[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1936 Introduced in Senate (IS)]








109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1936

     To strengthen the national flood insurance program, encourage 
  participation in the program, and provide owners of properties not 
located in flood hazard zones a one-time opportunity to purchase flood 
        insurance coverage for a period covering such hurricane.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            October 27, 2005

   Mr. Lott introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
    referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To strengthen the national flood insurance program, encourage 
  participation in the program, and provide owners of properties not 
located in flood hazard zones a one-time opportunity to purchase flood 
        insurance coverage for a period covering such hurricane.

    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 ``Hurricanes Katrina and Rita Flood 
Insurance Buy-In Act of 2005''.

SEC. 2. TEMPORARY FLOOD INSURANCE BUY-IN PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--The Director of the Federal Emergency Management 
Agency shall make available flood insurance coverage under the national 
flood insurance program for eligible structures, in accordance with 
this section.
    (b) Scope of Coverage.--
            (1) Eligible losses.--Coverage may be made available under 
        this section only for damage or loss to an eligible structure, 
        but not including any contents thereof, from flooding resulting 
        from Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Rita of 2005.
            (2) Amount.--The amount of coverage made available under 
        this section for an eligible structure may not exceed the 
        lesser of--
                    (A) the maximum amount of coverage that may be made 
                available for such structure under the national flood 
                insurance program; and
                    (B) the amount of coverage provided for the 
                structure, as of August 29, 2005, under the policy for 
                losses caused by wind or windstorm (as referred to in 
                subsection (c)(4)).
    (c) Eligible Structures.--For purposes of this section, an eligible 
structure is a structure that--
            (1) sustained damage from flooding resulting from Hurricane 
        Katrina or Hurricane Rita of 2005;
            (2) is of a type (including residential properties, 
        business properties, and others) for which coverage was 
        generally made available under the national flood insurance 
        program as of August 29, 2005;
            (3) is located in a covered disaster area;
            (4) was covered--
                    (A) in the case of a structure damaged by flooding 
                resulting from Hurricane Katrina, as of August 29, 
                2005, by an insurance policy for losses caused by wind 
                or windstorm; and
                    (B) in the case of a structure damaged by flooding 
                resulting from Hurricane Rita, as of September 23, 
                2005, by such a policy;
            (5) is not located in an area that has been identified by 
        the Director as an area having special flood hazards (as such 
        term is used for purposes of section 102 of the Flood Disaster 
        Protection Act of 1973 (42 U.S.C. 4012a)); and
            (6) was not covered by flood insurance made available under 
        the national flood insurance program at the time of such 
        damage.
    (d) Premiums.--
            (1) Amount.--The Director shall charge, for coverage made 
        available under this section for an eligible structure, 
        premiums in the amount equal to 105 percent of the aggregate 
        amount of premiums that would have been charged, at the time, 
        for coverage for the structure under the national flood 
        insurance program (for the type and amount of coverage 
        provided) for the 10-year period that ends upon the date of 
        purchase of such coverage.
            (2) Deduction from claims.--The Director shall provide that 
        a purchaser of coverage made available under this section may 
        pay premiums charged for such coverage under paragraph (1) by 
        deducting such amounts from the amount of any claims payable 
        under such coverage.
            (3) Credits to nfif.--There shall be credited to the 
        National Flood Insurance Fund established under section 1310 of 
        the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4017) the 
        following amounts:
                    (A) Any premiums collected pursuant to this 
                section.
                    (B) From amounts appropriated under subsection 
                (i)(1), an amount equal to the amount of any premiums 
                charged for coverage made available under this 
                subsection that are not collected by the Director as a 
                result of the operation of paragraph (2).
    (e) Claims.--
            (1) In general.--Claims for damage or loss pursuant to 
        coverage made available under this section may be paid only 
        from amounts made available in appropriation Acts under 
        subsection (i).
            (2) Exclusion.--Amounts in the National Flood Insurance 
        Fund established under section 1310 of the National Flood 
        Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4017), including any amount 
        credited to such Fund under subsection (d)(3), shall not be 
        available for paying claims under coverage made available under 
        this section.
    (f) Requirements to Obtain Future Coverage and Take Mitigation 
Actions.--The Director may not make coverage available under this 
section for an eligible structure unless the owner of the structure 
enters into a binding agreement, contained in such deed restrictions as 
the Director considers appropriate, to ensure that such owner, and any 
future owners, will--
            (1) at all times after purchasing coverage under this 
        section for the structure, in perpetuity, maintain coverage 
        under the national flood insurance program, for any structures 
        located at any time on the same property on which, at the time 
        of purchase, such eligible structure is located, in an amount 
        at least equal to the lesser of--
                    (A) the value of the structure, as determined by 
                the Director; or
                    (B) the maximum limit of coverage made available 
                with respect to the particular type of property under 
                the national flood insurance program; and
            (2) accept any offer to take mitigation actions or 
        activities made, with respect to the structure, under a 
        mitigation program under section 1323, 1361A, or 1366 of the 
        National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4030, 4102a, 
        4104c).
    (g) Premium Rates for Future Coverage.--In establishing rates for 
flood insurance coverage, other than coverage under this section, made 
available under the national flood insurance program, the Director 
shall not consider, in any manner--
            (1) any premiums charged or collected under subsection (d);
            (2) any claims paid pursuant to coverage made available 
        under this section; or
            (3) any amounts appropriated under subsection (i).
    (h) Definitions.--For purposes of this section, the following 
definitions shall apply:
            (1) Covered disaster area.--The term ``covered disaster 
        area'' means an area--
                    (A) for which a major disaster was declared by the 
                President pursuant to title IV of the Robert T. 
                Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 
                (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) as a result of Hurricane 
                Katrina or Hurricane Rita of 2005; and
                    (B) in which the sale of flood insurance coverage 
                was available under the National Flood Insurance Act of 
                1968 (42 U.S.C. 4001 et seq.) as of August 25, 2005.
            (2) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of 
        the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
    (i) Authorization of Appropriations.--
            (1) For claims payments.--There are authorized to be 
        appropriated to the Director, such sums as may be necessary to 
        cover all costs of flood insurance coverage made available 
        under this section, including administrative expenses and 
        claims under such coverage.
            (2) For mitigation assistance.--There are authorized to be 
        appropriated such sums as may be necessary, for the National 
        Flood Insurance Fund established under section 1310 of the 
        National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4017) and for 
        the National Flood Mitigation Fund established under section 
        1367 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 4104d), for use only for mitigation 
        activities under the programs under sections 1323, 1361A, and 
        1366 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 
        4030, 4102a, 4104c), as appropriate, for eligible structures.
    (j) Public Notice.--Not later than 30 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Director shall issue and widely disseminate 
in the covered disaster area public notice of the procedures to be 
followed for application for flood insurance authorized by this Act.
    (k) Termination.--The Director may not enter into any contract or 
policy for coverage under this section except pursuant to an 
application for such coverage submitted to the Director before the 
expiration of the 90-day period beginning on the date that the public 
notice described in subsection (j) is issued.
                                 <all>