What This Bill Does
This bill allows states and communities to create their own flood maps instead of only using maps made by the federal government. It requires a Technical Mapping Advisory Council to recommend standards that communities must follow when making these alternative maps. The bill also requires the federal government to review and approve or reject community-made maps within six months.
Who It Affects
States and communities participating in the National Flood Insurance Program
Chief executive officers (governors and mayors) or people they designate to manage flood mapping
Smaller communities seeking resources for flood mapping
Individuals living in communities proposing new flood elevation determinations
The federal flood insurance agency administrator
Key Provisions
The Technical Mapping Advisory Council must recommend standards and procedures within 12 months for states and communities to use when developing alternative flood maps (Sec. 2(a)(m)(1)).
Communities can submit alternative flood insurance rate maps to the federal administrator for approval or rejection (Sec. 2(b)).
The federal administrator must decide whether to approve or disapprove community-made maps within six months of receiving them (Sec. 2(c)(4)(A) and (B)).
Standards for community flood maps must include procedures for notifying individuals about proposed flood elevation determinations and giving them the right to appeal (Sec. 2(a)(m)(1)).
The Council must recommend methods to make flood mapping more efficient and to reduce costs, data requirements and paperwork (Sec. 2(a)(6) and (7)).
What Changes
The Technical Mapping Advisory Council gains new duties to recommend standards that let communities develop their own flood maps. Communities that choose to do so can submit alternative maps to the federal government for review. The federal agency must respond to these submissions within six months instead of following standard rulemaking procedures (which normally take longer).
Important Definitions
Not specified in bill text
Effective Date
Not specified in bill text
I
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION H. R. 1308
To allow communities to develop alternative flood insurance rate maps, and
for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 1, 2023
Mr. LUETKEMEYER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Financial Services
A BILL
To allow communities to develop alternative flood insurance
rate maps, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
2
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
3
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Community Mapping
4
Act’’.
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SEC. 2. COMMUNITY FLOOD MAPS.
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(a) TECHNICAL MAPPING ADVISORY COUNCIL.—Sec-
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tion 100215 of the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Re-
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form Act of 2012 (42 U.S.C. 4101a) is amended—
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(1) in subsection (c)—
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•HR 1308 IH
(A) in paragraph (5)(B), by striking ‘‘and’’
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at the end;
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(B) by redesignating paragraph (6) as
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paragraph (9); and
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(C) by inserting after paragraph (5) the
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following new paragraphs:
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‘‘(6) recommend to the Administrator methods
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or actions to make the flood mapping processes more
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efficient;
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‘‘(7) recommend to the Administrator methods
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or actions to minimize any cost, data, and paper-
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work requirements of the flood mapping processes;
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‘‘(8) assist communities, and in particular
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smaller communities, in locating the resources re-
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quired to participate in the development of flood ele-
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vations and flood hazard area designations; and’’;
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and
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(2) by adding at the end the following new sub-
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section:
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‘‘(m) COMMUNITY FLOOD MAPS.—
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‘‘(1) STANDARDS AND PROCEDURES.—In addi-
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tion to the other duties of the Council under this
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section, not later than the expiration of the 12-
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month period beginning on the date of the enact-
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ment of this subsection, the Council shall rec-
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ommend to the Administrator standards and re-
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quirements for chief executive officers, or entities
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designated by chief executive officers, of States and
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communities participating in the National Flood In-
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surance Program to use in mapping flood hazards
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located in States and communities that choose to de-
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velop alternative maps to the flood insurance rate
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maps developed by the Agency. The recommended
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standards and requirements shall include procedures
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for providing notification and appeal rights to indi-
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viduals within the communities of the proposed flood
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elevation determinations.
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‘‘(2) EXEMPTION
FROM
RULEMAKING.—Until
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such time as the Administrator promulgates regula-
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tions implementing paragraph (1) of this subsection,
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the Administrator may, notwithstanding any other
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provision of law, adopt policies and procedures nec-
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essary to implement such paragraphs without under-
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going notice and comment rulemaking and without
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conducting regulatory analyses otherwise required by
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statute, regulation, or executive order.’’.
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(b) FEMA IDENTIFICATION
OF
FLOOD-PRONE
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AREAS.—Subsection (a) of section 1360 of the National
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Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4101(a)) is
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amended—
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(1) in paragraph (2), by striking the period at
1
the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’;
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(2) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as
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subparagraphs (A), and (B), respectively, and re-
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aligning such subparagraphs so as to be indented 4
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ems from the left margin;
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(3) by striking ‘‘is authorized to consult’’ and
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inserting the following: ‘‘is authorized—
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‘‘(1) to consult’’;
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(4) by adding at the end the following new
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paragraph:
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‘‘(2) to receive proposed alternative maps from
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communities developed pursuant to standards and
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requirements recommended by the Technical Map-
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ping Advisory Council, as required by section
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100215(m) of the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance
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Reform Act of 2012 (42 U.S.C. 4101a(m)) and
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adopted by the Administrator as required by section
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100216(c)(3) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 4101b(c)(3)),
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so that the Administrator may—
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‘‘(A) publish information with respect to
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all flood plain areas, including coastal areas lo-
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cated in the United States, which have special
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flood hazards, and
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•HR 1308 IH
‘‘(B) establish or update flood-risk zone
1
data in all such areas, and make estimates with
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respect to the rates of probable flood caused
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loss for the various flood risk zones for each of
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these areas until the date specified in section
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1319.’’.
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(c) NATIONAL FLOOD MAPPING PROGRAM.—Section
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100216 of the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform
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Act of 2012 (42 U.S.C. 4101b) is amended—
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(1) in subsection (a), by inserting ‘‘prepared by
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the Administrator, or by a community pursuant to
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section 1360(a)(2) of the National Flood Insurance
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Act of 1968,’’ after ‘‘Program rate maps’’;
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(2) in subsection (c)—
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(A) in paragraph (1)(B), by striking ‘‘and’’
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at the end;
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(B) in paragraph (2)(C), by striking the
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period at the end and inserting a semicolon;
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and
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(C) by adding at the end the following new
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paragraphs:
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‘‘(3) establish and adopt standards and require-
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ments for development by States and communities of
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alternative flood insurance rate maps to be sub-
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mitted to the Administrator pursuant to section
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1360(a)(2) of the National Flood Insurance Act of
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1968, taking into consideration the recommenda-
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tions of the Technical Mapping Advisory Council
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made pursuant to section 100215(m) of this Act (42
4
U.S.C. 4101a(m)); and
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‘‘(4) in the case of proposed alternative maps
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received by the Administrator pursuant to such sec-
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tion 1360(a)(2), not later than the expiration of the
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6-month period beginning upon receipt of such pro-
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posed alternative maps—
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‘‘(A) determine whether such maps were
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developed in accordance with the standards and
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requirements adopted pursuant to paragraph
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(3) of this subsection; and
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‘‘(B) approve or disapprove such proposed
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maps for use under National Flood Insurance
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Program.’’; and
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(3) in subsection (d)(1), by inserting ‘‘max-
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imum’’ before ‘‘30-day period’’ each place such term
19
appears in subparagraphs (B) and (C).
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Æ
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