I 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5114 

To extend the authorization for the national flood insurance program, to 

identify priorities essential to reform and ongoing stable functioning 

of the program, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 22, 2010 

Ms. WATERS (for herself, Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, Mr. KANJORSKI, Mr. 

COSTELLO, Ms. MATSUI, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. PATRICK J. 

MURPHY of Pennsylvania, Mrs. CAPPS, Mr. CARDOZA, Mr. HARE, Mr. AL

GREEN of Texas, and Ms. LINDA T. SA ́NCHEZ of California) introduced 

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 

A BILL 

To extend the authorization for the national flood insurance 

program, to identify priorities essential to reform and 

ongoing stable functioning of the 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 AND TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Flood Insurance Reform Priorities Act of 2010’’. 


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1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

2 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings and purposes. 

Sec. 3. Extension of national flood insurance program. 

Sec. 4. Maximum coverage limits. 

Sec. 5. Phase-in of actuarial rates for nonresidential properties and non-primary residences. 

Sec. 6. 5-year delay in effective date of mandatory purchase requirement for 

new flood hazard areas. 

Sec. 7. 5-year phase-in of flood insurance rates for newly mapped areas. 

Sec. 8. Increase in annual limitation on premium increases. 

Sec. 9. Consideration of construction, reconstruction, and improvement of flood 

protection systems in determination of flood insurance rates. 

Sec. 10. Treatment of certain flood protection projects. 

Sec. 11. Exception to waiting period for effective date of policies. 

Sec. 12. Enforcement. 

Sec. 13. Notification to tenants of availability of contents insurance. 

Sec. 14. Flood insurance outreach. 

Sec. 15. Notice of availability of flood insurance and escrow in RESPA good 

faith estimate. 

Sec. 16. Authorization of additional FEMA staff. 

Sec. 17. Plan to verify maintenance of flood insurance on Mississippi and Louisiana properties receiving emergency supplemental funds. 

Sec. 18. Flood insurance advocate. 

Sec. 19. Study regarding mandatory purchase requirement for natural 100-year 

floodplain and non-federally related loans. 

Sec. 20. Study of methods to increase flood insurance program participation by 

low-income families. 

Sec. 21. Report on inclusion of building codes in floodplain management criteria. 

3 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

4 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that— 

5 (1) since the enactment of National Flood In6 surance Act of 1968, the national flood insurance 

7 program has been the primary source of reliable, 

8 reasonably priced, flood insurance coverage for mil9 lions of American homes and businesses; 

10 (2) today over 5,500,000 homes and businesses 

11 in the United States rely on the national flood insurVerDate Nov 24 2008 19:13 Apr 23, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5114.IH H5114

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1 ance program to provide a degree of financial secu2 rity; 

3 (3) although participation in the national flood 

4 insurance program has, in the past, largely been lim5 ited to properties required to participate in the pro6 gram because of the program’s mandatory purchase 

7 requirement for properties in special flood hazard 

8 areas with loans from federally regulated lenders, re9 cent annual and extraordinary flooding has resulted 

10 in the program enjoying its highest voluntary par11 ticipation since the establishment of the mandatory 

12 flood insurance purchase requirement; 

13 (4) several years of below-average flood claim 

14 losses and increased voluntary participation in the 

15 national flood insurance program have allowed the 

16 program to fully service the debt incurred following 

17 Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and allowed the pro18 gram to pay $500,000,000 of the principal of that 

19 outstanding debt; 

20 (5) though significant reforms are needed to 

21 further improve the financial outlook of the national 

22 flood insurance program, long-term and reliable au23 thorization of the program is an essential element to 

24 stabilizing the already fragile United States housing 

25 market; 


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1 (6) increased flooding in areas outside des2 ignated special flood hazard areas prompted the Ex3 ecutive and the Congress in 2002 to begin calling for 

4 the national flood insurance program to develop and 

5 disseminate revised, updated flood insurance rate 

6 maps that reflect the real risk of flooding for prop7 erties not previously identified as being located with8 in a special flood hazard area; 

9 (7) dissemination of accurate, up-to-date, flood10 risk information remains a primary goal of the na11 tional flood insurance program and such information 

12 should be disseminated as soon as such information 

13 is collected and available; 

14 (8) communities should be encouraged to make 

15 their residents aware of updated flood-risk data 

16 while communities are assessing and incorporating 

17 updated flood-risk data into long-term community 

18 planning; 

19 (9) the maximum coverage limits for flood in20 surance policies should be increased to reflect infla21 tion and the increased cost of housing; and 

22 (10) phasing out flood insurance premium sub23 sidies currently extended to vacation homes, second 

24 homes, and commercial properties would result in 


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1 significant average annual savings to the national 

2 flood insurance program. 

3 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are— 

4 (1) to identify priorities essential to the reform 

5 and ongoing stable functioning of the national flood 

6 insurance program; 

7 (2) to increase incentives for homeowners and 

8 communities to participate in the national flood in9 surance program and to improve oversight to ensure 

10 better accountability of the national flood insurance 

11 program and the Federal Emergency Management 

12 Agency; and 

13 (3) to increase awareness of homeowners of 

14 flood risks and improve the information regarding 

15 such risks provided to homeowners. 

16 SEC. 3. EXTENSION OF NATIONAL FLOOD INSURANCE PRO17 GRAM. 

18 (a) PROGRAM EXTENSION.—Section 1319 of the Na19 tional Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4026) is 

20 amended by striking ‘‘September 30, 2008’’ and inserting 

21 ‘‘September 30, 2015’’. 

22 (b) FINANCING.—Section 1309(a) of such Act (42 

23 U.S.C. 4016(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘September 30, 

24 2008’’ and inserting ‘‘September 30, 2015’’. 


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1 (c) EXTENSION OF PILOT PROGRAM FOR MITIGA2 TION OF SEVERE REPETITIVE LOSS PROPERTIES.—Sec3 tion 1361A of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 

4 (42 U.S.C. 4102a) is amended— 

5 (1) in subsection (k)(1), by striking ‘‘2005, 

6 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009’’ and inserting ‘‘2011, 

7 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015’’; and 

8 (2) by striking subsection (l). 

9 SEC. 4. MAXIMUM COVERAGE LIMITS. 

10 Subsection (b) of section 1306 of the National Flood 

11 Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4013(b)) is amended— 

12 (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘$250,000’’ 

13 and inserting ‘‘$335,000’’; 

14 (2) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘$100,000’’ 

15 and inserting ‘‘$135,000’’; and 

16 (3) in paragraph (4)— 

17 (A) by striking ‘‘$500,000’’ each place 

18 such term appears and inserting ‘‘$670,000’’; 

19 and 

20 (B) by inserting before ‘‘; and’’ the fol21 lowing: ‘‘; except that, in the case of any non22 residential property that is a structure con23 taining more than one dwelling unit that is 

24 made available for occupancy by rental (not25 withstanding the provisions applicable to the 


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1 determination of the risk premium rate for such 

2 property), additional flood insurance in excess 

3 of such limits shall be made available to every 

4 insured upon renewal and every applicant for 

5 insurance so as to enable any such insured or 

6 applicant to receive coverage up to a total 

7 amount that is equal to the product of the total 

8 number of such rental dwelling units in such 

9 property and the maximum coverage limit per 

10 dwelling unit specified in paragraph (2); except 

11 that in the case of any such multi-unit, nonresi12 dential rental property that is a pre-FIRM 

13 structure (as such term is defined in section 

14 578(b) of the National Flood Insurance Reform 

15 Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 4014 note)), the risk 

16 premium rate for the first $500,000 of coverage 

17 shall be determined in accordance with section 

18 1307(a)(2) and the risk premium rate for any 

19 coverage in excess of such amount shall be de20 termined in accordance with section 

21 1307(a)(1)’’. 


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1 SEC. 5. PHASE-IN OF ACTUARIAL RATES FOR NONRESIDEN2 TIAL PROPERTIES AND NON-PRIMARY RESI3 DENCES. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1308(c) of the National 

5 Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4015(c)) is 

6 amended— 

7 (1) by redesignating paragraph (2) as para8 graph (4); and 

9 (2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol10 lowing new paragraphs: 

11 ‘‘(2) NONRESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES.—Any non12 residential property, which term shall not include 

13 any multifamily rental property that consists of four 

14 or more dwelling units. 

15 ‘‘(3) NON-PRIMARY RESIDENCES.—Any residen16 tial property that is not the primary residence of any 

17 individual, including the owner of the property or 

18 any other individual who resides in the property as 

19 a tenant.’’. 

20 (b) TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.—Section 1308 of the 

21 National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4015) 

22 is amended— 

23 (1) in subsection (c)— 

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

25 by striking ‘‘the limitations provided under 


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1 paragraphs (1) and (2)’’ and inserting ‘‘sub2 section (e)’’; and 

3 (B) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘, ex4 cept’’ and all that follows through ‘‘subsection 

5 (e)’’; and 

6 (2) in subsection (e), by striking ‘‘paragraph 

7 (2) or (3)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph (4)’’. 

8 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE AND TRANSITION.— 

9 (1) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

10 by subsections (a) and (b) shall apply beginning 

11 upon the expiration of the 9-month period that be12 gins on the date of the enactment of this Act, except 

13 as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection. 

14 (2) TRANSITION FOR PROPERTIES COVERED BY

15 FLOOD INSURANCE UPON EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

16 (A) INCREASE OF RATES OVER TIME.—In 

17 the case of any property described in paragraph 

18 (2) or (3) of section 1308(c) of the National 

19 Flood Insurance Act of 1968, as amended by 

20 subsection (a) of this section, that, as of the ef21 fective date under paragraph (1) of this sub22 section, is covered under a policy for flood in23 surance made available under the national flood 

24 insurance program for which the chargeable 

25 premium rates are less than the applicable estiVerDate Nov 24 2008 19:13 Apr 23, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5114.IH H5114

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1 mated risk premium rate under section 

2 1307(a)(1) for the area in which the property 

3 is located, the Director of the Federal Emer4 gency Management Agency shall increase the 

5 chargeable premium rates for such property 

6 over time to such applicable estimated risk pre7 mium rate under section 1307(a)(1). 

8 (B) ANNUAL INCREASE.—Such increase 

9 shall be made by increasing the chargeable pre10 mium rates for the property (after application 

11 of any increase in the premium rates otherwise 

12 applicable to such property), once during the 

13 12-month period that begins upon the effective 

14 date under paragraph (1) of this subsection and 

15 once every 12 months thereafter until such in16 crease is accomplished, by 20 percent (or such 

17 lesser amount as may be necessary so that the 

18 chargeable rate does not exceed such applicable 

19 estimated risk premium rate or to comply with 

20 subparagraph (C)). 

21 (C) PROPERTIES SUBJECT TO PHASE-IN

22 AND ANNUAL INCREASES.—In the case of any 

23 pre-FIRM property (as such term is defined in 

24 section 578(b) of the National Flood Insurance 

25 Reform Act of 1974), the aggregate increase, 


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1 during any 12-month period, in the chargeable 

2 premium rate for the property that is attrib3 utable to this paragraph or to an increase de4 scribed in section 1308(e) of the National Flood 

5 Insurance Act of 1968 may not exceed 20 per6 cent. 

7 (D) FULL ACTUARIAL RATES.—The provi8 sions of paragraphs (2) and (3) of such section 

9 1308(c) shall apply to such a property upon the 

10 accomplishment of the increase under this para11 graph and thereafter. 

12 SEC. 6. 5-YEAR DELAY IN EFFECTIVE DATE OF MANDATORY 

13 PURCHASE REQUIREMENT FOR NEW FLOOD 

14 HAZARD AREAS. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 102 of the Flood Disaster 

16 Protection Act of 1973 (42 U.S.C. 4012a) is amended by 

17 adding at the end the following new subsection: 

18 ‘‘(i) DELAYED EFFECTIVE DATE OF MANDATORY

19 PURCHASE REQUIREMENT FOR NEW FLOOD HAZARD

20 AREAS.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of any area 

22 that was not previously designated as an area having 

23 special flood hazards and that, pursuant to any 

24 issuance, revision, updating, or other change in flood 

25 insurance maps, becomes designated as an area havVerDate Nov 24 2008 19:13 Apr 23, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5114.IH H5114

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1 ing special flood hazards, if each State and local 

2 government having jurisdiction over any portion of 

3 the geographic area has complied with paragraph 

4 (2), such designation shall not take effect for pur5 poses of subsection (a), (b), or (e) of this section, or 

6 section 202(a) of this Act, until the expiration of the 

7 5-year period beginning upon the date that such 

8 maps, as issued, revised, update, or otherwise 

9 changed, become effective. 

10 ‘‘(2) NOTICE REQUIREMENTS.—A State or local 

11 government having shall be considered to have com12 plied with this paragraph with respect to any geo13 graphic area described in paragraph (1) only if the 

14 State or local government has, before the effective 

15 date of the issued, revised, updated, or changed 

16 maps, and in accordance with such standards as 

17 shall be established by the Director— 

18 ‘‘(A) developed an evacuation plan to be 

19 implemented in the event of flooding in such 

20 portion of the geographic area; and 

21 ‘‘(B) developed and implemented an out22 reach and communication plan to advise occu23 pants in such portion of the geographic area of 

24 potential flood risks, the opportunity to purVerDate Nov 24 2008 19:13 Apr 23, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5114.IH H5114

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1 chase flood insurance, and the consequences of 

2 failure to purchase flood insurance. 

3 ‘‘(3) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

4 paragraph (1) may be construed to affect the appli5 cability of a designation of any area as an area hav6 ing special flood hazards for purposes of the avail7 ability of flood insurance coverage, criteria for land 

8 management and use, notification of flood hazards, 

9 eligibility for mitigation assistance, or any other pur10 pose or provision not specifically referred to in para11 graph (1).’’. 

12 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The second sen13 tence of subsection (h) of section 1360 of the National 

14 Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4101(h)) is 

15 amended by striking ‘‘Such’’ and inserting ‘‘Except for no16 tice regarding a change described in section 102(i)(1) of 

17 the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973 (42 U.S.C. 

18 4012a(i)(1)), such’’. 

19 SEC. 7. 5-YEAR PHASE-IN OF FLOOD INSURANCE RATES 

20 FOR NEWLY MAPPED AREAS. 

21 Section 1308 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 

22 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4015), as amended by the preceding pro23 visions of this Act, is further amended— 


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1 (1) in subsection (a), in the matter preceding 

2 paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘or notice’’ after ‘‘pre3 scribe by regulation’’; 

4 (2) in subsection (c), by inserting ‘‘and sub5 section (g)’’ before the first comma; and 

6 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub7 section: 

8 ‘‘(g) 5-YEAR PHASE-IN OF FLOOD INSURANCE

9 RATES FOR NEWLY MAPPED AREAS.—Notwithstanding 

10 any other provision of law relating to chargeable risk pre11 mium rates for flood insurance coverage under this title, 

12 in the case of any area that was not previously designated 

13 as an area having special flood hazards and that, pursuant 

14 to any issuance, revision, updating, or other change in 

15 flood insurance maps, becomes designated as such an 

16 area, during the 5-year period that begins upon the expira17 tion of the period referred to in section 102(i)(1) of the 

18 Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973 with respect to 

19 such area, the chargeable premium rate for flood insur20 ance under this title with respect to any property that is 

21 located within such area shall be— 

22 ‘‘(1) for the first year of such 5-year period, 20 

23 percent of the chargeable risk premium rate other24 wise applicable under this title to the property; 


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1 ‘‘(2) for the second year of such 5-year period, 

2 40 percent of the chargeable risk premium rate oth3 erwise applicable under this title to the property; 

4 ‘‘(3) for the third year of such 5-year period, 60 

5 percent of the chargeable risk premium rate other6 wise applicable under this title to the property; 

7 ‘‘(4) for the fourth year of such 5-year period, 

8 80 percent of the chargeable risk premium rate oth9 erwise applicable under this title to the property; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(5) for the fifth year of such 5-year period, 

12 100 percent of the chargeable risk premium rate 

13 otherwise applicable under this title to the prop14 erty.’’. 

15 SEC. 8. INCREASE IN ANNUAL LIMITATION ON PREMIUM IN16 CREASES. 

17 Section 1308(e) of the National Flood Insurance Act 

18 of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4015(e)) is amended by striking ‘‘10 

19 percent’’ and inserting ‘‘20 percent’’. 


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1 SEC. 9. CONSIDERATION OF CONSTRUCTION, RECON2 STRUCTION, AND IMPROVEMENT OF FLOOD 

3 PROTECTION SYSTEMS IN DETERMINATION 

4 OF FLOOD INSURANCE RATES. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1307 of the National 

6 Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4014) is amend7 ed— 

8 (1) in subsection (e)— 

9 (A) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘con10 struction of a flood protection system’’ and in11 serting ‘‘construction, reconstruction, or im12 provement of a flood protection system (without 

13 respect to the level of Federal investment or 

14 participation)’’; and 

15 (B) in the second sentence— 

16 (i) by striking ‘‘construction of a flood 

17 protection system’’ and inserting ‘‘con18 struction, reconstruction, or improvement 

19 of a flood protection system’’; and 

20 (ii) by inserting ‘‘based on the present 

21 value of the completed system’’ after ‘‘has 

22 been expended’’; and 

23 (2) in subsection (f)— 

24 (A) in the first sentence in the matter pre25 ceding paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘(without reVerDate Nov 24 2008 19:13 Apr 23, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5114.IH H5114

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1 spect to the level of Federal investment or par2 ticipation)’’ before the period at the end; 

3 (B) in the third sentence in the matter 

4 preceding paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘, wheth5 er coastal or riverine,’’ after ‘‘special flood haz6 ard’’; and 

7 (C) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘a Fed8 eral agency in consultation with the local 

9 project sponsor’’ and inserting ‘‘the entity or 

10 entities that own, operate, maintain, or repair 

11 such system’’. 

12 (b) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 90 days after the 

13 date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator of 

14 the Federal Emergency Management Agency shall promul15 gate regulations to carry out the amendments made by 

16 subsection (a). Section 5 may not be construed to annul, 

17 alter, affect, authorize any waiver of, or establish any ex18 ception to, the requirement under the preceding sentence. 

19 (c) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Administrator of the 

20 Federal Emergency Management Agency shall implement 

21 this section and the amendments made by this section in 

22 a manner that will not materially weaken the financial po23 sition of the national flood insurance program or increase 

24 the risk of financial liability to Federal taxpayers. 


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1 SEC. 10. TREATMENT OF CERTAIN FLOOD PROTECTION 

2 PROJECTS. 

3 Section 1308 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 

4 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4015), as amended by the preceding pro5 visions of this Act, is further amended by adding at the 

6 end the following new subsection: 

7 ‘‘(h) TREATMENT OF CERTAIN FLOOD PROTECTION

8 PROJECTS.— 

9 ‘‘(1) INAPPLICABILITY OF MANDATORY PUR10 CHASE REQUIREMENT; PREMIUM RATES.—Notwith11 standing any other provision of law, upon full com12 pletion, as designed, of a flood protection system 

13 that was intended to provide flood protection with 

14 respect to a covered area, such covered area— 

15 ‘‘(A) shall not be considered to be an area 

16 having special flood hazards for purposes of this 

17 Act or subsections (a), (b), or (e) of section 

18 102, or section 202(a) of the Flood Disaster 

19 Protection Act of 1973; and 

20 ‘‘(B) shall be eligible for flood insurance 

21 under this Act, if and to the extent that such 

22 area is eligible for such insurance under the 

23 other provisions of this Act, at premium rates 

24 not exceeding those that would be applicable 

25 under this section if the flood protection system 

26 referred to in paragraph (2) for such area had 


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1 been completed and accredited as providing pro2 tection from floods at the level that the system 

3 was designed to provide (before construction, 

4 reconstruction, or improvement of the system, 

5 as applicable, began). 

6 The flood insurance rate maps shall indicate, for 

7 each covered area, the status of the area under sub8 paragraphs (A) and (B). 

9 ‘‘(2) COVERED AREA.—For purposes of this 

10 subsection, a covered area is an area that was in11 tended to be protected by a flood protection sys12 tem— 

13 ‘‘(A)(i) for which, as of April 15, 2010— 

14 ‘‘(I) construction, reconstruction, or 

15 improvement has not been completed; 

16 ‘‘(II) adequate progress, within the 

17 meaning of section 1307(e), has been made 

18 on such construction, reconstruction, or 

19 improvement; and 

20 ‘‘(III) is in an area having special 

21 flood hazards; or 

22 ‘‘(ii) for which, as of such date— 

23 ‘‘(I) construction, reconstruction, or 

24 improvement has been completed; 


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1 ‘‘(II) a determination regarding ac2 creditation has not been made; and 

3 ‘‘(III) is in an area having special 

4 flood hazards; 

5 ‘‘(B) that was designed to provide protec6 tion for at least the 100-year frequency flood; 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(C) that has been determined, pursuant 

9 to waterflow data or other scientific information 

10 of a Federal agency obtained after, or that has 

11 changed since, commencement of construction, 

12 reconstruction, or improvement, will not provide 

13 protection from floods at the level referred to in 

14 subparagraph (B).’’. 

15 SEC. 11. EXCEPTION TO WAITING PERIOD FOR EFFECTIVE 

16 DATE OF POLICIES. 

17 Section 1306(c)(2)(A) of the National Flood Insur18 ance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4013(c)(2)(A)) is amended 

19 by inserting before the semicolon the following: ‘‘or is in 

20 connection with the purchase or other transfer of the prop21 erty for which the coverage is provided (regardless of 

22 whether a loan is involved in the purchase or transfer 

23 transaction), but only when such initial purchase of cov24 erage is made not later 30 days after such making, in25 creasing, extension, or renewal of the loan or not later 


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1 than 30 days after such purchase or other transfer of the 

2 property, as applicable’’. 

3 SEC. 12. ENFORCEMENT. 

4 Section 102(f) of the Flood Disaster Protection Act 

5 of 1973 (42 U.S.C. 4012a(f)) is amended— 

6 (1) in paragraph (5)— 

7 (A) in the first sentence, by striking 

8 ‘‘$350’’ and inserting ‘‘$2,000’’; and 

9 (B) in the last sentence, by striking 

10 ‘‘$100,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$1,000,000; except 

11 that such limitation shall not apply to a regu12 lated lending institution or enterprise for a cal13 endar year if, in any three (or more) of the five 

14 calendar years immediately preceding such cal15 endar year, the total amount of penalties as16 sessed under this subsection against such lend17 ing institution or enterprise was $1,000,000’’; 

18 and 

19 (2) in paragraph (6), by adding after the period 

20 at the end the following: ‘‘No penalty may be im21 posed under this subsection on a regulated lending 

22 institution or enterprise that has made a good faith 

23 effort to comply with the requirements of the provi24 sions referred to in paragraph (2) or for any non25 material violation of such requirements.’’. 


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1 SEC. 13. NOTIFICATION TO TENANTS OF AVAILABILITY OF 

2 CONTENTS INSURANCE. 

3 The National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 is amend4 ed by inserting after section 1308 (42 U.S.C. 4015) the 

5 following new section: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 1308A. NOTIFICATION TO TENANTS OF AVAILABILITY 

7 OF CONTENTS INSURANCE. 

8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall, upon enter9 ing into a contract for flood insurance coverage under this 

10 title for any property— 

11 ‘‘(1) provide to the insured sufficient copies of 

12 the notice developed pursuant to subsection (b); and 

13 ‘‘(2) require the insured to provide a copy of 

14 the notice, or otherwise provide notification of the 

15 information under subsection (b) in the manner that 

16 the manager or landlord deems most appropriate, to 

17 each such tenant and to each new tenant upon com18 mencement of such a tenancy. 

19 ‘‘(b) NOTICE.—Notice to a tenant of a property in 

20 accordance with this subsection is written notice that 

21 clearly informs a tenant— 

22 ‘‘(1) whether the property is located in an area 

23 having special flood hazards; 

24 ‘‘(2) that flood insurance coverage is available 

25 under the national flood insurance program under 


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1 this title for contents of the unit or structure leased 

2 by the tenant; 

3 ‘‘(3) of the maximum amount of such coverage 

4 for contents available under this title at that time; 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(4) of where to obtain information regarding 

7 how to obtain such coverage, including a telephone 

8 number, mailing address, and Internet site of the 

9 Director where such information is available.’’. 

10 SEC. 14. FLOOD INSURANCE OUTREACH. 

11 Chapter I of the National Flood Insurance Act of 

12 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4011 et seq.), as amended by the pre13 ceding provisions of this Act, is further amended by add14 ing at the end the following new section: 

15 ‘‘SEC. 1326. GRANTS FOR OUTREACH TO PROPERTY OWN16 ERS AND RENTERS. 

17 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director may, to the extent 

18 amounts are made available pursuant to subsection (h), 

19 make grants to local governmental agencies responsible for 

20 floodplain management activities (including such agencies 

21 of Indians tribes, as such term is defined in section 4 of 

22 the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Deter23 mination Act of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 4103)) in communities 

24 that participate in the national flood insurance program 

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1 reach activities to encourage and facilitate the purchase 

2 of flood insurance protection under this Act by owners and 

3 renters of properties in such communities and to promote 

4 educational activities that increase awareness of flood risk 

5 reduction. 

6 ‘‘(b) OUTREACH ACTIVITIES.—Amounts from a grant 

7 under this section shall be used only for activities designed 

8 to— 

9 ‘‘(1) identify owners and renters of properties 

10 in communities that participate in the national flood 

11 insurance program, including owners of residential 

12 and commercial properties; 

13 ‘‘(2) notify such owners and renters when their 

14 properties become included in, or when they are ex15 cluded from, an area having special flood hazards 

16 and the effect of such inclusion or exclusion on the 

17 applicability of the mandatory flood insurance pur18 chase requirement under section 102 of the Flood 

19 Disaster Protection Act of 1973 (42 U.S.C. 4012a) 

20 to such properties; 

21 ‘‘(3) educate such owners and renters regarding 

22 the flood risk and reduction of this risk in their 

23 community, including the continued flood risks to 

24 areas that are no longer subject to the flood insur25 ance mandatory purchase requirement; 


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1 ‘‘(4) educate such owners and renters regarding 

2 the benefits and costs of maintaining or acquiring 

3 flood insurance, including, where applicable, lower4 cost preferred risk policies under this title for such 

5 properties and the contents of such properties; and 

6 ‘‘(5) encouraging such owners and renters to 

7 maintain or acquire such coverage. 

8 ‘‘(c) COST SHARING REQUIREMENT.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In any fiscal year, the Di10 rector may not provide a grant under this section to 

11 a local governmental agency in an amount exceeding 

12 3 times the amount that the agency certifies, as the 

13 Director shall require, that the agency will con14 tribute from non-Federal funds to be used with 

15 grant amounts only for carrying out activities de16 scribed in subsection (b). 

17 ‘‘(2) NON-FEDERAL FUNDS.—For purposes of 

18 this subsection, the term ‘non-Federal funds’ in19 cludes State or local government agency amounts, 

20 in-kind contributions, any salary paid to staff to 

21 carry out the eligible activities of the grant recipient, 

22 the value of the time and services contributed by vol23 unteers to carry out such services (at a rate deter24 mined by the Director), and the value of any doVerDate Nov 24 2008 19:13 Apr 23, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00025 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5114.IH H5114

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1 nated material or building and the value of any lease 

2 on a building. 

3 ‘‘(d) ADMINISTRATIVE COST LIMITATION.—Notwith4 standing subsection (b), the Director may use not more 

5 than 5 percent of amounts made available under sub6 section (g) to cover salaries, expenses, and other adminis7 trative costs incurred by the Director in making grants 

8 and provide assistance under this section. 

9 ‘‘(e) APPLICATION AND SELECTION.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall provide 

11 for local governmental agencies described in sub12 section (a) to submit applications for grants under 

13 this section and for competitive selection, based on 

14 criteria established by the Director, of agencies sub15 mitting such applications to receive such grants. 

16 ‘‘(2) SELECTION CONSIDERATIONS.—In select17 ing applications of local government agencies to re18 ceive grants under paragraph (1), the Director shall 

19 consider— 

20 ‘‘(A) the existence of a cooperative tech21 nical partner agreement between the local gov22 ernmental agency and the Federal Emergency 

23 Management Agency; 

24 ‘‘(B) the history of flood losses in the rel25 evant area that have occurred to properties, 


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1 both inside and outside the special flood haz2 ards zones, which are not covered by flood in3 surance coverage; 

4 ‘‘(C) the estimated percentage of high-risk 

5 properties located in the relevant area that are 

6 not covered by flood insurance; 

7 ‘‘(D) demonstrated success of the local 

8 governmental agency in generating voluntary 

9 purchase of flood insurance; and 

10 ‘‘(E) demonstrated technical capacity of 

11 the local governmental agency for outreach to 

12 individual property owners. 

13 ‘‘(f) DIRECT OUTREACH BY FEMA.—In each fiscal 

14 year that amounts for grants are made available pursuant 

15 to subsection (h), the Director may use not more than 50 

16 percent of such amounts to carry out, and to enter into 

17 contracts with other entities to carry out, activities de18 scribed in subsection (b) in areas that the Director deter19 mines have the most immediate need for such activities. 

20 ‘‘(g) REPORTING.—Each local government agency 

21 that receives a grant under this section, and each entity 

22 that receives amounts pursuant to subsection (f), shall 

23 submit a report to the Director, not later than 12 months 

24 after such amounts are first received, which shall include 

25 such information as the Director considers appropriate to 


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1 describe the activities conducted using such amounts and 

2 the effect of such activities on the retention or acquisition 

3 of flood insurance coverage. 

4 ‘‘(h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

5 is authorized to be appropriated for grants under this sec6 tion $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2011 through 

7 2015.’’. 

8 SEC. 15. NOTICE OF AVAILABILITY OF FLOOD INSURANCE 

9 AND ESCROW IN RESPA GOOD FAITH ESTI10 MATE. 

11 Subsection (c) of section 5 of the Real Estate Settle12 ment Procedures Act of 1974 (12 U.S.C. 2604(c)) is 

13 amended by adding at the end the following new sentence: 

14 ‘‘Each such good faith estimate shall include the following 

15 conspicuous statements and information: (1) that flood in16 surance coverage for residential real estate is generally 

17 available under the national flood insurance program 

18 whether or not the real estate is located in an area having 

19 special flood hazards and that, to obtain such coverage, 

20 a home owner or purchaser should contact the national 

21 flood insurance program; (2) a telephone number and a 

22 location on the Internet by which a home owner or pur23 chaser can contact the national flood insurance program; 

24 and (3) that the escrowing of flood insurance payments 

25 is required for many loans under section 102(d) of the 


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1 Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973, and may be a con2 venient and available option with respect to other loans.’’. 

3 SEC. 16. AUTHORIZATION OF ADDITIONAL FEMA STAFF. 

4 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Di5 rector of the Federal Emergency Management Agency 

6 may employ such additional staff as may be necessary to 

7 carry out all of the responsibilities of the Director pursu8 ant to this Act and the amendments made by this Act. 

9 There are authorized to be appropriated to Director such 

10 sums as may be necessary for costs of employing such ad11 ditional staff. 

12 SEC. 17. PLAN TO VERIFY MAINTENANCE OF FLOOD INSUR13 ANCE ON MISSISSIPPI AND LOUISIANA PROP14 ERTIES RECEIVING EMERGENCY SUPPLE15 MENTAL FUNDS. 

16 The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development 

17 and the Director of the Federal Emergency Management 

18 Agency shall jointly develop and implement a plan to 

19 verify that persons receiving funds under the Homeowner 

20 Grant Assistance Program of the State of Mississippi or 

21 the Road Home Program of the State of Louisiana from 

22 amounts allocated to the State of Mississippi or the State 

23 of Louisiana, respectively, from the Community develop24 ment fund under the Emergency Supplemental Appropria25 tions Act to Address Hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico and 


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1 Pandemic Influenza, 2006 (Public Law 109–148) are 

2 maintaining flood insurance on the property for which 

3 such persons receive such funds as required by each such 

4 Program. 

5 SEC. 18. FLOOD INSURANCE ADVOCATE. 

6 Chapter II of the National Flood Insurance Act of 

7 1968 is amended by inserting after section 1330 (42 

8 U.S.C. 4041) the following new section: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 1330A. OFFICE OF THE FLOOD INSURANCE ADVO10 CATE. 

11 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF POSITION.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There shall be in the Fed13 eral Emergency Management Agency an Office of 

14 the Flood Insurance Advocate which shall be headed 

15 by the National Flood Insurance Advocate. The Na16 tional Flood Insurance Advocate shall report directly 

17 to the Director and shall, to the extent amounts are 

18 provided pursuant to subsection (f), be compensated 

19 at the same rate as the highest rate of basic pay es20 tablished for the Senior Executive Service under sec21 tion 5382 of title 5, United States Code, or, if the 

22 Director so determines, at a rate fixed under section 

23 9503 of such title. 

24 ‘‘(2) APPOINTMENT.—The National Flood In25 surance Advocate shall be appointed by the Director, 


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1 and without regard to the provisions of title 5, 

2 United States Code, relating to appointments in the 

3 competitive service or the Senior Executive Service. 

4 ‘‘(3) QUALIFICATIONS.—An individual ap5 pointed under paragraph (2) shall have a back6 ground in customer service as well as insurance. 

7 ‘‘(4) STAFF.—To the extent amounts are pro8 vided pursuant to subsection (f), the National Flood 

9 Insurance Advocate may employ such personnel as 

10 may be necessary to carry out the duties of the Of11 fice. 

12 ‘‘(b) FUNCTIONS OF OFFICE.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—It shall be the function of 

14 the Office of the Flood Insurance Advocate to— 

15 ‘‘(A) assist insureds under the national 

16 flood insurance program in resolving problems 

17 with the Federal Emergency Management 

18 Agency relating to such program; 

19 ‘‘(B) identify areas in which such insureds 

20 have problems in dealings with the Agency re21 lating to such program; and 

22 ‘‘(C) identify potential legislative, adminis23 trative, or regulatory changes which may be ap24 propriate to mitigate such problems. 

25 ‘‘(2) ANNUAL REPORTS.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) ACTIVITIES.—Not later than Decem2 ber 31 of each calendar year, the National 

3 Flood Insurance Advocate shall report to the 

4 Committee on Financial Services of the House 

5 of Representatives and the Committee on Bank6 ing, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate 

7 on the activities of the Office of the Flood In8 surance Advocate during the fiscal year ending 

9 during such calendar year. Any such report 

10 shall contain full and substantive analysis, in 

11 addition to statistical information, and shall— 

12 ‘‘(i) identify the initiatives the Office 

13 of the Flood Insurance Advocate has taken 

14 on improving services for insureds under 

15 the national flood insurance program and 

16 responsiveness of the Federal Emergency 

17 Management Agency with respect to such 

18 program; 

19 ‘‘(ii) identify areas of the law or regu20 lations relating to the national flood insur21 ance program that impose significant com22 pliance burdens on such insureds or the 

23 Federal Emergency Management Agency, 

24 including specific recommendations for 

25 remedying these problems; and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) include such other information 

2 as the National Flood Insurance Advocate 

3 may deem advisable. 

4 ‘‘(B) DIRECT SUBMISSION OF REPORT.— 

5 Each report required under this paragraph 

6 shall be provided directly to the committees 

7 identified in subparagraph (A) without any 

8 prior review or comment from the Director, the 

9 Secretary of Homeland Security, or any other 

10 officer or employee of the Federal Emergency 

11 Management Agency or the Department of 

12 Homeland Security, or the Office of Manage13 ment and Budget. 

14 ‘‘(c) FUNDING.—Pursuant to section 1310(a)(4), the 

15 Director may use amounts from the National Flood Insur16 ance Fund to fund the activities of the Office of the Flood 

17 Advocate in each of fiscal years 2011 through 2016, ex18 cept that the amount so used in each such fiscal year may 

19 not exceed $5,000,000 and shall remain available until ex20 pended. Notwithstanding any other provision of this title, 

21 amounts made available pursuant to this subsection shall 

22 not be subject to offsetting collections through premium 

23 rates for flood insurance coverage under this title.’’. 


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1 SEC. 19. STUDY REGARDING MANDATORY PURCHASE RE2 QUIREMENT FOR NATURAL 100-YEAR FLOOD3 PLAIN AND NON-FEDERALLY RELATED 

4 LOANS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General shall 

6 conduct a study to assess the impact, effectiveness, and 

7 feasibility of, and basis under the Constitution of the 

8 United States for, amending the provisions of the Flood 

9 Disaster Protection Act of 1973 regarding the properties 

10 that are subject to the mandatory flood insurance coverage 

11 purchase requirements under such Act to extend such re12 quirements to any property that is located in any area hav13 ing special flood hazards and which secures the repayment 

14 of a loan that is not described in paragraph (1), (2), or 

15 (3) of section 102(b) of such Act, and shall determine how 

16 best to administer and enforce such a requirement, taking 

17 into consideration other insurance purchase requirements 

18 under Federal and State law. 

19 (b) REPORT.—The Comptroller General shall submit 

20 a report to the Congress regarding the results and conclu21 sions of the study under subsection (a) not later than the 

22 expiration of the 6-month period beginning on the date 

23 of the enactment of this Act. 


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1 SEC. 20. STUDY OF METHODS TO INCREASE FLOOD INSUR2 ANCE PROGRAM PARTICIPATION BY LOW-IN3 COME FAMILIES. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General of the 

5 United States shall conduct a study to identify and ana6 lyze potential methods, practices, and incentives that 

7 would increase the extent to which low-income families (as 

8 such term is defined in section 3(b) of the United States 

9 Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a(b))) that own resi10 dential properties located within areas having special flood 

11 hazards purchase flood insurance coverage for such prop12 erties under the national flood insurance program. In con13 ducting the study, the Comptroller General shall analyze 

14 the effectiveness and costs of the various methods, prac15 tices, and incentives identified, including their effects on 

16 the national flood insurance program. 

17 (b) REPORT.—The Comptroller General shall submit 

18 to the Congress a report setting forth the conclusions of 

19 the study under this section not later than 12 months 

20 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

21 SEC. 21. REPORT ON INCLUSION OF BUILDING CODES IN 

22 FLOODPLAIN MANAGEMENT CRITERIA. 

23 Not later than the expiration of the 6-month period 

24 beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

25 Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency 

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1 mittee on Financial Services of the House of Representa2 tives and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban 

3 Affairs of the Senate regarding the impact, effectiveness, 

4 and feasibility of amending section 1361 of the National 

5 Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4102) to include 

6 widely used and nationally recognized building codes as 

7 part of the floodplain management criteria developed 

8 under such section, and shall determine— 

9 (1) the regulatory, financial, and economic im10 pacts of such a building code requirement on home11 owners, States and local communities, local land use 

12 policies, and the Federal Emergency Management 

13 Agency; 

14 (2) the resources required of State and local 

15 communities to administer and enforce such a build16 ing code requirement; 

17 (3) the effectiveness of such a building code re18 quirement in reducing flood-related damage to build19 ings and contents; 

20 (4) the impact of such a building code require21 ment on the actuarial soundness of the National 

22 Flood Insurance Program; 

23 (5) the effectiveness of nationally recognized 

24 codes in allowing innovative materials and systems 

25 for flood-resistant construction; and 


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1 (6) the feasibility and effectiveness of providing 

2 an incentive in lower premium rates for flood insur3 ance coverage under such Act for structures meeting 

4 whichever of such widely used and nationally recog5 nized building code or any applicable local building 

6 code provides greater protection from flood damage. 

Æ 


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