I 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 5626 
To require rulemaking by the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Man-
agement Agency to address considerations in evaluating the need for 
public and individual disaster assistance, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 21, 2023 
Mr. BOST introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Transportation and Infrastructure 
A BILL 
To require rulemaking by the Administrator of the Federal 
Emergency Management Agency to address consider-
ations in evaluating the need for public and individual 
disaster assistance, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Rural Disaster Dec-
laration Fairness Act’’. 
SEC. 2. REGULATORY ACTION REQUIRED. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 120 days after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the 
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Federal Emergency Management Agency (in this Act re-
ferred to as the ‘‘Administrator’’ and ‘‘FEMA’’, respec-
tively) shall amend the rules of the Administrator under 
section 206.48 of title 44, Code of Federal Regulations, 
as in effect on the date of enactment of this Act, in accord-
ance with the provisions of this Act. 
(b) NEW CRITERIA REQUIRED.—The amended rules 
issued under subsection (a) shall provide for the following: 
(1) PUBLIC ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.—Such rules 
shall provide that, with respect to the evaluation of 
the need for public assistance, FEMA shall consider 
the economic circumstances of the local economy of 
the affected area, including factors such as the local 
assessable tax base and local sales tax, the median 
income, and the poverty rate. 
(2) INDIVIDUAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.—Such 
rules shall provide that, with respect to the evalua-
tion of the severity, magnitude, and impact of the 
disaster and the evaluation of the need for assist-
ance to individuals, FEMA shall consider the eco-
nomic circumstances of the affected area, including 
factors such as the local assessable tax base and 
local sales tax, the median income, and the poverty 
rate. 
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(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amended rules issued 
under subsection (a) shall apply to any disaster for which 
a Governor requested a major disaster declaration under 
the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency As-
sistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) and was denied on 
or after January 1, 2012. 
(d) COST SHARING.—Section 406(b) of the Robert 
T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 
(42 U.S.C. 5172) is amended by striking paragraph (1) 
and inserting the following: 
‘‘(1) MINIMUM
NON-FEDERAL
SHARE.—The 
non-Federal share of assistance under this section 
shall be not less than 10 percent of the eligible cost 
of repair, restoration, reconstruction, or replacement 
carried out under this section.’’. 
Æ 
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