[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7836 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7836

    To amend the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 to facilitate 
 community action to address repetitively flooded areas, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 19, 2022

 Mr. Blumenauer (for himself and Mr. Casten) introduced the following 
    bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To amend the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 to facilitate 
 community action to address repetitively flooded areas, 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 ``Repeatedly Flooded Communities 
Planning Assistance Act of 2022''.

SEC. 2. COMMUNITY ACTION TO ADDRESS REPETITIVELY FLOODED AREAS.

    Section 1361 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 
4102) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(e) Community Action for Repeatedly Flooded Areas.--
            ``(1) Definitions.--For purposes of this subsection, the 
        following definitions shall apply:
                    ``(A) Covered community.--The term `covered 
                community' means a community--
                            ``(i) that is participating in the national 
                        flood insurance program under section 1315 (42 
                        U.S.C. 4022);
                            ``(ii) within which are located--
                                    ``(I) not fewer than 50 repetitive 
                                loss structures; or
                                    ``(II) not fewer than 5 severe 
                                repetitive loss structures for which 
                                mitigation activities meeting the 
                                standards for approval under section 
                                1366(c)(2)(A) (42 U.S.C. 
                                4101c(c)(2)(A)) have not been 
                                conducted; and
                            ``(iii) which has been identified by the 
                        Administrator as a priority for assessment and 
                        mitigation in accordance with the regulations 
                        authorized by this section.
                    ``(B) Repetitive loss structure.--The term 
                `repetitive loss structure' has the meaning given such 
                term in section 1370 (42 U.S.C. 4121).
                    ``(C) Severe repetitive loss structure.--The term 
                `severe repetitive loss structure' has the meaning 
                given such term in section 1366(h) (42 U.S.C. 
                4101c(h)).
            ``(2) Requirements for covered communities.--The 
        Administrator shall, by regulation, require a covered community 
        to--
                    ``(A) determine, with assistance from the 
                Administrator, the areas within the covered community 
                in which properties described in paragraph (1)(A)(ii) 
                are located in order to identify areas that are 
                repeatedly damaged by floods;
                    ``(B) assess, with assistance from the 
                Administrator, future conditions which may represent 
                continuing risks to the repeatedly damaged areas 
                identified pursuant to subparagraph (A);
                    ``(C) develop a community-specific plan for 
                mitigating continuing flood risks to the repeatedly 
                damaged areas identified pursuant to subparagraph (A);
                    ``(D) submit the plan described in subparagraph (C) 
                and any plan updates to the Administrator at 
                appropriate intervals;
                    ``(E) implement the plan described in subparagraph 
                (C); and
                    ``(F) subject to section 552a of title 5, United 
                States Code, make the plan described in subparagraph 
                (C), any updates to the plan, and reports on progress 
                in reducing flood risk available to the public.
            ``(3) Coordination with existing planning efforts.--As 
        determined by the Administrator, a covered community may 
        address the planning requirements of this subsection in 
        coordination with other planning efforts, including--
                    ``(A) a plan developed under section 1366 of this 
                title (42 U.S.C. 4104c);
                    ``(B) a plan developed under section 322 of the 
                Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
                Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5165); or
                    ``(C) a plan completed for, conducted for, and 
                consistent with criteria for the community rating 
                system authorized under section 1315(b) of this title 
                (42 U.S.C. 4022(b)).
            ``(4) Authorization and assistance.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Administrator may issue 
                appropriate policies and regulations to assist covered 
                communities in identification of repeatedly flooded 
                areas and in implementing practical plans for 
                addressing the identified flooding problems.
                    ``(B) Types of assistance.--Assistance authorized 
                under this section may include--
                            ``(i) sharing of information in accordance 
                        with the requirements of section 552a of title 
                        5, United States Code, and the subchapter II of 
                        chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code;
                            ``(ii) consideration of possible sources of 
                        financial assistance to communities, 
                        including--
                                    ``(I) potential waiver or lowering 
                                of non-Federal cost shares for 
                                mitigation of properties; and
                                    ``(II) potential priority for 
                                applicable grant mitigation funding 
                                managed by the Administrator;
                            ``(iii) additional technical assistance to 
                        communities the Administrator may deem most at-
                        risk for repeated flooding events;
                            ``(iv) reasonable considerations and 
                        targeted assistance for communities defined as 
                        small and impoverished or high-risk under 
                        section 203(a) of the Robert T. Stafford 
                        Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 
                        (42 U.S.C 5133(a)); and
                            ``(v) special assistance aimed at 
                        implementing Executive Order 13985 (January 20, 
                        2021) on Advancing Racial Equity and Support 
                        for Underserved Communities Through the Federal 
                        Government, as defined by the Administrator.
                    ``(C) Special considerations.--In determining an 
                appropriate level of assistance for a covered 
                community, as provided in subparagraph (B), the 
                Administrator shall consider the extent to which the 
                community is working to remedy problems associated with 
                repeated flooding and the resources available to the 
                covered community, including--
                            ``(i) any Federal or State funding received 
                        by the covered community;
                            ``(ii) the portion of the covered community 
                        that is located within areas having special 
                        flood hazards; and
                            ``(iii) any other factor that makes it 
                        difficult for the covered community to conduct 
                        mitigation activities for flood-prone 
                        structures.
            ``(5) Reports to congress.--Not later than 3 years after 
        the date of enactment of this subsection, and not less 
        frequently than once every 2 years thereafter, the 
        Administrator shall submit to the Congress a report regarding 
        the progress made by covered communities with respect to 
        implementing plans developed under paragraph (2)(C) and, to the 
        extent possible, the trends in numbers of repetitive loss and 
        severe repetitive loss properties.''.
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