IIB 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5114 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 19, 2010 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 

Urban Affairs 

AN ACT 

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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

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

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

5 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 certain pre-firm properties, severe repetitive loss properties, and properties substantially damaged or 

substantially improved. 

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. Discounted flood insurance rates for properties protected by a floodprotection system from less than a 100-year frequency flood. 

Sec. 11. Treatment of certain flood protection projects. 

Sec. 12. Prohibition of extension of subsidized rates to lapsed policies. 

Sec. 13. Notification to homeowners regarding mandatory purchase requirement applicability and rate phase-ins. 

Sec. 14. Community outreach plan for updating floodplain areas and flood-risk 

zones. 

Sec. 15. Notification of establishment of flood elevations. 

Sec. 16. Coverage for additional living expenses and business interruption. 

Sec. 17. Exception to waiting period for effective date of policies. 

Sec. 18. Minimum deductibles for claims. 

Sec. 19. Payment of premiums in installments for residential properties. 

Sec. 20. Termination of force-placed insurance. 

Sec. 21. Enforcement. 

Sec. 22. Notification to tenants of availability of contents insurance. 

Sec. 23. Grants for direct funding of mitigation activities for individual repetitive claims properties. 

Sec. 24. Flood insurance outreach. 

Sec. 25. Treatment of swimming pool enclosures outside of hurricane season. 

Sec. 26. Requirements relating to windstorm and flood. 

Sec. 27. Notice of availability of flood insurance and escrow in RESPA good 

faith estimate. 

Sec. 28. Authorization of additional FEMA staff. 

Sec. 29. Plan to verify maintenance of flood insurance on Mississippi and Louisiana properties receiving emergency supplemental funds. 

Sec. 30. Flood insurance advocate. 

Sec. 31. Treatment of previously mapped areas. 

Sec. 32. Remapping of areas with improved levees. 

Sec. 33. Appeals. 


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Sec. 34. Eligibility of property demolition and rebuilding under flood mitigation 

assistance program. 

Sec. 35. Study regarding mandatory purchase requirement for non-federally related loans. 

Sec. 36. Study of methods to increase flood insurance program participation by 

low-income families and families in rural communities and on 

Indian reservations. 

Sec. 37. Report on inclusion of building codes in floodplain management criteria. 

Sec. 38. Study on repaying flood insurance debt. 

Sec. 39. Study regarding certain harbor areas. 

Sec. 40. Study regarding hazard modeling. 

Sec. 41. Study regarding impact of rate increases on pre-FIRM properties. 

Sec. 42. Study of effects of Act. 

Sec. 43. Reimbursement for costs incurred by homeowners obtaining letters of 

map amendment. 

Sec. 44. Interim final rulemaking. 

Sec. 45. Study on private insurance market, community participation in the 

National Flood Insurance Program, and the regionalization of 

the National Flood Insurance Program. 

Sec. 46. Ethics compliance. 

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

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

3 (1) since the enactment of National Flood In4 surance Act of 1968, the national flood insurance 

5 program has been the primary source of reliable, 

6 reasonably priced, flood insurance coverage for mil7 lions of American homes and businesses; 

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

9 in the United States rely on the national flood insur10 ance program to provide a degree of financial secu11 rity; 

12 (3) although participation in the national flood 

13 insurance program has, in the past, largely been lim14 ited to properties required to participate in the pro15 gram because of the program’s mandatory purchase 


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1 requirement for properties in special flood hazard 

2 areas with loans from federally regulated lenders, re3 cent annual and extraordinary flooding has resulted 

4 in the program enjoying its highest voluntary par5 ticipation since the establishment of the mandatory 

6 flood insurance purchase requirement; 

7 (4) several years of below-average flood claims 

8 losses and increased voluntary participation in the 

9 national flood insurance program have allowed the 

10 program to fully service the debt incurred following 

11 Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and allowed the pro12 gram to pay $598,000,000 of the principal of that 

13 outstanding debt; 

14 (5) though significant reforms are needed to 

15 further improve the financial outlook of the national 

16 flood insurance program, long-term and reliable au17 thorization of the program is an essential element to 

18 stabilizing the already fragile United States housing 

19 market; 

20 (6) increased flooding in areas outside des21 ignated special flood hazard areas prompted the Ex22 ecutive and the Congress in 2002 to begin calling for 

23 the national flood insurance program to develop and 

24 disseminate revised, updated flood insurance rate 

25 maps that reflect the real risk of flooding for propVerDate Mar 15 2010 21:49 Jul 19, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5114.RFS H5114

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1 erties not previously identified as being located with2 in a special flood hazard area; 

3 (7) dissemination of accurate, up-to-date, flood4 risk information remains a primary goal of the na5 tional flood insurance program and such information 

6 should be disseminated as soon as such information 

7 is collected and available; 

8 (8) communities should be encouraged to make 

9 their residents aware of updated flood-risk data 

10 while communities are assessing and incorporating 

11 updated flood-risk data into long-term community 

12 planning; 

13 (9) the maximum coverage limits for flood in14 surance policies should be increased to reflect infla15 tion and the increased cost of housing; and 

16 (10) phasing out flood insurance premium sub17 sidies currently extended to vacation homes, second 

18 homes, and commercial properties would result in 

19 significant average annual savings to the national 

20 flood insurance program. 

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

22 (1) to identify priorities essential to the reform 

23 and ongoing stable functioning of the national flood 

24 insurance program; 


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1 (2) to increase incentives for homeowners and 

2 communities to participate in the national flood in3 surance program and to improve oversight to ensure 

4 better accountability of the national flood insurance 

5 program and the Federal Emergency Management 

6 Agency; and 

7 (3) to increase awareness of homeowners of 

8 flood risks and improve the information regarding 

9 such risks provided to homeowners. 

10 SEC. 3. EXTENSION OF NATIONAL FLOOD INSURANCE PRO11 GRAM. 

12 (a) PROGRAM EXTENSION.—Section 1319 of the Na13 tional Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4026) is 

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

15 ‘‘September 30, 2015’’. 

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

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

18 2008’’ and inserting ‘‘September 30, 2015’’. 

19 (c) EXTENSION OF PILOT PROGRAM FOR MITIGA20 TION OF SEVERE REPETITIVE LOSS PROPERTIES.—Sec21 tion 1361A of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 

22 (42 U.S.C. 4102a) is amended— 

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

24 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009’’ and inserting ‘‘2011, 

25 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015’’; and 


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1 (2) by striking subsection (l). 

2 SEC. 4. MAXIMUM COVERAGE LIMITS. 

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

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

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

6 and inserting ‘‘$335,000’’; 

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

8 and inserting ‘‘$135,000’’; and 

9 (3) in paragraph (4)— 

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

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

12 and 

13 (B) by inserting before ‘‘; and’’ the fol14 lowing: ‘‘; except that, in the case of any non15 residential property that is a structure con16 taining more than one dwelling unit that is 

17 made available for occupancy by rental (not18 withstanding the provisions applicable to the 

19 determination of the risk premium rate for such 

20 property), additional flood insurance in excess 

21 of such limits shall be made available to every 

22 insured upon renewal and every applicant for 

23 insurance so as to enable any such insured or 

24 applicant to receive coverage up to a total 

25 amount that is equal to the product of the total 


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1 number of such rental dwelling units in such 

2 property and the maximum coverage limit per 

3 dwelling unit specified in paragraph (2); except 

4 that in the case of any such multi-unit, nonresi5 dential rental property that is a pre-FIRM 

6 structure (as such term is defined in section 

7 578(b) of the National Flood Insurance Reform 

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

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

10 shall be determined in accordance with section 

11 1307(a)(2) and the risk premium rate for any 

12 coverage in excess of such amount shall be de13 termined in accordance with section 

14 1307(a)(1)’’. 

15 SEC. 5. PHASE-IN OF ACTUARIAL RATES FOR CERTAIN PRE16 FIRM PROPERTIES, SEVERE REPETITIVE 

17 LOSS PROPERTIES, AND PROPERTIES SUB18 STANTIALLY DAMAGED OR SUBSTANTIALLY 

19 IMPROVED. 

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

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

22 amended— 

23 (1) by redesignating paragraph (2) as para24 graph (7); and 


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1 (2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol2 lowing new paragraphs: 

3 ‘‘(2) NONRESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES.—Any non4 residential property, which term shall not include 

5 any multifamily rental property that consists of four 

6 or more dwelling units. 

7 ‘‘(3) NON-PRIMARY RESIDENCES.—Any residen8 tial property that is not the primary residence of any 

9 individual, including the owner of the property or 

10 any other individual who resides in the property as 

11 a tenant. 

12 ‘‘(4) RECENTLY PURCHASED PRE-FIRM SINGLE13 FAMILY PROPERTIES.—Any single family property 

14 that— 

15 ‘‘(A) has been constructed or substantially 

16 improved and for which such construction or 

17 improvement was started, as determined by the 

18 Director, before December 31, 1974, or before 

19 the effective date of the initial rate map pub20 lished by the Director under paragraph (2) of 

21 section 1360 for the area in which such prop22 erty is located, whichever is later; and 

23 ‘‘(B) is purchased after the effective date 

24 of this paragraph, pursuant to section 5(c)(1) 


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1 of the Flood Insurance Reform Priorities Act of 

2 2010. 

3 ‘‘(5) SEVERE REPETITIVE LOSS PROPERTIES.— 

4 Any severe repetitive loss property, as such term is 

5 defined in section 1361A(b), that is so designated as 

6 such as a result of losses occurring on or after the 

7 date of the enactment of the Flood Insurance Re8 form Priorities Act of 2010. 

9 ‘‘(6) PROPERTIES SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED

10 OR SUBSTANTIALLY IMPROVED.—Any property that, 

11 on or after the date of the enactment of the Flood 

12 Insurance Reform and Priorities Act of 2010, has 

13 experienced or sustained— 

14 ‘‘(A) substantial damage exceeding 50 per15 cent of the fair market value of such property; 

16 or 

17 ‘‘(B) substantial improvement exceeding 

18 30 percent of the fair market value of such 

19 property.’’. 

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 (7)’’. 

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 3-year period that begins 

12 on the date of the enactment of this Act, except as 

13 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), (3), (4), (5), or (6) of section 1308(c) of 

19 the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968, as 

20 amended by subsection (a) of this section, that, 

21 as of the effective date under paragraph (1) of 

22 this subsection, is covered under a policy for 

23 flood insurance made available under the na24 tional flood insurance program for which the 

25 chargeable premium rates are less than the apVerDate Mar 15 2010 21:49 Jul 19, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5114.RFS H5114

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1 plicable estimated risk premium rate under sec2 tion 1307(a)(1) for the area in which the prop3 erty is located, the Director of the Federal 

4 Emergency Management Agency shall increase 

5 the 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), (3), (4), (5), and (6) 

9 of such section 1308(c) shall apply to such a 

10 property upon the accomplishment of the in11 crease under this paragraph 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 subsections: 

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 

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1 tember 30, 2007, becomes designated as an area 

2 having special flood hazards, if each State and local 

3 government having jurisdiction over any portion of 

4 the geographic area has complied with paragraph 

5 (2), such designation shall not take effect for pur6 poses of subsection (a), (b), or (e) of this section, or 

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

8 5-year period beginning upon the date that such 

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

10 changed, become effective. 

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

12 government shall be considered to have complied 

13 with this paragraph with respect to any geographic 

14 area described in paragraph (1) only if the State or 

15 local government has, before the effective date of the 

16 issued, revised, updated, or changed maps, and in 

17 accordance with such standards as shall be estab18 lished by the Director— 

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

20 implemented in the event of flooding in such 

21 portion of the geographic area; and 

22 ‘‘(B) developed and implemented an out23 reach and communication plan to advise occu24 pants in such portion of the geographic area of 

25 potential flood risks, appropriate evacuation 


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1 routes under the evacuation plan referred to in 

2 subparagraph (A), the opportunity to purchase 

3 flood insurance, and the consequences of failure 

4 to purchase flood insurance. 

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

6 paragraph (1) may be construed to affect the appli7 cability of a designation of any area as an area hav8 ing special flood hazards for purposes of the avail9 ability of flood insurance coverage, criteria for land 

10 management and use, notification of flood hazards, 

11 eligibility for mitigation assistance, or any other pur12 pose or provision not specifically referred to in para13 graph (1). 

14 ‘‘(j) AVAILABILITY OF PREFERRED RISK RATING

15 METHOD PREMIUMS.—The preferred risk rate method 

16 premium shall be available for flood insurance coverage 

17 for properties located in areas referred to in subsection 

18 (i)(1) and during the time period referred to in subsection 

19 (i)(1).’’. 

20 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The second sen21 tence of subsection (h) of section 1360 of the National 

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

23 amended by striking ‘‘Such’’ and inserting ‘‘Except for no24 tice regarding a change described in section 102(i)(1) of 


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

2 4012a(i)(1)), such’’. 

3 (c) NO REFUNDS.—Nothing in this section or the 

4 amendments made by this section may be construed to au5 thorize or require any payment or refund for flood insur6 ance coverage purchased for any property that covered any 

7 period during which such coverage is not required for the 

8 property pursuant to the applicability of the amendment 

9 made by subsection (a). 

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

11 FOR NEWLY MAPPED AREAS. 

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

13 Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4015), as amend14 ed by the preceding provisions of this Act, is further 

15 amended— 

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

17 paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘or notice’’ after ‘‘pre18 scribe by regulation’’; 

19 (2) in subsection (c), by inserting ‘‘and sub20 section (g)’’ before the first comma; and 

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

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

24 RATES FOR NEWLY MAPPED AREAS.—Notwithstanding 

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1 mium rates for flood insurance coverage under this title, 

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

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

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

5 flood insurance maps, becomes designated as such an 

6 area, during the 5-year period that begins upon the expira7 tion of the period referred to in section 102(i)(1) of the 

8 Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973 with respect to 

9 such area, the chargeable premium rate for flood insur10 ance under this title with respect to any property that is 

11 located within such area shall be— 

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

13 percent of the chargeable risk premium rate other14 wise applicable under this title to the property; 

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

16 40 percent of the chargeable risk premium rate oth17 erwise applicable under this title to the property; 

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

19 percent of the chargeable risk premium rate other20 wise applicable under this title to the property; 

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

22 80 percent of the chargeable risk premium rate oth23 erwise applicable under this title to the property; 

24 and 


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

2 100 percent of the chargeable risk premium rate 

3 otherwise applicable under this title to the prop4 erty.’’. 

5 (b) REGULATION OR NOTICE.—The Administrator of 

6 the Federal Emergency Management Agency shall issue 

7 an interim final rule or notice to implement this section 

8 and the amendments made by this section as soon as prac9 ticable after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

10 SEC. 8. INCREASE IN ANNUAL LIMITATION ON PREMIUM IN11 CREASES. 

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

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

14 percent’’ and inserting ‘‘20 percent’’. 

15 SEC. 9. CONSIDERATION OF CONSTRUCTION, RECON16 STRUCTION, AND IMPROVEMENT OF FLOOD 

17 PROTECTION SYSTEMS IN DETERMINATION 

18 OF FLOOD INSURANCE RATES. 

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

20 Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4014) is amend21 ed— 

22 (1) in subsection (e)— 

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1 provement of a flood protection system (without 

2 respect to the level of Federal investment or 

3 participation)’’; and 

4 (B) in the second sentence— 

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

6 protection system’’ and inserting ‘‘con7 struction, reconstruction, or improvement 

8 of a flood protection system’’; and 

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

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

11 been expended’’; and 

12 (2) in subsection (f)— 

13 (A) in the first sentence in the matter pre14 ceding paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘(without re15 spect to the level of Federal investment or par16 ticipation)’’ before the period at the end; 

17 (B) in the third sentence in the matter 

18 preceding paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘, wheth19 er coastal or riverine,’’ after ‘‘special flood haz20 ard’’; and 

21 (C) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘a Fed22 eral agency in consultation with the local 

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

24 entities that own, operate, maintain, or repair 

25 such system’’. 


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1 (b) REGULATIONS.—The Administrator of the Fed2 eral Emergency Management Agency shall promulgate 

3 regulations to implement this section and the amendments 

4 made by this section as soon as practicable, but not more 

5 than 18 months after the date of the enactment of this 

6 Act. Section 5 may not be construed to annul, alter, affect, 

7 authorize any waiver of, or establish any exception to, the 

8 requirement under the preceding sentence. 

9 (c) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Administrator of the 

10 Federal Emergency Management Agency shall implement 

11 this section and the amendments made by this section in 

12 a manner that will not materially weaken the financial po13 sition of the national flood insurance program or increase 

14 the risk of financial liability to Federal taxpayers. 

15 SEC. 10. DISCOUNTED FLOOD INSURANCE RATES FOR 

16 PROPERTIES PROTECTED BY A FLOOD-PRO17 TECTION SYSTEM FROM LESS THAN A 100- 

18 YEAR FREQUENCY FLOOD. 

19 Section 1307 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 

20 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4014) is amended by adding at the end 

21 the following new subsection: 

22 ‘‘(g) Except as provided in subsection (f) and not23 withstanding any other provision of law, flood insurance 

24 coverage shall be made available for a property that the 

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1 tem that does not provide protection against a 100-year 

2 frequency flood at premium rates that reflect a discount 

3 for the actual protection against flood risk afforded by 

4 such flood-protection system.’’. 

5 SEC. 11. TREATMENT OF CERTAIN FLOOD PROTECTION 

6 PROJECTS. 

7 Section 1308 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 

8 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4015), as amended by the preceding pro9 visions of this Act, is further amended by adding at the 

10 end the following new subsection: 

11 ‘‘(h) TREATMENT OF CERTAIN FLOOD PROTECTION

12 PROJECTS.— 

13 ‘‘(1) INAPPLICABILITY OF MANDATORY PUR14 CHASE REQUIREMENT; PREMIUM RATES.—Notwith15 standing any other provision of law, upon full com16 pletion, as designed, of a flood protection system 

17 that was intended to provide flood protection with 

18 respect to a covered area, such covered area— 

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

20 having special flood hazards for purposes of this 

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

22 102, or section 202(a) of the Flood Disaster 

23 Protection Act of 1973; and 

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

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


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1 area is eligible for such insurance under the 

2 other provisions of this Act, at premium rates 

3 not exceeding those that would be applicable 

4 under this section if the flood protection system 

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

6 been completed and accredited as providing pro7 tection from floods at the level that the system 

8 was designed to provide (before construction, 

9 reconstruction, or improvement of the system, 

10 as applicable, began). 

11 The flood insurance rate maps shall indicate, for 

12 each covered area, the status of the area under sub13 paragraphs (A) and (B). 

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

15 subsection, a covered area is an area that was in16 tended to be protected by a flood protection sys17 tem— 

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

19 ‘‘(I) construction, reconstruction, or 

20 improvement has not been completed; 

21 ‘‘(II) adequate progress, within the 

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

23 on such construction, reconstruction, or 

24 improvement; and 


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

2 flood hazards; or 

3 ‘‘(ii) for which, as of such date— 

4 ‘‘(I) construction, reconstruction, or 

5 improvement has been completed; 

6 ‘‘(II) a determination regarding ac7 creditation has not been made; and 

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

9 flood hazards; 

10 ‘‘(B) that was designed to provide protec11 tion for at least the 100-year frequency flood; 

12 and 

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

14 to waterflow data or other scientific information 

15 of a Federal agency obtained after, or that has 

16 changed since, commencement of construction, 

17 reconstruction, or improvement, will not provide 

18 protection from floods at the level referred to in 

19 subparagraph (B).’’. 

20 SEC. 12. PROHIBITION OF EXTENSION OF SUBSIDIZED 

21 RATES TO LAPSED POLICIES. 

22 Section 1308 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 

23 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4015), as amended by the preceding pro24 visions of this Act, is further amended by adding at the 

25 end the following new subsection: 


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1 ‘‘(i) PROHIBITION OF EXTENSION OF SUBSIDIZED

2 RATES TO LAPSED POLICIES.—The Director shall not 

3 provide flood insurance coverage under this title to any 

4 prospective insured at a rate less than the applicable esti5 mated risk premium rates for the area (or subdivision 

6 thereof) for any policy under the flood insurance program 

7 that has lapsed in coverage, as a result of the deliberate 

8 choice of the holder of such policy.’’. 

9 SEC. 13. NOTIFICATION TO HOMEOWNERS REGARDING 

10 MANDATORY PURCHASE REQUIREMENT AP11 PLICABILITY AND RATE PHASE-INS. 

12 Section 201 of the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 

13 1973 (42 U.S.C. 4105) is amended by adding at the end 

14 the following new subsection: 

15 ‘‘(f) ANNUAL NOTIFICATION.—The Director, in con16 sultation with affected communities, shall establish and 

17 carry out a plan to notify residents of areas having special 

18 flood hazards, on an annual basis— 

19 ‘‘(1) that they reside in such an area; 

20 ‘‘(2) of the geographical boundaries of such 

21 area; 

22 ‘‘(3) of whether section 1308(h) of the National 

23 Flood Insurance Act of 1968 applies to properties 

24 within such area; 


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1 ‘‘(4) of the provisions of section 102 requiring 

2 purchase of flood insurance coverage for properties 

3 located in such an area, including the date on which 

4 such provisions apply with respect to such area, tak5 ing into consideration section 102(i); and 

6 ‘‘(5) of a general estimate of what similar 

7 homeowners in similar areas typically pay for flood 

8 insurance coverage, taking into consideration section 

9 1308(g) of the National Flood Insurance Act of 

10 1968.’’. 

11 SEC. 14. COMMUNITY OUTREACH PLAN FOR UPDATING 

12 FLOODPLAIN AREAS AND FLOOD-RISK 

13 ZONES. 

14 The Administrator of the Federal Emergency Man15 agement Agency shall, not later than the expiration of the 

16 60-day period beginning upon the date of the enactment 

17 of this Act, submit to the Congress a community outreach 

18 plan for the updating of floodplain areas and flood-risk 

19 zones under section 1360(f) of the National Flood Insur20 ance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4101(f)). 

21 SEC. 15. NOTIFICATION OF ESTABLISHMENT OF FLOOD 

22 ELEVATIONS. 

23 Section 1360 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 

24 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4101) is amended by adding at the end 

25 the following new subsection: 


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1 ‘‘(l) NOTIFICATION TO MEMBERS OF CONGRESS OF

2 MAP MODERNIZATION .—Upon any revision or update of 

3 any floodplain area or flood-risk zone pursuant to sub4 section (f), any decision pursuant to subsection (f)(1) that 

5 such revision or update is necessary, any issuance of pre6 liminary maps for such revision or updating, or any other 

7 significant action relating to any such revision or update, 

8 the Director shall notify the Senators for each State af9 fected, and each Member of the House of Representatives 

10 for each congressional district affected, by such revision 

11 or update in writing of the action taken.’’. 

12 SEC. 16. COVERAGE FOR ADDITIONAL LIVING EXPENSES 

13 AND BUSINESS INTERRUPTION. 

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

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

16 (1) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

17 end; 

18 (2) in paragraph (5)— 

19 (A) by inserting ‘‘pursuant to paragraph 

20 (2), (3), or (4)’’ after ‘‘any flood insurance cov21 erage’’; and 

22 (B) by striking the period at the end and 

23 inserting a semicolon; and 

24 (3) by adding at the end the following new 

25 paragraphs: 


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1 ‘‘(6) in the case of any residential property, 

2 each renewal or new contract for flood insurance 

3 coverage shall provide not less than $1,000 aggre4 gate liability per dwelling unit for any necessary in5 creases in living expenses incurred by the insured 

6 when losses from a flood make the residence unfit to 

7 live in, which coverage shall be available only at 

8 chargeable rates that are not less than the estimated 

9 premium rates for such coverage determined in ac10 cordance with section 1307(a)(1); 

11 ‘‘(7) in the case of any residential property, op12 tional coverage for additional living expenses de13 scribed in paragraph (6) shall be made available to 

14 every insured upon renewal and every applicant in 

15 excess of the limits provided in paragraph (6) in 

16 such amounts and at such rates as the Director 

17 shall establish, except that such chargeable rates 

18 shall not be less than the estimated premium rates 

19 for such coverage determined in accordance with sec20 tion 1307(a)(1); and 

21 ‘‘(8) in the case of any commercial property or 

22 other residential property, including multifamily 

23 rental property, optional coverage for losses result24 ing from any partial or total interruption of the in25 sured’s business caused by damage to, or loss of, 


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1 such property from a flood shall be made available 

2 to every insured upon renewal and every applicant, 

3 except that— 

4 ‘‘(A) the Director may provide such cov5 erage under such terms, conditions, and re6 quirements as the Director considers appro7 priate to meet the needs of small businesses 

8 while complying with the requirement under 

9 subparagraph (C); and 

10 ‘‘(B) any such coverage shall be made 

11 available only at chargeable rates that are not 

12 less than the estimated premium rates for such 

13 coverage determined in accordance with section 

14 1307(a)(1).’’. 

15 SEC. 17. 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. 18. MINIMUM DEDUCTIBLES FOR CLAIMS. 

4 Section 1312 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 

5 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4019) is amended— 

6 (1) by striking ‘‘The Director is’’ and inserting 

7 the following: ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director is’’; 

8 and 

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

10 ‘‘(b) MINIMUM ANNUAL DEDUCTIBLES.— 

11 ‘‘(1) PRE-FIRM PROPERTIES.—For any struc12 ture that is covered by flood insurance under this 

13 title, and on which construction or substantial im14 provement occurred on or before December 31, 

15 1974, or before the effective date of an initial flood 

16 insurance rate map published by the Director under 

17 section 1360 for the area in which such structure is 

18 located, the minimum annual deductible for damage 

19 to or loss of such structure shall be— 

20 ‘‘(A) $1,500, if the flood insurance cov21 erage for such structure covers loss of, or phys22 ical damage to, such structure in an amount 

23 equal to or less than $100,000; and 

24 ‘‘(B) $2,000, if the flood insurance cov25 erage for such structure covers loss of, or physVerDate Mar 15 2010 21:49 Jul 19, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00029 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5114.RFS H5114

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1 ical damage to, such structure in an amount 

2 greater than $100,000. 

3 ‘‘(2) POST-FIRM PROPERTIES.—For any struc4 ture that is covered by flood insurance under this 

5 title, and on which construction or substantial im6 provement occurred after December 31, 1974, or 

7 after the effective date of an initial flood insurance 

8 rate map published by the Director under section 

9 1360 for the area in which such structure is located, 

10 the minimum annual deductible for damage to or 

11 loss of such structure shall be— 

12 ‘‘(A) $750, if the flood insurance coverage 

13 for such structure covers loss of, or physical 

14 damage to, such structure in an amount equal 

15 to or less than $100,000; and 

16 ‘‘(B) $1,000, if the flood insurance cov17 erage for such structure covers loss of, or phys18 ical damage to, such structure in an amount 

19 greater than $100,000.’’. 

20 SEC. 19. PAYMENT OF PREMIUMS IN INSTALLMENTS FOR 

21 RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES. 

22 Section 1306 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 

23 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4013) is amended by adding at the end 

24 the following new subsection: 


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1 ‘‘(d) PAYMENT OF PREMIUMS IN INSTALLMENTS FOR

2 RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES.—In addition to any other 

3 terms and conditions under subsection (a), such regula4 tions shall provide that, in the case of any residential prop5 erty, premiums for flood insurance coverage for such prop6 erty may be paid in installments.’’. 

7 SEC. 20. TERMINATION OF FORCE-PLACED INSURANCE. 

8 Section 102(e) of the Flood Disaster Protection Act 

9 of 1973 (42 U.S.C. 4012a(e)) is amended— 

10 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (3) and (4) as 

11 paragraphs (5) and 6), respectively; and 

12 (2) by adding inserting after paragraph (2) the 

13 following new paragraphs: 

14 ‘‘(3) TERMINATION OF FORCE-PLACED INSUR15 ANCE.—Within 15 days of receipt by the lender or 

16 servicer of a confirmation of a borrower’s existing 

17 flood insurance coverage, the lender or servicer 

18 shall— 

19 ‘‘(A) terminate the force-placed insurance; 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(B) refund to the borrower all force22 placed insurance premiums paid by the bor23 rower during any period during which the bor24 rower’s flood insurance coverage and the force25 placed flood insurance coverage were each in efVerDate Mar 15 2010 21:49 Jul 19, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00031 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5114.RFS H5114

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1 fect, and any related fees charged to the bor2 rower with respect to the force-placed insurance 

3 during such period. 

4 ‘‘(4) SUFFICIENCY OF DEMONSTRATION.—A 

5 lender or servicer for a loan shall accept any reason6 able form of written confirmation from a borrower 

7 of existing flood insurance coverage, which shall in8 clude the existing flood insurance policy number 

9 along with the identity of, and contact information 

10 for, the insurance company or agent.’’. 

11 SEC. 21. ENFORCEMENT. 

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

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

14 (1) in paragraph (2)— 

15 (A) in subparagraph (A)(iii), by striking 

16 ‘‘or’’ at the end; 

17 (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking the 

18 period at the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

19 (C) by adding at the end the following new 

20 subparagraph: 

21 ‘‘(C) in connection with the making, in22 creasing, extending, servicing, or renewing of 

23 any loan, requiring the purchase of flood insur24 ance coverage under the National Flood Insur25 ance Act of 1968, or purchasing such coverage 


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1 pursuant to subsection (e)(2), in an amount in 

2 excess of the minimum amount required under 

3 subsections (a) and (b) of this section.’’; 

4 (2) in paragraph (5)— 

5 (A) in the first sentence, by striking 

6 ‘‘$350’’ and inserting ‘‘$2,000’’; and 

7 (B) in the last sentence, by striking 

8 ‘‘$100,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$1,000,000; except 

9 that such limitation shall not apply to a regu10 lated lending institution or enterprise for a cal11 endar year if, in any three (or more) of the five 

12 calendar years immediately preceding such cal13 endar year, the total amount of penalties as14 sessed under this subsection against such lend15 ing institution or enterprise was $1,000,000’’; 

16 and 

17 (3) in paragraph (6), by adding after the period 

18 at the end the following: ‘‘No penalty may be im19 posed under this subsection on a regulated lending 

20 institution or enterprise that has made a good faith 

21 effort to comply with the requirements of the provi22 sions referred to in paragraph (2) or for any non23 material violation of such requirements.’’. 


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1 SEC. 22. 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. 23. GRANTS FOR DIRECT FUNDING OF MITIGATION 

11 ACTIVITIES FOR INDIVIDUAL REPETITIVE 

12 CLAIMS PROPERTIES. 

13 (a) DIRECT GRANTS TO OWNERS.—Section 1323 of 

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

15 4030) is amended— 

16 (1) in the section heading, by inserting ‘‘DI17 RECT’’ before ‘‘GRANTS’’; and 

18 (2) in the matter in subsection (a) that pre19 cedes paragraph (1)— 

20 (A) by inserting ‘‘, to owners of such prop21 erties,’’ before ‘‘for mitigation actions’’; and 

22 (B) by striking ‘‘1’’ and inserting ‘‘two’’. 

23 (b) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Paragraph (9) of sec24 tion 1310(a) of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 


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1 (42 U.S.C. 4017(a)) is amended by inserting ‘‘which shall 

2 remain available until expended,’’ after ‘‘any fiscal year,’’. 

3 SEC. 24. FLOOD INSURANCE OUTREACH. 

4 Chapter I of the National Flood Insurance Act of 

5 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4011 et seq.), as amended by the pre6 ceding provisions of this Act, is further amended by add7 ing at the end the following new section: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 1326. GRANTS FOR OUTREACH TO PROPERTY OWN9 ERS AND RENTERS. 

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

11 amounts are made available pursuant to subsection (i), 

12 make grants to local governmental agencies responsible for 

13 floodplain management activities (including such agencies 

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

15 the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Deter16 mination Act of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 4103)) in communities 

17 that participate in the national flood insurance program 

18 under this title, for use by such agencies to carry out out19 reach activities to encourage and facilitate the purchase 

20 of flood insurance protection under this Act by owners and 

21 renters of properties in such communities and to promote 

22 educational activities that increase awareness of flood risk 

23 reduction. 


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

2 under this section shall be used only for activities designed 

3 to— 

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

5 in communities that participate in the national flood 

6 insurance program, including owners of residential 

7 and commercial properties; 

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

9 properties become included in, or when they are ex10 cluded from, an area having special flood hazards 

11 and the effect of such inclusion or exclusion on the 

12 applicability of the mandatory flood insurance pur13 chase requirement under section 102 of the Flood 

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

15 to such properties; 

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

17 the flood risk and reduction of this risk in their 

18 community, including the continued flood risks to 

19 areas that are no longer subject to the flood insur20 ance mandatory purchase requirement; 

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

22 the benefits and costs of maintaining or acquiring 

23 flood insurance, including, where applicable, lower24 cost preferred risk policies under this title for such 

25 properties and the contents of such properties; 


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

2 maintain or acquire such coverage; 

3 ‘‘(6) notify such owners of where to obtain in4 formation regarding how to obtain such coverage, in5 cluding a telephone number, mailing address, and 

6 Internet site of the Director where such information 

7 is available; and 

8 ‘‘(7) educate local real estate agents in commu9 nities participating in the national flood insurance 

10 program regarding the program and the availablility 

11 of coverage under the program for owners and rent12 ers of properties in such communities, and establish 

13 coordination and liaisons with such real estate 

14 agents to facilitate purchase of coverage under this 

15 Act and increase awareness of flood risk reduction. 

16 ‘‘(c) COST SHARING REQUIREMENT.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In any fiscal year, the Di18 rector may not provide a grant under this section to 

19 a local governmental agency in an amount exceeding 

20 3 times the amount that the agency certifies, as the 

21 Director shall require, that the agency will con22 tribute from non-Federal funds to be used with 

23 grant amounts only for carrying out activities de24 scribed in subsection (b). 


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

2 this subsection, the term ‘non-Federal funds’ in3 cludes State or local government agency amounts, 

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

5 carry out the eligible activities of the grant recipient, 

6 the value of the time and services contributed by vol7 unteers to carry out such services (at a rate deter8 mined by the Director), and the value of any do9 nated material or building and the value of any lease 

10 on a building. 

11 ‘‘(d) ADMINISTRATIVE COST LIMITATION.—Notwith12 standing subsection (b), the Director may use not more 

13 than 5 percent of amounts made available under sub14 section (i) to cover salaries, expenses, and other adminis15 trative costs incurred by the Director in making grants 

16 and provide assistance under this section. 

17 ‘‘(e) APPLICATION AND SELECTION.— 

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

19 for local governmental agencies described in sub20 section (a) to submit applications for grants under 

21 this section and for competitive selection, based on 

22 criteria established by the Director, of agencies sub23 mitting such applications to receive such grants. 

24 ‘‘(2) SELECTION CONSIDERATIONS.—In select25 ing applications of local government agencies to reVerDate Mar 15 2010 21:49 Jul 19, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00039 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5114.RFS H5114

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1 ceive grants under paragraph (1), the Director shall 

2 consider— 

3 ‘‘(A) the existence of a cooperative tech4 nical partner agreement between the local gov5 ernmental agency and the Federal Emergency 

6 Management Agency; 

7 ‘‘(B) the history of flood losses in the rel8 evant area that have occurred to properties, 

9 both inside and outside the special flood haz10 ards zones, which are not covered by flood in11 surance coverage; 

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

13 properties located in the relevant area that are 

14 not covered by flood insurance; 

15 ‘‘(D) demonstrated success of the local 

16 governmental agency in generating voluntary 

17 purchase of flood insurance; 

18 ‘‘(E) demonstrated technical capacity of 

19 the local governmental agency for outreach to 

20 individual property owners; and 

21 ‘‘(F) the number of flood-related major 

22 disaster or emergency declarations made by the 

23 President with respect to the relevant area 

24 under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 


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1 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 

2 et seq.) during the preceding five years. 

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

4 year that amounts for grants are made available pursuant 

5 to subsection (i), the Director may use not more than 50 

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

7 contracts with other entities to carry out, activities de8 scribed in subsection (b) in areas that the Director deter9 mines have the most immediate need for such activities. 

10 ‘‘(g) COORDINATION WITH OTHER AGENCIES.—A 

11 local governmental agency that receives a grant under this 

12 section, and an entity that receives amounts pursuant to 

13 subsection (f), may coordinate or contract with other 

14 agencies and entities having particular capacities, special15 ties, or experience with respect to certain populations or 

16 constituencies, including elderly or disabled families or 

17 persons, to carry out activities described in subsection (b) 

18 with respect to such populations or constituencies. 

19 ‘‘(h) REPORTING.— 

20 ‘‘(1) LOCAL GOVERNMENTS.—Each local gov21 ernment agency that receives a grant under this sec22 tion, and each entity that receives amounts pursuant 

23 to subsection (f), shall submit a report to the Direc24 tor, not later than 12 months after such amounts 

25 are first received, which shall include such informaVerDate Mar 15 2010 21:49 Jul 19, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00041 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5114.RFS H5114

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1 tion as the Director considers appropriate to de2 scribe the activities conducted using such amounts 

3 and the effect of such activities on the retention or 

4 acquisition of flood insurance coverage. 

5 ‘‘(2) DIRECTOR.—The Director shall submit an 

6 annual report, not later than December 31 of each 

7 year, to the Committee on Financial Services of the 

8 House of Representatives and the Committee on 

9 Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate 

10 on the effectiveness of grants awarded under this 

11 section to local government agencies, the activities 

12 conducted using such grant amounts, and the effect 

13 of such activities on the retention or acquisition of 

14 flood insurance coverage. 

15 ‘‘(i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

16 authorized to be appropriated for grants under this section 

17 $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2011 through 2015. 

18 ‘‘(j) PROHIBITION ON EARMARKS.—No amounts 

19 made available for grants under this section may be used 

20 for a Congressional earmark as defined in clause 9(e) of 

21 Rule XXI of the Rules of the House of Representatives.’’. 

22 SEC. 25. TREATMENT OF SWIMMING POOL ENCLOSURES 

23 OUTSIDE OF HURRICANE SEASON. 

24 Chapter I of the National Flood Insurance Act of 

25 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4001 et seq.), as amended by the preVerDate Mar 15 2010 21:49 Jul 19, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00042 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5114.RFS H5114

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1 ceding provisions of this Act, is further amended by add2 ing at the end the following new section: 

3 ‘‘SEC. 1327. TREATMENT OF SWIMMING POOL ENCLOSURES 

4 OUTSIDE OF HURRICANE SEASON. 

5 ‘‘In the case of any property that is otherwise in com6 pliance with the coverage and building requirements of the 

7 national flood insurance program, the presence of an en8 closed swimming pool located at ground level or in the 

9 space below the lowest floor of a building after November 

10 30 and before June 1 of any year shall have no effect on 

11 the terms of coverage or the ability to receive coverage 

12 for such building under the national flood insurance pro13 gram established pursuant to this title, if the pool is en14 closed with non-supporting breakaway walls.’’. 

15 SEC. 26. REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO WINDSTORM AND 

16 FLOOD. 

17 Section 1345 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 

18 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4081) is amended by adding at the end 

19 the following new subsection: 

20 ‘‘(d) REQUIREMENTS FOR WRITE-YOUR-OWN INSUR21 ERS RELATING TO WINDSTORM AND FLOOD.— 

22 ‘‘(1) WRITTEN AGREEMENT.—The Director 

23 may not utilize the facilities or services of any insur24 ance company or other insurer or entity to offer 

25 flood insurance coverage under this title unless such 


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1 company, insurer, or entity enters into a written 

2 agreement with the Director that provides as fol3 lows: 

4 ‘‘(A) PROHIBITION ON EXCLUSION OF

5 WIND DAMAGE COVERAGE.—The agreement 

6 shall prohibit the company, insurer, or entity 

7 from including, in any policy provided by the 

8 company or insurer for homeowners’ insurance 

9 coverage or coverage for damage from wind10 storms, any provision that excludes coverage for 

11 wind or other damage solely because flooding 

12 also contributed to damage to the insured prop13 erty. 

14 ‘‘(B) FIDUCIARY RESPONSIBILITY.—The 

15 agreement shall provide that the company, in16 surer, or entity— 

17 ‘‘(i) has a fiduciary duty with respect 

18 to the Federal taxpayers; 

19 ‘‘(ii) in selling and servicing policies 

20 for flood insurance coverage under this 

21 title and adjusting claims under such cov22 erage, will act in the best interests the na23 tional flood insurance program rather than 

24 in the interests of the company, insurer, or 

25 entity; and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) will provide written guidance to 

2 each insurance agent and claims adjuster 

3 for the company, insurer, or entity that 

4 sets forth the terms of the agreement pur5 suant to subparagraph (A) and this sub6 paragraph. 

7 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS FOR ADJUSTMENT OF

8 CLAIMS.—The Director shall, in utilizing the facili9 ties of any insurance company or other insurer or 

10 entity pursuant to this section to offer flood insur11 ance coverage under this title, the Director shall 

12 provide as follows: 

13 ‘‘(A) APPROVAL OF ADJUSTMENT PROCE14 DURES.—No such insurance company, other in15 surer, or entity may offer flood insurance cov16 erage under this title unless the Director has 

17 approved, as meeting standards as the Director 

18 shall establish, the procedures, protocols, guide19 lines, standards, or instructions used by the 

20 company, insurer, or entity in adjusting claims 

21 for identifying, apportioning, quantifying, and 

22 differentiating damage caused by flooding and 

23 damage caused by wind. 

24 ‘‘(B) TREATMENT OF WIND AND FLOOD

25 CLAIMS FROM SAME EVENT.—The Director 


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1 shall require any insurance company or other 

2 insurer or entity that, pursuant to this section, 

3 provides flood insurance coverage under this 

4 title for a property and that also provides insur5 ance coverage for the same property for losses 

6 resulting from wind, when claims are made both 

7 for damage resulting from flood and for damage 

8 resulting from wind involved in a single event, 

9 to comply with the following requirements: 

10 ‘‘(i) CONTEMPORANEOUS ADJUST11 MENT.—The claims for damage to the 

12 property under the coverage under this 

13 title for losses from flood and under the 

14 coverage for losses from wind shall be ad15 justed contemporaneously. 

16 ‘‘(ii) INCLUSIONS IN FLOOD CLAIM

17 FILE.—The insurance company, other in18 surer, or entity shall obtain and include in 

19 the file maintained with respect to any 

20 claim under the flood insurance coverage 

21 under this title, and make available to the 

22 Director upon request, the following infor23 mation relating to the wind claim: 

24 ‘‘(I) The amount paid on the 

25 claim and the date of such payment.. 


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1 ‘‘(II) An explanation of rationale 

2 used by the company, insurer, or enti3 ty in determining which damage re4 sulted from flood and which damage 

5 resulted from wind. 

6 ‘‘(III) Copies of any photographs, 

7 witness statements, and other evi8 dence related to the wind or flood 

9 claim. 

10 ‘‘(iii) REVIEW.—The Director shall re11 view the information obtained pursuant to 

12 clause (ii) to ensure that— 

13 ‘‘(I) claims are paid under cov14 erage under this title only for losses 

15 resulting from flood; and 

16 ‘‘(II) in the adjusting the claims, 

17 the insurance company or other in18 surer or entity complied with proce19 dures, protocols, guidelines, stand20 ards, or instructions for identifying, 

21 apportioning, quantifying, and dif22 ferentiating damage caused by flood23 ing and damage caused by wind that 

24 have been approved by the Director as 

25 meeting the standards established by 


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1 the Director pursuant to subpara2 graph (A). 

3 ‘‘(iv) PAYMENT UNDER FLOOD COV4 ERAGE WHEN CAUSE OF LOSS CANNOT BE

5 DETERMINED.—If the insurance company 

6 or other insurer or entity determines that 

7 the loss claimed was caused by flooding or 

8 wind, but that the evidence is insufficient 

9 to differentiate the losses caused by flood10 ing from those caused by wind, the com11 pany, insurer, or entity shall pay the claim 

12 under the flood insurance coverage for the 

13 property as if the entire loss were caused 

14 by flooding, and shall submit all informa15 tion regarding the claim to the Director. 

16 ‘‘(v) FEMA DETERMINATION AND RE17 COVERY.—In the case of any claim paid 

18 pursuant to clause (iv), the Director shall 

19 review the information related to the claim 

20 and determine, in accordance with proce21 dures for making such a determination re22 garding such claims as the Director shall 

23 establish, the losses caused by wind. The 

24 Director shall seek to recover any portion 

25 of the losses that the Director determines 


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1 were caused by wind from the insurance 

2 company or other insurer or entity that, 

3 pursuant to clause (iv), paid such losses as 

4 flood losses.’’. 

5 SEC. 27. NOTICE OF AVAILABILITY OF FLOOD INSURANCE 

6 AND ESCROW IN RESPA GOOD FAITH ESTI7 MATE. 

8 Subsection (c) of section 5 of the Real Estate Settle9 ment Procedures Act of 1974 (12 U.S.C. 2604(c)) is 

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

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

12 conspicuous statements and information: (1) that flood in13 surance coverage for residential real estate is generally 

14 available under the national flood insurance program 

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

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

17 a home owner or purchaser should contact the national 

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

19 location on the Internet by which a home owner or pur20 chaser can contact the national flood insurance program; 

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

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

23 Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973, and may be a con24 venient and available option with respect to other loans.’’. 


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1 SEC. 28. AUTHORIZATION OF ADDITIONAL FEMA STAFF. 

2 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Di3 rector of the Federal Emergency Management Agency 

4 may employ such additional staff as may be necessary to 

5 carry out all of the responsibilities of the Director pursu6 ant to this Act, the amendments made by this Act, and 

7 the national flood insurance program. There are author8 ized to be appropriated to Director such sums as may be 

9 necessary for costs of employing such additional staff. 

10 SEC. 29. PLAN TO VERIFY MAINTENANCE OF FLOOD INSUR11 ANCE ON MISSISSIPPI AND LOUISIANA PROP12 ERTIES RECEIVING EMERGENCY SUPPLE13 MENTAL FUNDS. 

14 The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development 

15 and the Director of the Federal Emergency Management 

16 Agency shall jointly develop and implement a plan to 

17 verify that persons receiving funds under the Homeowner 

18 Grant Assistance Program of the State of Mississippi or 

19 the Road Home Program of the State of Louisiana from 

20 amounts allocated to the State of Mississippi or the State 

21 of Louisiana, respectively, from the Community develop22 ment fund under the Emergency Supplemental Appropria23 tions Act to Address Hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico and 

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

25 maintaining flood insurance on the property for which 


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1 such persons receive such funds as required by each such 

2 Program. 

3 SEC. 30. FLOOD INSURANCE ADVOCATE. 

4 Chapter II of the National Flood Insurance Act of 

5 1968 is amended by inserting after section 1330 (42 

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

7 ‘‘SEC. 1330A. OFFICE OF THE FLOOD INSURANCE ADVO8 CATE. 

9 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF POSITION.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There shall be in the Fed11 eral Emergency Management Agency an Office of 

12 the Flood Insurance Advocate which shall be headed 

13 by the National Flood Insurance Advocate. The Na14 tional Flood Insurance Advocate shall report directly 

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

16 provided pursuant to subsection (f), be compensated 

17 at the same rate as the highest rate of basic pay es18 tablished for the Senior Executive Service under sec19 tion 5382 of title 5, United States Code, or, if the 

20 Director so determines, at a rate fixed under section 

21 9503 of such title. 

22 ‘‘(2) APPOINTMENT.—The National Flood In23 surance Advocate shall be appointed by the Director, 

24 and without regard to the provisions of title 5, 


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1 United States Code, relating to appointments in the 

2 competitive service or the Senior Executive Service. 

3 ‘‘(3) QUALIFICATIONS.—An individual ap4 pointed under paragraph (2) shall have a back5 ground in customer service as well as insurance. 

6 ‘‘(4) STAFF.—To the extent amounts are pro7 vided pursuant to subsection (f), the National Flood 

8 Insurance Advocate may employ such personnel as 

9 may be necessary to carry out the duties of the Of10 fice. 

11 ‘‘(b) FUNCTIONS OF OFFICE.— 

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

13 the Office of the Flood Insurance Advocate to— 

14 ‘‘(A) assist insureds under the national 

15 flood insurance program in resolving problems 

16 with the Federal Emergency Management 

17 Agency relating to such program; 

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

19 have problems in dealings with the Agency re20 lating to such program; 

21 ‘‘(C) identify potential legislative, adminis22 trative, or regulatory changes which may be ap23 propriate to mitigate such problems; 

24 ‘‘(D) assist communities and homeowners 

25 with interpreting, implementing, and appealing 


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1 floodplain maps and floodplain map determina2 tions; 

3 ‘‘(E) facilitate the sharing of the best-prac4 tices of the Federal Emergency Management 

5 Agency amongst all offices of the Agency with 

6 respect to the creation and updating of flood7 plain maps; 

8 ‘‘(F) not less than one year after receipt of 

9 a request from a community, perform an eco10 nomic impact analysis for such community on 

11 the economic impact of floodplain maps and 

12 floodplain map determinations on small busi13 nesses, lending, real estate development, and 

14 other economic indicators within such commu15 nity; 

16 ‘‘(G) establish a national arbitration panel 

17 regarding flood map modernization, with panel 

18 members consisting of experts in flood insur19 ance, flood map determination, real estate de20 velopment, structural engineering, and other 

21 such experts, including a representative from 

22 the Federal Emergency Management Adminis23 tration, to allow individuals or communities im24 pacted by a flood map revision to challenge 

25 such a revision; such panel may, under such 


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1 terms and conditions it may establish, tempo2 rarily suspend implementation of a floodplain 

3 map pending such panel’s review of evidence 

4 submitted by such individuals or communities 

5 as part of such challenge; 

6 ‘‘(H) establish a process under which sci7 entific and engineering data, including maps 

8 and an explanation of how the Director makes 

9 a determination regarding a map revision, will 

10 be made publicly available to any interested in11 dividuals to be impacted by a flood map revi12 sion; and 

13 ‘‘(I) establish a process under which each 

14 community to be impacted by a flood map revi15 sion will be provided an open community forum 

16 to consult with and ask questions of representa17 tives of the Federal Emergency Management 

18 Administration. 

19 ‘‘(J) identify ways to assist communities in 

20 efforts to fund the accreditation of flood protec21 tion systems. 

22 ‘‘(2) ANNUAL REPORTS.— 

23 ‘‘(A) ACTIVITIES.—Not later than Decem24 ber 31 of each calendar year, the National 

25 Flood Insurance Advocate shall report to the 


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1 Committee on Financial Services of the House 

2 of Representatives and the Committee on Bank3 ing, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate 

4 on the activities of the Office of the Flood In5 surance Advocate during the fiscal year ending 

6 during such calendar year. Any such report 

7 shall contain full and substantive analysis, in 

8 addition to statistical information, and shall— 

9 ‘‘(i) identify the initiatives the Office 

10 of the Flood Insurance Advocate has taken 

11 on improving services for insureds under 

12 the national flood insurance program and 

13 responsiveness of the Federal Emergency 

14 Management Agency with respect to such 

15 program; 

16 ‘‘(ii) identify areas of the law or regu17 lations relating to the national flood insur18 ance program that impose significant com19 pliance burdens on such insureds or the 

20 Federal Emergency Management Agency, 

21 including specific recommendations for 

22 remedying these problems; and 

23 ‘‘(iii) include such other information 

24 as the National Flood Insurance Advocate 

25 may deem advisable. 


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

2 Each report required under this paragraph 

3 shall be provided directly to the committees 

4 identified in subparagraph (A) without any 

5 prior review or comment from the Director, the 

6 Secretary of Homeland Security, or any other 

7 officer or employee of the Federal Emergency 

8 Management Agency or the Department of 

9 Homeland Security, or the Office of Manage10 ment and Budget. 

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

12 Director may use amounts from the National Flood Insur13 ance Fund to fund the activities of the Office of the Flood 

14 Advocate in each of fiscal years 2011 through 2016, ex15 cept that the amount so used in each such fiscal year may 

16 not exceed $5,000,000 and shall remain available until ex17 pended. Notwithstanding any other provision of this title, 

18 amounts made available pursuant to this subsection shall 

19 not be subject to offsetting collections through premium 

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

21 SEC. 31. TREATMENT OF PREVIOUSLY MAPPED AREAS. 

22 Section 1360 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 

23 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4101) is amended by adding at the end 

24 the following new subsection: 


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1 ‘‘(k) TREATMENT OF PREVIOUSLY MAPPED

2 AREAS.—If the Director issues a letter of map revision 

3 for an area or a portion of an area to correct an error 

4 in a recently issued flood insurance rate map and such 

5 letter results in the designation of such area as not having 

6 special flood hazards, the Director shall reexamine the 

7 designation of any areas bordering or abutting the area 

8 that was the subject of such letter if such areas are located 

9 within a special flood hazard area. The Director shall in10 form the community and residents within such area of the 

11 results of such examination no later than one year after 

12 the date of the initial letter of map revision.’’. 

13 SEC. 32. REMAPPING OF AREAS WITH IMPROVED LEVEES. 

14 Section 1360 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 

15 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4101) is amended by adding at the end 

16 the following new subsection: 

17 ‘‘(l) REMAPPING OF AREAS WITH IMPROVED LEV18 EES.—If at any time any community, any State, the Army 

19 Corps of Engineers, or any other entity improves any levee 

20 system that protects any area that is located in an area 

21 having special flood hazards and the Director determines 

22 that such improvement mitigates flood risk in a manner 

23 that eliminates the risk of flooding in the area, the Direc24 tor shall— 


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1 ‘‘(1) revise and update the floodplain areas and 

2 flood risk zones, and the flood insurance maps re3 flecting such areas and zones, for the areas pro4 tected by such levee system so that any requirement 

5 under the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973 for 

6 mandatory purchase of flood insurance does not 

7 apply to such area; and 

8 ‘‘(2) make the updated maps and any informa9 tion regarding such updating available to the af10 fected communities.’’. 

11 SEC. 33. APPEALS. 

12 (a) TELEVISION AND RADIO ANNOUNCEMENT.—Sec13 tion 1363 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 

14 (42 U.S.C. 4104) is amended— 

15 (1) in subsection (a), by inserting after ‘‘deter16 minations’’ by inserting the following: ‘‘by notifying 

17 a local television and radio station,’’; and 

18 (2) in the first sentence of subsection (b), by in19 serting before the period at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘and shall notify a local television and radio station 

21 at least once during the same 10-day period’’. 

22 (b) APPLICABILITY.—The amendments made by sub23 section (a) shall apply with respect to any flood elevation 

24 determination for any area in a community that has not, 

25 as of the date of the enactment of this Act, been issued 


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1 a Letter of Final Determination for such determination 

2 under the flood insurance map modernization process. 

3 SEC. 34. ELIGIBILITY OF PROPERTY DEMOLITION AND RE4 BUILDING UNDER FLOOD MITIGATION AS5 SISTANCE PROGRAM. 

6 (a) FLOOD MITIGATION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.— 

7 Section 1366(e)(5)(B) of the National Flood Insurance 

8 Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4104c(e)(5)(B)) is amended by 

9 striking ‘‘or floodproofing’’ and inserting ‘‘floodproofing, 

10 or demolition and rebuilding of properties to at least base 

11 flood elevation or greater, if required by any local ordi12 nance’’. 

13 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con14 gress that section 1366 of the Flood Insurance Act of 

15 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4104c), as in effect on the day before 

16 the date of enactment of this Act, authorized the Adminis17 trator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to 

18 consider property demolition and rebuilding as eligible ac19 tivities under the Flood Mitigation Assistance Program. 

20 The purpose of the amendment made by subsection (a) 

21 is to clarify that such authority exists. 


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1 SEC. 35. STUDY REGARDING MANDATORY PURCHASE RE2 QUIREMENT FOR NON-FEDERALLY RELATED 

3 LOANS. 

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

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

6 feasibility of, and basis under the Constitution of the 

7 United States for, amending the provisions of the Flood 

8 Disaster Protection Act of 1973 regarding the properties 

9 that are subject to the mandatory flood insurance coverage 

10 purchase requirements under such Act to extend such re11 quirements to any property that is located in any area hav12 ing special flood hazards and which secures the repayment 

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

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

15 best to administer and enforce such a requirement, taking 

16 into consideration other insurance purchase requirements 

17 under Federal and State law. 

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

19 a report to the Congress regarding the results and conclu20 sions of the study under subsection (a) not later than the 

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

22 of the enactment of this Act. 


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1 SEC. 36. STUDY OF METHODS TO INCREASE FLOOD INSUR2 ANCE PROGRAM PARTICIPATION BY LOW-IN3 COME FAMILIES AND FAMILIES IN RURAL 

4 COMMUNITIES AND ON INDIAN RESERVA5 TIONS. 

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

7 United States shall conduct a study to identify and ana8 lyze potential methods, practices, and incentives that 

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

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

11 Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a(b))), families re12 siding in rural communities, and families who reside on 

13 Indian reservations, that own residential properties lo14 cated within areas having special flood hazards purchase 

15 flood insurance coverage for such properties under the na16 tional flood insurance program. In conducting the study, 

17 the Comptroller General shall analyze the effectiveness 

18 and costs of the various methods, practices, and incentives 

19 identified, including their effects on the national flood in20 surance program. 

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

22 to the Congress a report setting forth the conclusions of 

23 the study under this section not later than 12 months 

24 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 


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1 SEC. 37. REPORT ON INCLUSION OF BUILDING CODES IN 

2 FLOODPLAIN MANAGEMENT CRITERIA. 

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

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

5 Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management 

6 Agency shall conduct a study and submit a report to the 

7 Committee on Financial Services of the House of Rep8 resentatives and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 

9 Urban Affairs of the Senate regarding the impact, effec10 tiveness, and feasibility of amending section 1361 of the 

11 National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4102) 

12 to include widely used and nationally recognized building 

13 codes as part of the floodplain management criteria devel14 oped under such section, and shall determine— 

15 (1) the regulatory, financial, and economic im16 pacts of such a building code requirement on home17 owners, States and local communities, local land use 

18 policies, and the Federal Emergency Management 

19 Agency; 

20 (2) the resources required of State and local 

21 communities to administer and enforce such a build22 ing code requirement; 

23 (3) the effectiveness of such a building code re24 quirement in reducing flood-related damage to build25 ings and contents; 


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1 (4) the impact of such a building code require2 ment on the actuarial soundness of the National 

3 Flood Insurance Program; 

4 (5) the effectiveness of nationally recognized 

5 codes in allowing innovative materials and systems 

6 for flood-resistant construction; 

7 (6) the feasibility and effectiveness of providing 

8 an incentive in lower premium rates for flood insur9 ance coverage under such Act for structures meeting 

10 whichever of such widely used and nationally recog11 nized building code or any applicable local building 

12 code provides greater protection from flood damage; 

13 (7) the impact of such a building code require14 ment on rural communities with different building 

15 code challenges than more urban environments; and 

16 (8) the impact of such a building code require17 ment on Indian reservations. 

18 SEC. 38. STUDY ON REPAYING FLOOD INSURANCE DEBT. 

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

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

21 Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management 

22 Agency shall submit a report to the Congress setting forth 

23 a plan for repaying within 10 years all amounts, including 

24 any amounts previously borrowed but not yet repaid, owed 

25 pursuant to clause (2) of subsection (a) of section 1309 


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

2 4016(a)(2)). 

3 SEC. 39. STUDY REGARDING CERTAIN HARBOR AREAS. 

4 (a) STUDY.—The Administrator of the Federal 

5 Emergency Management Agency shall carry out a study 

6 to identify the impacts of the National Flood Insurance 

7 Program on harbor areas that are working waterfronts, 

8 which shall— 

9 (1) identify the models and assumptions used 

10 under such program with respect to wave action in 

11 working waterfronts and harbors; 

12 (2) determine whether these are the same mod13 els and assumptions used for open or unprotected 

14 coast lines; 

15 (3) identify the assumptions used under such 

16 program in modeling V-zones; 

17 (4) identify the underlying basis for projected 

18 impact of waves on working waterfronts; 

19 (5) identify the frequency with which individual 

20 working waterfronts receive revised flood-risk based 

21 on the data they provide; 

22 (6) determine the feasibility of basing flood 

23 maps for such working waterfronts on actual histor24 ical flood and damage data; 


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1 (7) identify the standards for construction and 

2 design of working waterfront infrastructure that 

3 would be needed to safely develop commercial build4 ings in the V-zone; 

5 (8) determine the economic impacts of the Na6 tional Flood Insurance Program on working water7 fronts and working waterfront dependant businesses; 

8 (9) identify any new or alternative models that 

9 may be used to more accurately reflect the risk of 

10 flooding in working waterfronts and harbor environ11 ments; 

12 (10) review the current coastal flood insurance 

13 study guidelines and recommended methodologies; 

14 (11) determine whether methodologies other 

15 than those referred to in paragraph (10) should be 

16 applied with respect to complicated harbors and 

17 open shorelines; 

18 (12) review where 2-D ST Wave methodology 

19 should be applied and where other methodologies 

20 should be applied; 

21 (13) review available data on wave attenuation 

22 through pilings and piers and determine whether a 

23 physical model for the attenuation of waves in that 

24 environment can be undertaken to derive such data; 

25 and 


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1 (14) include any other information the Adminis2 trator considers relevant to evaluating the flood risk 

3 and insurance challenges facing working waterfronts. 

4 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

5 of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall sub6 mit to the Congress a report setting forth the results and 

7 conclusions of the study, including— 

8 (1) a description of all of the matters identified 

9 and determined pursuant to subsection (a); and 

10 (2) an analysis of the feasibility of developing 

11 a sheltered harbor flood zone for purposes of the 

12 National Flood Insurance Program that specifically 

13 recognizes the unique challenges faced by working 

14 waterfronts and built-up harbors. 

15 (c) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘working 

16 waterfront’’ means real property (including support struc17 tures over water and other facilities) that provides access 

18 to coastal waters to persons engaged in commercial fish19 ing, recreational fishing business, boatbuilding, aqua20 culture, or other water-dependent coastal-related business 

21 and is used for, or that supports, commercial fishing, rec22 reational fishing, boatbuilding, aquaculture, or other 

23 water-dependent coastal-related business. 


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1 SEC. 40. STUDY REGARDING HAZARD MODELING. 

2 The Administrator of the Federal Emergency Man3 agement Agency shall conduct a study to identify and as4 sess the impacts, including short-term and long-term im5 pacts, of significant flooding events and subsequent revi6 sions of hazard modeling and mapping since January 1, 

7 2000, on the financial soundness of the national flood in8 surance program. The Administrator may enter into an 

9 agreement with Water Resources Research Institutes to 

10 conduct the study under this section. The Administrator 

11 shall provide for a final report regarding the study to be 

12 submitted to the Congress not later than the expiration 

13 of the 16-month period beginning on the date of the enact14 ment of this Act. The report may include recommenda15 tions of the Administrator with respect to revising hazard 

16 modeling and mapping. 

17 SEC. 41. STUDY REGARDING IMPACT OF RATE INCREASES 

18 ON PRE-FIRM PROPERTIES. 

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

20 United States shall conduct a study to assess the impacts 

21 of implementing provisions regarding pre-FIRM prop22 erties (as such term is defined in section 578(b) of the 

23 National Flood Insurance Reform Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 

24 4014)), including the impact on the program participation 

25 rate among owners, renters, and tenants of non-primary 

26 residences or commercial nonresidential properties. In 


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1 conducting the study, the Comptroller General shall ana2 lyze the cost effectiveness and effect on local government 

3 tax base of various options, including an option of imple4 menting such provisions on the severe repetitive loss prop5 erties only. 

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

7 a report to Congress regarding the results and conclusions 

8 of the study under subsection (a) not later than the expi9 ration of the 9-month period beginning on the date of en10 actment of this Act. 

11 SEC. 42. STUDY OF EFFECTS OF ACT. 

12 (a) STUDY.—The Administrator of the Federal 

13 Emergency Management Agency shall conduct a study to 

14 identify and assess the impacts, including short-term and 

15 long-term impacts, of this Act and the amendments made 

16 by this Act on the financial soundness of the national flood 

17 insurance program. 

18 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 12 months after the 

19 date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall 

20 submit a report to the Congress setting forth the results 

21 and conclusions of study under subsection (a), which shall 

22 include specific recommendations for actions to mitigate 

23 against any negative financial impacts resulting from this 

24 Act and the amendments made by this Act that could in25 crease the debt of the national flood insurance program. 


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1 SEC. 43. REIMBURSEMENT FOR COSTS INCURRED BY 

2 HOMEOWNERS OBTAINING LETTERS OF MAP 

3 AMENDMENT. 

4 If the owner of any property located in an area de5 scribed in section 102(i)(1) of the Flood Disaster Protec6 tion Act of 1973 (as added by the preceding provisions 

7 of this Act) obtains a letter of map amendment during 

8 the 5-year period for such area referred to in such section, 

9 the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management 

10 Agency shall reimburse such owner, or such entity or ju11 risdiction acting on such owner’s behalf, for any costs in12 curred in obtaining such letter. 

13 SEC. 44. INTERIM FINAL RULEMAKING. 

14 The Administrator of the Federal Emergency Man15 agement Agency shall issue an interim final rule to imple16 ment the amendments made by this Act as soon as prac17 ticable, but not more than 18 months after the date of 

18 the enactment of this Act. The Administrator of the Fed19 eral Emergency Management Agency shall issue a final 

20 rule within one year after the effective date of the interim 

21 final rule. In the event that the deadlines in this section 

22 are not met, the Administrator shall report to the Con23 gress monthly on the status of the rulemakings and the 

24 reasons for the failure to comply with the statutory dead25 lines. 


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1 SEC. 45. STUDY ON PRIVATE INSURANCE MARKET, COMMU2 NITY PARTICIPATION IN THE NATIONAL 

3 FLOOD INSURANCE PROGRAM, AND THE RE4 GIONALIZATION OF THE NATIONAL FLOOD 

5 INSURANCE PROGRAM. 

6 (a) STUDY.—The Comptroller General shall conduct 

7 a study on— 

8 (1) ways that the private insurance market can 

9 contribute to insuring against flood damage; 

10 (2) the impact on the National Flood Insurance 

11 Program if communities decide not to participate in 

12 the Program; and 

13 (3) the feasibility of regionalizing the National 

14 Flood Insurance Program and ensuring that there is 

15 no cross-subsidization between regions under such 

16 Program. 

17 (b) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the date 

18 of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall 

19 submit to Congress a report containing the results of the 

20 study conducted under subsection (a). 

21 SEC. 46. ETHICS COMPLIANCE. 

22 All funds authorized under this Act or any amend23 ment made by this Act shall be expended in a manner 


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HR 5114 RFS 

1 that is consistent with the manual on Standards of Ethical 

2 Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch. 

Passed the House of Representatives July 15, 2010. 

Attest: LORRAINE C. MILLER, 

Clerk. 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with BILLS