert in the field of cata4 strophic risk modeling.’’; 

5 (ii) in paragraph (2), in the second 

6 sentence, by striking ‘‘paragraph (1)(E)’’ 

7 and inserting ‘‘paragraph (1)(F)’’; and 

8 (iii) by adding at the end the fol9 lowing: 

10 ‘‘(3) CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.—A member of 

11 the Council— 

12 ‘‘(A) may not, while serving on the Coun13 cil, be employed or retained by— 

14 ‘‘(i) a Federal Emergency Manage15 ment Agency contractor or consultant; or 

16 ‘‘(ii) a nongovernmental entity that 

17 was awarded a Federal grant during the 5- 

18 year period preceding the date on which 

19 the member was appointed to the Council; 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(B) may not have been employed by a 

22 Federal Emergency Management Agency con23 tractor or consultant during the 5-year period 

24 preceding the date on which the member was 

25 appointed to the Council.’’; and 


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1 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

2 ‘‘(m) PRIVATE OR COMMUNITY FLOOD MAPS.— 

3 ‘‘(1) STANDARDS AND PROCEDURES.—In addi4 tion to the other duties of the Council under this 

5 section, not later than 1 year after the date of enact6 ment of this subsection, the Council shall develop 

7 and establish a set of standards, guidelines, and pro8 cedures for— 

9 ‘‘(A) State and local governments, feder10 ally or State-recognized metropolitan planning 

11 organizations (commonly known as ‘MPOs’), 

12 federally or State-recognized councils of local 

13 governments, and federally or State-recognized 

14 rural transportation planning organizations to 

15 use in mapping flood risks and developing alter16 native maps to the flood insurance rate maps 

17 developed by the Administrator; and 

18 ‘‘(B) certification, by the Administrator 

19 not later than 90 days after the date on which 

20 a map developed under subparagraph (A) is 

21 submitted to the Administrator, for use under 

22 the National Flood Insurance Program in the 

23 case of any area covered by a flood insurance 

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1 istrator that has not been updated or reissued 

2 during the preceding 3-year period. 

3 ‘‘(2) TREATMENT.—On and after the date on 

4 which the Administrator certifies a map under para5 graph (1)(B), and subject to the requirements of 

6 section 1363 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 

7 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4104), the map— 

8 ‘‘(A) shall be considered the flood insur9 ance rate map in effect for all purposes of the 

10 National Flood Insurance Program with respect 

11 to the area covered by the map; and 

12 ‘‘(B) may not be revised, updated, or re13 placed in accordance with the standards, guide14 lines, and procedures established under para15 graph (1) before the expiration of the 3-year 

16 period beginning on that date of certification. 

17 ‘‘(3) EXEMPTION FROM RULEMAKING.—Until 

18 the date on which the Administrator promulgates 

19 regulations implementing paragraphs (1) and (2), 

20 the Administrator may adopt policies and proce21 dures, notwithstanding any other provision of law, 

22 necessary to implement those paragraphs without re23 gard to section 553 of title 5, United States Code, 

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1 wise required by statute, regulation, or Executive 

2 order.’’; and 

3 (2) in section 100216 (42 U.S.C. 4101b)— 

4 (A) in subsection (b)— 

5 (i) in paragraph (1)— 

6 (I) in subparagraph (A)— 

7 (aa) in clause (v), by strik8 ing ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

9 (bb) in clause (vi), by add10 ing ‘‘and’’ at the end; and 

11 (cc) by inserting after clause 

12 (vi) the following: 

13 ‘‘(vii) all other areas of the United 

14 States that are not described in clauses (i) 

15 through (vi);’’; 

16 (II) in subparagraph (B), by 

17 striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

18 (III) in subparagraph (C), by 

19 striking the period at the end and in20 serting ‘‘, including the most recently 

21 available and best remote sensing 

22 technology;’’; and 

23 (IV) by adding at the end the fol24 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(D) when appropriate, partner with other 

2 Federal agencies, States, and private entities in 

3 order to meet the objectives of the program; 

4 and 

5 ‘‘(E) consult and coordinate with the Sec6 retary of Defense, the Director of the United 

7 States Geological Survey, the Director of the 

8 Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Adminis9 trator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

10 Administration to obtain the most up-to-date 

11 maps and other information of those agencies, 

12 including information relating to topography, 

13 water flow, watershed characteristics, and any 

14 other issues that are relevant to identifying, re15 viewing, updating, maintaining, and publishing 

16 National Flood Insurance Program rate 

17 maps.’’; and 

18 (ii) in paragraph (3)— 

19 (I) in subparagraph (A), by re20 designating clauses (i) and (ii) as sub21 clauses (I) and (II), respectively, and 

22 adjusting the margins accordingly; 

23 (II) by redesignating subpara24 graphs (A) through (E) as clauses (i) 


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1 through (v), respectively, and adjust2 ing the margins accordingly; 

3 (III) in the matter preceding 

4 clause (i), as so redesignated, by 

5 striking ‘‘Administrator shall in6 clude—’’ and inserting the following: 

7 ‘‘Administrator— 

8 ‘‘(A) shall include—’’; 

9 (IV) in subparagraph (A)(v), as 

10 so redesignated, by striking the period 

11 at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

12 (V) by adding at the end the fol13 lowing: 

14 ‘‘(B) may include— 

15 ‘‘(i) any relevant information that is 

16 obtained under paragraph (1)(E); and 

17 ‘‘(ii) cadastral features, including, for 

18 each cadastral feature— 

19 ‘‘(I) the associated parcel identi20 fication data for that feature; and 

21 ‘‘(II) to the maximum extent 

22 practicable, using public and private 

23 sector address data, the address of 

24 that feature.’’; 

25 (B) in subsection (c)(2)— 


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1 (i) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

2 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

3 (ii) in subparagraph (C), by striking 

4 the period at the end and inserting a semi5 colon; and 

6 (iii) by adding at the end the fol7 lowing: 

8 ‘‘(D) not later than 5 years after the date 

9 on which the National Geodetic Survey com10 pletes the modernization of the National Spatial 

11 Reference System in 2022, updated to conform 

12 with the geospatial data provided by that sys13 tem; and 

14 ‘‘(E) spatially accurate in accordance with 

15 the common protocols for geographic informa16 tion systems under applicable law.’’; 

17 (C) by redesignating subsection (f) as sub18 section (g); 

19 (D) by inserting after subsection (e) the 

20 following: 

21 ‘‘(f) INCORPORATING BUILDING-SPECIFIC FLOOD

22 RISK INFORMATION.— 

23 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 5 years 

25 after the date of enactment of the National 


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1 Flood Insurance Program Reauthorization and 

2 Reform Act of 2021, the Administrator, in co3 ordination with, and as recommended by, the 

4 Technical Mapping Advisory Council, shall es5 tablish a dynamic, database-derived digital dis6 play environment for flood hazard risk produc7 tion and dissemination. 

8 ‘‘(B) CONSULTATION WITH STATES AND

9 COMMUNITIES.—In designing and constructing 

10 the environment under subparagraph (A), the 

11 Administrator shall— 

12 ‘‘(i) leverage and partner with States 

13 and communities that have successfully im14 plemented the same approach; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) consider adopting the techniques 

16 and technologies used by States and com17 munities described in clause (i) and apply18 ing them nationwide. 

19 ‘‘(2) DIGITAL DISPLAY.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out para21 graph (1), the Administrator shall create a dig22 ital display prompted through dynamic querying 

23 of a spatial, relational building database that 

24 includes— 


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1 ‘‘(i) special flood hazard areas and 

2 base flood elevations for purposes of lender 

3 compliance with the requirements under 

4 section 102 of the Flood Disaster Protec5 tion Act of 1973 (42 U.S.C. 4012a); and 

6 ‘‘(ii) structure-specific flood risk infor7 mation, including, for each property ad8 dress— 

9 ‘‘(I) the spatial footprint and ele10 vation of the structure relative to spe11 cial flood hazard areas and base flood 

12 elevations; 

13 ‘‘(II) elevation data applicable to 

14 the property; 

15 ‘‘(III) any letter of map changes; 

16 ‘‘(IV) to the maximum extent 

17 practicable, the full risk premium rate 

18 estimated for the structure under sec19 tion 1307(a)(1) of the National Flood 

20 Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 

21 4014(a)(1)) based on elevation data 

22 and, where applicable, the level of pro23 tection provided by levee systems; 

24 ‘‘(V) the disclosure described in 

25 section 1308(l) of the National Flood 


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1 Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 

2 4015(l)), which shall include— 

3 ‘‘(aa) the extent to which, if 

4 any, the chargeable premium rate 

5 applicable to the property is less 

6 than the full risk premium rate 

7 under section 1307(a)(1) of that 

8 Act (42 U.S.C. 4014(a)(1)); and 

9 ‘‘(bb) an explanation of the 

10 difference described in item (aa) 

11 and the methodology used to rate 

12 the property; 

13 ‘‘(VI) the estimated cost to re14 pair the structure in the case of dam15 age from floods with recurrence inter16 vals ranging from the 10 percent an17 nual chance event to the 0.2 percent 

18 annual chance event; 

19 ‘‘(VII) the cost-effectiveness of 

20 mitigating the structure using com21 mon methods and how the chargeable 

22 premium rate would change based on 

23 each mitigation method; and 


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1 ‘‘(VIII) the claims history of the 

2 structure, including the amount and 

3 date of each loss. 

4 ‘‘(B) PRIVACY REQUIREMENTS.—With re5 spect to the database described in subparagraph 

6 (A), including any data used to create that 

7 database, the Administrator may not dissemi8 nate the database to any person other than the 

9 owner or leaseholder of a property identified in 

10 the database. 

11 ‘‘(3) DATABASE.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 

13 shall— 

14 ‘‘(i) develop a spatial, relational data15 base of buildings for which flood hazard 

16 has been identified through the National 

17 Flood Insurance Program; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) obtain the data necessary to sup19 port the digital display created under para20 graph (2). 

21 ‘‘(B) DATA.—The data obtained under 

22 subparagraph (A) shall include, at a min23 imum— 

24 ‘‘(i) footprints and elevations (includ25 ing lowest adjacent grade and first floor) 


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1 from Light Detection and Ranging (com2 monly known as ‘LiDAR’) data collections 

3 or other data collection methods that meet 

4 or exceed the standards for buildings, as 

5 determined by the Administrator; 

6 ‘‘(ii) elevation data; 

7 ‘‘(iii) parcel, address, and imagery 

8 data necessary for the identification, as9 sessment, and reduction of flood hazards 

10 for individual properties; 

11 ‘‘(iv) flood insurance rate maps, stud12 ies, and supporting data; 

13 ‘‘(v) letters of map change; and 

14 ‘‘(vi) any other data that the Adminis15 trator determines necessary to collect to 

16 meet the objectives of this section. 

17 ‘‘(4) DATA PROCUREMENT.—The Administrator 

18 shall obtain any data necessary to establish the envi19 ronment under paragraph (1), including by— 

20 ‘‘(A) directing communities participating 

21 in the National Flood Insurance Program, by 

22 regulation, to collect and supply information, 

23 including elevation data, for each structure that 

24 obtains a construction or other development 

25 permit within— 


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1 ‘‘(i) a special flood hazard area; or 

2 ‘‘(ii) an advisory special flood hazard 

3 area adopted by the community; 

4 ‘‘(B) issuing guidelines and standards, as 

5 determined by the Administrator; 

6 ‘‘(C) partnering with other Federal, State, 

7 local, and private stakeholders to the greatest 

8 extent possible to obtain and share existing 

9 data that meets or exceeds the standards deter10 mined by the Administrator under subpara11 graph (B); and 

12 ‘‘(D) contracting with private companies to 

13 obtain new LiDAR data collections or elevation 

14 data. 

15 ‘‘(5) NFIP PREMIUM CREDIT.—The Adminis16 trator shall provide a 1-time premium credit of not 

17 more than $500 to a policyholder for the purchase 

18 of an elevation certificate. 

19 ‘‘(6) MASS LETTERS OF MAP CHANGE.—In co20 ordination with States and communities that have 

21 successfully implemented a dynamic, database-de22 rived digital display environment for flood hazard 

23 risk production and dissemination, the Adminis24 trator shall issue guidelines for the adoption and in25 tegration into the program established under subVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:29 Nov 04, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00092 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3128.IS S3128

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1 section (a) of LiDAR-based letter of map amend2 ment approaches. 

3 ‘‘(7) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Administrator 

4 shall submit to the Committee on Banking, Housing, 

5 and Urban Affairs of the Senate and the Committee 

6 on Financial Services of the House of Representa7 tives an annual progress report on the implementa8 tion of this subsection, which shall include rec9 ommendations to reduce the cost and improve the 

10 implementation of this subsection.’’; and 

11 (E) in subsection (g), as so redesignated— 

12 (i) by striking ‘‘this section 

13 $400,000,000’’ and inserting the following: 

14 ‘‘this section— 

15 ‘‘(1) $500,000,000’’; and 

16 (ii) by striking the period at the end 

17 and inserting the following: ‘‘; and 

18 ‘‘(2) $500,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 

19 through 2027.’’. 

20 (b) APPEALS.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.— 

22 (A) RIGHT TO APPEAL.—Section 1360 of 

23 the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 

24 U.S.C. 4101) is amended by adding at the end 

25 the following: 


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1 ‘‘(k) APPEALS OF EXISTING MAPS.— 

2 ‘‘(1) RIGHT TO APPEAL.—Subject to paragraph 

3 (6), a State or local government, or the owner or les4 see of real property, that makes a formal request to 

5 the Administrator to update a flood insurance rate 

6 map that the Administrator denies may at any time 

7 appeal the denial in accordance with this subsection. 

8 ‘‘(2) BASIS FOR APPEAL.—The basis for an ap9 peal under this subsection shall be the possession of 

10 knowledge or information that— 

11 ‘‘(A) the base flood elevation level or des12 ignation of any aspect of a flood insurance rate 

13 map is scientifically or technically inaccurate; or 

14 ‘‘(B) factors exist that mitigate the risk of 

15 flooding, including ditches, banks, walls, vegeta16 tion, levees, lakes, dams, reservoirs, basin, re17 tention ponds, and other natural or manmade 

18 topographical features. 

19 ‘‘(3) APPEALS PROCESS.— 

20 ‘‘(A) ADMINISTRATIVE ADJUDICATION.— 

21 The Administrator shall determine an appeal 

22 under this subsection by making a final adju23 dication on the record, after providing an op24 portunity for an administrative hearing. 

25 ‘‘(B) RIGHTS UPON ADVERSE DECISION.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) OPTIONAL ARBITRATION.—If an 

2 appeal determined under subparagraph (A) 

3 does not result in a decision in favor of the 

4 State, local government, owner, or lessee, 

5 that party may request that an appeal of 

6 the adverse decision be heard— 

7 ‘‘(I) through independent, non8 binding arbitration; or 

9 ‘‘(II) by the Scientific Resolution 

10 Panel provided for in section 1363A. 

11 ‘‘(ii) PROCESS.—Notwithstanding any 

12 provision of section 1363A(c)(4) regarding 

13 the binding nature of the recommendations 

14 of the Scientific Resolution Panel, the Ad15 ministrator shall establish a process for the 

16 purposes of clause (i) under which an arbi17 trator or the Scientific Resolution Panel, 

18 as applicable, provides a non-binding rec19 ommendation to the Administrator. 

20 ‘‘(4) RELIEF.— 

21 ‘‘(A) WHOLLY SUCCESSFUL APPEALS.—If 

22 the Administrator determines in an appeal 

23 under this subsection that the property of a pol24 icyholder that had been included in a special 

25 flood hazard area under the flood insurance 


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1 rate map is actually not in a special flood haz2 ard area— 

3 ‘‘(i) the policyholder may cancel the 

4 policy at any time during the year in which 

5 the Administrator makes the determina6 tion; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) the Administrator shall provide 

8 the policyholder a refund equal to the 

9 amount of— 

10 ‘‘(I) any premiums that the pol11 icyholder paid during the year de12 scribed in clause (i); and 

13 ‘‘(II) any premiums that the pol14 icyholder paid for flood insurance cov15 erage that the policyholder was re16 quired to purchase or maintain during 

17 the 2-year period preceding the year 

18 described in clause (i). 

19 ‘‘(B) PARTIALLY SUCCESSFUL APPEALS.— 

20 If the Administrator determines in an appeal 

21 under this subsection that mitigating factors 

22 have reduced, but not eliminated, the risk of 

23 flooding to a property, the Administrator 

24 shall— 


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1 ‘‘(i) reduce the amount of flood insur2 ance coverage required to be maintained 

3 for the property by the ratio of the suc4 cessful portion of the appeal as compared 

5 to the entire appeal; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) provide the policyholder a refund 

7 equal to the difference between— 

8 ‘‘(I) the amount of any premiums 

9 that the policyholder paid during the 

10 period— 

11 ‘‘(aa) beginning on the later 

12 of— 

13 ‘‘(AA) the date on 

14 which the mitigating factor 

15 was created; or 

16 ‘‘(BB) January 1 of the 

17 second year preceding the 

18 date on which the deter19 mination is made; and 

20 ‘‘(bb) ending on the date on 

21 which the reduction in the 

22 amount of flood insurance re23 quired, as described in clause (i), 

24 takes effect; and 


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1 ‘‘(II) the amount of premiums 

2 that the policyholder would have been 

3 required to pay if the reduced amount 

4 of flood insurance coverage required, 

5 as described in clause (i), had been in 

6 effect during the period described in 

7 subclause (I) of this clause. 

8 ‘‘(C) ADDITIONAL RELIEF.—The Adminis9 trator may provide additional refunds in excess 

10 of the amounts required under subparagraphs 

11 (A) and (B) if the Administrator determines 

12 that such additional refunds are warranted. 

13 ‘‘(5) RECOVERY OF COSTS.— 

14 ‘‘(A) APPEAL EXPENSES.—If a State or 

15 local government, or the owner or lessee of real 

16 property, incurs any expense in connection with 

17 an appeal under this subsection that is based 

18 on a scientific or technical error made by the 

19 Administrator and that is successful in whole or 

20 part regarding the designation of the base flood 

21 elevation or any aspect of a flood insurance rate 

22 map, including elevation or designation of a 

23 special flood hazard area, the Administrator 

24 shall reimburse the State, local government, 


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1 owner, or lessee in accordance with subpara2 graph (B). 

3 ‘‘(B) REIMBURSABLE EXPENSES.—The 

4 Administrator— 

5 ‘‘(i) may reimburse a party under 

6 subparagraph (A) for reasonable expenses 

7 described in that subparagraph— 

8 ‘‘(I) including for a service pro9 vided by a surveyor, engineer, or sci10 entific expert; and 

11 ‘‘(II) to the extent measured by 

12 the ratio of the successful portion of 

13 the appeal as compared to the entire 

14 appeal; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) may not reimburse a party under 

16 subparagraph (A) for— 

17 ‘‘(I) the cost of legal services; or 

18 ‘‘(II) the payment of any fee or 

19 expense, the payment of which was 

20 agreed to be contingent upon the re21 sult of the appeal. 

22 ‘‘(6) GUIDANCE.—The Administrator shall 

23 issue guidance to implement this subsection, which 

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1 quirements under section 553 of title 5, United 

2 States Code.’’. 

3 (B) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMEND4 MENTS.—Section 1310(a) of the National Flood 

5 Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4017(a)) is 

6 amended— 

7 (i) in paragraph (7), by striking 

8 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

9 (ii) in paragraph (8), by striking the 

10 period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; 

11 and 

12 (iii) by adding at the end the fol13 lowing: 

14 ‘‘(9) for providing reimbursements of expenses 

15 of flood insurance rate map appeals under section 

16 1360(k)(5).’’. 

17 (2) DEADLINE FOR ISSUANCE OF GUIDANCE.— 

18 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

19 of this Act, the Administrator shall issue the guid20 ance required under subsection (k)(6) of section 

21 1360 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 

22 (42 U.S.C. 4101), as added by paragraph (1)(A). 

23 (3) ISSUANCE OF REGULATIONS FOR MAP AP24 PEALS.—Not later than 180 days after the date of 

25 enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall issue 


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1 the regulations required to be issued under sub2 section (f) of section 1363 of the National Flood In3 surance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4104) and any rel4 evant guidance to implement that subsection. 

5 SEC. 209. LEVEE-PROTECTED AREAS. 

6 Section 100216(b) of the Biggert-Waters Flood In7 surance Reform Act of 2012 (42 U.S.C. 4101b(b)) is 

8 amended by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(4) AREAS PROTECTED BY LEVEE SYSTEMS.— 

10 ‘‘(A) APPLICABILITY.—To facilitate the 

11 implementation of this section, and notwith12 standing any other provision of law, this para13 graph shall apply to a community in which the 

14 Administrator establishes rates for flood insur15 ance under the National Flood Insurance Pro16 gram in a levee-protected area. 

17 ‘‘(B) NON-ACCREDITED LEVEE SYS18 TEMS.— 

19 ‘‘(i) ASSESSMENT OF PROTECTION

20 PROVIDED BY NON-ACCREDITED LEVEE

21 SYSTEMS.—With respect to an area in 

22 which the pertinent levee system fails to 

23 meet the minimum design, operation, and 

24 maintenance standards of the National 

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1 tion 65.10 of title 44, Code of Federal 

2 Regulations, or any successor regulation, 

3 for levee accreditation on a National Flood 

4 Insurance Program rate map under the 

5 Risk Rating 2.0 methodology (or any sub6 stantially similar methodology), the Admin7 istrator shall, not later than 1 year after 

8 the date of enactment of this paragraph— 

9 ‘‘(I) through rules issued under 

10 section 553 of title 5, United States 

11 Code, establish— 

12 ‘‘(aa) the analysis that the 

13 Administrator will perform to de14 termine the level of protection 

15 provided by the non-accredited 

16 levee system; and 

17 ‘‘(bb) the procedure by 

18 which the Administrator will es19 tablish rates for flood insurance 

20 under the National Flood Insur21 ance Program for that area; and 

22 ‘‘(II)(aa) issue guidance with re23 spect to the matters described in 

24 items (aa) and (bb) of subclause (I); 

25 or 


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1 ‘‘(bb) use the levee analysis and 

2 mapping procedure of the Federal 

3 Emergency Management Agency, as 

4 in effect on the date of enactment of 

5 this paragraph, for purposes of updat6 ing flood insurance rate maps and es7 tablishing rates for flood insurance 

8 under the National Flood Insurance 

9 Program, working with established 

10 Local Levee Partnership Teams or 

11 their equivalent for verification of ac12 curate results. 

13 ‘‘(ii) RATE FOR AREAS WITHOUT SUF14 FICIENT DATA.—With respect to a struc15 ture that is located in an area described in 

16 clause (i), and for which the Administrator 

17 does not have sufficient data to assess risk, 

18 the Administrator may not increase the 

19 rates for flood insurance under the Na20 tional Flood Insurance Program for that 

21 structure until the Administrator— 

22 ‘‘(I) carries out clause (i) with 

23 respect to that area; and 

24 ‘‘(II) makes available to all par25 ties affected by the increased rate the 


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1 data on which the Administrator is re2 lying in establishing that increased 

3 rate. 

4 ‘‘(C) MANDATORY PURCHASE REQUIRE5 MENT FOR LEVEE SYSTEMS.—In any area in 

6 which the pertinent levee system meets the min7 imum design, operation, and maintenance 

8 standards described in section 65.10 of title 44, 

9 Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor 

10 regulation, the Administrator may not— 

11 ‘‘(i) designate the levee-protected area 

12 a special flood hazard area; or 

13 ‘‘(ii) impose any requirement to pur14 chase flood insurance for a structure lo15 cated in the area. 

16 ‘‘(D) APPEALS PROCESS.— 

17 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 

18 year after the date of enactment of this 

19 paragraph, the Administrator shall develop 

20 an appeals process for communities located 

21 within a levee-protected area described in 

22 this paragraph that disputes the assess23 ment made by the Administrator of the 

24 level of protection provided by the levee or 

25 the residual risk associated with the levee. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) DEFINITION REQUIREMENTS.— 

2 With respect to the appeals process estab3 lished under clause (i)— 

4 ‘‘(I) subject to subclause (II), the 

5 Administrator shall make clear which 

6 definition of the terms ‘levee’ and ‘re7 sidual risk’ shall apply for the pur8 poses of the appeal; and 

9 ‘‘(II) an appellant in an appeal 

10 brought under that process may re11 quire that the Administrator use the 

12 definition of the term ‘levee’ in section 

13 59.1 of title 44, Code of Federal Reg14 ulations, or any successor regula15 tion.’’. 

16 SEC. 210. COMMUNITY-WIDE FLOOD MITIGATION ACTIVI17 TIES. 

18 It is the sense of Congress that the Administrator 

19 should consider flood mitigation activities that— 

20 (1) provide benefits to an entire floodplain or 

21 community, or to a portion of such a community; 

22 (2) consider all available and practicable ap23 proaches; and 

24 (3) the Administrator determines— 

25 (A) are technically feasible; 


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1 (B) have the highest net benefits; and 

2 (C) are consistent with mitigation plans 

3 approved by the Administrator. 

4 TITLE III—SOLVENCY 

5 SEC. 301. FORBEARANCE ON NFIP INTEREST PAYMENTS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—During the 5-year period begin7 ning on the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

8 of the Treasury may not charge the Administrator interest 

9 on amounts borrowed by the Administrator under section 

10 1309(a) of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 

11 U.S.C. 4016(a)) that were outstanding as of the date of 

12 enactment of this Act, including amounts borrowed after 

13 the date of enactment of this Act that refinance debts that 

14 existed before the date of enactment of this Act. 

15 (b) USE OF SAVED AMOUNTS.—There shall be depos16 ited into the National Flood Mitigation Fund an amount 

17 equal to the interest that would have accrued on the bor18 rowed amounts during the 5-year period described in sub19 section (a) at the time at which those interest payments 

20 would have otherwise been paid, which, notwithstanding 

21 any provision of section 1367 of the National Flood Insur22 ance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4104d), the Administrator 

23 shall use to carry out the program established under sec24 tion 1366 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 

25 (42 U.S.C. 4104c). 


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1 (c) NO RETROACTIVE ACCRUAL.—After the 5-year 

2 period described in subsection (a), the Secretary of the 

3 Treasury shall not require the Administrator to repay any 

4 interest that, but for that subsection, would have accrued 

5 on the borrowed amounts described in that subsection dur6 ing that 5-year period. 

7 SEC. 302. CAP ON WRITE YOUR OWN COMPANY COMPENSA8 TION. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1311 of the National 

10 Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4018) is amend11 ed— 

12 (1) by redesignating subsection (b) as sub13 section (c); and 

14 (2) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol15 lowing: 

16 ‘‘(b) LIMITATION ON COMPENSATION; MINIMUM

17 AGENT COMMISSIONS.—In negotiating with appropriate 

18 representatives of the insurance industry under subsection 

19 (a), the Administrator shall ensure that— 

20 ‘‘(1) any reimbursement paid to a property and 

21 casualty insurance company for selling, writing, and 

22 servicing flood insurance policies is not more than 

23 22.46 percent of the aggregate amount of premiums 

24 charged by the insurance company; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) an insurance company pays a portion of 

2 the reimbursement described in paragraph (1) to 

3 agents of the company as a commission, in an 

4 amount that is not less than 15 percent of the ag5 gregate amount of the premiums sold by the 

6 agent.’’. 

7 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

8 Section 1311 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 

9 (42 U.S.C. 4018), as amended by subsection (a), is 

10 amended— 

11 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘The Adminis12 trator’’ and inserting ‘‘IN GENERAL.—The Adminis13 trator’’; and 

14 (2) in subsection (c), as so redesignated by sub15 section (a) of this section, by striking ‘‘For purposes 

16 of subsection (a)’’ and inserting ‘‘DEFINITIONS.— 

17 For purposes of this section’’. 

18 SEC. 303. THIRD-PARTY SERVICE PROVIDER COSTS; TRANS19 PARENCY. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 100224(d) of the Biggert21 Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012 (42 U.S.C. 

22 4081 note) is amended— 

23 (1) by striking ‘‘Not later than 12 months after 

24 the date of enactment of this Act, the Adminis25 trator’’ and inserting the following: 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator’’; and 

2 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

3 ‘‘(2) VENDOR COSTS; TRANSPARENCY.—In 

4 issuing the rule under paragraph (1), the Adminis5 trator shall— 

6 ‘‘(A) develop a schedule to determine the 

7 actual costs of Write Your Own third-party 

8 service providers, including claims adjusters and 

9 engineering companies; 

10 ‘‘(B) provide that if a Write Your Own 

11 company requests reimbursement for the costs 

12 of a service or product provided to the company 

13 by a vendor, the Administrator only reimburses 

14 the company for the actual costs of the service 

15 or products; and 

16 ‘‘(C) require that all reimbursements to 

17 Write Your Own companies be made public, in18 cluding a description of the product or service 

19 provided to which the reimbursement per20 tains.’’. 

21 (b) DEADLINE FOR REVISED RULE.—Not later than 

22 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Ad23 ministrator shall issue a revised rule under section 

24 100224(d) of the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform 


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1 Act of 2012 (42 U.S.C. 4081 note), as amended by sub2 section (a). 

3 SEC. 304. AVAILABILITY OF NFIP CLAIMS DATA. 

4 (a) STUDY REQUIRED.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall 

6 study the feasibility of selling or licensing the use of 

7 historical structure-specific National Flood Insur8 ance Program claims data (referred to in this sec9 tion as ‘‘covered claims data’’) to nongovernmental 

10 entities. 

11 (2) CONTENTS.—In conducting the study re12 quired under paragraph (1), the Administrator shall, 

13 at a minimum— 

14 (A) investigate 1 or more methods of pro15 viding the most specific covered claims data 

16 possible while reasonably protecting policyholder 

17 privacy; 

18 (B) review existing means, as of the date 

19 of enactment of this Act, by which the Federal 

20 Government and nongovernmental entities pro21 vide leases or licenses to private persons, and 

22 the various regulations, terms, conditions, and 

23 guidance employed; 

24 (C) identify potential uses for covered 

25 claims data and any known risks concerning 


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1 those uses, including the risk that private insur2 ance companies will use the data to issue flood 

3 insurance policies with respect to properties 

4 that have the lowest level of flood risk, which 

5 would require the National Flood Insurance 

6 Program to issue those policies with respect to 

7 properties with higher levels of flood risk; 

8 (D) identify mechanisms for determining 

9 the likely market value for access to covered 

10 claims data; 

11 (E) consider whether selling or licensing 

12 the use of covered claims data, as described in 

13 paragraph (1), would be in compliance with sec14 tion 552a of title 5, United States Code (com15 monly known as the ‘‘Privacy Act of 1974’’); 

16 (F) review the costs of researching, devel17 oping, and producing previous releases of cov18 ered claims data and identify if releasing this 

19 data has benefitted the National Flood Insur20 ance Program in a tangible way that benefits 

21 policyholders; and 

22 (G) recommend actions the Administrator 

23 could take, if any, to prevent unintended con24 sequences associated with the sale or licensing 


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1 for private insurance purposes covered claims 

2 data. 

3 (b) REPORT BY ADMINISTRATOR.—Not later than 1 

4 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Adminis5 trator shall submit to the Committee on Banking, Hous6 ing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate and the Committee 

7 on Financial Services of the House of Representatives a 

8 report that contains the results and conclusions of the 

9 study conducted under subsection (a), which shall include 

10 an analysis of any recommendations made by the study. 

11 SEC. 305. REFUSAL OF MITIGATION ASSISTANCE. 

12 Section 1366 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 

13 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4104c) is amended— 

14 (1) in subsection (a), in the matter preceding 

15 paragraph (1), in the first sentence, by inserting 

16 ‘‘and, with respect to financial assistance described 

17 in paragraph (2), using amounts made available 

18 from the Disaster Relief Fund in accordance with 

19 section 203(n) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 

20 Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 

21 5133(n))’’ after ‘‘section 1367’’; 

22 (2) by redesignating subsection (h) as sub23 section (i); and 

24 (3) by inserting after subsection (g) the fol25 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(h) REFUSAL OF ASSISTANCE.— 

2 ‘‘(1) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term 

3 ‘bona fide offer of assistance’ means an offer of as4 sistance made by the Administrator to a policyholder 

5 under the national flood insurance program that— 

6 ‘‘(A) relates to mitigation activities with 

7 respect to the structure insured under that pro8 gram; 

9 ‘‘(B) covers 100 percent of the cost of the 

10 mitigation activities described in subparagraph 

11 (A); 

12 ‘‘(C) permits the policyholder to continue 

13 to live in the structure to which the policy re14 lates; and 

15 ‘‘(D) is carried out under a mitigation 

16 plan. 

17 ‘‘(2) PENALTY.—If, after the date of enactment 

18 of the National Flood Insurance Program Reauthor19 ization and Reform Act of 2021, a policyholder 

20 under the national flood insurance program refuses 

21 a bona fide offer of assistance with respect to the 

22 property so insured, the Administrator shall, not23 withstanding any other provision of this title, in24 crease the chargeable risk premium rate for flood inVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:29 Nov 04, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00113 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3128.IS S3128

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1 surance under this title for the property by 25 per2 cent each year until— 

3 ‘‘(A) the policyholder accepts the bona fide 

4 offer of assistance; or 

5 ‘‘(B) that chargeable risk premium rate is 

6 actuarially sound.’’. 

7 SEC. 306. MULTIPLE STRUCTURE MITIGATION. 

8 Section 1308A(a) of the National Flood Insurance 

9 Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4015a(a)) is amended— 

10 (1) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘The Ad11 ministrator’’ and inserting the following: 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para13 graph (2), the Administrator’’; and 

14 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(2) RELIEF FOR SMALL BUSINESSES AND

16 NONPROFITS.— 

17 ‘‘(A) DEFINITION.—In this paragraph, the 

18 term ‘covered small business or nonprofit orga19 nization’ means a small business concern (as 

20 defined in section 3 of the Small Business Act 

21 (15 U.S.C. 632)) or an organization that is de22 scribed in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Rev23 enue Code of 1986 and is exempt from taxation 

24 under section 501(a) of such Code that owns 


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1 not fewer than 3 structures that are located on 

2 a single property. 

3 ‘‘(B) RELIEF.—The Administrator may 

4 not impose a surcharge under this section for a 

5 policy for flood insurance coverage under the 

6 National Flood Insurance Program for a cov7 ered small business concern or nonprofit organi8 zation with respect to more than 2 detached 

9 units or buildings located on a single property 

10 if the covered small business or nonprofit orga11 nization certifies to the Administrator that the 

12 savings from the surcharge not being imposed 

13 shall be used for flood mitigation on the prop14 erty on which the units or buildings are located. 

15 ‘‘(C) RULES.—Not later than 1 year after 

16 the date of enactment of this paragraph, the 

17 Administrator shall issue rules establishing the 

18 process for submitting a certification described 

19 in subparagraph (B).’’. 

20 TITLE IV—POLICYHOLDER 

21 PROTECTION AND FAIRNESS 

22 SEC. 401. EARTH MOVEMENT FIX AND ENGINEER STAND23 ARDS. 

24 (a) REBUTTABLE PRESUMPTION FOR FOUNDATION

25 AND STRUCTURAL DAMAGE.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 1312 of the Na2 tional Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 

3 4019), as amended by section 106(b), is amended by 

4 adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(e) REBUTTABLE PRESUMPTION FOR FOUNDATION

6 AND STRUCTURAL DAMAGE.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For the purposes of the 

8 Administrator determining coverage under the 

9 standard flood insurance policy under the national 

10 flood insurance program, a rebuttable presumption 

11 that physical damage to the foundation of, or struc12 tural damage to, a structure was not caused by 

13 earth movement shall apply if— 

14 ‘‘(A) flood caused direct physical change to 

15 the structure; and 

16 ‘‘(B) there is damage to the foundation of, 

17 or structural damage to, the structure that was 

18 not present before the flood, as demonstrated 

19 by a certification from the policyholder. 

20 ‘‘(2) REBUTTAL.—In determining coverage as a 

21 result of the rebuttable presumption under para22 graph (1), an insurance company may rebut the pre23 sumption only by providing the Administrator with 

24 an engineering report that— 


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1 ‘‘(A) meets standards issued by the Ad2 ministrator under paragraph (3); and 

3 ‘‘(B) clearly demonstrates that the physical 

4 damage to the foundation of, or structural dam5 age to, a structure described in paragraph (1) 

6 was caused directly by earth movement that 

7 was not— 

8 ‘‘(i) caused by the horizontal pressure 

9 from standing or slow-moving floodwater 

10 (commonly known as ‘hydrostatic pres11 sure’); 

12 ‘‘(ii) caused by the force of floodwater 

13 that causes the vertical uplift from the un14 derside of a horizontal foundation compo15 nent, such as a concrete slab, footer, or 

16 structural floor assembly (commonly 

17 known as ‘buoyancy’); 

18 ‘‘(iii) caused by pressure imposed on 

19 an object, such as a wall of a building, by 

20 high-velocity floodwater or waves flowing 

21 against and around the building (com22 monly known as ‘hydrodynamic force’); 

23 ‘‘(iv) caused by floodwater moving 

24 along the surface of the ground causing 

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1 sulting in failure of a foundation or to one 

2 of the structural components of the foun3 dation (commonly known as ‘scouring’); or 

4 ‘‘(v) otherwise caused by flood. 

5 ‘‘(3) MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR ENGINEERING

6 REPORTS.—The Administrator shall issue minimum 

7 standards— 

8 ‘‘(A) regarding the form and content of en9 gineering reports used to assist insurance 

10 claims adjusters with respect to carrying out 

11 this subsection; and 

12 ‘‘(B) that— 

13 ‘‘(i) include a requirement that any 

14 such engineering report shall be signed and 

15 have a seal affixed by an engineer who is 

16 licensed in the State in which the property 

17 to which the claim relates is located; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) are consistent with generally ac19 cepted practices in— 

20 ‘‘(I) the field of forensic engi21 neering; and 

22 ‘‘(II) the insurance industry. 

23 ‘‘(4) DOCUMENTATION OF CONDITION OF

24 FOUNDATION.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If the holder of a pol2 icy for flood insurance coverage made available 

3 under this title documents the condition of the 

4 foundation of a structure covered by the policy 

5 with a photograph, video recording, or other6 wise, and submits the documentation to the Ad7 ministrator or the Write Your Own Company 

8 that sold the policy, as applicable, the Adminis9 trator or Write Your Own Company, respec10 tively, shall keep the documentation and use the 

11 documentation when adjusting a claim that 

12 arises under the policy. 

13 ‘‘(B) NOTICE TO POLICYHOLDERS.—The 

14 Administrator shall notify a policyholder, when 

15 the policyholder purchases or renews a flood in16 surance policy sold under this title, that the 

17 policyholder may document the condition of the 

18 foundation of a structure covered by the policy 

19 in accordance with subparagraph (A). 

20 ‘‘(5) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

21 this subsection may be construed to modify the 

22 terms and conditions of the standard flood insurance 

23 policy.’’. 

24 (2) APPLICATION.—The amendment made by 

25 paragraph (1) shall apply with respect to a claim 


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1 with a date of loss that is on or after the date that 

2 is 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act. 

3 (b) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 90 days after the 

4 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall 

5 issue the standards required under subsection (e)(3) of 

6 section 1312 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 

7 (42 U.S.C. 4019), as added by subsection (a)(1). 

8 SEC. 402. COVERAGE OF PRE-FIRM CONDOMINIUM BASE9 MENTS AND STUDY ON STREET RAISING. 

10 (a) BASEMENT CLARIFICATION.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 1305 of the Na12 tional Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 

13 4012) is amended by adding at the end the fol14 lowing: 

15 ‘‘(e) AVAILABILITY OF INSURANCE FOR PRE-FIRM 

16 CONDOMINIUM BASEMENTS.— 

17 ‘‘(1) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term 

18 ‘pre-FIRM condominium building’ means a condo19 minium building that was not constructed or sub20 stantially improved after the later of— 

21 ‘‘(A) December 31, 1974; or 

22 ‘‘(B) the effective date of the initial flood 

23 insurance rate map published by the Adminis24 trator under section 1360 for the area in which 

25 the building is located. 


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1 ‘‘(2) COVERAGE.—The Administrator shall offer 

2 an optional rider to a contract for flood insurance 

3 made available under this title that covers the base4 ment of a pre-FIRM condominium building that 

5 serves as a separate residential unit within that con6 dominium building.’’. 

7 (2) AMENDMENTS TO REGULATIONS.—Not later 

8 than 180 days after the date of enactment of this 

9 Act, the Administrator shall make any amendments 

10 to the regulations of the Federal Emergency Man11 agement Agency that are necessary as a result of the 

12 amendment made by paragraph (1). 

13 (b) STUDY ON CONSEQUENCES OF STREET-RAIS14 ING.— 

15 (1) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term 

16 ‘‘affected property’’ means a property containing an 

17 area— 

18 (A) the floor of which was located at or 

19 above grade before the community raised the 

20 street adjacent to the property; and 

21 (B) after the street-raising described in 

22 subparagraph (A), that was designated as a 

23 basement because of the street-raising. 

24 (2) STUDY; REPORT.—Not later than 1 year 

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1 trator shall study and submit to Congress a report 

2 on the consequences of street-raising on flood insur3 ance coverage for an affected property under the 

4 National Flood Insurance Program, including the 

5 cost implications for the property owner. 

6 SEC. 403. GUIDANCE ON REMEDIATION AND POLICY7 HOLDER DUTIES. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1312 of the National 

9 Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4019), as amend10 ed by section 401(a)(1), is amended by adding at the end 

11 the following: 

12 ‘‘(f) GUIDANCE ON MOLD REMEDIATION.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall 

14 issue guidance relating to the identification of rea15 sonable actions that a policyholder of coverage for 

16 flood insurance made available under this title may 

17 take to inspect and maintain the property to which 

18 that coverage applies— 

19 ‘‘(A) after a flood recedes; and 

20 ‘‘(B) in order to avoid damage to the prop21 erty that is caused by mold, mildew, moisture, 

22 or water. 

23 ‘‘(2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In developing guid24 ance under paragraph (1), the Administrator shall 

25 consider— 


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1 ‘‘(A) any applicable laws and regulations; 

2 ‘‘(B) the terms and conditions of the 

3 standard flood insurance policy; 

4 ‘‘(C) technical best practices; 

5 ‘‘(D) the costs of remediation in relation to 

6 the condition of a property described in that 

7 paragraph; and 

8 ‘‘(E) the actions that the Administrator 

9 may reasonably expect a policyholder described 

10 in that paragraph to take, given the likely chal11 lenges faced by the policyholder after a flood. 

12 ‘‘(3) REGULAR REVIEW.—The Administrator 

13 shall— 

14 ‘‘(A) regularly review the guidance issued 

15 under paragraph (1); and 

16 ‘‘(B) revise the guidance issued under 

17 paragraph (1) as the Administrator determines 

18 appropriate. 

19 ‘‘(4) ANNUAL DISTRIBUTION.—The Adminis20 trator shall provide a copy of the guidance issued 

21 under paragraph (1) to a policyholder at the time of 

22 the purchase or renewal of a flood insurance policy 

23 sold under this title.’’. 

24 (b) INITIAL ISSUANCE.—Not later than 1 year after 

25 the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall 


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1 issue the guidance required under subsection (f) of section 

2 1312 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 

3 U.S.C. 4019), as added by subsection (a) of this section. 

4 (c) ACCESSIBILITY, REASONABLENESS, AND DEGREE

5 OF DAMAGE.—Section 1312 of the National Flood Insur6 ance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4019), as amended by sub7 section (a), is amended by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(g) EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN DAMAGE.—For pur9 poses of determining whether damage caused by mold, mil10 dew, moisture, or water to a property shall be excluded 

11 from coverage under the standard flood insurance policy— 

12 ‘‘(1) subject to paragraph (2), only the degree 

13 of damage caused by mold, mildew, moisture, or 

14 water that could have been avoided through inspec15 tion and maintenance may be excluded from that 

16 coverage; and 

17 ‘‘(2) the condition of the property to which the 

18 damage relates may not be considered to be attrib19 utable to the policyholder with respect to the prop20 erty, including any failure by the policyholder to in21 spect and maintain the property after a flood re22 cedes, if— 

23 ‘‘(A) the policyholder was denied access to 

24 the property after the flood receded because 

25 of— 


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1 ‘‘(i) a lawful government order; 

2 ‘‘(ii) a determination by local authori3 ties that the property— 

4 ‘‘(I) is unsafe or unstable; or 

5 ‘‘(II) shall be condemned; or 

6 ‘‘(iii) otherwise unsafe conditions; 

7 ‘‘(B) a reasonable individual exercising 

8 reasonable judgment could not be expected to 

9 inspect, maintain, or mitigate the damage to 

10 the property under the circumstances; or 

11 ‘‘(C) the policyholder faced particular chal12 lenges, including— 

13 ‘‘(i) practical or financial difficulty in 

14 inspecting or maintaining the property; 

15 ‘‘(ii) the need to address other more 

16 immediate priorities, including— 

17 ‘‘(I) the health and well-being of 

18 the policyholder and the family of the 

19 policyholder; 

20 ‘‘(II) the preservation of basic 

21 items; 

22 ‘‘(III) displacement; and 

23 ‘‘(IV) other issues that make in24 spection and maintenance of the propVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:29 Nov 04, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00125 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3128.IS S3128

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1 erty a near-term challenge for the pol2 icyholder; and 

3 ‘‘(iii) the unavailability of contractors 

4 or other individuals to perform any re5 quired inspection and maintenance.’’. 

6 SEC. 404. APPEAL OF DECISIONS RELATING TO FLOOD IN7 SURANCE COVERAGE. 

8 (a) ENHANCED POLICYHOLDER APPEALS PROC9 ESS.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Part C of chapter II of the 

11 National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 

12 4081 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the 

13 following: 

14 ‘‘SEC. 1349. APPEAL OF DECISIONS RELATING TO FLOOD IN15 SURANCE COVERAGE. 

16 ‘‘(a) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘Office’, 

17 except as otherwise specified, means the Independent Of18 fice for Policyholder Appeals established under subsection 

19 (b). 

20 ‘‘(b) INDEPENDENT OFFICE FOR POLICYHOLDER AP21 PEALS.—Not later than 180 days after the date of enact22 ment of this section, the Administrator shall establish an 

23 Independent Office for Policyholder Appeals to provide for 

24 a non-adversarial and fair administrative review of appeals 

25 submitted under subsection (c)(1). 


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1 ‘‘(c) APPEALS PROCESS.— 

2 ‘‘(1) RIGHT TO APPEAL.—A policyholder of a 

3 flood insurance policy issued under the National 

4 Flood Insurance Program may appeal the denial of 

5 a claim arising under the policy in writing to the Of6 fice not later than 1 year after receipt of the denial. 

7 ‘‘(2) EXHAUSTION OF ADMINISTRATIVE AP8 PEALS REQUIRED BEFORE FILING CIVIL ACTION.—A 

9 policyholder of a flood insurance policy issued under 

10 the National Flood Insurance Program may not in11 stitute an action on a denied claim arising under the 

12 policy against the Administrator in a United States 

13 district court under section 1333 or 1341, as appli14 cable, unless the policyholder has exhausted the ap15 peals process under this section. 

16 ‘‘(d) DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES.—In admin17 istering appeals submitted under subsection (c)(1), the Of18 fice shall— 

19 ‘‘(1) issue final appeal decisions through an ap20 peal process established by the Office; 

21 ‘‘(2) disseminate information to appellants con22 cerning the information that an appellant may in23 clude in the appeal submissions; 


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1 ‘‘(3) provide an appellant with an opportunity 

2 to discuss any issue on appeal with a claims expert 

3 in the Office; 

4 ‘‘(4) provide aggregated appeals data to the Of5 fice of the Flood Insurance Advocate for use in ful6 filling the duties and responsibilities of that office 

7 under section 24(b) of the Homeowner Flood Insur8 ance Affordability Act of 2014 (42 U.S.C. 4033(b)); 

9 and 

10 ‘‘(5) publish final appeal decisions to a public11 facing website— 

12 ‘‘(A) to inform the public; and 

13 ‘‘(B) for awareness to support trans14 parency and training for Write Your Own Com15 panies and contractors of the Federal Emer16 gency Management Agency. 

17 ‘‘(e) REGULATIONS.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of imple19 menting the appeals process under this section, the 

20 Administrator may promulgate new regulations or 

21 use regulations that were in effect on the date of en22 actment of this section, except that— 

23 ‘‘(A) the Administrator may not declare 

24 any appeal ineligible if the policyholder submits 

25 the appeal to the Office not later than 1 year 


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1 after the date on which the policyholder receives 

2 the denial of the applicable claim, as required 

3 under subsection (c)(1); 

4 ‘‘(B) upon receiving all information nec5 essary to complete an appeal, the Office shall 

6 notify the appellant that the Office will make a 

7 final decision not later than 90 days after re8 ceipt of that information; and 

9 ‘‘(C) not later than 90 days after receipt 

10 of all information necessary to complete an ap11 peal, the Office shall make a final decision on 

12 the appeal. 

13 ‘‘(2) ENFORCEMENT OF FINAL DECISION DEAD14 LINE.—If the Office does not comply with the dead15 line under paragraph (1)(C) with respect to an ap16 peal, and the policyholder that brought the appeal is 

17 ultimately successful, the Administrator shall pay to 

18 the policyholder interest on the claim that is the 

19 subject of the appeal, which shall— 

20 ‘‘(A) begin accruing on the date on which 

21 the policyholder submits the appeal; and 

22 ‘‘(B) be calculated using the rate of return 

23 on a 3-year Treasury bill, as in effect on the 

24 date described in subparagraph (A). 


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1 ‘‘(3) ALL INFORMATION NECESSARY.—For pur2 poses of paragraph (1), the term ‘all information 

3 necessary’ includes information obtained from a 

4 physical reinspection of the property or from an ex5 pert report, if that information is needed in order to 

6 complete the review of the appeal. 

7 ‘‘(4) LIABILITY PROTECTION.—No cause of ac8 tion shall lie or be maintained in any court against 

9 the United States, and any such action shall be 

10 promptly dismissed, for violation of the notification 

11 requirement under paragraph (1)(B).’’. 

12 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE FOR NEW APPEALS PROC13 ESS.—Subsection (c) of section 1349 of the National 

14 Flood Insurance Act of 1968, as added by para15 graph (1), shall take effect on the date that is 180 

16 days after the date of enactment of this Act. 

17 (b) REPEAL AND TRANSFER.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Effective on the date that is 

19 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 

20 section 205 of the Bunning-Bereuter-Blumenauer 

21 Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2004 (42 U.S.C. 

22 4011 note; Public Law 108–264) is repealed, and 

23 any appeals that were pending before the Adminis24 trator under that section on the day before that ef25 fective date shall be transferred to the Independent 


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1 Office for Policyholder Appeals established under 

2 section 1349 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 

3 1968 (as added by subsection (a)) for disposition 

4 under such section 1349. 

5 (2) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMEND6 MENTS.— 

7 (A) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of 

8 contents for the Bunning-Bereuter-Blumenauer 

9 Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2004 (Public 

10 Law 108–264; 118 Stat. 712) is amended by 

11 striking the item relating to section 205. 

12 (B) OTHER AMENDMENT.—Section 

13 204(a)(3) of the Bunning-Bereuter-Blumenauer 

14 Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2004 (42 

15 U.S.C. 4011 note; Public Law 108–264) is 

16 amended by striking ‘‘section 205’’ and insert17 ing ‘‘section 1349 of the National Flood Insur18 ance Act of 1968’’. 

19 (c) JUDICIAL REVIEW REFORM.— 

20 (1) GOVERNMENT PROGRAM WITH INDUSTRY

21 ASSISTANCE.—Section 1341 of the National Flood 

22 Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4072) is amend23 ed— 

24 (A) by striking ‘‘In the event the program’’ 

25 and inserting the following: 


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1 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—If the program’’; 

2 (B) in subsection (a), as so designated— 

3 (i) by inserting ‘‘or the Administra4 tor’s fiscal agent’’ after ‘‘upon the dis5 allowance by the Administrator’’; 

6 (ii) by striking ‘‘within one year after 

7 the date of mailing of notice of disallow8 ance or partial disallowance by the Admin9 istrator, may institute an action against 

10 the Administrator on such claim’’ and in11 serting ‘‘not later than 1 year after ex12 hausting available administrative remedies, 

13 may institute an action against the insurer 

14 on such claim’’; and 

15 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(b) EXHAUSTION OF ADMINISTRATIVE REM17 EDIES.—For the purposes of subsection (a), a claimant 

18 exhausts available administrative remedies if— 

19 ‘‘(1) the claimant submits an appeal and com20 plies with all requirements of the appeal process es21 tablished under section 1349 and other applicable 

22 requirements; and 

23 ‘‘(2) the Administrator— 

24 ‘‘(A) issues a final decision on the appeal 

25 that partially or fully concurs with the insurer’s 


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1 disallowance or partial disallowance of the 

2 claim; or 

3 ‘‘(B) the Administrator makes no finding 

4 regarding the appeal by the date that is 90 

5 days after the date on which the Administrator 

6 acknowledges receipt and acceptance of the ap7 peal. 

8 ‘‘(c) LIMITATIONS.— 

9 ‘‘(1) ISSUES RAISED ON APPEAL.—An action 

10 may not be instituted under this section for any 

11 issue of a claim that was not presented to the Ad12 ministrator on appeal. 

13 ‘‘(2) WEIGHT OF ADMINISTRATOR’S DISPOSI14 TION.—For purposes of this section, disposition of 

15 an appeal by the Administrator shall not be com16 petent evidence of liability or the amount of dam17 ages.’’. 

18 (2) INDUSTRY PROGRAM WITH FEDERAL FINAN19 CIAL ASSISTANCE.—Section 1333 of the National 

20 Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4053) is 

21 amended— 

22 (A) by striking ‘‘The insurance companies 

23 and other insurers’’ and inserting the following: 

24 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The insurance companies and 

25 other insurers’’; 


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1 (B) in subsection (a), as so designated, by 

2 striking ‘‘within one year after the date of mail3 ing of notice of disallowance or partial disallow4 ance of the claim, may institute an action on 

5 such claim against such company or other in6 surer’’ and inserting ‘‘not later than 1 year 

7 after exhausting available administrative rem8 edies, may institute an action on the claim 

9 against the company or other insurer’’; and 

10 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(b) EXHAUSTION OF ADMINISTRATIVE REM12 EDIES.—For the purposes of subsection (a), a claimant 

13 exhausts available administrative remedies if— 

14 ‘‘(1) the claimant submits an appeal and com15 plies with all requirements of the appeal process es16 tablished under section 1349 and other applicable 

17 requirements; and 

18 ‘‘(2) the Administrator— 

19 ‘‘(A) issues a final decision on the appeal 

20 that partially or fully concurs with the insurer’s 

21 disallowance or partial disallowance of the 

22 claim; or 

23 ‘‘(B) the Administrator makes no finding 

24 regarding the appeal by the date that is 90 

25 days after the date on which the Administrator 


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1 acknowledges receipt and acceptance of the ap2 peal. 

3 ‘‘(c) LIMITATIONS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) ISSUES RAISED ON APPEAL.—An action 

5 may not be instituted under this section for any 

6 issue of a claim that was not presented to the Ad7 ministrator on appeal. 

8 ‘‘(2) WEIGHT OF ADMINISTRATOR’S DISPOSI9 TION.—For purposes of this section, disposition of 

10 an appeal by the Administrator shall not be com11 petent evidence of liability or the amount of dam12 ages.’’. 

13 SEC. 405. ACCOUNTABILITY FOR UNDERPAYMENTS AND 

14 OVERPAYMENTS BY WRITE YOUR OWN COM15 PANIES. 

16 Section 1348 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 

17 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4084) is amended by adding at the end 

18 the following: 

19 ‘‘(c) UNDERPAYMENTS AND OVERPAYMENTS.— 

20 ‘‘(1) ACCOUNTABILITY FOR UNDERPAY21 MENTS.—If the Administrator determines through 

22 any audit that the pool or an insurance company or 

23 other private organization described in subsection 

24 (a) has not adjusted a claim in accordance with ad25 justing standards that are in effect as of the date 


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1 on which the adjustment is performed and, as a re2 sult of that failure, has underpaid or overpaid a 

3 claim of a policyholder, the penalty imposed by the 

4 Administrator with respect to such a failure may not 

5 be less for an overpayment of a claim than for an 

6 underpayment of a claim. 

7 ‘‘(2) SAFE HARBOR FOR CERTAIN OVERPAY8 MENTS.—The Administrator may not impose a pen9 alty on the pool or an insurance company or other 

10 private organization described in subsection (a) for 

11 overpayment of a claim of a policyholder for reasons 

12 described in paragraph (1) of this subsection if— 

13 ‘‘(A) the overpayment was not in bad faith; 

14 and 

15 ‘‘(B) the amount of the overpayment was 

16 not more than 4 percent of the coverage limit 

17 of the policy. 

18 ‘‘(d) GAO REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the 

19 date of enactment of this subsection, and triennially there20 after, the Comptroller General of the United States shall 

21 submit to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 

22 Urban Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Finan23 cial Services of the House of Representatives a report re24 garding any penalties imposed by the Administrator under 

25 subsection (c)(1).’’. 


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1 SEC. 406. POLICYHOLDERS’ RIGHT TO KNOW. 

2 (a) USE.—Section 1312 of the National Flood Insur3 ance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4019), as amended by section 

4 403(c), is amended by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(h) USE OF TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE REPORTS.— 

6 When adjusting claims for any damage to or loss of prop7 erty that is covered by flood insurance made available 

8 under this title, the Administrator may rely upon technical 

9 assistance reports, as defined in section 1312A(a), only 

10 if the reports are final and are prepared in compliance 

11 with applicable State and Federal laws regarding profes12 sional licensure and conduct.’’. 

13 (b) DISCLOSURE.—Chapter I of the National Flood 

14 Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4011 et seq.) is amend15 ed by inserting after section 1312 (42 U.S.C. 4019) the 

16 following: 

17 ‘‘SEC. 1312A. DISCLOSURE OF CLAIMS DOCUMENTS AND 

18 TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE REPORTS. 

19 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

20 ‘‘(1) the term ‘policyholder’ means any person 

21 listed as a named or additional insured on the dec22 larations page of a policy for flood insurance cov23 erage made available under this title; and 

24 ‘‘(2) the term ‘technical assistance report’ 

25 means a report created for the purpose of furnishing 

26 technical assistance to an insurance claims adjuster 


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1 assigned under the national flood insurance pro2 gram, including any report created by an engineer, 

3 a surveyor, a salvor, an architect, or a certified pub4 lic accountant. 

5 ‘‘(b) PROVISION OF COPIES.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section 

7 552a of title 5, United States Code, not later than 

8 1 week after the date on which the Administrator re9 ceives a written request, or a request submitted on10 line, from a policyholder, and with respect to a claim 

11 for loss submitted by the policyholder for any dam12 age to or loss of property that is covered by the pol13 icy, the Administrator shall provide a true, complete, 

14 and unredacted copy of— 

15 ‘‘(A) all documents that constitute the 

16 claim file of the insurance company with respect 

17 to the claim, in accordance with the memo18 randum issued by the Administrator on June 1, 

19 2018, entitled ‘Guidance for the Release of 

20 Claim File Information to Policyholders’ (WYO 

21 Bulletin W–18012) (or any successor docu22 ment); 

23 ‘‘(B) any document created by any ad24 juster in scoping the loss, including measure25 ments, photographs, and notes; 


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1 ‘‘(C) any estimates of damages with re2 spect to the claim; 

3 ‘‘(D) any draft and final technical assist4 ance report relating to adjusting and paying or 

5 denying the claim; 

6 ‘‘(E) any proof of loss, supplemental proofs 

7 of loss, or any equivalent notices, together with 

8 supporting documentation, with respect to the 

9 claim; and 

10 ‘‘(F) any document relating to the denial 

11 or partial denial of the claim. 

12 ‘‘(2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

13 paragraph (1) may be construed to limit the right of 

14 a policyholder to receive a disclosure under section 

15 552a of title 5, United States Code, or any other 

16 provision of law. 

17 ‘‘(c) DIRECT DISCLOSURE BY WRITE YOUR OWN

18 COMPANIES AND DIRECT SERVICING AGENTS.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A Write Your Own Com20 pany or direct servicing agent in possession of any 

21 technical assistance report that is subject to disclo22 sure under subsection (b) may disclose such tech23 nical assistance report without further review or ap24 proval by the Administrator. 


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1 ‘‘(2) AFFIRMATIVE NOTIFICATION.—A Write 

2 Your Own Company, or any other entity servicing a 

3 claim under the national flood insurance program, 

4 shall, not later than 30 days after the date on which 

5 the company or entity receives notice of a claim, no6 tify the claimant that the claimant or an authorized 

7 representative of the claimant may obtain, upon re8 quest, a copy of any claim-related document de9 scribed in subsection (b)(1) that pertains to the 

10 claimant.’’. 

11 (c) TRANSMISSION OF REPORT WITHOUT AP12 PROVAL.— 

13 (1) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term 

14 ‘‘final engineering report’’ means an engineering re15 port, survey, or other document in connection with 

16 a claim for losses covered by a policy for flood insur17 ance coverage made available under the National 

18 Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4001 et 

19 seq.) that— 

20 (A) is based on an on-site inspection; 

21 (B) contains final conclusions with respect 

22 to an engineering issue or issues involved in the 

23 claim; and 


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1 (C) is signed by the responsible in charge 

2 or affixed with the seal of the responsible in 

3 charge, or both. 

4 (2) TRANSMISSION.—A Write Your Own Com5 pany or a National Flood Insurance Program direct 

6 servicer may, without obtaining further review or ap7 proval by the Administrator, transmit to a policy8 holder a final engineering report in the possession of 

9 the Write Your Own Company or the direct servicer 

10 in connection with a claim submitted by the policy11 holder. 

12 SEC. 407. EXCLUSION OF SERVICE PROVIDERS FROM PAR13 TICIPATION IN THE NATIONAL FLOOD INSUR14 ANCE PROGRAM. 

15 Part C of chapter II of the National Flood Insurance 

16 Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4081 et seq.), as amended by sec17 tion 404, is amended by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘SEC. 1350. EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN SERVICE PROVIDERS 

19 FROM PARTICIPATION IN THE NATIONAL 

20 FLOOD INSURANCE PROGRAM. 

21 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

22 ‘‘(1) EXCLUDED SERVICE PROVIDER.—The 

23 term ‘excluded service provider’ means a service pro24 vider that is excluded by the Administrator under 


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1 this section from participation in the National Flood 

2 Insurance Program. 

3 ‘‘(2) SERVICE PROVIDER.—The term ‘service 

4 provider’ means any attorney, accountant, appraiser, 

5 adjuster, engineer, or other individual or entity that 

6 directly or indirectly provides, has provided, or is 

7 likely to provide services to the National Flood In8 surance Program. 

9 ‘‘(3) SHOULD KNOW.—The term ‘should 

10 know’— 

11 ‘‘(A) means that a person, with respect to 

12 information, acts in deliberate ignorance of, or 

13 in reckless disregard of, the truth or falsity of 

14 the information; and 

15 ‘‘(B) does not require specific intent to de16 fraud. 

17 ‘‘(b) EFFECT OF EXCLUSION.— 

18 ‘‘(1) PROHIBITION ON MAKING PAYMENTS TO

19 EXCLUDED SERVICE PROVIDERS.—The Adminis20 trator may not make any payment or reimbursement 

21 for any service furnished under this title by a service 

22 provider excluded under this section during the pe23 riod of exclusion. 

24 ‘‘(2) PROHIBITION ON ENTERING INTO NEW

25 CONTRACTS OR AGREEMENTS.—The Administrator 


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1 may not enter into or extend any contract or agree2 ment under this title with a service provider ex3 cluded under this section during the period of exclu4 sion. 

5 ‘‘(3) EXCEPTION.—The Administrator may 

6 waive the applicability of paragraph (1) or (2) to a 

7 particular transaction upon making a written deter8 mination that the waiver is essential for the oper9 ation of the National Flood Insurance Program. 

10 ‘‘(c) CAUSES FOR EXCLUSION.—The Administrator 

11 may exclude from participation in the National Flood In12 surance Program a service provider— 

13 ‘‘(1) that is criminally convicted or found civilly 

14 liable (as applicable) for— 

15 ‘‘(A) any act in connection with obtaining, 

16 attempting to obtain, or performing a contract 

17 or subcontract for the National Flood Insur18 ance Program; 

19 ‘‘(B) fraud, embezzlement, theft, forgery, 

20 bribery, falsification or destruction of records, 

21 making false statements, tax evasion, violating 

22 Federal tax laws, or receiving stolen property; 

23 ‘‘(C) an act relating to fraud, corruption, 

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1 nancial misconduct in connection with the busi2 ness of insurance; 

3 ‘‘(D) any other act indicating a lack of 

4 business integrity or business honesty that seri5 ously and directly affects the responsibility of a 

6 service provider to provide services to the Na7 tional Flood Insurance Program; or 

8 ‘‘(E) attempting, soliciting, or conspiring 

9 to commit an act described in subparagraphs 

10 (A) through (D); 

11 ‘‘(2) that is, at the time of the exclusion under 

12 this subsection, debarred, suspended, or otherwise 

13 excluded from any procurement or nonprocurement 

14 activity (within the meaning of section 2455 of the 

15 Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act of 1994 (31 

16 U.S.C. 6101 note; Public Law 103–355)); 

17 ‘‘(3) whose license to provide professional serv18 ices has been revoked, suspended, restricted, or not 

19 renewed, by a State licensing authority for reasons 

20 relating to the provider’s professional competence, 

21 professional performance, or financial integrity; 

22 ‘‘(4) that surrendered a license described in 

23 paragraph (3) while a formal disciplinary proceeding 

24 was pending before a State licensing authority, if the 

25 proceeding concerned the provider’s professional 


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1 competence, professional performance, or financial 

2 integrity; 

3 ‘‘(5) that has provided professional services to 

4 the National Flood Insurance Program— 

5 ‘‘(A) at a price or rate substantially higher 

6 than the provider’s customary charge for such 

7 services; 

8 ‘‘(B) in a manner that substantially ex9 ceeds the needs of the National Flood Insur10 ance Program; or 

11 ‘‘(C) that are of a quality that fails to 

12 meet professionally recognized standards for 

13 those services; 

14 ‘‘(6) that has violated the terms of a contract 

15 or agreement related to the National Flood Insur16 ance Program to an extent so serious as to justify 

17 exclusion under this subsection, such as— 

18 ‘‘(A) willful failure to perform in accord19 ance with the terms of a contract or agreement 

20 related to the National Flood Insurance Pro21 gram; or 

22 ‘‘(B) a history of failure to perform, or of 

23 unsatisfactory performance of, a contract or 

24 agreement related to the National Flood Insur25 ance Program; 


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•S 3128 IS

1 ‘‘(7) that has engaged in conduct detrimental to 

2 the National Flood Insurance Program so serious or 

3 compelling in nature that it affects the responsibility 

4 of the service provider to provide services to the Na5 tional Flood Insurance Program; or 

6 ‘‘(8) that, in the case of an attorney, has com7 mitted an act subject to disbarment under para8 graph (1), regardless of criminal or civil findings of 

9 liability. 

10 ‘‘(d) EXCLUSION OF AFFILIATES.—The Adminis11 trator may exclude from participation in the National 

12 Flood Insurance Program a service provider that— 

13 ‘‘(1) is an entity directly or indirectly owned, or 

14 with a control interest of 5 percent or more held, by 

15 an individual or entity excluded from participation 

16 under this section; or 

17 ‘‘(2)(A) directly or indirectly owns, has a con18 trol interest in, or is an officer or managing em19 ployee of an entity excluded under this section; and 

20 ‘‘(B) knows or should know of the action consti21 tuting the basis for the entity’s exclusion. 

22 ‘‘(e) NOTICE AND DECISION-MAKING.— 

23 ‘‘(1) NOTICE OF PROPOSAL TO EXCLUDE.—Be24 fore excluding a service provider under this section, 

25 the Administrator shall issue a notice of proposed 


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1 exclusion to the service provider, by certified mail, 

2 return receipt requested, that states— 

3 ‘‘(A) that the exclusion is being considered; 

4 ‘‘(B) the reasons for the proposed exclu5 sion in terms sufficient to put the service pro6 vider on notice of the conduct or transaction 

7 upon which it is based; 

8 ‘‘(C) the cause relied upon under sub9 section (c) for proposing exclusion; 

10 ‘‘(D) that, not later than 30 days after re11 ceipt of the notice, the service provider may 

12 submit, in person, in writing, or through a rep13 resentative, information and argument in oppo14 sition to the proposed exclusion, including any 

15 additional specific information that raises a 

16 genuine dispute over the material facts; 

17 ‘‘(E) the Administrator’s procedures gov18 erning exclusion decision-making; 

19 ‘‘(F) the effect of the issuance of the no20 tice of proposed exclusion; and 

21 ‘‘(G) the potential effect of an actual ex22 clusion. 

23 ‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATOR’S DECISION TO EX24 CLUDE.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) EXCLUSION BASED ON CONVICTION

2 OR JUDGMENT OR WITHOUT DISPUTE OVER MA3 TERIAL FACTS.— 

4 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a 

5 proposed exclusion under this section based 

6 on a criminal conviction or civil judgment, 

7 or in which there is no genuine dispute 

8 over material facts, the Administrator shall 

9 make an exclusion decision on the basis of 

10 all the information in the administrative 

11 record, including any submission made by 

12 the service provider. 

13 ‘‘(ii) TIMING.—The Administrator 

14 shall make a decision under clause (i) not 

15 later than— 

16 ‘‘(I) 30 days after receipt of any 

17 information and argument submitted 

18 by the service provider in opposition 

19 to the proposed exclusion, unless the 

20 Administrator extends that period for 

21 good cause; or 

22 ‘‘(II) if the service provider does 

23 not submit any information or argu24 ment in opposition to the proposed ex25 clusion, 60 days after the date on 


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1 which the Administrator issues the 

2 notice of proposed exclusion under 

3 paragraph (1), unless the Adminis4 trator extends that period for good 

5 cause. 

6 ‘‘(B) EXCLUSION PROCEEDINGS INVOLV7 ING DISPUTE OF MATERIAL FACT.— 

8 ‘‘(i) WRITTEN FINDINGS OF FACT.— 

9 In the case of a proposed exclusion under 

10 this section in which additional proceedings 

11 are necessary to resolve disputed material 

12 facts, the Administrator shall prepare writ13 ten findings of fact. 

14 ‘‘(ii) BASIS FOR FACTUAL FIND15 INGS.—The Administrator shall base a de16 termination under clause (i) on the facts 

17 as found, together with any information 

18 and argument submitted by the service 

19 provider and any other information in the 

20 administrative record. 

21 ‘‘(iii) REFERRAL TO ADMINISTRATIVE

22 LAW JUDGE.—The Administrator— 

23 ‘‘(I) may refer a matter involving 

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1 trative law judge for findings of fact; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(II) may reject any findings of 

4 fact made under subclause (I), in 

5 whole or in part, only after specifically 

6 determining them to be arbitrary and 

7 capricious or clearly erroneous. 

8 ‘‘(iv) CONCLUSION OF PRO9 CEEDINGS.—The Administrator shall make 

10 a decision regarding a proposed exclusion 

11 under this subparagraph after the conclu12 sion of the proceedings with respect to dis13 puted facts. 

14 ‘‘(C) BURDEN OF PROOF.—In the case of 

15 any proposed exclusion under this section that 

16 is not based on a criminal conviction or civil 

17 judgment, the cause for exclusion shall be es18 tablished by a preponderance of the evidence. 

19 ‘‘(3) NOTICE OF EXCLUSION DECISION.— 

20 ‘‘(A) NOTICE OF EXCLUSION.—If the Ad21 ministrator decides to exclude a service provider 

22 from participation in the National Flood Insur23 ance Program under this section, the Adminis24 trator shall provide the service provider prompt 


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1 notice by certified mail, return receipt re2 quested— 

3 ‘‘(i) referring to the notice of pro4 posed exclusion; 

5 ‘‘(ii) specifying the reasons for exclu6 sion; and 

7 ‘‘(iii) stating the period of exclusion, 

8 including effective dates. 

9 ‘‘(B) NOTICE OF NO EXCLUSION.—If the 

10 Administrator decides not to exclude a service 

11 provider from participation in the National 

12 Flood Insurance Program under this section, 

13 the Administrator shall promptly notify the 

14 service provider, by certified mail, return re15 ceipt requested. 

16 ‘‘(f) CONSIDERATIONS WHEN MAKING EXCLUSION

17 DETERMINATION.—A determination relating to the appro18 priateness of excluding a service provider under this sec19 tion or the length of such an exclusion is committed to 

20 the Administrator’s sole discretion, but in making such a 

21 determination, the Administrator shall consider— 

22 ‘‘(1) the nature of any services involved and the 

23 circumstances under which they were provided; 


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1 ‘‘(2) the degree of culpability and history of 

2 prior offenses or improper conduct of the service 

3 provider involved; and 

4 ‘‘(3) such other matters as justice may require. 

5 ‘‘(g) NOTIFICATION TO LICENSING AGENCIES OF EX6 CLUSION.—The Administrator shall— 

7 ‘‘(1) promptly notify the appropriate agency or 

8 authority having responsibility for the licensing or 

9 certification of a service provider excluded under this 

10 section of the fact of the exclusion, as well as the 

11 reasons for the exclusion; 

12 ‘‘(2) request that appropriate investigations be 

13 made and sanctions invoked in accordance with ap14 plicable law and policy; and 

15 ‘‘(3) request that the agency or authority keep 

16 the Administrator fully and currently informed with 

17 respect to any actions taken in response to the re18 quest. 

19 ‘‘(h) CONSTRUCTION.— 

20 ‘‘(1) DETERMINATION OF CONVICTION.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For the purposes of 

22 this section, an individual or entity shall be con23 sidered to have been convicted of a criminal of24 fense if— 


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1 ‘‘(i) a judgment of conviction for the 

2 offense has been entered against the indi3 vidual or entity by a Federal, State, or 

4 local court; 

5 ‘‘(ii) there has been a finding of guilt 

6 against the individual or entity by a Fed7 eral, State, or local court with respect to 

8 the offense; 

9 ‘‘(iii) a plea of guilty or nolo 

10 contendere by the individual or entity has 

11 been accepted by a Federal, State, or local 

12 court with respect to the offense; or 

13 ‘‘(iv) the case of an individual, the in14 dividual has entered a first offender or 

15 other program pursuant to which a judg16 ment of conviction for the offense has been 

17 withheld. 

18 ‘‘(B) EFFECT OF APPEAL OR REQUEST

19 FOR RELIEF.—A determination of conviction 

20 under subparagraph (A) shall be made without 

21 regard to the pendency or outcome of any ap22 peal (other than a judgment of acquittal based 

23 on innocence) or request for relief on behalf of 

24 the individual or entity. 


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1 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION OF OTHER PROCEEDINGS.— 

2 This section shall not be construed to limit or super3 sede any other Federal or State criminal or civil ac4 tion or Federal suspension or debarment pro5 ceeding.’’. 

6 SEC. 408. DEADLINE FOR CLAIM PROCESSING. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1312 of the National 

8 Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4019), as amend9 ed by section 406(a), is amended by adding at the end 

10 the following: 

11 ‘‘(i) DEADLINE FOR APPROVAL OF CLAIMS.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall 

13 provide that, in the case of a claim for damage to 

14 or loss of property that is covered by a policy for 

15 flood insurance made available under this title— 

16 ‘‘(A) except as provided in paragraph (2), 

17 not later than 60 days after the date on which 

18 a proof of loss or comparable submission is pro19 vided to the Administrator— 

20 ‘‘(i) an initial determination regarding 

21 approval of the claim for payment or dis22 approval of the claim shall be made; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) notification of the determination 

24 described in clause (i) shall be provided to 

25 the policyholder making the claim; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) payment of an approved claim shall 

2 be made as soon as possible after that approval. 

3 ‘‘(2) EXTENSION OF DEADLINE.—The Adminis4 trator shall— 

5 ‘‘(A) provide that the period described in 

6 paragraph (1)(A) may be extended by an addi7 tional period of 30 days under extraordinary 

8 circumstances; and 

9 ‘‘(B) by regulation— 

10 ‘‘(i) establish criteria for— 

11 ‘‘(I) demonstrating the extraor12 dinary circumstances described in sub13 paragraph (A); and 

14 ‘‘(II) determining to which claims 

15 the extraordinary circumstances de16 scribed in subparagraph (A) apply; 

17 and 

18 ‘‘(ii) provide that, if the deadline im19 posed under paragraph (1)(A), as extended 

20 under subparagraph (A), if applicable, is 

21 not satisfied the amount of the claim to 

22 which the deadline relates shall be in23 creased with interest, which shall begin ac24 cruing on the date on which the initial 

25 claim is filed. 


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1 ‘‘(3) DEADLINE TOLLED DURING CERTAIN COM2 MUNICATION WITH POLICYHOLDER.—The deadline 

3 under paragraph (1) shall be tolled during any pe4 riod during which the Administrator or a Write 

5 Your Own Company is trying to obtain more infor6 mation from a policyholder regarding a claim made 

7 by the policyholder, or is otherwise working with a 

8 policyholder to develop such a claim.’’. 

9 (b) APPLICABILITY.—The amendment made by sub10 section (a) shall apply to any claim for damage to or loss 

11 of property that is covered by a policy for flood insurance 

12 made available under the National Flood Insurance Pro13 gram that is made after the date of enactment of this Act. 

14 SEC. 409. NO MANIPULATION OF ENGINEER REPORTS. 

15 Section 1312 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 

16 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4019), as amended by section 408(a), 

17 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(j) FINAL ENGINEERING REPORTS.— 

19 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection— 

20 ‘‘(A) the term ‘covered claim’ means any 

21 claim for losses covered by a policy for flood in22 surance coverage made available under this 

23 title; and 

24 ‘‘(B) the term ‘final engineering report’ 

25 means an engineering report, survey, or other 


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1 document in connection with a covered claim 

2 that— 

3 ‘‘(i) is based on an on-site inspection; 

4 ‘‘(ii) contains final conclusions with 

5 respect to an engineering issue or issues 

6 involved in the claim; and 

7 ‘‘(iii) is signed by the responsible in 

8 charge or affixed with the seal of the re9 sponsible in charge, or both. 

10 ‘‘(2) PROHIBITION ON MANIPULATION AND

11 TRANSMISSION TO THIRD PARTIES.—The Adminis12 trator shall require that, in the case of any on-site 

13 inspection of a property by an engineer for the pur14 pose of assessing any covered claim, the final engi15 neering report— 

16 ‘‘(A) may not— 

17 ‘‘(i) include alterations by, or at the 

18 request of, anyone other than the person 

19 responsible for the report; or 

20 ‘‘(ii) be transmitted to any other per21 son before the final engineering report is 

22 transmitted to the policyholder who sub23 mitted the covered claim; and 

24 ‘‘(B) shall include a certification, signed by 

25 the person responsible for the final engineering 


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1 report, that the final engineering report does 

2 not contain any alterations described in sub3 paragraph (A).’’. 

4 SEC. 410. IMPROVED TRAINING OF FLOODPLAIN MAN5 AGERS, AGENTS, AND ADJUSTERS. 

6 (a) LOCAL FLOODPLAIN MANAGERS.—Each regional 

7 office of the Federal Emergency Management Agency 

8 shall— 

9 (1) provide training to local floodplain man10 agers, agents, and claim adjusters in the region re11 garding the responsibilities and procedures of local 

12 floodplain managers with respect to conducting sub13 stantial damage and substantial improvement deter14 minations; 

15 (2) work with applicable State agencies to pro16 vide the training described in paragraph (1); and 

17 (3) verify that the individuals described in para18 graph (1) are completing the training described in 

19 that paragraph. 

20 (b) MAJOR DISASTER TRAINING.—After a flood that 

21 is declared a major disaster by the President under section 

22 401 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer23 gency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170), the Administrator 

24 shall, if determined appropriate, provide— 


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1 (1) refresher training to prepare insurance 

2 claims adjusters for the unique circumstances of the 

3 major disaster; and 

4 (2) any briefings that are necessary to prepare 

5 and inform floodplain managers, agents, and claim 

6 adjusters regarding any atypical circumstances and 

7 issues arising from the natural disaster. 

8 SEC. 411. FLOOD INSURANCE CONTINUING EDUCATION 

9 AND TRAINING. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Bunning-Bereuter-Blu11 menauer Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2004 (Public 

12 Law 108–264; 118 Stat. 712) is amended— 

13 (1) in section 201 (42 U.S.C. 4011 note)— 

14 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘Director 

15 of the’’ and inserting ‘‘Administrator of the’’; 

16 and 

17 (B) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘4001’’ 

18 after ‘‘U.S.C.’’; and 

19 (2) by striking section 207 (42 U.S.C. 4011 

20 note) and inserting the following: 

21 ‘‘SEC. 207. CONTINUING EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS FOR 

22 INSURANCE AGENTS. 

23 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall require each 

24 insurance agent who sells flood insurance policies under 


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1 the Program to, once every 2 years, complete a 3-hour 

2 continuing education course that— 

3 ‘‘(1) subject to subsection (c), is approved by 

4 the insurance commissioner of the State in which 

5 the agent is a legal resident; and 

6 ‘‘(2) focuses on issues with respect to the Pro7 gram. 

8 ‘‘(b) FAILURE TO COMPLETE COURSE.—If an insur9 ance agent who sells flood insurance policies does not com10 plete a continuing education course required under sub11 section (a), the agent, until the date on which the agent 

12 completes the course in accordance with the requirements 

13 of this section, may not— 

14 ‘‘(1) sell flood insurance policies; or 

15 ‘‘(2) perform any duties with respect to the 

16 Program. 

17 ‘‘(c) AGENTS LICENSED IN MULTIPLE STATES.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If an insurance agent who 

19 sells flood insurance policies is licensed to sell insur20 ance in more than 1 State— 

21 ‘‘(A) the agent shall submit proof of com22 pletion of a continuing education course re23 quired under subsection (a) to the insurance 

24 commissioner of each State in which the agent 

25 is licensed; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) each insurance commissioner to 

2 whom an insurance agent submits a proof of 

3 completion under subparagraph (A) may deter4 mine whether the course to which that proof of 

5 completion relates meets the minimum stand6 ards established by that insurance commis7 sioner. 

8 ‘‘(2) EFFECT OF DENIAL.—If an insurance 

9 commissioner of a State (referred to in this para10 graph as the ‘rejecting commissioner’) determines 

11 under paragraph (1)(B) that a continuing education 

12 course taken in another State by an insurance agent 

13 who sells flood insurance policies does not meet the 

14 minimum standards established by the rejecting 

15 commissioner, the insurance agent may not take any 

16 action described in paragraph (1) or (2) of sub17 section (b) until the agent satisfies the minimum re18 quirements established by the rejecting commis19 sioner. 

20 ‘‘(d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Any reference in 

21 this section to an insurance commissioner of a State shall 

22 be construed as a reference to an equivalent official with 

23 respect to any State in which there is no official who has 

24 the title of insurance commissioner.’’. 


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1 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.— 

2 The table of contents for the Bunning-Bereuter-Blu3 menauer Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2004 (Public 

4 Law 108–264; 118 Stat. 712) is amended by striking the 

5 item relating to section 207 and inserting the following: 

‘‘Sec. 207. Continuing education requirements for insurance agents.’’. 

6 SEC. 412. SHIFTING OF ATTORNEY FEES AND OTHER EX7 PENSES. 

8 Section 1341 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 

9 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4072), as amended by section 405(c), 

10 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(d) ATTORNEY FEES AND OTHER EXPENSES.—A 

12 Write Your Own Company against which an action is in13 stituted under this subsection shall be considered an agen14 cy of the United States for the purposes of section 2412(d) 

15 of title 28, United States Code.’’. 

16 SEC. 413. RESTRICTION ON DEFENSE OF CLAIMS LITIGA17 TION. 

18 (a) RESTRICTION ON DEFENSE OF CLAIMS LITIGA19 TION.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 1345 of the Na21 tional Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 

22 4081) is amended by adding at the end the fol23 lowing: 

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1 tract, agreement, or other appropriate arrangement under 

2 subsection (a) that delegates the authority of the Adminis3 trator to defend actions instituted under section 1341.’’. 

4 (2) IMPLEMENTATION.—Notwithstanding any 

5 other provision of law, the Administrator may imple6 ment the amendment made by paragraph (1) by 

7 adopting 1 or more standard endorsements to the 

8 Standard Flood Insurance Policy by publication of 

9 those standards in the Federal Register, or by com10 parable means. 

11 (3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 

12 by paragraph (1) shall take effect on the date that 

13 is 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act. 

14 (4) TRANSITION.—Notwithstanding the amend15 ment made by paragraph (1), in the case of an ac16 tion instituted under subsection (b) of section 1341 

17 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 

18 U.S.C. 4072), as added by section 407, before the 

19 effective date under paragraph (3) of this sub20 section, the Administrator may authorize a Write 

21 Your Own Company to continue to defend the action 

22 after that effective date. 

23 (b) APPOINTMENT OF TEMPORARY PERSONNEL.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 1341 of the Na25 tional Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 


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1 4072), as amended by section 412, is amended by 

2 adding at the end the following: 

3 ‘‘(e) APPOINTMENT OF TEMPORARY PERSONNEL.— 

4 The Administrator may appoint and fix the compensation 

5 of such temporary personnel as may be necessary to sup6 port the defense of an action instituted under this section, 

7 without regard to the provisions of title 5, United States 

8 Code, governing appointments in the competitive service.’’. 

9 (2) FUNDING.—Section 1310(d)(1) of the Na10 tional Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 

11 4017(d)(1)) is amended by inserting after ‘‘losses,’’ 

12 the following: ‘‘including the costs associated with 

13 the hiring of temporary personnel under section 

14 1341(e),’’. 

15 SEC. 414. REFORMING USE OF PROOF OF LOSS FORMS. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1312 of the National 

17 Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4019), as amend18 ed by section 409, is amended by adding at the end the 

19 following: 

20 ‘‘(k) NO CONDITION OF PAYMENT OF UNDISPUTED

21 CLAIM ON PROOF OF LOSS.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

23 provision of law, or any term or condition of a 

24 standard flood insurance policy, the Administrator— 


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1 ‘‘(A) may not condition payment of an un2 disputed claim based on the submission of a 

3 proof of loss; and 

4 ‘‘(B) may instead accept a report sub5 mitted by the insurance adjuster the Adminis6 trator hires to investigate the claim, if the re7 port is signed by the policyholder, unless the 

8 Administrator determines that conditions make 

9 signature impracticable. 

10 ‘‘(2) REFUSAL TO ACCEPT AMOUNT PAID.— 

11 Upon the refusal of a policyholder to accept the 

12 amount paid under paragraph (1), the Administrator 

13 may require the policyholder to submit a proof of 

14 loss within a timeframe determined by the Adminis15 trator.’’. 

16 (b) GUIDANCE TO DEFENSE ATTORNEYS.—The Ad17 ministrator shall issue guidance for best practices for at18 torneys defending actions instituted under section 1333 

19 or 1341, as applicable, of the National Flood Insurance 

20 Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4053, 4072) (as amended by sec21 tion 404(c)) relating to how to respond to unintentional 

22 errors in a proof of loss submitted by a policyholder under 

23 the National Flood Insurance Policy. 


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1 SEC. 415. AGENT ADVISORY COUNCIL. 

2 Part C of chapter II of the National Flood Insurance 

3 Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4081 et seq.), as amended by sec4 tion 407, is amended by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 1351. AGENT ADVISORY COUNCIL. 

6 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a coun7 cil to be known as the Agent Advisory Council (in this 

8 section referred to as the ‘Council’). 

9 ‘‘(b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

10 ‘‘(1) MEMBERS.—The Council shall consist of— 

11 ‘‘(A) the Administrator, or the designee of 

12 the Administrator; and 

13 ‘‘(B) 11 additional members appointed by 

14 the Administrator or the designee of the Ad15 ministrator, of whom— 

16 ‘‘(i) 1 shall be a member of the Na17 tional Association of Insurance Commis18 sioners; 

19 ‘‘(ii) 2 shall be members of the Inde20 pendent Insurance Agents and Brokers of 

21 America; 

22 ‘‘(iii) 1 shall be a member of United 

23 Policyholders; 

24 ‘‘(iv) 1 shall be a representative of the 

25 Emergency Management Institute of the 

26 Federal Emergency Management Agency; 


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1 ‘‘(v) 1 shall be a representative of the 

2 Office of the Flood Insurance Advocate of 

3 the Federal Emergency Management 

4 Agency; 

5 ‘‘(vi) 2 shall be members of the Na6 tional Association of Professional Insur7 ance Agents; 

8 ‘‘(vii) 1 shall be a representative of a 

9 recognized professional association or orga10 nization representing homebuilders or land 

11 developers; 

12 ‘‘(viii) 1 shall be a representative of a 

13 recognized professional association or orga14 nization representing the real estate indus15 try; and 

16 ‘‘(ix) 1 of whom shall be a representa17 tive of a recognized consumer protection 

18 group. 

19 ‘‘(2) QUALIFICATIONS.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each member of the 

21 Council shall have experience with— 

22 ‘‘(i) contacting policyholders under the 

23 national flood insurance program, includ24 ing with respect to applying for flood in25 surance and processing a claim for damage 


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1 to or loss of property that is covered by 

2 flood insurance; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) riverine and coastal flood insur4 ance policies. 

5 ‘‘(B) CONSIDERATIONS.—The Adminis6 trator shall, to the maximum extent practicable, 

7 ensure that the membership of the Council has 

8 a balance of governmental and private mem9 bers, and includes geographic diversity. 

10 ‘‘(C) CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.—A mem11 ber of the Council— 

12 ‘‘(i) may not, while serving on the 

13 Council, be employed or retained— 

14 ‘‘(I) by a Federal Emergency 

15 Management Agency contractor or 

16 consultant; or 

17 ‘‘(II) by a nongovernmental enti18 ty that was awarded a Federal grant 

19 during the 5-year period preceding the 

20 date on which the member was ap21 pointed to the Council; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) may not have been employed by 

23 a Federal Emergency Management Agency 

24 contractor or consultant during the 5-year 


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1 period preceding the date on which the 

2 member was appointed to the Council. 

3 ‘‘(3) CONSULTATION.—In appointing a member 

4 of the Council from an entity described in clauses (i) 

5 through (viii) of paragraph (1)(B), the Adminis6 trator or the designee of the Administrator, as appli7 cable, shall consult with the entity. 

8 ‘‘(4) CHAIRPERSON.—The members of the 

9 Council shall elect 1 member to serve as the chair10 person of the Council (in this section referred to as 

11 the ‘Chairperson’). 

12 ‘‘(c) DUTIES.—The Council shall— 

13 ‘‘(1) provide recommendations to the Adminis14 trator on— 

15 ‘‘(A) improving the customer experience 

16 for policyholders under the national flood insur17 ance program; 

18 ‘‘(B) training insurance agents that issue 

19 flood insurance policies; and 

20 ‘‘(C) improving the processing and han21 dling of claims for damage to or loss of prop22 erty that is covered by flood insurance; and 

23 ‘‘(2) submit to the Administrator an annual re24 port that includes— 


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1 ‘‘(A) a description of the activities of the 

2 Council; and 

3 ‘‘(B) a summary of recommendations made 

4 by the Council to the Administrator. 

5 ‘‘(d) COMPENSATION.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para7 graph (2), a member of the Council shall receive no 

8 additional compensation for serving on the Council. 

9 ‘‘(2) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Each member of the 

10 Council may be allowed travel expenses, including 

11 per diem in lieu of subsistence, in accordance with 

12 sections 5702 and 5703 of title 5, United States 

13 Code, while away from their homes or regular places 

14 of business in performance of services for the Coun15 cil. 

16 ‘‘(e) MEETINGS AND ACTIONS.— 

17 ‘‘(1) MEETINGS.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Council shall 

19 meet not less frequently than twice each year at 

20 the request of the Chairperson or a majority of 

21 the members of the Council. 

22 ‘‘(B) INITIAL MEETING.—The Adminis23 trator, or a designee of the Administrator, shall 

24 request and coordinate the initial meeting of 

25 the Council. 


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1 ‘‘(2) ACTION BY MAJORITY VOTE.—The Council 

2 may take action by a vote of the majority of the 

3 members. 

4 ‘‘(f) OFFICERS.—The Chairperson may appoint offi5 cers to assist in carrying out the duties of the Council 

6 under subsection (c). 

7 ‘‘(g) STAFF.—Upon the request of the Chairperson, 

8 the Administrator may detail, on a nonreimbursable basis, 

9 personnel of the Office of the Flood Insurance Advocate 

10 of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to assist 

11 the Council in carrying out the duties of the Council. 

12 ‘‘(h) POWERS.—In carrying out this section, the 

13 Council may hold hearings, receive evidence and assist14 ance, provide information, and conduct research as the 

15 Council considers appropriate. 

16 ‘‘(i) REPORT TO CONGRESS AND OMB.—The Admin17 istrator shall submit to the Committee on Banking, Hous18 ing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate, the Committee on 

19 Financial Services of the House of Representatives, and 

20 the Director of the Office of Management and Budget an 

21 annual report on— 

22 ‘‘(1) the recommendations made by the Council; 

23 and 

24 ‘‘(2) any recommendations made by the Council 

25 during the year covered by the report that, as of the 


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1 date on which the report is submitted, have been de2 ferred or not acted upon, together with an explana3 tory statement with respect to those recommenda4 tions. 

5 ‘‘(j) APPLICABILITY OF THE FEDERAL ADVISORY

6 COMMITTEE ACT.—Section 14 of the Federal Advisory 

7 Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to the 

8 Council.’’. 

9 SEC. 416. DISCLOSURE OF FLOOD RISK INFORMATION 

10 PRIOR TO TRANSFER OF PROPERTY. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter I of the National Flood 

12 Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4011 et seq.), as 

13 amended by section 207, is amended by adding at the end 

14 the following: 

15 ‘‘SEC. 1328. DISCLOSURE OF FLOOD RISK INFORMATION 

16 PRIOR TO TRANSFER OF PROPERTY. 

17 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—After September 30, 2022, no 

18 new flood insurance coverage may be provided under this 

19 title for any real property unless an appropriate public 

20 body has imposed, by statute or regulation, a duty on any 

21 seller or lessor of improved real estate to provide to any 

22 purchaser or lessee (with respect to a lease for a term that 

23 is not shorter than 30 days) of the property a property 

24 flood hazard disclosure that the Administrator has deter25 mined meets the requirements of subsection (b). 


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1 ‘‘(b) DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS.— 

2 ‘‘(1) REQUIREMENTS FOR SELLERS.—A prop3 erty flood hazard disclosure for the sale of a prop4 erty shall meet the requirements of this subsection 

5 only if the disclosure— 

6 ‘‘(A) is made in writing; 

7 ‘‘(B) discloses any actual knowledge of the 

8 seller of any— 

9 ‘‘(i) prior physical damage caused by 

10 flood to a structure located on the prop11 erty; 

12 ‘‘(ii) prior insurance claim for a loss 

13 covered under the national flood insurance 

14 program or private flood insurance with re15 spect to the property; 

16 ‘‘(iii) previous notification regarding 

17 the designation of the property as a repet18 itive loss structure or severe repetitive loss 

19 structure (as defined in section 1366(h)); 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(iv) Federal legal obligation to obtain 

22 and maintain flood insurance running with 

23 the property; 


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1 ‘‘(C) discloses to the maximum extent fea2 sible, in a manner to be determined by the Ad3 ministrator— 

4 ‘‘(i) the relative flood risk associated 

5 with the property as indicated in flood haz6 ard data maintained by the Administrator 

7 under this title; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) the availability of and approxi9 mate cost of flood insurance for the prop10 erty; and 

11 ‘‘(D) is delivered by, or on behalf of, the 

12 seller to the purchaser before the purchaser be13 comes obligated under any contract to purchase 

14 the property. 

15 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS FOR LESSORS.—A prop16 erty flood hazard disclosure for a rental property 

17 with a lease for a term that is not shorter than 30 

18 days shall meet the requirements of this subsection 

19 only if the disclosure— 

20 ‘‘(A) is made in writing; 

21 ‘‘(B) discloses any actual knowledge of the 

22 lessor— 

23 ‘‘(i) of any Federal legal obligation to 

24 obtain and maintain flood insurance run25 ning with the property; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) regarding any prior physical 

2 damage caused by flood with respect to the 

3 unit being leased; and 

4 ‘‘(iii) of the availability of coverage 

5 under this title for contents located in a 

6 structure on the property; and 

7 ‘‘(C) is delivered by, or on behalf of, the 

8 lessor to the lessee before the lessee becomes 

9 obligated under any contract to lease the prop10 erty. 

11 ‘‘(3) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

12 this section may be construed as preventing a State 

13 from adopting disclosure requirements in addition to 

14 the requirements of this section.’’. 

15 (b) AVAILABILITY OF FLOOD INSURANCE COV16 ERAGE.—Section 1305(c) of the National Flood Insurance 

17 Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4012(c)) is amended— 

18 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘, and’’ at the 

19 end and inserting a semicolon; 

20 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking the period at 

21 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

22 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(3) given satisfactory assurance that, not later 

24 than October 1, 2024, property flood hazard disclo25 sure requirements will have been adopted for the 


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1 area (or subdivision) that meet the requirements of 

2 section 1328.’’. 

Æ 


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