[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6034 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6034

To provide for the establishment of a task force to conduct a study to 
     analyze the challenges faced by agricultural areas and rural 
  communities designated as an area having special flood hazards for 
           purposes of the National Flood Insurance Program.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 27, 2012

 Mr. Garamendi (for himself, Mr. Daniel E. Lungren of California, Ms. 
 Richardson, Mr. Loebsack, Mr. Stark, and Mr. Thompson of California) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                           Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To provide for the establishment of a task force to conduct a study to 
     analyze the challenges faced by agricultural areas and rural 
  communities designated as an area having special flood hazards for 
           purposes of the National Flood Insurance Program.

    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 ``Advancing Agricultural Floodplain 
Management Act of 2012''.

SEC. 2. TASK FORCE TO ADVANCE AGRICULTURAL FLOODPLAIN MANAGEMENT IN THE 
              NATIONAL FLOOD INSURANCE PROGRAM.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Agricultural areas and rural communities.--The term 
        ``agricultural areas and rural communities'' refers to areas 
        where substantially all of the land-use is agricultural along 
        with communities that are located in an area where a 
        substantial portion of the economy, currently is and 
        historically was, based on agricultural production.
            (2) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the 
        Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
            (3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Agriculture.
    (b) Establishment; Study.--The Administrator and the Secretary 
shall jointly establish a task force that shall conduct a study to 
analyze the challenges faced by agricultural areas and rural 
communities designated as an area having special flood hazards for 
purposes of the National Flood Insurance Program under the National 
Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4001 et seq.).
    (c) Membership.--The task force shall consist of 13 members, 
including the Administrator and Secretary, or their designees. All 
other members shall be appointed jointly by the Administrator and the 
Secretary as follows:
            (1) One individual who is a representative of a national 
        farm organization or a national agricultural commodities 
        organization.
            (2) One individual who is a representative of the insurance 
        industry or the financial and banking industry.
            (3) One individual who is a representative of a national 
        floodplain management organization or a national organization 
        of flood and stormwater management agencies.
            (4) One individual who is a representative of agricultural 
        floodplain interests.
            (5) Three local landowners or farmers (or both) or 
        representatives from local flood control associations in 
        impacted areas, including the Central Valley of California, the 
        Mississippi Valley, and the Missouri Valley.
            (6) Two individuals who are elected officials of units of 
        general local governments who represent agricultural areas and 
        rural communities.
            (7) Two individuals who have an interest or expertise in 
        the issues specified in subsection (b).
    (d) Co-Chairs.--The Administrator and the Secretary, or their 
designees, shall serve as co-chairs of the task force.
    (e) Staff.--The Administrator and the Secretary may detail, on a 
reimbursable basis, any of the personnel of such agencies to the task 
force to assist the task force in carrying out its duties under this 
section.
    (f) Report.--Not later than one year after the appointment of the 
members of task force, the task force shall submit to the Committee on 
Financial Services and the Committee on Agriculture of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban 
Affairs and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of 
the Senate a report regarding the study conducted pursuant to 
subsection (b) that shall include any findings and conclusions of the 
study and recommended changes to the National Flood Insurance Program 
to strengthen the economic viability and vitality of agricultural areas 
and rural communities. The report shall include an analysis and 
recommendations regarding the following:
            (1) Impacts of the building restrictions of the National 
        Flood Insurance Program on the repair, rehabilitation, 
        replacement, construction, or alteration of agricultural 
        production structures and repair, rehabilitation, construction, 
        or replacement of associated rural community properties 
        supporting the agricultural economy of the agricultural areas 
        and rural communities.
            (2) Changes to the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968, 
        regulations, or policy that might mitigate the impacts 
        identified under paragraph (1).
            (3) The feasibility, advantages, and disadvantages of the 
        establishment of a new National Flood Insurance Program flood 
        zone for agricultural areas and rural communities.
            (4) Options for the National Flood Insurance Program to 
        offer lower cost insurance in agricultural areas and rural 
        communities due to lower losses associated with low-density 
        population and structures of the rural area.
            (5) Financial implications to the National Flood Insurance 
        Program if lower cost flood insurance was offered by the 
        National Flood Insurance Program to agricultural areas and 
        rural communities.
            (6) Premiums paid to and claims paid by the National Flood 
        Insurance Program in agricultural areas and rural communities 
        since the creation of the National Flood Insurance Program and 
        a comparison of these figures to those in urban areas.
            (7) The potential impacts to economy and life safety from 
        the allowance of in-fill construction or building expansion in 
        agricultural areas and rural communities.
    (g) Termination.--The task force shall terminate 120 days after the 
date of the submission of the report under subsection (f).
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