[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3468 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 3468
To require rulemaking by the Administrator of the Federal Emergency
Management Agency to address considerations in evaluating the need for
public and individual disaster assistance, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
December 12, 2023
Mr. Durbin (for himself and Ms. Duckworth) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland
Security and Governmental Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require rulemaking by the Administrator of the Federal Emergency
Management Agency to address considerations in evaluating the need for
public and individual disaster assistance, 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 ``Fairness in Federal Disaster
Declarations Act of 2023''.
SEC. 2. REGULATORY ACTION REQUIRED.
(a) In General.--Not later than 120 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Emergency
Management Agency (in this Act referred to as the ``Administrator'')
shall amend the rules of the Administrator under section 206.48 of
title 44, Code of Federal Regulations, as in effect on the date of
enactment of this Act, in accordance with the provisions of this Act.
(b) New Criteria Required.--The amended rules issued under
subsection (a) shall provide for the following:
(1) Public assistance program.--Such rules shall provide
that, with respect to the evaluation of the need for public
assistance--
(A) specific weighted valuations shall be assigned
to each criterion, including--
(i) estimated cost of the assistance, 10
percent;
(ii) localized impacts, 40 percent;
(iii) insurance coverage in force, 10
percent;
(iv) hazard mitigation, 10 percent;
(v) recent multiple disasters, 10 percent;
(vi) programs of other Federal assistance,
10 percent; and
(vii) economic circumstances described in
subparagraph (B), 10 percent; and
(B) the Administrator shall consider the economic
circumstances of--
(i) the local economy of the area affected
by the disaster, including factors such as the
local assessable tax base and local sales tax,
the median income as it compares to that of the
State, and the poverty rate as it compares to
that of the State; and
(ii) the economy of the State, including
factors such as the unemployment rate of the
State, as compared to the national unemployment
rate.
(2) Individual assistance program.--Such rules shall
provide that, with respect to the evaluation of the severity,
magnitude, and impact of the disaster and the evaluation of the
need for assistance to individuals--
(A) specific weighted valuations shall be assigned
to each criterion, including--
(i) concentration of damages, 20 percent;
(ii) trauma, 20 percent;
(iii) special populations, 20 percent;
(iv) voluntary agency assistance, 10
percent;
(v) insurance, 20 percent;
(vi) average amount of individual
assistance by State, 5 percent; and
(vii) economic considerations described in
subparagraph (B), 5 percent; and
(B) the Administrator shall consider the economic
circumstances of the area affected by the disaster,
including factors such as the local assessable tax base
and local sales tax, the median income as it compares
to that of the State, and the poverty rate as it
compares to that of the State.
(c) Effective Date.--The amended rules issued under subsection (a)
shall apply to any disaster for which a Governor requested a major
disaster declaration under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and
Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) that was denied on or
after January 1, 2012.
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