H. R. 4348—560 
‘‘(ii) in the case of a building code enforcement 
department serving an area with a population of 
between 20,001 and 50,000, equal to not less than 
25 percent of the total amount of any funds made 
available under this title that are used under this 
paragraph; and 
‘‘(iii) in the case of a building code enforcement 
department serving an area with a population of less 
than 20,000, equal to not less than 12.5 percent of 
the total amount of any funds made available under 
this title that are used under this paragraph, 
except that the Secretary may waive the matching fund 
requirements under this subparagraph, in whole or in part, 
based upon the level of economic distress of the jurisdiction 
in which is located the local building code enforcement 
department that is using amounts for purposes under this 
paragraph, and shall waive such matching fund require-
ments in whole for any recipient jurisdiction that has dedi-
cated all building code permitting fees to the conduct of 
local building code enforcement; and 
‘‘(B) any building code enforcement department using 
funds made available under this title for purposes under 
this paragraph shall empanel a code administration and 
enforcement team consisting of at least 1 full-time building 
code enforcement officer, a city planner, and a health 
planner or similar officer; and 
‘‘(28) provision of assistance to local governmental agencies 
responsible for floodplain management activities (including 
such agencies of Indians tribes, as such term is defined in 
section 4 of the Native American Housing Assistance and Self- 
Determination Act of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 4103)) in communities 
that participate in the national flood insurance program under 
the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4001 
et seq.), only for carrying out outreach activities to encourage 
and facilitate the purchase of flood insurance protection under 
such Act by owners and renters of properties in such commu-
nities and to promote educational activities that increase aware-
ness of flood risk reduction; except that— 
‘‘(A) amounts used as provided under this paragraph 
shall be used only for activities designed to— 
‘‘(i) identify owners and renters of properties in 
communities that participate in the national flood 
insurance program, including owners of residential and 
commercial properties; 
‘‘(ii) notify such owners and renters when their 
properties become included in, or when they are 
excluded from, an area having special flood hazards 
and the effect of such inclusion or exclusion on the 
applicability of the mandatory flood insurance purchase 
requirement under section 102 of the Flood Disaster 
Protection Act of 1973 (42 U.S.C. 4012a) to such prop-
erties; 
‘‘(iii) educate such owners and renters regarding 
the flood risk and reduction of this risk in their commu-
nity, including the continued flood risks to areas that 
are no longer subject to the flood insurance mandatory 
purchase requirement;
H. R. 4348—561 
‘‘(iv) educate such owners and renters regarding 
the benefits and costs of maintaining or acquiring flood 
insurance, including, where applicable, lower-cost pre-
ferred risk policies under this title for such properties 
and the contents of such properties; 
‘‘(v) encourage such owners and renters to main-
tain or acquire such coverage; 
‘‘(vi) notify such owners of where to obtain informa-
tion regarding how to obtain such coverage, including 
a telephone number, mailing address, and Internet 
site of the Administrator of the Federal Emergency 
Management Agency (in this paragraph referred to 
as the ‘Administrator’) where such information is avail-
able; and 
‘‘(vii) educate local real estate agents in commu-
nities participating in the national flood insurance pro-
gram regarding the program and the availability of 
coverage under the program for owners and renters 
of properties in such communities, and establish 
coordination and liaisons with such real estate agents 
to facilitate purchase of coverage under the National 
Flood Insurance Act of 1968 and increase awareness 
of flood risk reduction; 
‘‘(B) in any fiscal year, a local governmental agency 
may not use an amount under this paragraph that exceeds 
3 times the amount that the agency certifies, as the Sec-
retary, in consultation with the Administrator, shall 
require, that the agency will contribute from non-Federal 
funds to be used with such amounts used under this para-
graph only for carrying out activities described in subpara-
graph (A); and for purposes of this subparagraph, the term 
‘non-Federal funds’ includes State or local government 
agency amounts, in-kind contributions, any salary paid 
to staff to carry out the eligible activities of the local 
governmental agency involved, the value of the time and 
services contributed by volunteers to carry out such services 
(at a rate determined by the Secretary), and the value 
of any donated material or building and the value of any 
lease on a building; 
‘‘(C) a local governmental agency that uses amounts 
as provided under this paragraph may coordinate or con-
tract with other agencies and entities having particular 
capacities, specialties, or experience with respect to certain 
populations or constituencies, including elderly or disabled 
families or persons, to carry out activities described in 
subparagraph (A) with respect to such populations or 
constituencies; and 
‘‘(D) each local government agency that uses amounts 
as provided under this paragraph shall submit a report 
to the Secretary and the Administrator, not later than 
12 months after such amounts are first received, which 
shall include such information as the Secretary and the 
Administrator jointly consider appropriate to describe the 
activities conducted using such amounts and the effect 
of such activities on the retention or acquisition of flood 
insurance coverage.’’.
H. R. 4348—562 
(b) SUNSET.—Effective on the date that is 2 years after the 
date of enactment of this Act, section 105(a) of the Housing and 
Community Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5305(a)) is 
amended— 
(1) in paragraph (25), as so redesignated by subsection 
(a) of this subsection, by adding ‘‘and’’ at the end; 
(2) in paragraph (26), as so redesignated by subsection 
(a) of this subsection, by striking the semicolon at the end 
and inserting a period; and 
(3) by striking paragraphs (27) and (28), as added by sub-
section (a) of this subsection. 
SEC. 100244. TERMINATION OF FORCE-PLACED INSURANCE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 102(e) of the Flood Disaster Protec-
tion Act of 1973 (42 U.S.C. 4012a(e)) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘purchasing the insurance’’ 
and inserting ‘‘purchasing the insurance, including premiums 
or fees incurred for coverage beginning on the date on which 
flood insurance coverage lapsed or did not provide a sufficient 
coverage amount’’; 
(2) by redesignating paragraphs (3) and (4) as paragraphs 
(5) and (6), respectively; and 
(3) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following new para-
graphs: 
‘‘(3) TERMINATION OF FORCE-PLACED INSURANCE.—Within 
30 days of receipt by the lender or servicer of a confirmation 
of a borrower’s existing flood insurance coverage, the lender 
or servicer shall— 
‘‘(A) terminate any insurance purchased by the lender 
or servicer under paragraph (2); and 
‘‘(B) refund to the borrower all premiums paid by the 
borrower for any insurance purchased by the lender or 
servicer under paragraph (2) during any period during 
which the borrower’s flood insurance coverage and the 
insurance coverage purchased by the lender or servicer 
were each in effect, and any related fees charged to the 
borrower with respect to the insurance purchased by the 
lender or servicer during such period. 
‘‘(4) SUFFICIENCY OF DEMONSTRATION.—For purposes of con-
firming a borrower’s existing flood insurance coverage, a lender 
or servicer for a loan shall accept from the borrower an insur-
ance policy declarations page that includes the existing flood 
insurance policy number and the identity of, and contact 
information for, the insurance company or agent.’’. 
SEC. 100245. FEMA AUTHORITY ON TRANSFER OF POLICIES. 
Section 1345 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 
U.S.C. 4081) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
subsection: 
‘‘(d) FEMA AUTHORITY ON TRANSFER OF POLICIES.—Notwith-
standing any other provision of this title, the Administrator may, 
at the discretion of the Administrator, refuse to accept the transfer 
of the administration of policies for coverage under the flood insur-
ance program under this title that are written and administered 
by any insurance company or other insurer, or any insurance agent 
or broker.’’.
H. R. 4348—563 
SEC. 100246. REIMBURSEMENT OF CERTAIN EXPENSES. 
Section 1363 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 
U.S.C. 4104) is amended by striking subsection (f) and inserting 
the following: 
‘‘(f) REIMBURSEMENT OF CERTAIN EXPENSES.—When, incident 
to any appeal under subsection (b) or (c) of this section, the owner 
or lessee of real property or the community, as the case may 
be, incurs expense in connection with the services of surveyors, 
engineers, or similar services, but not including legal services, in 
the effecting of an appeal based on a scientific or technical error 
on the part of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which 
is successful in whole or part, the Administrator shall reimburse 
such individual or community to an extent measured by the ratio 
of the successful portion of the appeal as compared to the entire 
appeal and applying such ratio to the reasonable value of all such 
services, but no reimbursement shall be made by the Administrator 
in respect to any fee or expense payment, the payment of which 
was agreed to be contingent upon the result of the appeal. The 
amounts available for implementing this subsection shall not exceed 
$250,000. The Administrator shall promulgate regulations to carry 
out this subsection.’’. 
SEC. 100247. FIO STUDY ON RISKS, HAZARDS, AND INSURANCE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the date of enact-
ment of this Act, the Director of the Federal Insurance Office 
shall conduct a study and submit to the Committee on Banking, 
Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate and the Committee 
on Financial Services of the House of Representatives a report 
providing an assessment of the current state of the market for 
natural catastrophe insurance in the United States. 
(b) FACTORS.—The study and report required under subsection 
(a) shall assess— 
(1) the current condition of, as well as the outlook for, 
the availability and affordability of insurance for natural catas-
trophe perils in all regions of the United States; 
(2) the current ability of States, communities, and individ-
uals to mitigate their natural catastrophe risks, including the 
affordability and feasibility of such mitigation activities; 
(3) the current state of catastrophic insurance and reinsur-
ance markets and the current approaches in providing insur-
ance protection to different sectors of the population of the 
United States; 
(4) the current financial condition of State residual markets 
and catastrophe funds in high-risk regions, including the likeli-
hood of insolvency following a natural catastrophe, the con-
centration of risks within such funds, the reliance on post- 
event assessments and State funding, and the adequacy of 
rates; and 
(5) the current role of the Federal Government and State 
and local governments in providing incentives for feasible risk 
mitigation efforts and the cost of providing post-natural catas-
trophe aid in the absence of insurance. 
(c) ADDITIONAL FACTORS.—The study and report required under 
subsection (a) shall also contain an assessment of current 
approaches to insuring natural catastrophe risks in the United 
States and such other information as the Director of the Federal 
Insurance Office determines necessary or appropriate.