[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3834 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 3834

   To ensure that certain communities may be granted exceptions for 
  floodproofed residential basements for purposes of determining risk 
                   premium rates for flood insurance.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 9, 2014

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To ensure that certain communities may be granted exceptions for 
  floodproofed residential basements for purposes of determining risk 
                   premium rates for flood insurance.

    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 ``Flood Safe Basements Act''.

SEC. 2. TREATMENT OF FLOODPROOFED RESIDENTIAL BASEMENTS.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section--
            (1) for purposes of rating a floodproofed covered 
        structure, the term ``adjusted base flood elevation'' means the 
        base flood elevation for a covered structure on the applicable 
        effective flood insurance rate map, plus 1 foot;
            (2) the term ``Administrator'' means the Administrator of 
        the Federal Emergency Management Agency;
            (3) the term ``applicable flood plain management measures'' 
        means flood plain management measures adopted by a community 
        under section 60.3(c) of title 44, Code of Federal Regulations;
            (4) the term ``covered structure'' means a residential 
        structure--
                    (A) that is located in a community that has adopted 
                flood plain management measures that are approved by 
                the Federal Emergency Management Agency and satisfy the 
                requirements for an exception for floodproofed 
                residential basements under section 60.6(c) of title 
                44, Code of Federal Regulations; and
                    (B) that was built in compliance with the 
                applicable flood plain management measures;
            (5) the term ``floodproofed elevation'' means the height of 
        floodproofing on a structure, as identified on the Residential 
        Basement Floodproofing Certificate for the structure; and
            (6) 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.).
    (b) Preservation of Basement Exception.--Notwithstanding the 
Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012 (Public Law 112-141; 
126 Stat. 916), the amendments made by that Act, or any other provision 
of law, the Administrator shall rate a covered structure using the 
elevation difference between the floodproofed elevation of the covered 
structure and the adjusted base flood elevation of the covered 
structure.
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