[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1545 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1545
To amend the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 to ensure community
accountability for areas repeatedly damaged by floods, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
April 30, 2025
Mr. Scott of South Carolina (for himself and Mr. Schatz) introduced the
following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on
Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 to ensure community
accountability for areas repeatedly damaged by floods, 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
Preparation Act''.
SEC. 2. COMMUNITY ACCOUNTABILITY FOR REPEATEDLY FLOODED AREAS.
(a) In General.--Section 1361 of the National Flood Insurance Act
of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4102) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(e) Community Accountability for Repeatedly Damaged Areas.--
``(1) Definitions.--In this subsection--
``(A) the term `covered community' means a
community--
``(i) that is participating in the national
flood insurance program under section 1315; and
``(ii) within which are located--
``(I) not fewer than 50 repetitive
loss structures with respect to each of
which, during any 10-year period, there
have been not fewer than 2 claims for
payments under flood insurance coverage
for a total amount that is more than
$1,000;
``(II) not fewer than 5 severe
repetitive loss structures for which
mitigation activities meeting the
standards for approval under section
1366(c)(2)(A) have not been conducted;
or
``(III) a public facility or a
private nonprofit facility that has
received assistance for repair,
restoration, reconstruction, or
replacement under section 406 of the
Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and
Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C.
5172) relating to more than 1 flooding
event during the most recent 10-year
period;
``(B) the terms `private nonprofit facility' and
`public facility' have the meanings given those terms
in section 102 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster
Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122);
and
``(C) the term `severe repetitive loss structure'
has the meaning given the term in section 1366(h).
``(2) Requirements for covered communities.--The
Administrator shall, by regulation, require a covered community
to--
``(A) determine the areas within the covered
community in which properties described in paragraph
(1)(A)(ii) or flood-damaged facilities are located in
order to identify areas that are repeatedly damaged by
floods;
``(B) assess, with assistance from the
Administrator, the continuing risks to the repeatedly
damaged areas identified under subparagraph (A);
``(C) develop a community-specific plan for
mitigating continuing flood risks to the repeatedly
damaged areas identified under 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 any updates to the plan; 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) Incorporation into existing plans.--A covered
community may incorporate a plan developed under paragraph
(2)(C), including any updates to such a plan, into a mitigation
plan developed under--
``(A) section 1366; and
``(B) section 322 of the Robert T. Stafford
Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C.
5165).
``(4) Assistance to communities.--
``(A) Data.--To assist a covered community in
developing a plan required under paragraph (2)(C),
including any updates to such a plan, the Administrator
shall, upon request, provide the covered community with
appropriate data regarding the property addresses and
dates of claims associated with insured properties
within the covered community.
``(B) Mitigation grants.--In making a determination
regarding financial assistance under this Act, the
Administrator may consider the extent to which a
covered community--
``(i) has complied with this subsection;
and
``(ii) is working to remedy problems with
respect to repeatedly flooded areas.
``(5) Sanctions.--
``(A) In general.--The Administrator may, by
regulations issued in accordance with the procedures
required under section 553 of title 5, United States
Code, impose appropriate sanctions on a covered
community that fails to--
``(i) comply with this subsection; or
``(ii) make sufficient progress in reducing
the flood risks to areas in the covered
community that are repeatedly damaged by
floods.
``(B) Suspension and probation.--The sanctions
described in subparagraph (A) may include suspension
from the national flood insurance program or probation
under that program, as provided under section 59.24 of
title 44, Code of Federal Regulations, as in effect on
the date of enactment of this subsection.
``(C) Notice.--
``(i) In general.--Before imposing any
sanctions under this paragraph, the
Administrator shall provide the covered
community that is subject to the sanctions with
notice of the violation that may subject the
covered community to the sanctions.
``(ii) Contents.--The notice required under
clause (i) shall include recommendations for
actions that the covered community receiving
the notice may take in order to bring the
covered community into compliance.
``(D) Considerations.--In determining appropriate
sanctions to impose under this paragraph, the
Administrator shall consider the resources available to
the covered community that is subject to the sanctions,
including--
``(i) any Federal funding received by the
covered community;
``(ii) the portion of the covered community
that lies within an area 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.
``(6) Reports to congress.--Not later than 6 years after
the date of enactment of this subsection, and not less
frequently than once every 2 years thereafter, the
Administrator shall submit to Congress a report regarding the
progress made by covered communities with respect to
implementing plans developed under paragraph (2)(C), including
any updates to those plans.''.
(b) Regulations.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment
of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management
Agency shall issue regulations necessary to carry out subsection (e) of
section 1361 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C.
4102), as added by subsection (a) of this section.
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