I 115th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 1558 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES March 16, 2017 Mr. Royce of California (for himself and Mr. Blumenauer ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services A BILL To amend the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 to ensure community accountability for areas repetitively damaged by floods, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Repeatedly Flooded Communities Preparation Act . 2. Community accountability for repetitively flooded areas (a) In general Section 1361 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 ( 42 U.S.C. 4102 ) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection: (e) Community accountability for repetitively damaged areas (1) In general The Administrator shall, by regulation, require any covered community (as such term is defined in paragraph (3))— (A) to identify the areas within the community where properties described in paragraph (5)(B) or flood-damaged facilities are located to determine areas repeatedly damaged by floods and to assess, with assistance from the Administrator, the continuing risks to such areas; (B) to develop a community-specific plan for mitigating continuing flood risks to such repetitively flooded areas and to submit such plan and plan updates to the Administrator at appropriate intervals; (C) to implement such plans; (D) to make such plan, plan updates, and reports on progress in reducing flood risk available to the public, subject to section 552a of title 5, United States Code. (2) Incorporation into existing plans Plans developed pursuant to paragraph (1) may be incorporated into mitigation plans developed under section 1366 of this Act ( 42 U.S.C. 4104c ) and hazard mitigation plans developed under section 322 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act ( 42 U.S.C. 5165 ). (3) Assistance to communities (A) Data To assist communities in preparation of plans required under paragraph (1), the Administrator shall, upon request, provide covered communities with appropriate data regarding the property addresses and dates of claims associated with insured properties within the community. (B) Mitigation grants In making determinations regarding financial assistance under the authorities of this Act, the Administrator may consider the extent to which a community has complied with this subsection and is working to remedy problems with addressing repeatedly flooded areas. (4) Sanctions The Administrator shall, by regulations issued in accordance with the procedures established under section 553 of title 5, United States Code, regarding substantive rules, provide appropriate sanctions for covered communities that fail to comply with the requirements under this subsection or to make sufficient progress in reducing the flood risks to areas in the community that are repeatedly damaged by floods. Such sanctions shall include suspension from the national flood insurance program and probation under such program, in the manner provided under section 59.24 of the Administrator’s regulations (44 C.F.R. 59.24). (5) Covered community For purposes of this subsection, the term covered community means a community— (A) that is participating, pursuant to section 1315, in the national flood insurance program; and (B) within which are located— (i) 50 or more repetitive loss structures (as such term is defined in paragraph (4)); (ii) 5 or more severe repetitive loss structures (as such term is defined in section 1366(h)) for which mitigation activities meeting the standards for approval under section 1366(c)(2)(A) have not been conducted; or (iii) a public facility or a private nonprofit facility (as such terms are as defined in section 102 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act ( 42 U.S.C. 5122 )), that has received assistance for repair, restoration, reconstruction, or replacement under section 406 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act ( 42 U.S.C. 5172 ) in connection with more than one flooding event in the most recent 10-year period. (6) Repetitive-loss structure For purposes of this subsection, the term repetitive loss structure has the meaning given such term in section 1370 ( 42 U.S.C. 4121 ). (7) Reports to congress Not later than the expiration of the 6-year period beginning upon the date of the enactment of this subsection, and not less than every 2 years thereafter, the Administrator shall submit a report to the Congress regarding the progress in implementing plans developed pursuant to paragraph (1)(B). . (b) Regulations The Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency shall issue regulations necessary to carry out subsection (e) of section 1361 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968, as added by the amendment made by subsection (a) of this section, not later than the expiration of the 12-month period that begins on the date of the enactment of this Act.