PREPARE Act of 2023

Subjects: Commerce


<html><body><pre>[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1370 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

&lt;DOC&gt;






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1370

  To reauthorize and limit the pre-disaster mitigation program of the 
         Small Business Administration, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 27, 2023

 Mr. Rubio (for himself, Mr. King, Ms. Collins, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Cardin, 
 and Mr. Warnock) introduced the following bill; which was read twice 
  and referred to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To reauthorize and limit the pre-disaster mitigation program of the 
         Small Business Administration, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Providing Resources for Emergency 
Preparedness And Resilient Enterprises Act of 2023'' or the ``PREPARE 
Act of 2023''.

SEC. 2. PRE-DISASTER MITIGATION PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--Section 7(b) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 
636(b)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1)(C)--
                    (A) by striking ``during fiscal years 2000 through 
                2004, to establish a predisaster mitigation program'' 
                and inserting ``to establish a pre-disaster mitigation 
                program'';
                    (B) by inserting ``in accordance with paragraph 
                (16) and'' before ``as the Administrator may'';
                    (C) by striking ``to enable small businesses'' and 
                inserting ``to small business concerns to enable those 
                concerns''; and
                    (D) by striking ``in support of a formal'' and all 
                that follows and inserting ``to protect the commercial 
                real estate, equipment, inventory, supplies, and 
                materials of those concerns from damages related to 
                disasters;'';
            (2) by redesignating the second paragraph (16) (relating to 
        the statute of limitations) as paragraph (17); and
            (3) by inserting after paragraph (17), as so redesignated, 
        the following:
            ``(18) Pre-disaster mitigation program loans.--
                    ``(A) Loan cap.--The aggregate amount of loans made 
                under the pre-disaster mitigation program under 
                paragraph (1)(C) to a borrower may not exceed $500,000.
                    ``(B) Outreach.--In carrying out the pre-disaster 
                mitigation program under paragraph (1)(C), the 
                Administrator shall--
                            ``(i) establish an advertising and outreach 
                        program to help small business concerns 
                        understand the value of mitigation and that the 
                        pre-disaster mitigation program is available 
                        for that purpose;
                            ``(ii) conduct outreach campaigns to small 
                        business concerns regarding the pre-disaster 
                        mitigation program, including--
                                    ``(I) advertising to educate those 
                                concerns on the importance of disaster 
                                mitigation; and
                                    ``(II) campaigns to promote 
                                participation in the program by small 
                                business concerns located in 
                                economically depressed areas;
                            ``(iii) provide technical assistance to 
                        applicants, including instructions on how to 
                        participate in the pre-disaster mitigation 
                        program, assistance in preparing applications, 
                        and expertise on best practices for projects; 
                        and
                            ``(iv) provide detailed information on the 
                        purposes for which funds from loans made under 
                        the pre-disaster mitigation program may be 
                        used.
                    ``(C) Reservation of funds.--Not more than 4 
                percent of the funds made available to the 
                Administrator to carry out the pre-disaster mitigation 
                program under paragraph (1)(C) may be reserved by the 
                Administrator for--
                            ``(i) the administrative costs of the 
                        program; and
                            ``(ii) the activities described in 
                        subparagraph (B).
                    ``(D) Guidance.--The Administrator shall issue 
                guidance to ensure that borrowers purchase and maintain 
                adequate insurance coverage over the duration of a loan 
                obtained under the pre-disaster mitigation program 
                under paragraph (1)(C).''.
    (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--Section 20(c) of the Small 
Business Act (15 U.S.C. 631 note) is amended to read as follows:
    ``(c) Pre-Disaster Mitigation Program.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated for the purpose of carrying out the program established 
under section 7(b)(1)(C) the following amounts:
            ``(1) $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2024.
            ``(2) $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2025.
            ``(3) $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2026.
            ``(4) $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2027.
            ``(5) $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2028.''.
    (c) Program Evaluation.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Administrator of 
the Small Business Administration shall submit to the Committee on 
Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate and the Committee on 
Small Business of the House of Representatives a report on the pre-
disaster mitigation program under section 7(b)(1)(C) of the Small 
Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(b)(1)(C)), as amended by this Act, 
including--
            (1) a list of the geographic areas in which recipients of 
        loans under the program are located;
            (2) the types of mitigation projects that were funded;
            (3) the number and dollar value of the loans made under the 
        program;
            (4) the estimated aggregate value resulting from the use of 
        mitigation techniques funded by loans made under the program, 
        including--
                    (A) the lost productivity and expenses that were 
                avoided; and
                    (B) the estimated amount saved by the Federal 
                Government;
            (5) the information required by paragraph (4) disaggregated 
        by region, by State, and by industry; and
            (6) the estimated dollar value of loans that would have 
        been made under section 7(b)(1)(A) of the Small Business Act 
        (15 U.S.C. 636(b)(1)(A)) without the loans made under the 
        program.
    (d) Initial Reporting on Pilot Program.--Not later than 60 days 
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Small 
Business Administration shall submit to the Committee on Small Business 
and Entrepreneurship of the Senate and the Committee on Small Business 
of the House of Representatives--
            (1) a description of and all related materials for outreach 
        advertising campaign efforts made during the duration of the 
        pre-disaster mitigation pilot program of the Small Business 
        Administration;
            (2) information on how the Small Business Administration 
        appropriately staffed the Office of Disaster Assistance to 
        carry out the pilot program described in paragraph (1); and
            (3) the amount of the budget of the pilot program described 
        in paragraph (1) that was used for outreach advertising 
        campaign efforts.
    (e) Applicability.--The amendments made by this section shall apply 
only with respect to loans made under section 7(b)(1)(C) of the Small 
Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(b)(1)(C)), as amended by this Act, on or 
after the date of enactment of this Act.

SEC. 3. INCREASE IN ALLOWABLE AMOUNT OF PHYSICAL DISASTER LOAN FOR 
              MITIGATION.

    Section 7(b)(1)(A) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 
636(b)(1)(A)) is amended, in the second proviso, by striking ``20 per 
centum'' and inserting ``30 percent''.
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