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103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1670

To improve hazard mitigation and relocation assistance in connection with

flooding, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

NOVEMBER 18 (legislative day, NOVEMBER 2), 1993

Mr. HARKIN (for himself, Mr. DANFORTH, Ms. MOSELEY-BRAUN, Mr. GRASSLEY, and Mr. SIMON) introduced the following bill; which was read twice

and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works

A BILL

To improve hazard mitigation and relocation assistance in

connection with flooding, 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 ‘‘Hazard Mitigation and

5 Relocation Assistance Act of 1993’’.

6 SEC. 2. HAZARD MITIGATION.

7 (a) FEDERAL SHARE AND TOTAL CONTRIBUTIONS.—

8 Section 404 of The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and

9 Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170c) is amend10 ed—
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1 (1) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘50 per2 cent’’ and inserting ‘‘75 percent’’; and

3 (2) in the last sentence, by striking ‘‘10 per4 cent’’ and all that follows through the end of the

5 sentence and inserting ‘‘15 percent of the estimated

6 aggregate amount of grants to be made (less any as7 sociated administrative costs) under this Act with

8 respect to the major disaster.’’.

9 (b) APPLICABILITY.—The amendments made by this

10 section shall apply to any major disaster declared by the

11 President pursuant to The Robert T. Stafford Disaster

12 Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et

13 seq.) on or after June 10, 1993.

14 SEC. 3. PROPERTY ACQUISITION AND RELOCATION ASSIST15 ANCE.

16 Section 404 of The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Re17 lief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170c) is

18 amended—

19 (1) by inserting ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—’’ before

20 ‘‘The President’’; and

21 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub22 section:

23 ‘‘(b) PROPERTY ACQUISITION AND RELOCATION AS24 SISTANCE.—
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1 ‘‘(1) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—In providing haz2 ard mitigation assistance under this section in con3 nection with flooding, the Director of the Federal

4 Emergency Management Agency may provide prop5 erty acquisition and relocation assistance for

6 projects that meet the requirements of paragraph

7 (2).

8 ‘‘(2) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—An acquisition

9 or relocation project shall be eligible to receive as10 sistance pursuant to paragraph (1) only if—

11 ‘‘(A) the applicant for the assistance is

12 otherwise eligible to receive assistance under the

13 hazard mitigation grant program established

14 under subsection (a); and

15 ‘‘(B) on or after the date of enactment of

16 this subsection, the applicant for the assistance

17 enters into an agreement with the Director that

18 provides assurances that—

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

20 or from which a structure will be removed

21 pursuant to the project will be dedicated

22 and maintained in perpetuity for a use

23 that is compatible with open space, rec24 reational, or wetlands management prac25 tices;
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1 ‘‘(ii) no new structure will be erected

2 on property acquired, accepted or from

3 which a structure was removed under the

4 acquisition or relocation program other

5 than—

6 ‘‘(I) a public facility that is open

7 on all sides and functionally related to

8 a designated open space;

9 ‘‘(II) a rest room; or

10 ‘‘(III) a structure that the Direc11 tor approves in writing before the

12 commencement of the construction of

13 the structure; and

14 ‘‘(iii) after receipt of the assistance,

15 with respect to any property acquired, ac16 cepted or from which a structure was re17 moved under the acquisition or relocation

18 program—

19 ‘‘(I) no subsequent application

20 for additional disaster assistance for

21 any purpose will be made by the recip22 ient to any Federal entity; and

23 ‘‘(II) no assistance referred to in

24 subclause (I) will be provided to the

25 applicant by any Federal source.
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1 ‘‘(3) STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in

2 this subsection is intended to alter or otherwise af3 fect an agreement for an acquisition or relocation

4 project carried out pursuant to this section that was

5 in effect on the day before the date of enactment of

6 this subsection.’’.

7 SEC. 4. TREATMENT OF REAL PROPERTY BUYOUT PRO8 GRAMS.

9 (a) INAPPLICABILITY OF URA.—The purchase of any

10 real property under a qualified buyout program shall not

11 constitute the making of Federal financial assistance

12 available to pay all or part of the cost of a program or

13 project resulting in the acquisition of real property or in

14 any owner of real property being a displaced person (with15 in the meaning of the Uniform Relocation Assistance and

16 Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970).

17 (b) DEFINITION OF ‘‘QUALIFIED BUYOUT PRO18 GRAM’’.—For purposes of this section, the term ‘‘qualified

19 buyout program’’ means any program that—

20 (1) provides for the purchase of only property

21 damaged by the major, widespread flooding in the

22 Midwest during 1993;

23 (2) provides for such purchase solely as a result

24 of such flooding;
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1 (3) provides for such acquisition without the

2 use of the power of eminent domain and notification

3 to the seller that acquisition is without the use of

4 such power;

5 (4) is carried out by or through a State or a

6 unit of general local government; and

7 (5) is being assisted with amounts made avail8 able for—

9 (A) disaster relief by the Federal Emer10 gency Management Agency; or

11 (B) other Federal financial assistance pro12 grams.

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