[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 700 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 700

 To provide a moratorium on the issuance of flood insurance rate maps, 
   to assist property owners in adapting to flood insurance rate map 
                    changes, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 14, 2011

 Mr. Walberg introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To provide a moratorium on the issuance of flood insurance rate maps, 
   to assist property owners in adapting to flood insurance rate map 
                    changes, 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 section may be cited as the ``Floodplain Maps Moratorium 
Act''.

SEC. 2. 5-YEAR DELAY IN EFFECTIVE DATE OF MANDATORY PURCHASE 
              REQUIREMENT FOR NEW FLOOD HAZARD AREAS.

    (a) In General.--Section 102 of the Flood Disaster Protection Act 
of 1973 (42 U.S.C. 4012a) is amended by adding at the end the following 
new subsections:
    ``(i) Delayed Effective Date of Mandatory Purchase Requirement for 
New Flood Hazard Areas.--
            ``(1) In general.--In the case of any area that was not 
        previously designated as an area having special flood hazards 
        and that, pursuant to any issuance, revision, updating, or 
        other change in flood insurance maps that takes effect on or 
        after September 30, 2007, becomes designated as an area having 
        special flood hazards, if each State and local government 
        having jurisdiction over any portion of the geographic area has 
        complied with paragraph (2), such designation shall not take 
        effect for purposes of subsection (a), (b), or (e) of this 
        section, or section 202(a) of this Act, until the expiration of 
        the 5-year period beginning upon the date that such maps, as 
        issued, revised, update, or otherwise changed, become 
        effective.
            ``(2) Notice requirements.--A State or local government 
        shall be considered to have complied with this paragraph with 
        respect to any geographic area described in paragraph (1) only 
        if the State or local government has, before the effective date 
        of the issued, revised, updated, or changed maps, and in 
        accordance with such standards as shall be established by the 
        Director--
                    ``(A) developed an evacuation plan to be 
                implemented in the event of flooding in such portion of 
                the geographic area; and
                    ``(B) developed and implemented an outreach and 
                communication plan to advise occupants in such portion 
                of the geographic area of potential flood risks, 
                appropriate evacuation routes under the evacuation plan 
                referred to in subparagraph (A), the opportunity to 
                purchase flood insurance, and the consequences of 
                failure to purchase flood insurance.
            ``(3) Rule of construction.--Nothing in paragraph (1) may 
        be construed to affect the applicability of a designation of 
        any area as an area having special flood hazards for purposes 
        of the availability of flood insurance coverage, criteria for 
        land management and use, notification of flood hazards, 
        eligibility for mitigation assistance, or any other purpose or 
        provision not specifically referred to in paragraph (1).
    ``(j) Availability of Preferred Risk Rating Method Premiums.--The 
preferred risk rate method premium shall be available for flood 
insurance coverage for properties located in areas referred to in 
subsection (i)(1) and during the time period referred to in subsection 
(i)(1).''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--The second sentence of subsection (h) of 
section 1360 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 
4101(h)) is amended by striking ``Such'' and inserting ``Except for 
notice regarding a change described in section 102(i)(1) of the Flood 
Disaster Protection Act of 1973 (42 U.S.C. 4012a(i)(1)), such''.
    (c) No Refunds.--Nothing in this section or the amendments made by 
this section may be construed to authorize or require any payment or 
refund for flood insurance coverage purchased for any property that 
covered any period during which such coverage is not required for the 
property pursuant to the applicability of the amendment made by 
subsection (a).

SEC. 3. NOTIFICATION TO HOMEOWNERS REGARDING MANDATORY PURCHASE 
              REQUIREMENT APPLICABILITY.

    Section 201 of the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973 (42 U.S.C. 
4105) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(f) Annual Notification.--The Director, in consultation with 
affected communities, shall establish and carry out a plan to notify 
residents of areas having special flood hazards, on an annual basis--
            ``(1) that they reside in such an area;
            ``(2) of the geographical boundaries of such area;
            ``(3) of the provisions of section 102 requiring purchase 
        of flood insurance coverage for properties located in such an 
        area, including the date on which such provisions apply with 
        respect to such area, taking into consideration section 102(i); 
        and
            ``(4) of a general estimate of what similar homeowners in 
        similar areas typically pay for flood insurance coverage.''.

SEC. 4. NOTIFICATION OF ESTABLISHMENT OF FLOOD ELEVATIONS.

    Section 1360 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 
4101) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(k) Notification to Members of Congress of Map Modernization.--
Upon any revision or update of any floodplain area or flood-risk zone 
pursuant to subsection (f), any decision pursuant to subsection (f)(1) 
that such revision or update is necessary, any issuance of preliminary 
maps for such revision or updating, or any other significant action 
relating to any such revision or update, the Director shall notify the 
Senators for each State affected, and each Member of the House of 
Representatives for each congressional district affected, by such 
revision or update in writing of the action taken.''.

SEC. 5. REVIEW OF FLOOD MAP CHANGES BY AFFECTED COMMUNITIES.

    Section 1360 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 
4101), as amended by section 3, is further amended by adding at the end 
the following new subsection:
    ``(l) Review of Flood Map Changes by Affected Communities.--Not 
later than three years before the date on which a flood insurance rate 
map change or revision becomes effective, the Director shall notify 
each community affected by such map change or revision, including each 
State and local government with jurisdiction over an area affected by 
such map change or revision, and provide each such community and each 
such State and local government with an opportunity to review such map 
change or revision and propose modifications to such map change or 
revision.''.

SEC. 6. REVIEW OF FLOOD MAP METHODOLOGY.

    Section 1360 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 
4101), as amended by section 4, is further amended by adding at the end 
the following new subsection:
    ``(m) Review of Flood Map Methodology.--Not less than once every 
ten years, the Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct a 
review of the methodology used to issue or revise flood insurance rate 
maps and submit the results of such review to Congress and the 
Director.''.

SEC. 7. APPEALS.

    (a) Television and Radio Announcement.--Section 1363 of the 
National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4104) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a), by inserting after 
        ``determinations'' by inserting the following: ``by notifying a 
        local television and radio station,''; and
            (2) in the first sentence of subsection (b), by inserting 
        before the period at the end the following: ``and shall notify 
        a local television and radio station at least once during the 
        same 10-day period''.
    (b) Applicability.--The amendments made by subsection (a) shall 
apply with respect to any flood elevation determination for any area in 
a community that has not, as of the date of the enactment of this Act, 
been issued a Letter of Final Determination for such determination 
under the flood insurance map modernization process.

SEC. 8. STUDY ON REPAYING FLOOD INSURANCE DEBT.

    Not later than the expiration of the 6-month period beginning on 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal 
Emergency Management Agency shall submit a report to the Congress 
setting forth a plan for repaying within 10 years all amounts, 
including any amounts previously borrowed but not yet repaid, owed 
pursuant to clause (2) of subsection (a) of section 1309 of the 
National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4016(a)(2)).
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