[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2170 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2170

To amend the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012 to make 
       reforms to flood mapping programs, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 18, 2019

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012 to make 
       reforms to flood mapping programs, 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 Act may be cited as the ``Municipality Empowerment Mapping 
Achievement Act of 2019'' or the ``MEMA Act of 2019''.

SEC. 2. NATIONAL FLOOD MAPPING PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--Section 100216 of the Biggert-Waters Flood 
Insurance Reform Act of 2012 (42 U.S.C. 4101b) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (b)(1)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``to--'' and 
                all that follows through the end of clause (vi) and 
                inserting ``to all areas of the United States;'';
                    (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``and'' at the 
                end;
                    (C) in subparagraph (C), by striking ``accurate 
                topography'' and all that follows through the period at 
                the end and inserting ``current and best remote sensing 
                technology; and''; and
                    (D) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(D) when appropriate, partner with other Federal 
                agencies and private entities in order to meet the 
                objectives of the program.'';
            (2) by redesignating subsection (f) as subsection (g); and
            (3) by inserting after subsection (e) the following:
    ``(f) Incorporating Building-Specific Flood Risk Information.--
            ``(1) Establishment.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Not later than 5 years after the 
                date of enactment of the Municipality Empowerment 
                Mapping Achievement Act of 2019, the Administrator, in 
                coordination with, and as recommended by, the Technical 
                Mapping Advisory Council, shall establish a dynamic, 
                database-derived digital display environment for flood 
                hazard risk production and dissemination.
                    ``(B) Consultation with states and communities.--In 
                designing and constructing the environment under 
                subparagraph (A), the Administrator shall--
                            ``(i) leverage and partner with States and 
                        communities that have successfully implemented 
                        the same approach; and
                            ``(ii) consider adopting the techniques and 
                        technologies used by States and communities 
                        described in clause (i) and applying those 
                        techniques and technologies nationwide.
            ``(2) Digital display.--
                    ``(A) In general.--In carrying out paragraph (1), 
                the Administrator shall create a digital display 
                prompted through dynamic querying of a spatial, 
                relational building database that may not be publically 
                disseminated and that includes--
                            ``(i) special flood hazard areas and base 
                        flood elevations for purposes of lender 
                        compliance with the requirements under section 
                        102 of the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 
                        1973 (42 U.S.C. 4012a); and
                            ``(ii) structure-specific flood risk 
                        information, including, for each property 
                        address--
                                    ``(I) the spatial footprint and 
                                elevation of the structure relative to 
                                special flood hazard areas and base 
                                flood elevations;
                                    ``(II) the most current elevation 
                                certificate applicable to the property;
                                    ``(III) any letter of map changes;
                                    ``(IV) the full risk premium rate 
                                estimated for the structure under 
                                section 1307(a)(1) of the National 
                                Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 
                                4014(a)(1)) based on elevation data;
                                    ``(V) the disclosure described in 
                                section 1308(l) of the National Flood 
                                Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 
                                4015(l)), which shall include--
                                            ``(aa) the extent to which, 
                                        if any, the chargeable premium 
                                        rate applicable to the property 
                                        is less than the full risk 
                                        premium rate under section 
                                        1307(a)(1) of that Act (42 
                                        U.S.C. 4014(a)(1)); and
                                            ``(bb) an explanation of 
                                        the difference described in 
                                        item (aa) and the methodology 
                                        used to rate the property;
                                    ``(VI) the estimated cost to repair 
                                the structure in the case of damage 
                                from floods with recurrence intervals 
                                ranging from the 10 percent annual 
                                chance event to the 0.2 percent annual 
                                chance event;
                                    ``(VII) the cost-effectiveness of 
                                mitigating the structure using common 
                                methods and how the chargeable premium 
                                rate would change based on each 
                                mitigation method; and
                                    ``(VIII) the claims history of the 
                                structure, including the amount and 
                                date of each loss.
                    ``(B) Privacy requirements.--With respect to the 
                database described in subparagraph (A), including any 
                data used to create that database, the Administrator 
                may not disseminate the database to--
                            ``(i) the public; or
                            ``(ii) a private company for use by the 
                        private company.
            ``(3) Database.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Administrator shall--
                            ``(i) develop a spatial, relational 
                        database of buildings in the national flood 
                        insurance program; and
                            ``(ii) obtain the data necessary to support 
                        the digital display created under paragraph 
                        (2).
                    ``(B) Data.--The data obtained under subparagraph 
                (A) shall include, at a minimum--
                            ``(i) footprints and elevations (including 
                        lowest adjacent grade and first floor) from 
                        Light Detection and Ranging (commonly known as 
                        `LiDAR') data collections or other data 
                        collection methods that meet or exceed the 
                        standards for buildings, as determined by the 
                        Administrator;
                            ``(ii) elevation certificates;
                            ``(iii) parcel, address, and imagery data 
                        necessary for the identification, assessment, 
                        and reduction of flood hazards for individual 
                        properties;
                            ``(iv) flood insurance rate maps, studies, 
                        and supporting data;
                            ``(v) letters of map change; and
                            ``(vi) any other data that the 
                        Administrator determines necessary to collect 
                        to meet the objectives of this section.
            ``(4) Data procurement.--The Administrator shall obtain any 
        data necessary to establish the environment under paragraph 
        (1), including by--
                    ``(A) directing communities participating in the 
                National Flood Insurance Program, by regulation, to 
                collect and supply information, including elevation 
                data, for each structure that obtains a construction or 
                other development permit within--
                            ``(i) a special flood hazard area; or
                            ``(ii) an advisory special flood hazard 
                        area adopted by the community;
                    ``(B) issuing guidelines and standards, as 
                determined by the Administrator;
                    ``(C) partnering with other Federal, State, local, 
                and private stakeholders to the greatest extent 
                possible to obtain and share existing data that meets 
                or exceeds the standards determined by the 
                Administrator under subparagraph (B); and
                    ``(D) contracting with private companies to obtain 
                new LiDAR data collections or elevation certificates.
            ``(5) NFIP premium credit.--The Administrator shall provide 
        a 1-time premium credit of not more than $500 to a policyholder 
        for the purchase of an elevation certificate.
            ``(6) Mass letters of map change.--In coordination with 
        States and communities that have successfully implemented a 
        dynamic, database-derived digital display environment for flood 
        hazard risk production and dissemination, the Administrator 
        shall issue guidelines for the adoption and integration into 
        the National Flood Mapping Program of LiDAR-based letter of map 
        amendment approaches.
            ``(7) Annual report.--The Administrator shall submit to the 
        Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate 
        and the Committee on Financial Services of the House of 
        Representatives an annual progress report on the implementation 
        of this subsection, which shall include recommendations to 
        reduce the cost and improve the implementation of this 
        subsection.''.
    (b) Reimbursement Authority.--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) Reimbursement Authority.--With respect to any State or local 
agency that assists the Administrator in carrying out the 
responsibilities of the Administrator under subsection (a)(2), the 
Administrator may reimburse the State or local agency for the cost of 
providing that assistance if the State or local agency, in providing 
the assistance, complies with--
            ``(1) any standards established by the Administrator under 
        this section; and
            ``(2) the guidance document entitled `Guidance for Flood 
        Risk Analysis and Mapping: Physical Map Revision (PMR)', 
        published by the Administrator in November 2016.''.
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