[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1098 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1098

  To reform the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012 to 
                   responsibly protect homeownership.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              June 6, 2013

Mr. Vitter (for himself and Mr. Cochran) introduced the following bill; 
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, 
                           and Urban Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To reform the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012 to 
                   responsibly protect homeownership.

    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 ``Responsible Implementation of Flood 
Insurance Reform Act of 2013''.

SEC. 2. CLARIFICATION ON APPLICATION OF CERTAIN PREMIUM ADJUSTMENTS 
              UNDER THE BIGGERT-WATERS FLOOD INSURANCE REFORM ACT OF 
              2012.

    (a) Clarification.--Section 1308(h) of the National Flood Insurance 
Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4015(h)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``Notwithstanding'' and inserting ``(1) In 
        general.--Notwithstanding''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(2) Applicability.--The requirements under paragraph (1) 
        shall only apply with respect to any property located in an 
        area--
                    ``(A) that is participating in the national flood 
                insurance program; and
                    ``(B) for which the Administrator has published in 
                the Federal Register projected base flood elevations 
                and designations of areas having special flood hazards 
                under section 1363(a) on or after December 31, 2013.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a) shall 
take effect as if enacted as part of the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance 
Reform Act of 2012 (Public Law 112-141; 126 Stat. 916).

SEC. 3. PHASE-IN OF ACTUARIAL RATES FOR NEWLY PURCHASED HOMES.

    (a) In General.--Section 1308(e) of the National Flood Insurance 
Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4015(e)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``and'' at the end;
            (2) in paragraph (2), by striking the period at the end and 
        inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(3) not subject to the phase-in requirement under 
        paragraph (2), which are sold on or after the date of enactment 
        of the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012, and 
        notwithstanding the requirements of section 1307(g), shall be 
        increased by 20 percent each year, beginning in the year after 
        the first such sale, until the average risk premium rate for 
        such properties is equal to the average of the risk premium 
        rates for properties described in paragraph (1).''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a) shall 
take effect as if enacted as part of the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance 
Reform Act of 2012 (Public Law 112-141; 126 Stat. 916).

SEC. 4. LOCAL CHOICE TO PROTECT HOMEOWNERS.

    The National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4001 et seq.) 
is amended by inserting after section 1308 the following:

``SEC. 1308A. STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT FLEXIBILITY.

    ``(a) In General.--The Administrator shall establish a means by 
which a State or local government may, on its own accord or in 
conjunction with other State or local governments, submit such payments 
to the Administrator as are necessary to fully cover the cost of any 
premium for any property within the jurisdiction of the State or local 
government.
    ``(b) Risk Premium Rate.--The Administrator shall require that the 
amount of any payment from a State or local government under subsection 
(a) be consistent with sections 1307 and 1308.''.

SEC. 5. MITIGATION ASSISTANCE FOR HOMEOWNERS.

    Section 404 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170c) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:
    ``(f) Special Provision Relating to Flood Mitigation.--
            ``(1) Definition.--In this subsection, the term `eligible 
        property' means--
                    ``(A) a property--
                            ``(i) described in paragraph (1) or (2) of 
                        section 1307(g) of the National Flood Insurance 
                        Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4014(g));
                            ``(ii) for which a policy under the flood 
                        insurance program has lapsed in coverage, as a 
                        result of the deliberate choice of the holder 
                        of such policy, as described in paragraph (3) 
                        of section 1307(g) of the National Flood 
                        Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4014(g)); or
                            ``(iii) with respect to which a prospective 
                        insured refuses to accept any offer for 
                        mitigation assistance by the Administrator of 
                        the Federal Emergency Management Agency 
                        (including an offer to relocate), as described 
                        in paragraph (4) of section 1307(g) of the 
                        National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 
                        4014(g)); and
                    ``(B) a property for which the risk premium rate 
                for flood insurance coverage under the National Flood 
                Insurance Program increases under section 1308(h) of 
                the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 
                4015(h)) on or after July 6, 2012.
            ``(2) Mitigation against future flooding.--In providing 
        hazard mitigation assistance under this section in connection 
        with flooding, the Administrator of the Federal Management 
        Agency shall ensure that not less than 25 percent of the 
        estimated aggregate amount of such assistance provided to a 
        grant recipient is used to elevate, acquire, or relocate 
        eligible properties, to the extent that eligible properties 
        exist within the jurisdiction of the grant recipient.''.

SEC. 6. CONSTRUCTION AND RESTORATION OF FLOOD PROTECTION SYSTEMS.

    (a) Adequate Progress on Construction of Flood Protection 
Systems.--Section 1307(e) of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 
(42 U.S.C. 4014(e)) is amended by inserting after the second sentence 
the following: ``Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in 
determining whether a community has made adequate progress on the 
construction, reconstruction, or improvement of a flood protection 
system, the Administrator shall not consider the level of Federal 
funding of or participation in the construction, reconstruction, or 
improvement.''.
    (b) Communities Restoring Disaccredited Flood Protection Systems.--
Section 1307(f) of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 
4014(f)) is amended in the first sentence by striking ``no longer does 
so.'' and inserting the following: ``no longer does so, and shall apply 
without regard to the level of Federal funding of or participation in 
the construction, reconstruction, or improvement of the flood 
protection system.''.

SEC. 7. APPROPRIATE CREDIT FOR FLOOD CONTROL STRUCTURES.

    Section 1360 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 
4101) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(k) Actual Protection Provided by Levee Systems.--The 
Administrator may not issue a flood insurance rate map or an update to 
a flood insurance rate map for an area unless--
            ``(1) the flood insurance rate map or update adequately 
        reflects the protection provided by any levee system in the 
        area against the base flood, regardless of the accreditation 
        status of the levee system under section 65.10 of title 44, 
        Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor thereto; or
            ``(2) the community in which any levee system in the area 
        is located elects not to provide the data necessary for the 
        Administrator to issue a flood insurance rate map or update 
        that adequately reflects the protection provided by the levee 
        system against the base flood.''.
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