Disaster Recovery Reform Act of 2012

Bill: 112-hr-6728
Sponsor: Rep. Denham, Jeff [R-CA-19]
Introduced: 2013-01-01 in the House
Policy area: Emergency Management
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Administrative remedies
Advisory bodies
Alternative dispute resolution, mediation, arbitration
Child care and development
Congressional oversight
Disaster relief and insurance
Emergency communications systems
Emergency planning and evacuation
Environmental assessment, monitoring, research
Executive Office of the President
Executive agency funding and structure
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
Federal officials
Federal-Indian relations
First responders and emergency personnel
Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
Government information and archives
Historic sites and heritage areas
Homelessness and emergency shelter
Intergovernmental relations
Natural disasters
New Jersey
New York State
Performance measurement
Public-private cooperation
Residential rehabilitation and home repair
Rhode Island
Solid waste and recycling
State and local finance
State and local government operations
Urban and suburban affairs and development
Wages and earnings

Summary:
action_date: 2013-01-01
text: 
Disaster Recovery Reform Act of 2012 - Amends the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (Stafford Act) to direct the President, for purposes of hazard mitigation assistance, to ensure that: (1) environmental reviews and historic preservation reviews are completed on an expeditious basis, and (2) the shortest existing applicable process under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and the National Historic Preservation Act is utilized. Authorizes the President to provide not more than 25% of the amount of the estimated cost of hazard mitigation measures to a state grantee before eligible costs are incurred.
 
Requires the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to review, update, and revise factors relating to trauma to measure the severity, magnitude, and impact of a disaster.
 
Authorizes the President, acting through the Administrator, to approve public assistance projects for major disasters or emergencies under alternative procedures with the goal of: (1) reducing the costs to the federal government of providing such assistance; (2) increasing flexibility in the administration of assistance; (3) expediting the provision of assistance to a state, tribal or local government, or owner or operator of a private nonprofit facility; and (4) providing financial incentives and disincentives for the timely and cost-effective completion of projects. 
 
Requires such alternative procedures, with respect to grants for facility repair, restoration, or replacement, to allow: (1) such grants to be made on the basis of fixed estimates if the state, tribal, or local government or the owner or operator of the private nonprofit facility agrees to be responsible for any actual costs that exceed the estimate; (2) a grantee to elect to receive an in-lieu contribution, without reduction, on the basis of estimates of the cost to repair, restore, reconstruct, or replace a facility and management expenses; (3) consolidating state, local, or tribal facilities as a single project; and (4) the Administrator to permit a grantee, when completed project costs are less than the estimated costs, to use excess funds for activities that reduce the risk of future damage, hardship, or suffering from a major disaster and for other activities to improve future public assistance operations or planning. 
 
Requires such alternative procedures, with respect to grants for debris removal, to allow: (1) such grants to be made on the basis of fixed estimates to provide financial incentives and disincentives for the timely or cost-effective completion if the grantee agrees to be responsible for any actual costs that exceed the estimate; (2) use of a sliding scale for determining the federal share for removal of debris and wreckage based on the time it takes to complete; (3) use of program income from recycled debris without offset to the grant amount; (4) reimbursement of wages for grantee employees and extra hires performing or administering debris and wreckage removal; (5) incentives to a state, local, or tribal government to have a debris management plan approved by the Administrator and to have pre-qualified contractors before the date of declaration of the major disaster; and (6) the Administrator to permit a grantee, when actual project costs are less than estimated costs, to use the excess funds for debris management planning, acquisition of debris management equipment for current or future use, and other activities to improve future debris removal operations.
 
Authorizes Indian tribal governments to submit requests for major disaster or emergency declarations directly to the President.
 
Authorizes the President to enter into lease agreements for, and make repairs or improvements to, multifamily rental property located in areas covered by a major disaster declaration when the President determines it would be a cost-effective alternative to other temporary housing options. 
 
Directs the President: (1) within one year, to complete an analysis to determine whether an increase in the threshold for eligibility for the provision of federal disaster or emergency assistance on the basis of the amount of the federal estimate of assistance necessary is appropriate; and (2) if so, to establish such threshold, adjust it annually for inflation, and review it every three years.
 
Requires the President to establish a unified interagency review process to ensure compliance with environmental and historic requirements relating to disaster recovery projects in order to expedite the recovery process.
 
Authorizes the President: (1) to provide child care assistance to an individual or household adversely affected by a major disaster; and (2) after declaring a major disaster or emergency for an area within the jurisdiction of a state, tribal, or local government, to reimburse such government for costs relating to basic pay and benefits and overtime and hazardous duty compensation for permanent employees of such government conducting emergency protective measures.
 
Directs the Administrator to revise regulations related to the submission of State Hazard Mitigation Plans to extend the hazard mitigation planning cycle to every five years, consistent with local planning cycles.
 
Authorizes a temporary housing unit purchased by the President for housing disaster victims to be made available directly to a state, other governmental entity, or voluntary organization for an incident caused by a hazard, for which the state governor has taken appropriate action under state law and directed execution of the state emergency plan, but that does not result in a presidential declaration of a major disaster or emergency.
 
Integrated Public Alert and Warning System Modernization Act of 2012 - Directs the Administrator to: (1) take specified steps to modernize and implement the U.S. integrated public alert and warning system to ensure that the President, federal agencies, and state, tribal, and local governments can, under all conditions, alert and warn the civilian population in areas endangered by disasters or other hazards to public safety; and (2) establish a subcommittee to the National Advisory Council to be known as the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System Subcommittee, which shall develop recommendations for an integrated public alert and warning system.
 
Directs the Chair of the Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force to report on: (1) the impacts of Hurricane Sandy on local government budgets in states where a major disaster has been declared, (2) the availability of private loans and federal resources to address such impacts, (3) the ability of the Community Disaster Loan program to address such impacts, and (4) potential consequences of federal action or inaction to address such impacts. 
 
Amends: (1) the Stafford Act to direct the Administrator to: (1) continue to administer the National Urban Search and Rescue Response System to provide for a national network of standardized search and rescue resources to assist states and local governments in responding to hazards, (2) designate task forces to participate in the System, and (3) establish an advisory committee to provide assistance in administering the System. 
 
 Authorizes the President, upon determining it to be appropriate after a large and complex major disaster, to establish a commission to facilitate and support states and local governments in recovering from such disaster, including by implementing a strategic recovery support plan and coordinating federal agency activities. 
 
Amends the Homeland Security Act to establish within FEMA a disaster reserve workforce, to supplement the work of permanent full-time FEMA employees on response and recovery operations and programs.
 
Amends the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006 to direct the President to ensure that each federal agency with responsibilities under the National Response Plan or the National Disaster Recovery Framework has designated a lead senior official to: (1) ensure the agency is prepared to execute its response and recovery responsibilities under such plans, and (2) coordinate disaster response and recovery efforts.
 
Directs the Administrator to establish procedures under which an applicant, through December 31, 2015, may request the use of alternative dispute resolution, including arbitration by an independent review panel to resolve disputes relating to eligible assistance.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-01-01
text: Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
action_date: 2013-01-01
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2013-01-01
text: Introduced in House