II

Calendar No. 550

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1691

[Report No. 106–295]

To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance

Act to authorize programs for predisaster mitigation, to streamline the

administration of disaster relief, to control the Federal costs of disaster

assistance, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

OCTOBER 5, 1999

Mr. INHOFE (for himself, Mr. GRAHAM, Mr. VOINOVICH, Mr. GRASSLEY, Mr.

SMITH of New Hampshire, Mr. DEWINE, Mr. BAUCUS, and Mr. BOND)

introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the

Committee on Environment and Public Works

MAY 16, 2000

Reported by Mr. SMITH of New Hampshire, with an amendment

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]

A BILL

To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to authorize programs for

predisaster mitigation, to streamline the administration

of disaster relief, to control the Federal costs of disaster

assistance, and for other purposes.
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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; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

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

5 ‘‘Disaster Mitigation Act of 1999’’.

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

7 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

TITLE I—PREDISASTER HAZARD MITIGATION

Sec. 101. Findings and purpose.

Sec. 102. Predisaster hazard mitigation.

Sec. 103. Maximum contribution for mitigation costs.

Sec. 104. Natural disaster mitigation zones.

Sec. 105. Interagency task force.

Sec. 106. Conforming amendment.

TITLE II—DISASTER PREPAREDNESS AND MITIGATION

ASSISTANCE

Sec. 201. Insurance.

Sec. 202. Management costs.

Sec. 203. Assistance to repair, restore, reconstruct, or replace damaged facilities.

Sec. 204. Federal assistance to households.

Sec. 205. State administration of hazard mitigation grant program.

Sec. 206. Study regarding cost reduction.

Sec. 207. Fire management assistance.

Sec. 208. Public comment requirement.

Sec. 209. Community disaster loans.

TITLE III—MISCELLANEOUS

Sec. 301. Technical correction of short title.

Sec. 302. Definitions.

Sec. 303. Public safety officer benefits for certain Federal and State employees.

Sec. 304. Inspector General.

Sec. 305. National Urban Search and Rescue Response System.

8 TITLE I—PREDISASTER HAZARD

9 MITIGATION

10 SEC. 101. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

11 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—
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1 (1) natural disasters, including earthquakes,

2 tsunamis, tornadoes, hurricanes, and flooding, pose

3 great danger to human life and to property through4 out the United States;

5 (2) greater emphasis needs to be placed on—

6 (A) identifying and assessing the risks to

7 States and local communities from natural dis8 asters;

9 (B) implementing adequate measures to

10 reduce losses from natural disasters; and

11 (C) ensuring that the critical infrastruc12 ture and facilities of communities will continue

13 to function after a natural disaster;

14 (3) expenditures for postdisaster assistance are

15 increasing without commensurate reductions in the

16 likelihood of future losses from natural disasters;

17 (4) in the expenditure of Federal funds under

18 the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer19 gency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.), high

20 priority should be given to mitigation of hazards to

21 existing and new construction at the local level; and

22 (5) with a unified effort of economic incentives,

23 awareness and education, technical assistance, and

24 demonstrated Federal support, States and local com25 munities will be able to—
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1 (A) form effective community-based part2 nerships for hazard mitigation purposes;

3 (B) implement effective hazard mitigation

4 measures that reduce the potential damage

5 from natural disasters;

6 (C) ensure continued functionality of the

7 critical infrastructure of communities;

8 (D) leverage additional non-Federal re9 sources in meeting natural disaster resistance

10 goals; and

11 (E) make commitments to long-term haz12 ard mitigation efforts to be applied to new and

13 existing construction.

14 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to estab15 lish a national disaster hazard mitigation program—

16 (1) to reduce the loss of life and property,

17 human suffering, economic disruption, and disaster

18 assistance costs resulting from natural disasters;

19 and

20 (2) to provide a source of predisaster hazard

21 mitigation funding that will assist States and local

22 governments in implementing effective hazard miti23 gation measures that are designed to ensure the con24 tinued functionality of critical infrastructure and fa25 cilities after a natural disaster.
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1 SEC. 102. PREDISASTER HAZARD MITIGATION.

2 Title II of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and

3 Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5131 et seq.) is

4 amended by adding at the end the following:

5 ‘‘SEC. 203. PREDISASTER HAZARD MITIGATION.

6 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Federal

7 Emergency Management Agency (referred to in this sec8 tion as the ‘Director’) may establish a program to provide

9 technical and financial assistance to States and local gov10 ernments to assist in the implementation of predisaster

11 hazard mitigation measures designed to reduce injuries,

12 loss of life, and damage and destruction of property, in13 cluding damage to critical infrastructure and facilities

14 under the jurisdiction of the States or local governments.

15 ‘‘(b) APPROVAL BY DIRECTOR.—If the Director de16 termines that a State or local government has identified

17 all natural disaster hazards in areas under its jurisdiction

18 and has demonstrated the ability to form effective public19 private natural disaster hazard mitigation partnerships,

20 the Director, using amounts in the National Predisaster

21 Mitigation Fund established under subsection (e) (referred

22 to in this section as the ‘Fund’), may provide technical

23 and financial assistance to the State or local government

24 to be used in accordance with subsection (c).
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1 ‘‘(c) USES OF TECHNICAL AND FINANCIAL ASSIST2 ANCE.—Technical and financial assistance provided under

3 subsection (b)—

4 ‘‘(1) shall be used by States and local govern5 ments principally to implement predisaster hazard

6 mitigation measures described in proposals approved

7 by the Director under this section; and

8 ‘‘(2) may be used—

9 ‘‘(A) to support effective public-private

10 natural disaster hazard mitigation partnerships;

11 ‘‘(B) to ensure that new development and

12 construction is resistant to natural disasters;

13 ‘‘(C) to improve the assessment of a com14 munity’s vulnerability to natural hazards; or

15 ‘‘(D) to establish hazard mitigation prior16 ities, and an appropriate hazard mitigation

17 plan, for a community.

18 ‘‘(d) CRITERIA FOR ASSISTANCE AWARDS.—In deter19 mining whether to provide technical and financial assist20 ance to a State or local government under subsection (a),

21 the Director shall take into account—

22 ‘‘(1) the extent and nature of the hazards to be

23 mitigated;
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1 ‘‘(2) the degree of commitment of the State or

2 local government to reduce damages from future

3 natural disasters; and

4 ‘‘(3) the degree of commitment by the State or

5 local government to support ongoing non-Federal

6 support for the hazard mitigation measures to be

7 carried out using the technical and financial assist8 ance.

9 ‘‘(e) NATIONAL PREDISASTER MITIGATION FUND.—

10 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Director may es11 tablish in the Treasury of the United States a fund

12 to be known as the ‘National Predisaster Mitigation

13 Fund’, to be used in carrying out this section.

14 ‘‘(2) TRANSFERS TO FUND.—There shall be de15 posited in the Fund—

16 ‘‘(A) amounts appropriated to carry out

17 this section, which shall remain available until

18 expended; and

19 ‘‘(B) sums available from gifts, bequests,

20 or donations of services or property received by

21 the Director for the purpose of predisaster haz22 ard mitigation.

23 ‘‘(3) EXPENDITURES FROM FUND.—Upon re24 quest by the Director, the Secretary of the Treasury

25 shall transfer from the Fund to the Director such
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1 amounts as the Director determines are necessary to

2 provide technical and financial assistance under this

3 section.

4 ‘‘(4) INVESTMENT OF AMOUNTS.—

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the

6 Treasury shall invest such portion of the Fund

7 as is not, in the judgment of the Secretary of

8 the Treasury, required to meet current with9 drawals. Investments may be made only in in10 terest-bearing obligations of the United States.

11 ‘‘(B) ACQUISITION OF OBLIGATIONS.—For

12 the purpose of investments under subparagraph

13 (A), obligations may be acquired—

14 ‘‘(i) on original issue at the issue

15 price; or

16 ‘‘(ii) by purchase of outstanding obli17 gations at the market price.

18 ‘‘(C) SALE OF OBLIGATIONS.—Any obliga19 tion acquired by the Fund may be sold by the

20 Secretary of the Treasury at the market price.

21 ‘‘(D) CREDITS TO FUND.—The interest on,

22 and the proceeds from the sale or redemption

23 of, any obligations held in the Fund shall be

24 credited to and form a part of the Fund.

25 ‘‘(E) TRANSFERS OF AMOUNTS.—
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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The amounts re2 quired to be transferred to the Fund under

3 this subsection shall be transferred at least

4 monthly from the general fund of the

5 Treasury to the Fund on the basis of esti6 mates made by the Secretary of the Treas7 ury.

8 ‘‘(ii) ADJUSTMENTS.—Proper adjust9 ment shall be made in amounts subse10 quently transferred to the extent prior esti11 mates were in excess of or less than the

12 amounts required to be transferred.

13 ‘‘(f) MAXIMUM TOTAL FEDERAL SHARE.—Subject to

14 subsection (g), the amount of financial assistance provided

15 from the Fund shall not exceed an amount equal to 75

16 percent of the total costs of all hazard mitigation pro17 posals approved by the Director under this section.

18 ‘‘(g) LIMITATION ON TOTAL AMOUNT OF FINANCIAL

19 ASSISTANCE.—The Director shall not provide financial as20 sistance under this section in an amount greater than the

21 amount available in the Fund.

22 ‘‘(h) TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY.—The authority

23 provided by this section terminates December 31, 2003.’’.
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1 SEC. 103. MAXIMUM CONTRIBUTION FOR MITIGATION

2 COSTS.

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 404(a) of the Robert T.

4 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act

5 (42 U.S.C. 5170c(a)) is amended in the last sentence by

6 striking ‘‘15 percent’’ and inserting ‘‘20 percent’’.

7 (b) APPLICABILITY.—The amendment made by sub8 section (a) shall apply to each major disaster declared

9 under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer10 gency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) after the

11 date of enactment of this Act.

12 SEC. 104. NATURAL DISASTER MITIGATION ZONES.

13 Title II of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and

14 Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5131 et seq.) (as

15 amended by section 102) is amended by adding at the end

16 the following:

17 ‘‘SEC. 204. NATURAL DISASTER MITIGATION ZONES.

18 ‘‘(a) DESIGNATION.—

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In consultation with States,

20 local governments, and appropriate Federal agencies,

21 the President shall designate as a natural disaster

22 mitigation zone each area in which commonly recur23 ring natural hazards (including flooding, hurricanes

24 and severe winds, seismic events, and other hazards)

25 create a substantial likelihood of disasters that may

26 require assistance under this Act.
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1 ‘‘(2) FLOOD AND WIND ZONES.—At a min2 imum, the President shall designate as a natural dis3 aster mitigation zone each coastal flood zone identi4 fied on a map prepared under the national flood in5 surance program established under chapter 1 of the

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

7 4011 et seq.) that is also within a wind zone that

8 is identified by the American Society of Civil Engi9 neers under ASCE 7–98 (or a successor document)

10 and that has commonly recurring winds in excess of

11 90 miles per hour.

12 ‘‘(3) INTEGRATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF ALL13 HAZARD MAPS.—

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—To carry out para15 graphs (1) and (2), the President shall direct

16 all appropriate Federal agencies that gather in17 formation relating to natural resources and nat18 ural and technological hazards to integrate, or

19 develop and maintain, comprehensive all-hazard

20 maps using global information systems tech21 nology.

22 ‘‘(B) COORDINATOR.—The President shall

23 designate the Director of the Federal Emer24 gency Management Agency to serve as coordi-
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1 nator of the activities carried out under sub2 paragraph (A).

3 ‘‘(C) AVAILABILITY TO THE PUBLIC.—The

4 maps and other resources developed under sub5 paragraph (A) shall be made available to the

6 public.

7 ‘‘(b) DISASTER MITIGATION POLICIES.—

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In order to reduce the like9 lihood or severity of damage from the hazards antici10 pated to occur in natural disaster mitigation zones,

11 the President may identify disaster mitigation poli12 cies for implementation in the zones, comparable to

13 Executive Order No. 11988 (42 U.S.C. 4321 note;

14 relating to flood-prone areas) and Executive Order

15 No. 12699 (55 Fed. Reg. 835; relating to seismic

16 hazards), including recommended voluntary min17 imum building codes, test methods, and specifica18 tions established by—

19 ‘‘(A) the American Society of Civil Engi20 neers;

21 ‘‘(B) the American Society for Testing and

22 Materials; or

23 ‘‘(C) any other voluntary consensus stand24 ard setting organization.
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1 ‘‘(2) WIND IMPACT STANDARDS.—Disaster

2 mitigation policies identified by the President under

3 paragraph (1) shall include, with respect to any nat4 ural disaster mitigation zone designated under sub5 section (a)(2), wind impact standards contained in

6 the American Society for Testing and Materials

7 Standards E1886 and 1996 (or successor stand8 ards).

9 ‘‘(c) CONDITIONS ON FEDERAL FUNDING OF NEW

10 FEDERAL BUILDINGS.—Each Federal agency responsible

11 for the design and construction of any new Federal build12 ing in a natural disaster mitigation zone shall ensure that

13 the building is designed and constructed in accordance

14 with the voluntary minimum building codes, test methods,

15 and specifications and other mitigation policies identified

16 under subsection (b).

17 ‘‘(d) INCENTIVES.—

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The President may provide

19 incentives—

20 ‘‘(A) to encourage owners of buildings lo21 cated in a natural disaster mitigation zone that

22 are not subject to subsection (c) to implement

23 the mitigation policies identified under sub24 section (b); and
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1 ‘‘(B) to encourage the owners of buildings

2 located in a natural disaster mitigation zone to

3 build or modify the buildings in a manner that

4 is likely to produce more hazard mitigation ben5 efits than the minimum requirements of the

6 mitigation policies identified under subsection

7 (b).

8 ‘‘(2) TYPES OF INCENTIVES.—Incentives pro9 vided under paragraph (1) may include—

10 ‘‘(A) lower premiums for Federal flood in11 surance under chapter 1 of the National Flood

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

13 seq.);

14 ‘‘(B) more favorable financing through

15 Federal loans, loan guarantees, and insured

16 loans; and

17 ‘‘(C) other incentives within the authority

18 of the President or any Federal agency to pro19 vide.

20 ‘‘(e) IMPLEMENTATION.—Not later than 18 months

21 after the date of enactment of this section, each Federal

22 agency that provides financing, insurance, or other assist23 ance for the construction, modification, or acquisition of

24 buildings in natural disaster mitigation zones shall issue

25 regulations to carry out this section.’’.
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1 SEC. 105. INTERAGENCY TASK FORCE.

2 Title II of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and

3 Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5131 et seq.) (as

4 amended by section 104) is amended by adding at the end

5 the following:

6 ‘‘SEC. 205. INTERAGENCY TASK FORCE.

7 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The President shall establish a

8 Federal interagency task force for the purpose of coordi9 nating the implementation of predisaster hazard mitiga10 tion programs administered by the Federal Government.

11 ‘‘(b) CHAIRPERSON.—The Director of the Federal

12 Emergency Management Agency shall serve as the chair13 person of the task force.

14 ‘‘(c) MEMBERSHIP.—The membership of the task

15 force shall include representatives of State and local gov16 ernment organizations and the Red Cross.’’.

17 SEC. 106. CONFORMING AMENDMENT.

18 Title II of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and

19 Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5131 et seq.) is

20 amended by striking the title heading and inserting the

21 following:
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1 ‘‘TITLE II—DISASTER PREPARED2 NESS AND MITIGATION AS3 SISTANCE’’

4 TITLE II—DISASTER PREPARED5 NESS AND MITIGATION AS6 SISTANCE

7 SEC. 201. INSURANCE.

8 Section 311(a)(2) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster

9 Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C.

10 5154(a)(2)) is amended—

11 (1) by striking ‘‘In’’ and inserting the following:

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In’’; and

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

14 ‘‘(B) REQUIRED INSURANCE OR SELF-IN15 SURANCE.—The President shall promulgate

16 regulations under which States, communities,

17 and other applicants subject to paragraph (1)

18 shall be required to protect property through

19 adequate levels of insurance or self-insurance

20 if—

21 ‘‘(i) the appropriate State insurance

22 commissioner makes the certification de23 scribed in subparagraph (A); and
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1 ‘‘(ii) the President determines that

2 the property is not adequately protected

3 against natural or other disasters.

4 ‘‘(C) REGULATIONS.—In promulgating any

5 new regulation requiring public structures to be

6 insured to be eligible for assistance, the Presi7 dent shall—

8 ‘‘(i) include in the regulation—

9 ‘‘(I) definitions relating to insur10 ance that are expressed in known and

11 generally accepted terms;

12 ‘‘(II) a definition of ‘adequate in13 surance’;

14 ‘‘(III) the specific criteria for a

15 waiver of any insurance eligibility re16 quirement under the regulation;

17 ‘‘(IV) a definition of ‘self-insur18 ance’ that is sufficiently flexible to

19 take into consideration alternative

20 risk financing;

21 ‘‘(V) available market research

22 used in determining the availability of

23 insurance; and

24 ‘‘(VI) a cost-benefit analysis; and

25 ‘‘(ii) consider—
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1 ‘‘(I) alternative risk-financing

2 mechanisms, including risk sharing

3 pools and self-insurance; and

4 ‘‘(II) the use of independent in5 surance experts to assist in developing

6 the proposed regulation.’’.

7 SEC. 202. MANAGEMENT COSTS.

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title III of the Robert T. Stafford

9 Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C.

10 5141 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the fol11 lowing:

12 ‘‘SEC. 322. MANAGEMENT COSTS.

13 ‘‘(a) DEFINITION OF MANAGEMENT COST.—In this

14 section, the term ‘management cost’ includes any indirect

15 cost, administrative expense, and any other expense not

16 directly chargeable to a specific project under a major dis17 aster, emergency, or disaster preparedness or mitigation

18 activity or measure.

19 ‘‘(b) MANAGEMENT COST RATES.—Notwithstanding

20 any other provision of law (including any administrative

21 rule or guidance), the President shall establish manage22 ment cost rates for grantees and subgrantees that shall

23 be used to determine contributions under this Act for

24 management costs.
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1 ‘‘(c) REVIEW.—The President shall review the man2 agement cost rates established under subsection (b) not

3 later than 3 years after the date of establishment of the

4 rates and periodically thereafter.

5 ‘‘(d) REGULATIONS.—The President shall promul6 gate regulations to define appropriate costs to be included

7 in management costs under this section.’’.

8 (b) APPLICABILITY.—Section 322 of the Robert T.

9 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act

10 (as added by subsection (a)) shall apply as follows:

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subsections (a), (b), and (d)

12 of section 322 of that Act shall apply to each major

13 disaster declared under that Act on or after the date

14 of enactment of this Act. Until the date on which

15 the President establishes the management cost rates

16 under subsection (b) of that section, section 406(f)

17 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer18 gency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5172(f)) shall be

19 used for establishing the rates.

20 (2) REVIEW.—Section 322(c) of that Act shall

21 apply to each major disaster declared under that Act

22 on or after the date on which the President estab23 lishes the management cost rates under section

24 322(b) of that Act.
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1 SEC. 203. ASSISTANCE TO REPAIR, RESTORE, RECON2 STRUCT, OR REPLACE DAMAGED FACILITIES.

3 (a) CONTRIBUTIONS.—Section 406 of the Robert T.

4 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act

5 (42 U.S.C. 5172) is amended by striking subsection (a)

6 and inserting the following:

7 ‘‘(a) CONTRIBUTIONS.—

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The President may make

9 contributions—

10 ‘‘(A) to a State or local government for the

11 repair, restoration, reconstruction, or replace12 ment of a public facility that is damaged or de13 stroyed by a major disaster and for associated

14 expenses incurred by the government; and

15 ‘‘(B) subject to paragraph (2), to a person

16 that owns or operates a private nonprofit facil17 ity damaged or destroyed by a major disaster

18 for the repair, restoration, reconstruction, or re19 placement of the facility and for associated ex20 penses incurred by the person.

21 ‘‘(2) CONDITIONS FOR ASSISTANCE FOR PRI22 VATE NONPROFIT FACILITIES.—

23 ‘‘(A) CONDITIONS.—The President may

24 make contributions for a private nonprofit facil25 ity under paragraph (1)(B) only if—
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1 ‘‘(i) the facility provides critical infra2 structure in the event of a major disaster;

3 ‘‘(ii) the person that owns or operates

4 the facility—

5 ‘‘(I) has applied for a disaster

6 loan under section 7(b) of the Small

7 Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(b)); and

8 ‘‘(II) has been determined to be

9 ineligible for such a loan; or

10 ‘‘(iii) the person that owns or operates

11 the facility has obtained such a loan in the

12 maximum amount for which the Small

13 Business Administration determines the fa14 cility is eligible.

15 ‘‘(B) DETERMINATION OF WHETHER TO

16 DECLARE A MAJOR DISASTER.—In determining

17 whether to declare under this Act that a major

18 disaster exists, the President shall not take into

19 account the amount of any disaster loan under

20 section 7(b) of the Small Business Act (15

21 U.S.C. 636(b)) that is made to a person that

22 owns or operates a private nonprofit facility

23 damaged or destroyed by the major disaster.

24 ‘‘(C) DETERMINATION OF AMOUNT OF

25 CONTRIBUTIONS.—In determining the amount
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1 of a contribution under paragraph (1)(B) to a

2 person that owns or operates a private non3 profit facility damaged or destroyed by a major

4 disaster and that has obtained a disaster loan

5 under section 7(b) of the Small Business Act

6 (15 U.S.C. 636(b)) with respect to the facility

7 and the major disaster, the President shall not

8 take into account the amount of the loan.’’.

9 (b) FEDERAL SHARE.—Section 406 of the Robert T.

10 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act

11 (42 U.S.C. 5172) is amended by striking subsection (b)

12 and inserting the following:

13 ‘‘(b) FEDERAL SHARE.—

14 ‘‘(1) MINIMUM FEDERAL SHARE.—Except as

15 provided in paragraph (2), the Federal share of as16 sistance under this section shall be not less than 75

17 percent of the eligible cost of repair, restoration, re18 construction, or replacement carried out under this

19 section.

20 ‘‘(2) REDUCED FEDERAL SHARE.—The Presi21 dent shall promulgate regulations to reduce the Fed22 eral share of assistance under this section in the

23 case of the repair, restoration, reconstruction, or re24 placement of any eligible public or private nonprofit

25 facility—
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1 ‘‘(A) that has previously been damaged, on

2 more than 1 occasion, by the same type of

3 event; and

4 ‘‘(B) the owner of which has failed to im5 plement mitigation measures to address the

6 hazard that caused the damage to the facility.’’.

7 (c) LARGE IN-LIEU CONTRIBUTIONS.—Section 406

8 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency

9 Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5172) is amended by striking

10 subsection (c) and inserting the following:

11 ‘‘(c) LARGE IN-LIEU CONTRIBUTIONS.—

12 ‘‘(1) FOR PUBLIC FACILITIES.—

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In any case in which

14 a State or local government determines that the

15 public welfare would not be best served by re16 pairing, restoring, reconstructing, or replacing

17 any public facility owned or controlled by the

18 State or local government, the State or local

19 government may elect to receive, in lieu of a

20 contribution under subsection (a)(1)(A), a con21 tribution in an amount equal to 75 percent of

22 the Federal share of the cost of repairing, re23 storing, reconstructing, or replacing the facility

24 and of management costs, as estimated by the

25 President.
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1 ‘‘(B) USE OF FUNDS.—

2 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause

3 (ii), funds made available to a State or

4 local government under this paragraph

5 may be used to repair, restore, or expand

6 other eligible public facilities, to construct

7 new facilities, or to fund hazard mitigation

8 measures, that the State or local govern9 ment determines to be necessary to meet a

10 need for governmental services and func11 tions in the area affected by the major dis12 aster.

13 ‘‘(ii) LIMITATIONS.—Funds made

14 available to a State or local government

15 under this paragraph may not be used

16 for—

17 ‘‘(I) any public facility located in

18 a regulatory floodway (as defined in

19 section 59.1 of title 44, Code of Fed20 eral Regulations (or a successor regu21 lation)); or

22 ‘‘(II) any uninsured public facil23 ity located in a special flood hazard

24 area identified by the Director of the

25 Federal Emergency Management
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1 Agency under the National Flood In2 surance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4001

3 et seq.).

4 ‘‘(2) FOR PRIVATE NONPROFIT FACILITIES.—

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In any case in which

6 a person that owns or operates a private non7 profit facility determines that the public welfare

8 would not be best served by repairing, restor9 ing, reconstructing, or replacing the facility, the

10 person may elect to receive, in lieu of a con11 tribution under subsection (a)(1)(B), a con12 tribution in an amount equal to 75 percent of

13 the Federal share of the cost of repairing, re14 storing, reconstructing, or replacing the facility

15 and of management costs, as estimated by the

16 President.

17 ‘‘(B) USE OF FUNDS.—

18 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause

19 (ii), funds made available to a person

20 under this paragraph may be used to re21 pair, restore, or expand other eligible pri22 vate nonprofit facilities owned or operated

23 by the person, to construct new private

24 nonprofit facilities owned or operated by

25 the person, or to fund hazard mitigation
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1 measures, that the person determines to be

2 necessary to meet a need for services and

3 functions in the area affected by the major

4 disaster.

5 ‘‘(ii) LIMITATIONS.—Funds made

6 available to a person under this paragraph

7 may not be used for—

8 ‘‘(I) any private nonprofit facility

9 located in a regulatory floodway (as

10 defined in section 59.1 of title 44,

11 Code of Federal Regulations (or a

12 successor regulation)); or

13 ‘‘(II) any uninsured private non14 profit facility located in a special flood

15 hazard area identified by the Director

16 of the Federal Emergency Manage17 ment Agency under the National

18 Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42

19 U.S.C. 4001 et seq.).’’.

20 (d) ELIGIBLE COST.—

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 406 of the Robert T.

22 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance

23 Act (42 U.S.C. 5172) is amended by striking sub24 section (e) and inserting the following:

25 ‘‘(e) ELIGIBLE COST.—
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1 ‘‘(1) DETERMINATION.—

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For the purposes of

3 this section, the President shall estimate the eli4 gible cost of repairing, restoring, recon5 structing, or replacing a public facility or pri6 vate nonprofit facility—

7 ‘‘(i) on the basis of the design of the

8 facility as the facility existed immediately

9 before the major disaster; and

10 ‘‘(ii) in conformity with current appli11 cable codes, specifications, and standards

12 (including floodplain management and haz13 ard mitigation criteria required by the

14 President or under the Coastal Barrier Re15 sources Act (16 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.)).

16 ‘‘(B) COST ESTIMATION PROCEDURES.—

17 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to para18 graph (2), the President shall use the cost

19 estimation procedures developed under

20 paragraph (3) to determine the eligible

21 cost under this subsection.

22 ‘‘(ii) APPLICABILITY.—The proce23 dures specified in this paragraph and para24 graph (2) shall apply only to projects the
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1 eligible cost of which is equal to or greater

2 than the amount specified in section 422.

3 ‘‘(2) MODIFICATION OF ELIGIBLE COST.—

4 ‘‘(A) ACTUAL COST OVER 100 BUT LESS

5 THAN OR EQUAL TO 120 PERCENT OF ESTI6 MATED COST.—If, after the date on which a

7 cost estimate under paragraph (1) is made, ad8 ditional disaster-related damage is discovered

9 and the total actual cost of the eligible repair,

10 restoration, reconstruction, or replacement of

11 the facility is greater than 100 but less than or

12 equal to 120 percent of the cost estimated

13 under paragraph (1), the President shall deter14 mine that the eligible cost shall be the actual

15 cost of the repair, restoration, reconstruction,

16 or replacement described in paragraph (1)(A).

17 ‘‘(B) ACTUAL COST EXCEEDS 120 PERCENT

18 OF ESTIMATED COST.—If, after the date on

19 which a cost estimate under paragraph (1) is

20 made, additional disaster-related damage is dis21 covered and the total actual cost of the eligible

22 repair, restoration, reconstruction, or replace23 ment of the facility exceeds 120 percent of the

24 cost estimated under paragraph (1), the Presi25 dent may determine that the eligible cost shall
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1 be the actual cost of the repair, restoration, re2 construction, or replacement described in para3 graph (1)(A).

4 ‘‘(3) EXPERT PANEL.—Not later than 18

5 months after the date of enactment of this para6 graph, the President, acting through the Director of

7 the Federal Emergency Management Agency, shall

8 establish an expert panel, which shall include rep9 resentatives from the construction industry and

10 State and local government, to develop procedures

11 for estimating the cost of repairing, restoring, recon12 structing, or replacing a facility consistent with in13 dustry practices.

14 ‘‘(4) SPECIAL RULE.—In any case in which the

15 facility being repaired, restored, reconstructed, or re16 placed under this section was under construction on

17 the date of the major disaster, the cost of repairing,

18 restoring, reconstructing, or replacing the facility

19 shall include, for the purposes of this section, only

20 those costs that, under the contract for the construc21 tion, are the owner’s responsibility and not the con22 tractor’s responsibility.’’.

23 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made

24 by paragraph (1) shall take effect on the date of en25 actment of this Act, except that paragraph (1) of
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1 section 406(e) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster

2 Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (as amended

3 by paragraph (1)) shall take effect on the date on

4 which the procedures developed under paragraph (3)

5 of that section take effect.

6 (e) DEFINITION OF CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE.—

7 Section 102 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and

8 Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122) is amended

9 by adding at the end the following:

10 ‘‘(10) CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE.—The term

11 ‘critical infrastructure’ has the meaning given the

12 term by the President, but includes, at a minimum,

13 the provision of power, water, sewer, wastewater

14 treatment, communications, and emergency medical

15 care.’’.

16 SEC. 204. FEDERAL ASSISTANCE TO HOUSEHOLDS.

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 408 of the Robert T.

18 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act

19 (42 U.S.C. 5174) is amended to read as follows:

20 ‘‘SEC. 408. FEDERAL ASSISTANCE TO HOUSEHOLDS.

21 ‘‘(a) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—In accordance with this

22 section, the President, in consultation and coordination

23 with the Governor of an affected State, may provide finan24 cial assistance, and, if necessary, direct services, to house25 holds that—
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1 ‘‘(1) as a direct result of a major disaster have

2 necessary expenses and serious needs; and

3 ‘‘(2) are unable to meet the necessary expenses

4 and serious needs through other means, including

5 insurance proceeds or loan or other financial assist6 ance from the Small Business Administration or an7 other Federal agency, except that households apply8 ing for assistance under subsection (c)(2) shall not

9 be required to demonstrate an inability to meet nec10 essary expenses and serious needs through loan or

11 other financial assistance from the Small Business

12 Administration or another Federal agency.

13 ‘‘(b) HOUSING ASSISTANCE.—

14 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBILITY.—The President may provide

15 financial or other assistance under this section to

16 households to respond to the disaster-related hous17 ing needs of households—

18 ‘‘(A) that are displaced from their

19 predisaster primary residences; or

20 ‘‘(B) the predisaster primary residences of

21 which are rendered uninhabitable as a result of

22 damage caused by a major disaster.

23 ‘‘(2) DETERMINATION OF APPROPRIATE TYPES

24 OF ASSISTANCE.—
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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The President shall

2 determine appropriate types of housing assist3 ance to be provided to disaster victims under

4 this section based on considerations of cost ef5 fectiveness, convenience to disaster victims, and

6 such other factors as the President considers to

7 be appropriate.

8 ‘‘(B) MULTIPLE TYPES.—One or more

9 types of housing assistance may be provided,

10 based on the suitability and availability of the

11 types of assistance, to meet the needs of dis12 aster victims in a particular disaster situation.

13 ‘‘(c) TYPES OF HOUSING ASSISTANCE.—

14 ‘‘(1) MAXIMUM DURATION.—Federal financial

15 or direct assistance under this subsection shall be

16 provided for a period of not longer than 18 months

17 after the date of the declaration by the President of

18 the major disaster with respect to which the assist19 ance is provided, unless the President determines

20 that it is in the public interest to extend the 18-

21 month period.

22 ‘‘(2) TEMPORARY HOUSING.—

23 ‘‘(A) FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.—

24 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The President

25 may provide financial assistance under this
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1 section to households to rent alternate

2 housing accommodations, existing rental

3 units, manufactured housing, recreational

4 vehicles, or other readily fabricated dwell5 ings.

6 ‘‘(ii) AMOUNT.—The amount of as7 sistance under clause (i) shall be based on

8 the sum of—

9 ‘‘(I) the fair market rent for the

10 accommodation being provided; and

11 ‘‘(II) the cost of any transpor12 tation, utility hookups, or unit instal13 lation not being directly provided by

14 the President.

15 ‘‘(B) DIRECT ASSISTANCE.—

16 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Under this sec17 tion, the President may directly provide

18 housing units, acquired by purchase or

19 lease, to households that, because of a lack

20 of available housing resources, would be

21 unable to make use of the assistance pro22 vided under subparagraph (A).

23 ‘‘(ii) COLLECTION OF RENT.—After

24 the end of the 18-month period described

25 in paragraph (1), the President may
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1 charge fair market rent for a housing unit

2 provided under clause (i).

3 ‘‘(3) REPAIRS.—

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The President may

5 provide financial assistance for the repair, to a

6 habitable or functioning condition, of owner-oc7 cupied primary residences, utilities, and resi8 dential infrastructure (such as private access

9 routes) damaged by a major disaster.

10 ‘‘(B) EMERGENCY REPAIRS.—To be eligi11 ble to receive assistance under subparagraph

12 (A), a recipient shall not be required to dem13 onstrate that the recipient is unable to meet the

14 need for the assistance through other means,

15 except insurance proceeds, if the assistance—

16 ‘‘(i) is used for emergency repairs to

17 make a private primary residence habit18 able; and

19 ‘‘(ii) does not exceed $5,000, as ad20 justed annually to reflect changes in the

21 Consumer Price Index for All Urban Con22 sumers published by the Department of

23 Labor.

24 ‘‘(4) PERMANENT HOUSING CONSTRUCTION.—

25 The President may provide financial assistance or
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1 direct assistance under this section to households to

2 construct permanent housing in insular areas out3 side the continental United States and in other re4 mote locations in cases in which—

5 ‘‘(A) no alternative housing resources are

6 available;

7 ‘‘(B) the types of temporary housing as8 sistance described in paragraph (2) are unavail9 able, infeasible, or not cost effective; and

10 ‘‘(C) the household has applied for and has

11 been determined to be ineligible for a disaster

12 loan under section 7(b) of the Small Business

13 Act (15 U.S.C. 636(b)).

14 ‘‘(d) TERMS AND CONDITIONS RELATING TO HOUS15 ING ASSISTANCE.—

16 ‘‘(1) SITES.—

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any readily fabricated

18 dwelling provided under this section shall,

19 whenever practicable, be located on a site

20 that—

21 ‘‘(i) is provided by the State or local

22 government; and

23 ‘‘(ii) is complete with utilities provided

24 by the State or local government, by the
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1 owner of the site, or by the occupant that

2 was displaced by the major disaster.

3 ‘‘(B) SITES PROVIDED BY THE PRESI4 DENT.—Readily fabricated dwellings may be lo5 cated on sites provided by the President if the

6 President determines that the sites would be

7 more economical or accessible.

8 ‘‘(2) DISPOSAL OF UNITS.—

9 ‘‘(A) SALE TO OCCUPANTS.—

10 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding

11 any other provision of law, a temporary

12 housing unit purchased under this section

13 by the President for the purpose of hous14 ing disaster victims may be sold directly to

15 the household that is occupying the unit if

16 the household needs permanent housing.

17 ‘‘(ii) SALES PRICE.—Sales of tem18 porary housing units under clause (i) shall

19 be accomplished at prices that are fair and

20 equitable.

21 ‘‘(iii) DEPOSIT OF PROCEEDS.—Not22 withstanding any other provision of law,

23 the proceeds of a sale under clause (i) shall

24 be deposited into the appropriate Disaster

25 Relief Fund account.
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1 ‘‘(iv) USE OF GENERAL SERVICES AD2 MINISTRATION SERVICES.—The President

3 may use the services of the General Serv4 ices Administration to accomplish a sale

5 under clause (i).

6 ‘‘(B) OTHER METHODS OF DISPOSAL.—

7 ‘‘(i) SALE.—If not disposed of under

8 subparagraph (A), a temporary housing

9 unit purchased by the President for the

10 purpose of housing disaster victims may be

11 resold.

12 ‘‘(ii) DISPOSAL TO GOVERNMENT EN13 TITIES AND VOLUNTARY ORGANIZA14 TIONS.—A temporary housing unit de15 scribed in clause (i) may be sold, trans16 ferred, donated, or otherwise made avail17 able directly to a State or other govern18 ment entity or to a voluntary organization,

19 giving priority to State and local govern20 ments, for the sole purpose of providing

21 temporary housing to victims of major dis22 asters and emergencies if, as a condition of

23 the sale, transfer, donation, or other mak24 ing available, the State, other government

25 entity, or voluntary organization agrees—
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1 ‘‘(I) to comply with the non2 discrimination provisions of section

3 308; and

4 ‘‘(II) to obtain and maintain haz5 ard and flood insurance on the hous6 ing unit.

7 ‘‘(e) TEMPORARY MORTGAGE OR RENTAL PAYMENT

8 ASSISTANCE.—

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The President may provide

10 assistance on a temporary basis in the form of mort11 gage or rental payments on behalf of individuals or

12 families who, as a result of financial hardship caused

13 by a major disaster, are at risk of dispossession or

14 eviction from a residence by reason of a foreclosure

15 of a mortgage or lien, cancellation of a contract or

16 sale, or termination of a lease, entered into before

17 the major disaster.

18 ‘‘(2) DURATION OF FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.—

19 Assistance under paragraph (1) shall be provided for

20 the period of the financial hardship but not to ex21 ceed 18 months.

22 ‘‘(f) FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO ADDRESS OTHER

23 NEEDS.—

24 ‘‘(1) MEDICAL, DENTAL, AND FUNERAL EX25 PENSES.—The President, in consultation and coordi-
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1 nation with the Governor of the affected State, may

2 provide financial assistance under this section to a

3 household adversely affected by a major disaster to

4 meet disaster-related medical, dental, and funeral

5 expenses.

6 ‘‘(2) PERSONAL PROPERTY, TRANSPORTATION,

7 AND OTHER EXPENSES.—The President, in con8 sultation and coordination with the Governor of the

9 affected State, may provide financial assistance

10 under this section to a household described in para11 graph (1) to address personal property, transpor12 tation, and other necessary expenses or serious

13 needs resulting from the major disaster.

14 ‘‘(g) STATE ROLE.—The President shall provide for

15 the substantial and ongoing involvement of the affected

16 State in administering assistance under this section.

17 ‘‘(h) MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF ASSISTANCE.—The max18 imum amount of financial assistance that a household may

19 receive under this section with respect to a single major

20 disaster shall be $25,000, as adjusted annually to reflect

21 changes in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Con22 sumers published by the Department of Labor.

23 ‘‘(i) REGULATIONS.—The President shall promulgate

24 regulations to carry out the program established by this
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1 section, including criteria, standards, and procedures for

2 determining eligibility for assistance.’’.

3 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 502(a)(6)

4 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency

5 Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5192(a)(6)) is amended by

6 striking ‘‘temporary housing’’.

7 (c) REPEAL OF INDIVIDUAL AND FAMILY GRANT

8 PROGRAMS.—

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 411 of the Robert T.

10 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance

11 Act (42 U.S.C. 5178) is repealed.

12 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 204

13 of the Omnibus Insular Areas Act of 1992 (42

14 U.S.C. 5204c) is amended by striking ‘‘408, and

15 411’’ and inserting ‘‘, and 408’’.

16 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

17 this section take effect 18 months after the date of enact18 ment of this Act.

19 SEC. 205. STATE ADMINISTRATION OF HAZARD MITIGATION

20 GRANT PROGRAM.

21 Section 404 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief

22 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170c) is

23 amended by adding at the end the following:

24 ‘‘(c) PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION BY STATES.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State desiring to admin2 ister the hazard mitigation grant program estab3 lished by this section with respect to hazard mitiga4 tion assistance in the State may submit to the Presi5 dent an application for the delegation of the author6 ity.

7 ‘‘(2) CRITERIA.—The President, in consultation

8 and coordination with States and local governments,

9 shall establish criteria for the approval of applica10 tions submitted under paragraph (1). The criteria

11 shall include, at a minimum—

12 ‘‘(A) the demonstrated ability of the State

13 to manage the grant program under this sec14 tion;

15 ‘‘(B) submission of the plan required under

16 section 201(c); and

17 ‘‘(C) a demonstrated commitment to miti18 gation activities.

19 ‘‘(3) APPROVAL.—The President shall approve

20 an application submitted under paragraph (1) that

21 meets the criteria established under paragraph (2).

22 ‘‘(4) WITHDRAWAL OF APPROVAL.—If, after

23 approving an application of a State submitted under

24 paragraph (1), the President determines that the

25 State is not administering the hazard mitigation
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1 grant program established by this section in a man2 ner satisfactory to the President, the President shall

3 withdraw the approval.

4 ‘‘(5) AUDITS.—The President shall provide for

5 periodic audits of the hazard mitigation grant pro6 grams administered by States under this sub7 section.’’.

8 SEC. 206. STUDY REGARDING COST REDUCTION.

9 (a) STUDY.—The Comptroller General of the United

10 States shall conduct a study to estimate the reduction in

11 Federal disaster assistance that has resulted and is likely

12 to result from the enactment of this Act.

13 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 3 years after the date

14 of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall

15 submit to Congress a report on the results of the study.

16 SEC. 207. FIRE MANAGEMENT ASSISTANCE.

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 420 of the Robert T.

18 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act

19 (42 U.S.C. 5187) is amended to read as follows:

20 ‘‘SEC. 420. FIRE MANAGEMENT ASSISTANCE.

21 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The President is authorized to

22 provide assistance, including grants, equipment, supplies,

23 and personnel, to any State or local government for the

24 management and control of any fire on public or private
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1 forest land or grassland with urban interface that threat2 ens such destruction as would constitute a major disaster.

3 ‘‘(b) ESSENTIAL ASSISTANCE.—In providing assist4 ance under this section, the President may use the author5 ity provided under section 403.

6 ‘‘(c) RULES AND REGULATIONS.—The President

7 shall prescribe such rules and regulations as are necessary

8 to carry out this section.’’.

9 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by

10 subsection (a) takes effect 1 year after the date of enact11 ment of this Act.

12 SEC. 208. PUBLIC COMMENT REQUIREMENT.

13 Title III of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief

14 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5141 et seq.)

15 (as amended by section 202(a)) is amended by adding at

16 the end the following:

17 ‘‘SEC. 323. PUBLIC COMMENT REQUIREMENT.

18 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The President shall provide an

19 opportunity for public comment before adopting any new

20 or modified policy governing implementation of the public

21 assistance program administered by the Federal Emer22 gency Management Agency under this Act.

23 ‘‘(b) CONSULTATION.—

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The President, to the max25 imum extent practicable, shall solicit the views and
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1 recommendations of grantees under the program

2 concerning any potential policy to be implemented

3 under the program if the policy is likely—

4 ‘‘(A) to have a significant financial impact

5 on the victims of a major disaster or emergency

6 declared under this Act; or

7 ‘‘(B) to change the terms of a written

8 agreement concerning a declaration of a major

9 disaster or emergency under this Act.

10 ‘‘(2) NO LEGAL RIGHT OF ACTION.—Nothing in

11 paragraph (1) confers a legal right of action on any

12 party.

13 ‘‘(c) RETROACTIVE APPLICATION OF POLICIES.—The

14 President may not adopt any new or modified policy that

15 would reduce retroactively the amount of assistance pro16 vided to a State or local government under this Act.’’.

17 SEC. 209. COMMUNITY DISASTER LOANS.

18 Section 417(a) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Re19 lief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5184(a))

20 is amended—

21 (1) by striking ‘‘(a) The President’’ and insert22 ing the following:

23 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The President’’;

24 (2) by striking ‘‘The amount’’ and inserting the

25 following:
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1 ‘‘(b) AMOUNT.—The amount’’;

2 (3) by striking ‘‘Repayment’’ and inserting the

3 following:

4 ‘‘(c) REPAYMENT.—

5 ‘‘(1) CANCELLATION.—Repayment’’;

6 (4) in subsection (b) (as designated by para7 graph (2))—

8 (A) by striking ‘‘and shall’’ and inserting

9 ‘‘shall’’; and

10 (B) by inserting before the period at the

11 end the following: ‘‘, and shall not exceed

12 $5,000,000’’; and

13 (5) in subsection (c) (as designated by para14 graph (3)), by adding at the end the following:

15 ‘‘(2) CONDITION ON CONTINUING ELIGI16 BILITY.—A local government shall not be eligible for

17 further assistance under this section during any pe18 riod in which the local government is in arrears with

19 respect to a required repayment of a loan under this

20 section.’’.

21 TITLE III—MISCELLANEOUS

22 SEC. 301. TECHNICAL CORRECTION OF SHORT TITLE.

23 The first section of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster

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

25 note) is amended to read as follows:
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1 ‘‘SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

2 ‘‘This Act may be cited as the ‘Robert T. Stafford

3 Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act’.’’.

4 SEC. 302. DEFINITIONS.

5 Section 102 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief

6 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122) is

7 amended in each of paragraphs (3) and (4) by striking

8 ‘‘the Northern’’ and all that follows through ‘‘Pacific Is9 lands’’ and inserting ‘‘and the Commonwealth of the

10 Northern Mariana Islands’’.

11 SEC. 303. PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICER BENEFITS FOR CER12 TAIN FEDERAL AND STATE EMPLOYEES.

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1204 of the Omnibus

14 Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C.

15 3796b) is amended by striking paragraph (7) and insert16 ing the following:

17 ‘‘(7) ‘public safety officer’ means—

18 ‘‘(A) an individual serving a public agency

19 in an official capacity, with or without com20 pensation, as a law enforcement officer, as a

21 firefighter, or as a member of a rescue squad

22 or ambulance crew;

23 ‘‘(B) an employee of the Federal Emer24 gency Management Agency who is performing

25 official duties of the Agency in an area, if those

26 official duties—
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1 ‘‘(i) are related to a major disaster or

2 emergency that has been, or is later, de3 clared to exist with respect to the area

4 under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Re5 lief and Emergency Assistance Act (42

6 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.); and

7 ‘‘(ii) are determined by the Director

8 of the Federal Emergency Management

9 Agency to be hazardous duties; or

10 ‘‘(C) an employee of a State or local emer11 gency management or civil defense agency who

12 is performing official duties in cooperation with

13 the Federal Emergency Management Agency in

14 an area, if those official duties—

15 ‘‘(i) are related to a major disaster or

16 emergency that has been, or is later, de17 clared to exist with respect to the area

18 under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Re19 lief and Emergency Assistance Act (42

20 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.); and

21 ‘‘(ii) are determined by the head of

22 the agency to be hazardous duties.’’.

23 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by

24 subsection (a) applies only to employees described in sub25 paragraphs (B) and (C) of section 1204(7) of the Omni-
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1 bus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (as

2 amended by subsection (a)) who are injured or who die

3 in the line of duty on or after the date of enactment of

4 this Act.

5 SEC. 304. INSPECTOR GENERAL.

6 Title VII of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief

7 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5101 et seq.)

8 is amended by adding at the end the following:

9 ‘‘SEC. 705. INSPECTOR GENERAL.

10 ‘‘(a) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.—

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para12 graph (2), no administrative action to recover any

13 payment made to a State or local government for

14 emergency or disaster assistance under this Act shall

15 be initiated in any forum after the date that is 3

16 years after the date of transmission of the final ex17 penditure report for the emergency or disaster.

18 ‘‘(2) FRAUD EXCEPTION.—The limitation under

19 paragraph (1) shall apply unless there is evidence of

20 civil or criminal fraud.

21 ‘‘(b) REBUTTAL OF PRESUMPTION OF RECORD

22 MAINTENANCE.—

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In any dispute arising

24 under this section, there shall be a presumption that

25 accounting records were maintained that adequately
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1 identify the source and application of funds provided

2 for financially assisted activities.

3 ‘‘(2) AFFIRMATIVE EVIDENCE.—The presump4 tion described in paragraph (1) may be rebutted

5 only on production of affirmative evidence that the

6 State or local government did not maintain docu7 mentation described in that paragraph.

8 ‘‘(3) INABILITY TO PRODUCE DOCUMENTA9 TION.—The inability of the Federal, State, or local

10 government to produce source documentation sup11 porting expenditure reports later than 3 years after

12 the date of the transmission of the final expenditure

13 report shall not constitute evidence to rebut the pre14 sumption described in paragraph (1).

15 ‘‘(4) RIGHT OF ACCESS.—The period during

16 which the Federal, State, or local government has

17 the right to access source documentation shall not be

18 limited to the required 3-year retention period re19 ferred to in paragraph (3), but shall last as long as

20 the records are maintained.

21 ‘‘(c) AUDIT STANDARDS.—A State or local govern22 ment shall not be liable for reimbursement or any other

23 penalty for any payment made under this Act if—

24 ‘‘(1) the payment was authorized by an ap25 proved agreement specifying the costs;
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1 ‘‘(2) the costs were reasonable; and

2 ‘‘(3) the purpose of the grant was accom3 plished.’’.

4 SEC. 305. NATIONAL URBAN SEARCH AND RESCUE RE5 SPONSE SYSTEM.

6 Texas Task Force 1, located in College Station,

7 Texas, is designated as a federally recognized member of

8 the National Urban Search and Rescue Response System.

9 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

10 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Dis11 aster Mitigation Act of 1999’’.

12 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of this

13 Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

TITLE I—PREDISASTER HAZARD MITIGATION

Sec. 101. Findings and purpose.

Sec. 102. Predisaster hazard mitigation.

Sec. 103. Natural disaster mitigation zones.

Sec. 104. Interagency task force.

TITLE II—DISASTER PREPAREDNESS AND MITIGATION ASSISTANCE

Sec. 201. Insurance.

Sec. 202. Management costs.

Sec. 203. Assistance to repair, restore, reconstruct, or replace damaged facilities.

Sec. 204. Mitigation planning; hazard resistant construction standards.

Sec. 205. State administration of hazard mitigation grant program.

Sec. 206. Study regarding cost reduction.

Sec. 207. Fire management assistance.

Sec. 208. Public notice, comment, and consultation requirements.

Sec. 209. Community disaster loans.

TITLE III—MISCELLANEOUS

Sec. 301. Technical correction of short title.

Sec. 302. Definitions.

Sec. 303. Public safety officer benefits for certain Federal and State employees.

Sec. 304. Disaster grant closeout procedures.

Sec. 305. Conforming amendment.
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1 TITLE I—PREDISASTER HAZARD

2 MITIGATION

3 SEC. 101. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

4 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—

5 (1) natural disasters, including earthquakes,

6 tsunamis, tornadoes, hurricanes, flooding, and

7 wildfires, pose great danger to human life and to

8 property throughout the United States;

9 (2) greater emphasis needs to be placed on—

10 (A) identifying and assessing the risks to

11 States and local communities from natural dis12 asters;

13 (B) implementing adequate measures to re14 duce losses from natural disasters; and

15 (C) ensuring that the critical infrastructure

16 and facilities of communities will continue to

17 function after a natural disaster;

18 (3) expenditures for postdisaster assistance are

19 increasing without commensurate reductions in the

20 likelihood of future losses from natural disasters;

21 (4) in the expenditure of Federal funds under the

22 Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency As23 sistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.), high priority

24 should be given to mitigation of hazards to existing

25 and new construction at the local level; and
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1 (5) with a unified effort of economic incentives,

2 awareness and education, technical assistance, and

3 demonstrated Federal support, States and local com4 munities will be able to—

5 (A) form effective community-based partner6 ships for hazard mitigation purposes;

7 (B) implement effective hazard mitigation

8 measures that reduce the potential damage from

9 natural disasters;

10 (C) ensure continued functionality of the

11 critical infrastructure of communities;

12 (D) leverage additional non-Federal re13 sources in meeting natural disaster resistance

14 goals; and

15 (E) make commitments to long-term hazard

16 mitigation efforts to be applied to new and exist17 ing construction.

18 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to establish

19 a national disaster hazard mitigation program—

20 (1) to reduce the loss of life and property, human

21 suffering, economic disruption, and disaster assist22 ance costs resulting from natural disasters; and

23 (2) to provide a source of predisaster hazard

24 mitigation funding that will assist States and local

25 governments in implementing effective hazard mitiga-
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1 tion measures that are designed to ensure the contin2 ued functionality of critical infrastructure and facili3 ties after a natural disaster.

4 SEC. 102. PREDISASTER HAZARD MITIGATION.

5 Title II of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and

6 Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5131 et seq.) is

7 amended by adding at the end the following:

8 ‘‘SEC. 203. PREDISASTER HAZARD MITIGATION.

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Federal Emer10 gency Management Agency (referred to in this section as

11 the ‘Director’) may establish a program to provide technical

12 and financial assistance to States and local governments

13 to assist in the implementation of predisaster hazard miti14 gation measures designed to reduce injuries, loss of life, and

15 damage and destruction of property, including damage to

16 critical infrastructure and facilities under the jurisdiction

17 of the States or local governments.

18 ‘‘(b) APPROVAL BY DIRECTOR.—If the Director deter19 mines that a State or local government has identified all

20 natural disaster hazards in areas under its jurisdiction and

21 has demonstrated the ability to form effective public-private

22 natural disaster hazard mitigation partnerships, the Direc23 tor, using amounts in the National Predisaster Mitigation

24 Fund established under subsection (e) (referred to in this

25 section as the ‘Fund’), may provide technical and financial
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1 assistance to the State or local government to be used in

2 accordance with subsection (c).

3 ‘‘(c) USES OF TECHNICAL AND FINANCIAL ASSIST4 ANCE.—Technical and financial assistance provided under

5 subsection (b)—

6 ‘‘(1) shall be used by States and local govern7 ments principally to implement predisaster hazard

8 mitigation measures described in proposals approved

9 by the Director under this section; and

10 ‘‘(2) may be used—

11 ‘‘(A) to support effective public-private nat12 ural disaster hazard mitigation partnerships;

13 ‘‘(B) to ensure that new development and

14 construction is resistant to natural disasters;

15 ‘‘(C) to improve the assessment of a commu16 nity’s vulnerability to natural hazards; or

17 ‘‘(D) to establish hazard mitigation prior18 ities, and an appropriate hazard mitigation

19 plan, for a community.

20 ‘‘(d) CRITERIA FOR ASSISTANCE AWARDS.—In deter21 mining whether to provide technical and financial assist22 ance to a State or local government under subsection (a),

23 the Director shall take into account—

24 ‘‘(1) the extent and nature of the hazards to be

25 mitigated;
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1 ‘‘(2) the degree of commitment of the State or

2 local government to reduce damages from future nat3 ural disasters; and

4 ‘‘(3) the degree of commitment by the State or

5 local government to support ongoing non-Federal sup6 port for the hazard mitigation measures to be carried

7 out using the technical and financial assistance.

8 ‘‘(e) NATIONAL PREDISASTER MITIGATION FUND.—

9 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Director may estab10 lish in the Treasury of the United States a fund to

11 be known as the ‘National Predisaster Mitigation

12 Fund’, to be used in carrying out this section.

13 ‘‘(2) TRANSFERS TO FUND.—There shall be de14 posited in the Fund—

15 ‘‘(A) amounts appropriated to carry out

16 this section, which shall remain available until

17 expended; and

18 ‘‘(B) sums available from gifts, bequests, or

19 donations of services or property received by the

20 Director for the purpose of predisaster hazard

21 mitigation.

22 ‘‘(3) EXPENDITURES FROM FUND.—Upon request

23 by the Director, the Secretary of the Treasury shall

24 transfer from the Fund to the Director such amounts
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1 as the Director determines are necessary to provide

2 technical and financial assistance under this section.

3 ‘‘(4) INVESTMENT OF AMOUNTS.—

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the

5 Treasury shall invest such portion of the Fund

6 as is not, in the judgment of the Secretary of the

7 Treasury, required to meet current withdrawals.

8 Investments may be made only in interest-bear9 ing obligations of the United States.

10 ‘‘(B) ACQUISITION OF OBLIGATIONS.—For

11 the purpose of investments under subparagraph

12 (A), obligations may be acquired—

13 ‘‘(i) on original issue at the issue

14 price; or

15 ‘‘(ii) by purchase of outstanding obli16 gations at the market price.

17 ‘‘(C) SALE OF OBLIGATIONS.—Any obliga18 tion acquired by the Fund may be sold by the

19 Secretary of the Treasury at the market price.

20 ‘‘(D) CREDITS TO FUND.—The interest on,

21 and the proceeds from the sale or redemption of,

22 any obligations held in the Fund shall be cred23 ited to and form a part of the Fund.

24 ‘‘(E) TRANSFERS OF AMOUNTS.—
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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The amounts re2 quired to be transferred to the Fund under

3 this subsection shall be transferred at least

4 monthly from the general fund of the Treas5 ury to the Fund on the basis of estimates

6 made by the Secretary of the Treasury.

7 ‘‘(ii) ADJUSTMENTS.—Proper adjust8 ment shall be made in amounts subse9 quently transferred to the extent prior esti10 mates were in excess of or less than the

11 amounts required to be transferred.

12 ‘‘(f) MAXIMUM TOTAL FEDERAL SHARE.—Subject to

13 subsection (g), the amount of financial assistance provided

14 from the Fund shall not exceed an amount equal to 75 per15 cent of the total costs of all hazard mitigation proposals

16 approved by the Director under this section.

17 ‘‘(g) LIMITATION ON TOTAL AMOUNT OF FINANCIAL

18 ASSISTANCE.—The Director shall not provide financial as19 sistance under this section in an amount greater than the

20 amount available in the Fund.

21 ‘‘(h) TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY.—The authority

22 provided by this section terminates December 31, 2003.’’.

23 SEC. 103. NATURAL DISASTER MITIGATION ZONES.

24 Title II of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and

25 Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5131 et seq.) (as
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1 amended by section 102) is amended by adding at the end

2 the following:

3 ‘‘SEC. 204. NATURAL DISASTER MITIGATION ZONES.

4 ‘‘(a) DESIGNATION.—

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In consultation with States,

6 local governments, and appropriate Federal agencies,

7 the President shall designate as a natural disaster

8 mitigation zone each area in which commonly recur9 ring natural hazards (including flooding, hurricanes

10 and severe winds, seismic events, and other hazards)

11 create a substantial likelihood of disasters that may

12 require assistance under this Act.

13 ‘‘(2) FLOOD AND WIND ZONES.—At a minimum,

14 the President shall designate as a natural disaster

15 mitigation zone each coastal flood zone identified on

16 a map prepared under the national flood insurance

17 program established under chapter 1 of the National

18 Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4011 et seq.)

19 that is also within a wind zone that is identified by

20 the American Society of Civil Engineers under ASCE

21 7–98 (or a successor document) and that has com22 monly recurring winds in excess of 90 miles per hour.

23 ‘‘(3) INTEGRATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF ALL24 HAZARD MAPS.—
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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—To carry out para2 graphs (1) and (2), the President shall direct all

3 appropriate Federal agencies that gather infor4 mation relating to natural resources and natural

5 and technological hazards to integrate, or develop

6 and maintain, comprehensive all-hazard maps

7 using geographic information systems technology.

8 ‘‘(B) COORDINATOR.—The President shall

9 designate the Director of the Federal Emergency

10 Management Agency to serve as coordinator of

11 the activities carried out under subparagraph

12 (A).

13 ‘‘(C) AVAILABILITY TO THE PUBLIC.—The

14 maps and other resources developed under sub15 paragraph (A) shall be made available to the

16 public.

17 ‘‘(b) DISASTER MITIGATION POLICIES AND PRAC18 TICES.—

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In order to reduce the likeli20 hood or severity of damage from the hazards antici21 pated to occur in natural disaster mitigation zones

22 designated under subsection (a), the President shall

23 assign to the Director of the Federal Emergency Man24 agement Agency the primary responsibility for identi-
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1 fying disaster mitigation policies and practices for

2 implementation in natural disaster mitigation zones.

3 ‘‘(2) POLICIES AND PRACTICES.—The policies

4 and practices referred to in paragraph (1) shall

5 include—

6 ‘‘(A) nationally mandated policies and

7 practices comparable to—

8 ‘‘(i) Executive Order No. 11988 (42

9 U.S.C. 4321 note; relating to floodplain

10 management);

11 ‘‘(ii) Executive Order No. 12699 (55

12 Fed. Reg. 835; relating to seismic safety of

13 Federal and federally assisted or regulated

14 new building construction); and

15 ‘‘(iii) Executive Order No. 12941 (59

16 Fed. Reg. 232; relating to seismic safety of

17 existing federally owned or leased build18 ings); and

19 ‘‘(B) recommended voluntary minimum

20 model building codes, consensus standards, test

21 methods, and specifications, such as those estab22 lished by—

23 ‘‘(i) the International Code Council

24 and its member organizations;
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1 ‘‘(ii) the National Fire Protection As2 sociation;

3 ‘‘(iii) the American National Stand4 ards Institute;

5 ‘‘(iv) the American Society of Testing

6 Materials; and

7 ‘‘(v) the American Society of Civil En8 gineers.

9 ‘‘(c) CONDITIONS ON FEDERAL FUNDING OF NEW FED10 ERAL BUILDINGS.—Each Federal agency responsible for the

11 design and construction of any new Federal building in a

12 natural disaster mitigation zone shall ensure that the build13 ing is designed and constructed in accordance with the poli14 cies and practices, voluntary minimum model building

15 codes, consensus standards, test methods, and specifications

16 identified under subsection (b).

17 ‘‘(d) INCENTIVES.—

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The President may provide

19 incentives—

20 ‘‘(A) to encourage owners of buildings lo21 cated in a natural disaster mitigation zone that

22 are not subject to subsection (c) to implement the

23 mitigation policies identified under subsection

24 (b); and
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1 ‘‘(B) to encourage the owners of buildings

2 located in a natural disaster mitigation zone to

3 build or modify the buildings in a manner that

4 is likely to produce more hazard mitigation ben5 efits than the minimum requirements of the

6 mitigation policies identified under subsection

7 (b).

8 ‘‘(2) TYPES OF INCENTIVES.—Incentives pro9 vided under paragraph (1) may include—

10 ‘‘(A) lower premiums for Federal flood in11 surance under chapter 1 of the National Flood

12 Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4011 et seq.);

13 ‘‘(B) more favorable financing through Fed14 eral loans, loan guarantees, and insured loans;

15 and

16 ‘‘(C) other incentives within the authority

17 of the President or any Federal agency to pro18 vide.

19 ‘‘(e) IMPLEMENTATION.—Not later than 18 months

20 after the date of enactment of this section, each Federal

21 agency that provides financing, insurance, or other assist22 ance for the construction, modification, or acquisition of

23 buildings in natural disaster mitigation zones shall issue

24 regulations to carry out this section.’’.
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1 SEC. 104. INTERAGENCY TASK FORCE.

2 Title II of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and

3 Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5131 et seq.) (as

4 amended by section 103) is amended by adding at the end

5 the following:

6 ‘‘SEC. 205. INTERAGENCY TASK FORCE.

7 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The President shall establish a

8 Federal interagency task force for the purpose of coordi9 nating the implementation of predisaster hazard mitigation

10 programs administered by the Federal Government.

11 ‘‘(b) CHAIRPERSON.—The Director of the Federal

12 Emergency Management Agency shall serve as the chair13 person of the task force.

14 ‘‘(c) MEMBERSHIP.—The membership of the task force

15 shall include representatives of State and local government

16 organizations and the American Red Cross.’’.

17 TITLE II—DISASTER PREPARED18 NESS AND MITIGATION AS19 SISTANCE

20 SEC. 201. INSURANCE.

21 Section 311(a)(2) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster

22 Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C.

23 5154(a)(2)) is amended—

24 (1) by striking ‘‘In’’ and inserting the following:

25 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In’’; and

26 (2) by adding at the end the following:
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1 ‘‘(B) REQUIRED INSURANCE OR SELF-IN2 SURANCE.—Not later than 1 year after the date

3 of enactment of this subparagraph, the President

4 shall promulgate regulations under which States,

5 communities, and other applicants subject to

6 paragraph (1) shall be required to protect prop7 erty through adequate levels of insurance or self8 insurance if—

9 ‘‘(i) the appropriate State insurance

10 commissioner makes the certification de11 scribed in subparagraph (A); and

12 ‘‘(ii) the President determines that the

13 property is not adequately protected against

14 natural or other disasters.

15 ‘‘(C) REGULATIONS.—In promulgating any

16 new regulation requiring public structures to be

17 insured to be eligible for assistance, the President

18 shall—

19 ‘‘(i) include in the regulation—

20 ‘‘(I) definitions relating to insur21 ance that are expressed in known and

22 generally accepted terms;

23 ‘‘(II) a definition of ‘adequate in24 surance’;
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1 ‘‘(III) the specific criteria for a

2 waiver of any insurance eligibility re3 quirement under the regulation;

4 ‘‘(IV) a definition of ‘self-insur5 ance’ that is sufficiently flexible to take

6 into consideration alternative risk fi7 nancing methods;

8 ‘‘(V) available market research

9 used in determining the availability of

10 insurance; and

11 ‘‘(VI) a cost-benefit analysis; and

12 ‘‘(ii) consider—

13 ‘‘(I) alternative risk-financing

14 mechanisms, including risk sharing

15 pools and self-insurance; and

16 ‘‘(II) the use of independent ex17 perts in insurance, disaster prepared18 ness, risk management, and finance to

19 assist in developing the proposed regu20 lation.’’.

21 SEC. 202. MANAGEMENT COSTS.

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title III of the Robert T. Stafford

23 Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C.

24 5141 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
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1 ‘‘SEC. 322. MANAGEMENT COSTS.

2 ‘‘(a) DEFINITION OF MANAGEMENT COST.—In this sec3 tion, the term ‘management cost’ includes any indirect cost,

4 administrative expense, and any other expense not directly

5 chargeable to a specific project under a major disaster,

6 emergency, or disaster preparedness or mitigation activity

7 or measure.

8 ‘‘(b) MANAGEMENT COST RATES.—Notwithstanding

9 any other provision of law (including any administrative

10 rule or guidance), the President shall establish management

11 cost rates for grantees and subgrantees that shall be used

12 to determine contributions under this Act for management

13 costs.

14 ‘‘(c) REVIEW.—The President shall review the manage15 ment cost rates established under subsection (b) not later

16 than 3 years after the date of establishment of the rates and

17 periodically thereafter.

18 ‘‘(d) REGULATIONS.—The President shall promulgate

19 regulations to define appropriate costs to be included in

20 management costs under this section.’’.

21 (b) APPLICABILITY.—Section 322 of the Robert T.

22 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (as

23 added by subsection (a)) shall apply as follows:

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subsections (a), (b), and (d)

25 of section 322 of that Act shall apply to each major

26 disaster declared under that Act on or after the date
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1 of enactment of this Act. Until the date on which the

2 President establishes the management cost rates under

3 subsection (b) of that section, section 406(f) of the

4 Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency As5 sistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5172(f)) shall be used for es6 tablishing the rates.

7 (2) REVIEW.—Section 322(c) of that Act shall

8 apply to each major disaster declared under that Act

9 on or after the date on which the President establishes

10 the management cost rates under section 322(b) of

11 that Act.

12 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 406 of the Robert T.

14 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance

15 Act (42 U.S.C. 5172) is amended by striking sub16 section (f).

17 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by

18 paragraph (1) takes effect on the date of publication

19 in the Federal Register of the management cost rates

20 established under section 322(b) of the Robert T. Staf21 ford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act

22 (as added by subsection (a)).
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1 SEC. 203. ASSISTANCE TO REPAIR, RESTORE, RECON2 STRUCT, OR REPLACE DAMAGED FACILITIES.

3 (a) CONTRIBUTIONS.—Section 406 of the Robert T.

4 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42

5 U.S.C. 5172) is amended by striking subsection (a) and in6 serting the following:

7 ‘‘(a) CONTRIBUTIONS.—

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—

9 ‘‘(A) AUTHORITY.—The President may

10 make contributions—

11 ‘‘(i) to a State or local government for

12 the repair, restoration, reconstruction, or re13 placement of a public facility that is dam14 aged or destroyed by a major disaster and

15 for associated expenses incurred by the gov16 ernment; and

17 ‘‘(ii) subject to paragraph (2), to a

18 person that owns or operates a private non19 profit facility damaged or destroyed by a

20 major disaster for the repair, restoration,

21 reconstruction, or replacement of the facility

22 and for associated expenses incurred by the

23 person.

24 ‘‘(B) ASSOCIATED EXPENSES.—For the pur25 poses of this section, associated expenses shall

26 include—
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1 ‘‘(i) the costs of mobilizing and em2 ploying the National Guard for performance

3 of eligible work;

4 ‘‘(ii) the costs of using prison labor to

5 perform eligible work, including wages actu6 ally paid, transportation to a worksite, and

7 extraordinary costs of guards, food, and

8 lodging;

9 ‘‘(iii) base and overtime wages for em10 ployees and extra hires performing eligible

11 work plus fringe benefits on such wages to

12 the extent that such benefits were being paid

13 before the major disaster; and

14 ‘‘(iv) other expenses determined appro15 priated by the President.

16 ‘‘(2) CONDITIONS FOR ASSISTANCE FOR PRIVATE

17 NONPROFIT FACILITIES.—The President may make

18 contributions for a private nonprofit facility under

19 paragraph (1)(B) only if—

20 ‘‘(A) the facility provides critical infra21 structure in the event of a major disaster;

22 ‘‘(B) the person that owns or operates the

23 facility—
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1 ‘‘(i) has applied for a disaster loan

2 under section 7(b) of the Small Business

3 Act (15 U.S.C. 636(b)); and

4 ‘‘(ii) has been determined to be ineli5 gible for such a loan; or

6 ‘‘(C) the person that owns or operates the

7 facility has obtained such a loan in the max8 imum amount for which the Small Business Ad9 ministration determines the facility is eligible.

10 ‘‘(3) NOTIFICATION TO CONGRESS.—Before mak11 ing any contribution under this section in an amount

12 greater than $20,000,000, the President shall notify—

13 ‘‘(A) the Committee on Environment and

14 Public Works of the Senate;

15 ‘‘(B) the Committee on Appropriations of

16 the Senate;

17 ‘‘(C) the Committee on Transportation and

18 Infrastructure of the House of Representatives;

19 and

20 ‘‘(D) the Committee on Appropriations of

21 the House of Representatives.’’.

22 (b) FEDERAL SHARE.—Section 406 of the Robert T.

23 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42

24 U.S.C. 5172) is amended by striking subsection (b) and in25 serting the following:
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1 ‘‘(b) FEDERAL SHARE.—

2 ‘‘(1) MINIMUM FEDERAL SHARE.—Except as pro3 vided in paragraph (2), the Federal share of assist4 ance under this section shall be not less than 75 per5 cent of the eligible cost of repair, restoration, recon6 struction, or replacement carried out under this sec7 tion.

8 ‘‘(2) REDUCED FEDERAL SHARE.—The President

9 shall promulgate regulations to reduce the Federal

10 share of assistance under this section in the case of

11 the repair, restoration, reconstruction, or replacement

12 of any eligible public or private nonprofit facility—

13 ‘‘(A) that has previously been damaged, on

14 more than 1 occasion, by the same type of event;

15 and

16 ‘‘(B) the owner of which has failed to imple17 ment appropriate mitigation measures to ad18 dress the hazard that caused the damage to the

19 facility.’’.

20 (c) LARGE IN-LIEU CONTRIBUTIONS.—Section 406 of

21 the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency As22 sistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5172) is amended by striking sub23 section (c) and inserting the following:

24 ‘‘(c) LARGE IN-LIEU CONTRIBUTIONS.—

25 ‘‘(1) FOR PUBLIC FACILITIES.—
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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In any case in which a

2 State or local government determines that the

3 public welfare would not be best served by re4 pairing, restoring, reconstructing, or replacing

5 any public facility owned or controlled by the

6 State or local government, the State or local gov7 ernment may elect to receive, in lieu of a con8 tribution under subsection (a)(1)(A), a contribu9 tion in an amount equal to 75 percent of the

10 Federal share of the cost of repairing, restoring,

11 reconstructing, or replacing the facility and of

12 management costs, as estimated by the President.

13 ‘‘(B) USE OF FUNDS.—

14 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause

15 (ii), funds made available to a State or

16 local government under this paragraph may

17 be used to repair, restore, or expand other

18 eligible public facilities, to construct new fa19 cilities, or to fund hazard mitigation meas20 ures, that the State or local government de21 termines to be necessary to meet a need for

22 governmental services and functions in the

23 area affected by the major disaster.

24 ‘‘(ii) LIMITATIONS.—Funds made

25 available to a State or local government
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1 under this paragraph may not be used

2 for—

3 ‘‘(I) any public facility located in

4 a regulatory floodway (as defined in

5 section 59.1 of title 44, Code of Federal

6 Regulations (or a successor regula7 tion)); or

8 ‘‘(II) any uninsured public facil9 ity located in a special flood hazard

10 area identified by the Director of the

11 Federal Emergency Management Agen12 cy under the National Flood Insurance

13 Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4001 et seq.).

14 ‘‘(2) FOR PRIVATE NONPROFIT FACILITIES.—

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In any case in which a

16 person that owns or operates a private nonprofit

17 facility determines that the public welfare would

18 not be best served by repairing, restoring, recon19 structing, or replacing the facility, the person

20 may elect to receive, in lieu of a contribution

21 under subsection (a)(1)(B), a contribution in an

22 amount equal to 75 percent of the Federal share

23 of the cost of repairing, restoring, reconstructing,

24 or replacing the facility and of management

25 costs, as estimated by the President.
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1 ‘‘(B) USE OF FUNDS.—

2 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause

3 (ii), funds made available to a person under

4 this paragraph may be used to repair, re5 store, or expand other eligible private non6 profit facilities owned or operated by the

7 person, to construct new private nonprofit

8 facilities owned or operated by the person,

9 or to fund hazard mitigation measures, that

10 the person determines to be necessary to

11 meet a need for services and functions in

12 the area affected by the major disaster.

13 ‘‘(ii) LIMITATIONS.—Funds made

14 available to a person under this paragraph

15 may not be used for—

16 ‘‘(I) any private nonprofit facility

17 located in a regulatory floodway (as

18 defined in section 59.1 of title 44, Code

19 of Federal Regulations (or a successor

20 regulation)); or

21 ‘‘(II) any uninsured private non22 profit facility located in a special flood

23 hazard area identified by the Director

24 of the Federal Emergency Management

25 Agency under the National Flood In-
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1 surance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4001 et

2 seq.).’’.

3 (d) ELIGIBLE COST.—

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 406 of the Robert T.

5 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance

6 Act (42 U.S.C. 5172) is amended by striking sub7 section (e) and inserting the following:

8 ‘‘(e) ELIGIBLE COST.—

9 ‘‘(1) DETERMINATION.—

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For the purposes of this

11 section, the President shall estimate the eligible

12 cost of repairing, restoring, reconstructing, or re13 placing a public facility or private nonprofit

14 facility—

15 ‘‘(i) on the basis of the design of the fa16 cility as the facility existed immediately be17 fore the major disaster; and

18 ‘‘(ii) in conformity with current appli19 cable codes, specifications, and standards

20 (including floodplain management and haz21 ard mitigation criteria required by the

22 President or under the Coastal Barrier Re23 sources Act (16 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.)).

24 ‘‘(B) COST ESTIMATION PROCEDURES.—
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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to para2 graph (2), the President shall use the cost

3 estimation procedures developed under

4 paragraph (3) to determine the eligible cost

5 under this subsection.

6 ‘‘(ii) APPLICABILITY.—The procedures

7 specified in this paragraph and paragraph

8 (2) shall apply only to projects the eligible

9 cost of which is equal to or greater than the

10 amount specified in section 422.

11 ‘‘(2) MODIFICATION OF ELIGIBLE COST.—

12 ‘‘(A) ACTUAL COST GREATER THAN CEILING

13 PERCENTAGE OF ESTIMATED COST.—In any case

14 in which the actual cost of repairing, restoring,

15 reconstructing, or replacing a facility under this

16 section is greater than the ceiling percentage es17 tablished under paragraph (3) of the cost esti18 mated under paragraph (1), the President may

19 determine that the eligible cost includes a por20 tion of the actual cost of the repair, restoration,

21 reconstruction, or replacement that exceeds the

22 cost estimated under paragraph (1).

23 ‘‘(B) ACTUAL COST LESS THAN ESTIMATED

24 COST.—
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1 ‘‘(i) GREATER THAN OR EQUAL TO

2 FLOOR PERCENTAGE OF ESTIMATED

3 COST.—In any case in which the actual cost

4 of repairing, restoring, reconstructing, or

5 replacing a facility under this section is less

6 than 100 percent of the cost estimated under

7 paragraph (1), but is greater than or equal

8 to the floor percentage established under

9 paragraph (3) of the cost estimated under

10 paragraph (1), the State or local govern11 ment or person receiving funds under this

12 section shall use the excess funds to carry

13 out cost-effective activities that reduce the

14 risk of future damage, hardship, or suf15 fering from a major disaster.

16 ‘‘(ii) LESS THAN FLOOR PERCENTAGE

17 OF ESTIMATED COST.—In any case in

18 which the actual cost of repairing, restoring,

19 reconstructing, or replacing a facility under

20 this section is less than the floor percentage

21 established under paragraph (3) of the cost

22 estimated under paragraph (1), the State or

23 local government or person receiving assist24 ance under this section shall reimburse the

25 President in the amount of the difference.
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1 ‘‘(C) NO EFFECT ON APPEALS PROCESS.—

2 Nothing in this paragraph affects any right of

3 appeal under section 423.

4 ‘‘(3) EXPERT PANEL.—

5 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 18

6 months after the date of enactment of this para7 graph, the President, acting through the Director

8 of the Federal Emergency Management Agency,

9 shall establish an expert panel, which shall in10 clude representatives from the construction in11 dustry and State and local government.

12 ‘‘(B) DUTIES.—The expert panel shall de13 velop recommendations concerning—

14 ‘‘(i) procedures for estimating the cost

15 of repairing, restoring, reconstructing, or

16 replacing a facility consistent with industry

17 practices; and

18 ‘‘(ii) the ceiling and floor percentages

19 referred to in paragraph (2).

20 ‘‘(C) REGULATIONS.—Taking into account

21 the recommendations of the expert panel under

22 subparagraph (B), the President shall promul23 gate regulations to establish procedures and the

24 ceiling and floor percentages referred to in para25 graph (2).
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1 ‘‘(D) REVIEW BY PRESIDENT.—Not later

2 than 2 years after the date of promulgation of

3 regulations under subparagraph (C) and periodi4 cally thereafter, the President shall review the

5 cost estimation procedures and the ceiling and

6 floor percentages established under this para7 graph.

8 ‘‘(E) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later

9 than 1 year after the date of promulgation of

10 regulations under subparagraph (C), 2 years

11 after that date, and at the end of each 2-year pe12 riod thereafter, the expert panel shall submit to

13 Congress a report on the appropriateness of the

14 cost estimation procedures.

15 ‘‘(4) SPECIAL RULE.—In any case in which the

16 facility being repaired, restored, reconstructed, or re17 placed under this section was under construction on

18 the date of the major disaster, the cost of repairing,

19 restoring, reconstructing, or replacing the facility

20 shall include, for the purposes of this section, only

21 those costs that, under the contract for the construc22 tion, are the owner’s responsibility and not the con23 tractor’s responsibility.’’.

24 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by

25 paragraph (1) shall take effect on the date of enact-
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1 ment of this Act, except that paragraph (1) of section

2 406(e) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and

3 Emergency Assistance Act (as amended by paragraph

4 (1)) shall take effect on the date on which the proce5 dures developed under paragraph (3) of that section

6 take effect.

7 (e) DEFINITION OF CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE.—Sec8 tion 102 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and

9 Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122) is amended by

10 adding at the end the following:

11 ‘‘(10) CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE.—The term

12 ‘critical infrastructure’ has the meaning given the

13 term by the President, but includes, at a minimum,

14 the provision of power, water (including water pro15 vided by a nongovernment entity), sewer, wastewater

16 treatment, communications, and essential medical

17 care.’’.

18 SEC. 204. MITIGATION PLANNING; HAZARD RESISTANT CON19 STRUCTION STANDARDS.

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title III of the Robert T. Stafford

21 Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C.

22 5141 et seq.) (as amended by section 202(a)) is amended

23 by adding at the end the following:
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1 ‘‘SEC. 323. MITIGATION PLANNING.

2 ‘‘(a) REQUIREMENT OF MITIGATION PLAN.—As a con3 dition of receipt of a disaster loan or grant under this Act,

4 a State, local, or tribal government shall develop and sub5 mit for approval to the Director of the Federal Emergency

6 Management Agency a mitigation plan that outlines proc7 esses for identifying the natural hazards, risks, and

8 vulnerabilities of the area under the jurisdiction of the gov9 ernment.

10 ‘‘(b) LOCAL AND TRIBAL PLANS.—Each mitigation

11 plan developed by a local or tribal government shall—

12 ‘‘(1) describe actions to mitigate hazards, risks,

13 and vulnerabilities identified under the plan; and

14 ‘‘(2) establish a strategy to implement those ac15 tions.

16 ‘‘(c) STATE PLANS.—The State process of development

17 of a mitigation plan under this section shall—

18 ‘‘(1) identify the natural hazards, risks, and

19 vulnerabilities of areas in the State;

20 ‘‘(2) support development of local mitigation

21 plans;

22 ‘‘(3) provide for technical assistance to local and

23 tribal governments for mitigation planning; and

24 ‘‘(4) identify and prioritize mitigation actions

25 that the State will support, as resources become avail26 able.
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1 ‘‘(d) FUNDING.—

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Federal contributions under

3 section 404 may be used to fund the development and

4 updating of mitigation plans under this section.

5 ‘‘(2) MAXIMUM FEDERAL CONTRIBUTION.—With

6 respect to any mitigation plan, a State, local, or trib7 al government may use an amount of Federal con8 tributions under section 404 not to exceed 5 percent

9 of the amount of such contributions available to the

10 government as of a date determined by the govern11 ment.

12 ‘‘(e) INCREASED FEDERAL SHARE FOR HAZARD MITI13 GATION MEASURES.—If, at the time of the declaration of

14 a major disaster, a State has in effect an approved mitiga15 tion plan under this section, the President may increase

16 to 20 percent, with respect to the major disaster, the max17 imum percentage specified in the last sentence of section

18 404(a).

19 ‘‘SEC. 324. HAZARD RESISTANT CONSTRUCTION STAND20 ARDS.

21 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—As a condition of receipt of a dis22 aster loan or grant under this Act—

23 ‘‘(1) the recipient shall carry out any repair or

24 construction to be financed with the loan or grant in

25 accordance with applicable standards of safety, de-
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1 cency, and sanitation and in conformity with appli2 cable codes, specifications, and standards; and

3 ‘‘(2) the President may require safe land use and

4 construction practices, after adequate consultation

5 with appropriate State and local government officials.

6 ‘‘(b) EVIDENCE OF COMPLIANCE.—A recipient of a dis7 aster loan or grant under this Act shall provide such evi8 dence of compliance with this section as the President may

9 require by regulation.’’.

10 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

11 (1) Section 404(a) of the Robert T. Stafford Dis12 aster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C.

13 5170c(a)) is amended in the second sentence by strik14 ing ‘‘section 409’’ and inserting ‘‘section 323’’.

15 (2) Section 409 of the Robert T. Stafford Dis16 aster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C.

17 5176) is repealed.

18 SEC. 205. STATE ADMINISTRATION OF HAZARD MITIGATION

19 GRANT PROGRAM.

20 Section 404 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief

21 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170c) is amend22 ed by adding at the end the following:

23 ‘‘(c) PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION BY STATES.—

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State desiring to admin25 ister the hazard mitigation grant program established
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1 by this section with respect to hazard mitigation as2 sistance in the State may submit to the President an

3 application for the delegation of the authority.

4 ‘‘(2) CRITERIA.—The President, in consultation

5 and coordination with States and local governments,

6 shall establish criteria for the approval of applica7 tions submitted under paragraph (1). The criteria

8 shall include, at a minimum—

9 ‘‘(A) the demonstrated ability of the State to

10 manage the grant program under this section;

11 ‘‘(B) having in effect an approved mitiga12 tion plan under section 323; and

13 ‘‘(C) a demonstrated commitment to mitiga14 tion activities.

15 ‘‘(3) APPROVAL.—The President shall approve

16 an application submitted under paragraph (1) that

17 meets the criteria established under paragraph (2).

18 ‘‘(4) WITHDRAWAL OF APPROVAL.—If, after ap19 proving an application of a State submitted under

20 paragraph (1), the President determines that the

21 State is not administering the hazard mitigation

22 grant program established by this section in a man23 ner satisfactory to the President, the President shall

24 withdraw the approval.
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1 ‘‘(5) AUDITS.—The President shall provide for

2 periodic audits of the hazard mitigation grant pro3 grams administered by States under this subsection.’’.

4 SEC. 206. STUDY REGARDING COST REDUCTION.

5 (a) STUDY.—The National Academy of Sciences shall

6 conduct a study to estimate the reduction in Federal dis7 aster assistance that has resulted and is likely to result from

8 the enactment of this Act.

9 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 3 years after the date

10 of enactment of this Act, the National Academy of Sciences

11 shall submit to Congress a report on the results of the study.

12 SEC. 207. FIRE MANAGEMENT ASSISTANCE.

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 420 of the Robert T. Staf14 ford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42

15 U.S.C. 5187) is amended to read as follows:

16 ‘‘SEC. 420. FIRE MANAGEMENT ASSISTANCE.

17 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The President is authorized to

18 provide assistance, including grants, equipment, supplies,

19 and personnel, to any State or local government for the

20 mitigation, management, and control of any fire on public

21 or private forest land or grassland with urban interface that

22 threatens such destruction as would constitute a major dis23 aster.

24 ‘‘(b) COORDINATION WITH STATE DEPARTMENTS OF

25 FORESTRY.—In providing assistance under this section, the
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1 President shall coordinate with State departments of for2 estry.

3 ‘‘(c) ESSENTIAL ASSISTANCE.—In providing assist4 ance under this section, the President may use the authority

5 provided under section 403.

6 ‘‘(d) RULES AND REGULATIONS.—The President shall

7 prescribe such rules and regulations as are necessary to

8 carry out this section.’’.

9 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by sub10 section (a) takes effect 1 year after the date of enactment

11 of this Act.

12 SEC. 208. PUBLIC NOTICE, COMMENT, AND CONSULTATION

13 REQUIREMENTS.

14 Title III of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and

15 Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5141 et seq.) (as

16 amended by section 204) is amended by adding at the end

17 the following:

18 ‘‘SEC. 325. PUBLIC NOTICE, COMMENT, AND CONSULTATION

19 REQUIREMENTS.

20 ‘‘(a) PUBLIC NOTICE AND COMMENT CONCERNING

21 NEW OR MODIFIED POLICIES.—

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The President shall provide

23 for public notice and opportunity for comment before

24 adopting any new or modified policy that—
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1 ‘‘(A) governs implementation of the public

2 assistance program administered by the Federal

3 Emergency Management Agency under this Act;

4 and

5 ‘‘(B) could result in a significant reduction

6 of assistance under the program.

7 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION.—Any policy adopted under

8 paragraph (1) shall apply only to a major disaster or

9 emergency declared on or after the date on which the

10 policy is adopted.

11 ‘‘(b) CONSULTATION CONCERNING INTERIM POLI12 CIES.—Before adopting any interim policy under the public

13 assistance program to address specific conditions that relate

14 to a major disaster or emergency that has been declared

15 under this Act, the President, to the maximum extent prac16 ticable, shall solicit the views and recommendations of

17 grantees and subgrantees with respect to the major disaster

18 or emergency concerning the potential interim policy, if the

19 interim policy is likely—

20 ‘‘(1) to result in a significant reduction of assist21 ance to applicants for the assistance with respect to

22 the major disaster or emergency; or

23 ‘‘(2) to change the terms of a written agreement

24 to which the Federal Government is a party con-
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1 cerning the declaration of the major disaster or emer2 gency.

3 ‘‘(c) PUBLIC ACCESS.—The President shall promote

4 public access to policies governing the implementation of

5 the public assistance program.

6 ‘‘(d) NO LEGAL RIGHT OF ACTION.—Nothing in this

7 section confers a legal right of action on any party.’’.

8 SEC. 209. COMMUNITY DISASTER LOANS.

9 Section 417 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief

10 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5184) is

11 amended—

12 (1) by striking ‘‘(a) The President’’ and insert13 ing the following:

14 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The President’’;

15 (2) by striking ‘‘The amount’’ and inserting the

16 following:

17 ‘‘(b) AMOUNT.—The amount’’;

18 (3) by striking ‘‘Repayment’’ and inserting the

19 following:

20 ‘‘(c) REPAYMENT.—

21 ‘‘(1) CANCELLATION.—Repayment’’;

22 (4) by striking ‘‘(b) Any loans’’ and inserting

23 the following:

24 ‘‘(d) EFFECT ON OTHER ASSISTANCE.—Any loans’’;
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1 (5) in subsection (b) (as designated by para2 graph (2))—

3 (A) by striking ‘‘and shall’’ and inserting

4 ‘‘shall’’; and

5 (B) by inserting before the period at the end

6 the following: ‘‘, and shall not exceed

7 $5,000,000’’; and

8 (6) in subsection (c) (as designated by para9 graph (3)), by adding at the end the following:

10 ‘‘(2) CONDITION ON CONTINUING ELIGIBILITY.—

11 A local government shall not be eligible for further as12 sistance under this section during any period in

13 which the local government is in arrears with respect

14 to a required repayment of a loan under this sec15 tion.’’.

16 TITLE III—MISCELLANEOUS

17 SEC. 301. TECHNICAL CORRECTION OF SHORT TITLE.

18 The first section of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Re19 lief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 note)

20 is amended to read as follows:

21 ‘‘SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

22 ‘‘This Act may be cited as the ‘Robert T. Stafford Dis23 aster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act’.’’.
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1 SEC. 302. DEFINITIONS.

2 Section 102 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief

3 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122) is amend4 ed in each of paragraphs (3) and (4) by striking ‘‘the North5 ern’’ and all that follows through ‘‘Pacific Islands’’ and in6 serting ‘‘and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana

7 Islands’’.

8 SEC. 303. PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICER BENEFITS FOR CERTAIN

9 FEDERAL AND STATE EMPLOYEES.

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1204 of the Omnibus Crime

11 Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796b)

12 is amended by striking paragraph (7) and inserting the fol13 lowing:

14 ‘‘(7) ‘public safety officer’ means—

15 ‘‘(A) an individual serving a public agency

16 in an official capacity, with or without com17 pensation, as a law enforcement officer, as a fire18 fighter, or as a member of a rescue squad or am19 bulance crew;

20 ‘‘(B) an employee of the Federal Emergency

21 Management Agency who is performing official

22 duties of the Agency in an area, if those official

23 duties—

24 ‘‘(i) are related to a major disaster or

25 emergency that has been, or is later, de26 clared to exist with respect to the area
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1 under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief

2 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C.

3 5121 et seq.); and

4 ‘‘(ii) are determined by the Director of

5 the Federal Emergency Management Agency

6 to be hazardous duties; or

7 ‘‘(C) an employee of a State or local emer8 gency management or civil defense agency who is

9 performing official duties in cooperation with

10 the Federal Emergency Management Agency in

11 an area, if those official duties—

12 ‘‘(i) are related to a major disaster or

13 emergency that has been, or is later, de14 clared to exist with respect to the area

15 under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief

16 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C.

17 5121 et seq.); and

18 ‘‘(ii) are determined by the head of the

19 agency to be hazardous duties.’’.

20 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by sub21 section (a) applies only to employees described in subpara22 graphs (B) and (C) of section 1204(7) of the Omnibus

23 Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (as amended

24 by subsection (a)) who are injured or who die in the line

25 of duty on or after the date of enactment of this Act.
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1 SEC. 304. DISASTER GRANT CLOSEOUT PROCEDURES.

2 Title VII of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and

3 Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5101 et seq.) is

4 amended by adding at the end the following:

5 ‘‘SEC. 705. DISASTER GRANT CLOSEOUT PROCEDURES.

6 ‘‘(a) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.—

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para8 graph (2), no administrative action to recover any

9 payment made to a State or local government for dis10 aster or emergency assistance under this Act shall be

11 initiated in any forum after the date that is 3 years

12 after the date of transmission of the final expenditure

13 report for the disaster or emergency.

14 ‘‘(2) FRAUD EXCEPTION.—The limitation under

15 paragraph (1) shall apply unless there is evidence of

16 civil or criminal fraud.

17 ‘‘(b) REBUTTAL OF PRESUMPTION OF RECORD MAIN18 TENANCE.—

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In any dispute arising

20 under this section after the date that is 3 years after

21 the date of transmission of the final expenditure re22 port for the disaster or emergency, there shall be a

23 presumption that accounting records were maintained

24 that adequately identify the source and application of

25 funds provided for financially assisted activities.
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1 ‘‘(2) AFFIRMATIVE EVIDENCE.—The presumption

2 described in paragraph (1) may be rebutted only on

3 production of affirmative evidence that the State or

4 local government did not maintain documentation de5 scribed in that paragraph.

6 ‘‘(3) INABILITY TO PRODUCE DOCUMENTATION.—

7 The inability of the Federal, State, or local govern8 ment to produce source documentation supporting ex9 penditure reports later than 3 years after the date of

10 the transmission of the final expenditure report shall

11 not constitute evidence to rebut the presumption de12 scribed in paragraph (1).

13 ‘‘(4) RIGHT OF ACCESS.—The period during

14 which the Federal, State, or local government has the

15 right to access source documentation shall not be lim16 ited to the required 3-year retention period referred to

17 in paragraph (3), but shall last as long as the records

18 are maintained.

19 ‘‘(c) BINDING NATURE OF GRANT REQUIREMENTS.—

20 A State or local government shall not be liable for reim21 bursement or any other penalty for any payment made

22 under this Act if—

23 ‘‘(1) the payment was authorized by an ap24 proved agreement specifying the costs;

25 ‘‘(2) the costs were reasonable; and
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1 ‘‘(3) the purpose of the grant was accom2 plished.’’.

3 SEC. 305. CONFORMING AMENDMENT.

4 Title II of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and

5 Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5131 et seq.) is

6 amended by striking the title heading and inserting the fol7 lowing:

8 ‘‘TITLE II—DISASTER PREPARED9 NESS AND MITIGATION AS10 SISTANCE’’.

Calendar No. 550

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1691

[Report No. 106–295]

A BILL

To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief

and Emergency Assistance Act to authorize programs for predisaster mitigation, to streamlinethe administration of disaster relief, to controlthe Federal costs of disaster assistance, and forother purposes.

MAY 16, 2000

Reported with an amendment