[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5846 Referred in Senate (RFS)]
<DOC>
115th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 5846
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 17, 2018
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing,
and Urban Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To require the Comptroller General of the United States to conduct a
study regarding the buyout practices of the Federal Emergency
Management Agency, 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 ``Promoting Flood Risk Mitigation
Act''.
SEC. 2. GAO STUDY REGARDING BUYOUT PRACTICES.
(a) Definitions.--In this section--
(1) the term ``Administrator'' means the Administrator of
the Federal Emergency Management Agency;
(2) the term ``appropriate committees of Congress'' means--
(A) the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban
Affairs of the Senate;
(B) the Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs of the Senate;
(C) the Committee on Financial Services of the
House of Representatives; and
(D) the Committee on Transportation and
Infrastructure of the House of Representatives;
(3) the terms ``buyout practice'' and ``buyout program''
mean a practice or program, as applicable, under which the
Administrator provides assistance to State and local
governments so that those entities may acquire flood-damaged
properties committed to open space use in perpetuity in
accordance with section 404(b)(2) of the Robert T. Stafford
Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C.
5170c(b)(2));
(4) the term ``eligible property owner'' means a
policyholder under the National Flood Insurance Program with a
household income that is not more than 120 percent of the mean
household income for the community in which the primary
residence of the policyholder is located;
(5) the term ``National Flood Insurance Program'' means the
program established under the National Flood Insurance Act of
1968 (42 U.S.C. 4001 et seq.);
(6) the term ``repetitive loss structure'' has the meaning
given the term in section 1370(a) of the National Flood
Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4121(a)); and
(7) the term ``severe repetitive loss structure'' has the
meaning given the term in section 1366(h) of the National Flood
Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4104c(h)).
(b) Study Required.--The Comptroller General of the United States
shall conduct a study to assess--
(1) the efficacy of buyout practices, as in effect on the
date on which the study is conducted; and
(2) ways to streamline the buyout practices described in
paragraph (1) in order to provide more timely assistance to a
larger number of State and local governments.
(c) Considerations and Analysis.--The study conducted under
subsection (b) shall consider and analyze the following:
(1) To the extent possible, current (as of the date on
which the study is conducted) and future trends with respect to
repetitive loss structures and severe repetitive loss
structures that are insured under the National Flood Insurance
Program, including, with respect to both inland and coastal
areas--
(A) changes in flood risk, flood frequency, and
flood magnitude since the inception of the National
Flood Insurance Program; and
(B) projections for changes in flood risk, flood
frequency, and flood magnitude by 2025, 2050, and 2075.
(2) To the extent possible, buyout practices (as of the
date on which the study is conducted), including--
(A) the availability of funding sources for buyout
programs through various grant programs;
(B) the total number of properties acquired though
buyout programs;
(C) the average length of time for a State or local
government to acquire a flood-damaged property under a
buyout program, with that period beginning on the date
on which the State or local government, as applicable,
begins participating in the buyout program;
(D) an estimate of the number of flood-damaged
properties that could be acquired from willing property
owners under buyout programs with the full cooperation
of State and local governments;
(E) the socioeconomic status of recipients of
buyouts under buyout programs; and
(F) examples of successful buyout programs,
including best practices employed.
(3) Administrative, financial, or temporal constraints that
may impede the timely acquisition of properties under a buyout
program, including--
(A) a lack of communication or cooperation between
the Administrator and the State and local governments
that purchase properties under a buyout program;
(B) pressures to redevelop a property after
acquiring a property through a buyout program; and
(C) a lack of adequate funding.
(4) Potential options, methods, and strategies to address
the constraints identified under paragraph (3), including
evaluating the feasibility of--
(A) a pilot program under which--
(i) an eligible property owner may agree,
before a flood event occurs, to have the
primary single-family residence of the eligible
property owner purchased after the residence
has been substantially damaged by a flood;
(ii) the Administrator may provide--
(I) financial assistance to State
and local governments that are willing
to participate in the program to
purchase and acquire the properties of
owners that have incurred substantial
damage from a flood event; and
(II) a premium credit as an
incentive to eligible property owners
to agree to participate in the program;
(iii) properties that are acquired--
(I) shall be maintained as open
space in accordance with section
404(b)(2) of the Robert T. Stafford
Disaster Relief and Emergency
Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170c(b)(2));
and
(II) may be used for non-structural
mitigation, conservation, and
recreational purposes; and
(iv) not fewer than 5 and not more than 10
State and local governments shall participate;
and
(B) the role that nonprofit organizations could
play in making buyouts more readily available or more
efficient, similar to the role that those organizations
play in the acquisition of properties for conservation
purposes.
(5) The ecological, financial, and flood risk reduction
benefits that buyout practices, as in effect on the date on
which the study is conducted, provide, which shall--
(A) take into account the differences between
inland and coastal areas; and
(B) include--
(i) examples in which ecosystem restoration
and other nature-based approaches have enhanced
the reduction of flood risk; and
(ii) recommendations for best practices.
(6) To the extent possible, an assessment of how the
Administrator may use buyout programs to reduce future flood
disaster recovery costs that are attributable to future
projections of flood risk as a result of sea level rise,
population changes, subsidence, and other factors.
(7) A cost-benefit analysis of mitigation and buy-out
projects and programs, including an assessment of opportunities
and challenges for leveraging different Federal resources and
funding to maximize the value of Federal investment in disaster
mitigation.
(d) Report.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United
States shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress
and the Administrator a report that sets forth the analysis,
conclusions, and recommendations resulting from the study
conducted under subsection (b).
(2) Contents.--The report submitted under paragraph (1)
shall detail the feasibility of the Administrator establishing,
and the processes required for the Administrator to establish,
an alternative buyout program, such as the pilot program
described in subsection (c)(4)(A).
Passed the House of Representatives July 16, 2018.
Attest:
KAREN L. HAAS,
Clerk.