Resilience Revolving Loan Fund Act of 2019

IB Union Calendar No. 389 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 3779 [Report No. 116–486] To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to allow the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to provide capitalization grants to eligible entities to establish revolving funds to provide assistance to reduce disaster risks, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JULY 16, 2019 Ms. CRAIG (for herself, Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. CRAWFORD, Mr. KIND, and Mr. SMITH of Missouri) introduced the fol- lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure SEPTEMBER 4, 2020 Additional sponsors: Mr. RICHMOND, Ms. TITUS, Ms. FINKENAUER, Mr. PAPPAS, Miss GONZA´LEZ-COLO´N of Puerto Rico, Mr. GARAMENDI, Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana, and Mr. LIPINSKI SEPTEMBER 4, 2020 Reported with an amendment; committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] [For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on July 16, 2019] VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:18 Sep 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H3779.RH H3779 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3779 RH A BILL To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer- gency Assistance Act to allow the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to provide cap- italization grants to eligible entities to establish revolving funds to provide assistance to reduce disaster risks, and for other purposes. VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:18 Sep 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H3779.RH H3779 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3779 RH 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 ‘‘Resilience Revolving 4 Loan Fund Act of 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. GRANTS TO ENTITIES FOR ESTABLISHMENT OF 6 HAZARD MITIGATION REVOLVING LOAN 7 FUNDS. 8 Title II of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 9 Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5131 et seq.) is 10 amended by adding at the end the following: 11 ‘‘SEC. 205 GRANTS TO ENTITIES FOR ESTABLISHMENT OF 12 HAZARD MITIGATION REVOLVING LOAN 13 FUNDS. 14 ‘‘(a) GENERAL AUTHORITY.— 15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator may 16 enter into agreements with eligible entities to make 17 capitalization grants to such entities for the establish- 18 ment of hazard mitigation revolving loan funds (re- 19 ferred to in this section as ‘entity loan funds’) for 20 providing funding assistance to local governments to 21 carry out eligible projects under this section to reduce 22 disaster risks for homeowners, businesses, nonprofit 23 organizations, and communities in order to de- 24 crease— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:18 Sep 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3779.RH H3779 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3779 RH ‘‘(A) the loss of life and property; 1 ‘‘(B) the cost of insurance claims; and 2 ‘‘(C) Federal disaster payments. 3 ‘‘(2) AGREEMENTS.—Any agreement entered into 4 under this section shall require the participating enti- 5 ty to— 6 ‘‘(A) comply with the requirements of this 7 section; and 8 ‘‘(B) use accounting, audit, and fiscal pro- 9 cedures conforming to generally accepted ac- 10 counting standards. 11 ‘‘(b) APPLICATION.— 12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to receive a 13 capitalization grant under this section, an eligible en- 14 tity shall submit to the Administrator an application 15 that includes the following: 16 ‘‘(A) Project proposals comprised of local 17 government hazard mitigation projects, on the 18 condition that the entity provides public notice 19 not less than 6 weeks prior to the submission of 20 an application. 21 ‘‘(B) An assessment of recurring major dis- 22 aster vulnerabilities impacting the entity that 23 demonstrates an escalating risk to life and prop- 24 erty. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:18 Sep 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3779.RH H3779 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3779 RH ‘‘(C) A description of how the hazard miti- 1 gation plan of the entity has or has not taken the 2 vulnerabilities described in paragraph (2) into 3 account. 4 ‘‘(D) A description about how the projects 5 described in paragraph (1) could conform with 6 the hazard mitigation plans of the entity and 7 local governments. 8 ‘‘(E) A proposal of the systematic and re- 9 gional approach to achieve resilience in a vul- 10 nerable area, including impacts to river basins, 11 river corridors, watersheds, estuaries, bays, coast- 12 al regions, micro-basins, micro-watersheds, eco- 13 systems, and areas at risk of earthquakes, 14 tsunamis, droughts, and wildfires, including the 15 wildland-urban interface. 16 ‘‘(2) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Adminis- 17 trator shall provide technical assistance to eligible en- 18 tities for applications under this section. 19 ‘‘(c) ENTITY LOAN FUND.— 20 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT OF FUND.—An entity that 21 receives a capitalization grant under this section shall 22 establish an entity loan fund that complies with the 23 requirements of this subsection. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:18 Sep 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3779.RH H3779 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 3779 RH ‘‘(2) FUND MANAGEMENT.—Except as provided 1 in paragraph (3), an entity loan fund shall be ad- 2 ministered by the agency responsible for emergency 3 management for such entity and shall include only— 4 ‘‘(A) funds provided by a capitalization 5 grant under this section; 6 ‘‘(B) repayments of loans under this section 7 to the entity loan fund; and 8 ‘‘(C) interest earned on amounts in the en- 9 tity loan fund. 10 ‘‘(3) ADMINISTRATION.—A participating entity 11 may combine the financial administration of the enti- 12 ty loan fund of such entity with the financial admin- 13 istration of any other revolving fund established by 14 such entity if the Administrator determines that— 15 ‘‘(A) the capitalization grant, entity share, 16 repayments of loans, and interest earned on 17 amounts in the entity loan fund are accounted 18 for separately from other amounts in the revolv- 19 ing fund; and 20 ‘‘(B) the authority to establish assistance 21 priorities and carry out oversight activities re- 22 mains in the control of the agency responsible for 23 emergency management for the entity. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:18 Sep 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3779.RH H3779 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 3779 RH ‘‘(4) ENTITY SHARE OF FUNDS.—On or before 1 the date on which a participating entity receives a 2 capitalization grant under this section, the entity 3 shall deposit into the entity loan fund of such entity, 4 an amount equal to not less than 10 percent of the 5 amount of the capitalization grant. 6 ‘‘(d) APPORTIONMENT.— 7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise provided 8 by this subsection, the Administrator shall apportion 9 funds made available to carry out this section to enti- 10 ties that have entered into an agreement under sub- 11 section (a)(2) in amounts as determined by the Ad- 12 ministrator. 13 ‘‘(2) RESERVATION OF FUNDS.—The Adminis- 14 trator shall reserve not more than 2.5 percent of the 15 amount made available to carry out this section for— 16 ‘‘(A) administrative costs incurred in car- 17 rying out this section; and 18 ‘‘(B) providing technical assistance to par- 19 ticipating entities under subsection (b)(2). 20 ‘‘(3) PRIORITY.—In the apportionment of cap- 21 italization grants under this subsection, the Adminis- 22 trator shall give priority to entity applications under 23 subsection (b) that— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:18 Sep 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3779.RH H3779 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 3779 RH ‘‘(A) propose projects increasing resilience 1 and reducing risk of harm to natural and built 2 infrastructure; 3 ‘‘(B) involve a partnership between 2 or 4 more eligible entities to carry out a project or 5 similar projects; 6 ‘‘(C) take into account regional impacts of 7 hazards on river basins, river corridors, micro- 8 watersheds, macro-watersheds, estuaries, bays, 9 coastal regions, and areas vulnerable to earth- 10 quake, drought, tsunamis and wildfire, including 11 the wildland-urban interface; or 12 ‘‘(D) propose projects for the resilience of 13 major economic sectors or critical national infra- 14 structure, including ports, global commodity 15 supply chain assets (located within an entity or 16 within the jurisdiction of local governments and 17 tribal governments), capacity, power and water 18 production and distribution centers, and bridges 19 and waterways essential to interstate commerce. 20 ‘‘(e) USE OF FUNDS.— 21 ‘‘(1) TYPES OF ASSISTANCE.—Amounts deposited 22 in an entity loan fund, including loan repayments 23 and interest earned on such amounts, may be used— 24 ‘‘(A) to make loans, on the condition that— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:18 Sep 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3779.RH H3779 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 3779 RH ‘‘(i) such loans are made at an interest 1 rate of not more than 1.5 percent; 2 ‘‘(ii) annual principal and interest 3 payments will commence not later than 1 4 year after completion of any project and all 5 loans will be fully amortized— 6 ‘‘(I) not later than 20 years after 7 the date on which the project is com- 8 pleted; or 9 ‘‘(II) for projects in a low-income 10 geographic area, not later than 30 11 years after the date on which the 12 projects is completed and not longer 13 than the expected design life of the 14 project; 15 ‘‘(iii) the local government receiving a 16 loan establishes a dedicated source of rev- 17 enue for repayment of the loan; 18 ‘‘(iv) the local government receiving a 19 loan has a hazard mitigation plan that has 20 been approved by the participating entity; 21 and 22 ‘‘(v) the entity loan fund will be cred- 23 ited with all payments of principal and in- 24 terest on all loans; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:18 Sep 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3779.RH H3779 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 3779 RH ‘‘(B) for mitigation planning, not to exceed 1 10 percent of the capitalization grants made to 2 the participating entity in a fiscal year; 3 ‘‘(C) for the reasonable costs of admin- 4 istering the fund and conducting activities under 5 this section, except that such amounts shall not 6 exceed $100,000 per year, 2 percent of the cap- 7 italization grants made to the participating en- 8 tity in a fiscal year, or 1 percent of the value 9 of the entity loan fund, whichever amount is 10 greatest, plus the amount of any fees collected by 11 the entity for such purpose regardless of the 12 source; and 13 ‘‘(D) to earn interest on the entity loan 14 fund. 15 ‘‘(2) PROHIBITION ON DETERMINATION THAT 16 LOAN IS A DUPLICATION.—In carrying out this sec- 17 tion, Administrator may not determine that a loan is 18 a duplication of assistance or a duplication of pro- 19 grams. 20 ‘‘(3) PROJECTS AND ACTIVITIES ELIGIBLE FOR 21 ASSISTANCE.—Except as provided in this subsection, 22 a participating entity may use funds in the entity 23 loan fund to provide financial assistance for projects 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:18 Sep 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3779.RH H3779 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 3779 RH or activities that mitigate the impacts of hazards, in- 1 cluding— 2 ‘‘(A) drought and prolonged episodes of in- 3 tense heat; 4 ‘‘(B) severe storms, including tornados, 5 wind storms, cyclones, and severe winter storms; 6 ‘‘(C) wildfires; 7 ‘‘(D) earthquakes; 8 ‘‘(E) flooding, including the construction, 9 repair, or replacement of a non-Federal levee or 10 other flood control structure, provided the Ad- 11 ministrator, in consultation with the Corps of 12 Engineers (if appropriate), requires an eligible 13 entity to determine that such levee or structure 14 is designed, constructed, and maintained in ac- 15 cordance with sound engineering practices and 16 standards equivalent to the purpose for which 17 such levee or structure is intended; 18 ‘‘(F) storm surges; 19 ‘‘(G) chemical spills that present an immi- 20 nent threat to life and property; 21 ‘‘(H) seepage resulting from chemical spills 22 and flooding; and 23 ‘‘(I) any catastrophic event that the entity 24 determines appropriate. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:18 Sep 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3779.RH H3779 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 3779 RH ‘‘(4) ZONING AND LAND USE PLANNING 1 CHANGES.—A participating entity may use not more 2 than 10 percent of the entity loan fund in a fiscal 3 year to provide financial assistance for zoning and 4 land use planning changes focused on— 5 ‘‘(A) the development and improvement of 6 zoning and land use codes that incentivize and 7 encourage low-impact development, resilient 8 wildland-urban interface land management and 9 development, natural infrastructure, green 10 stormwater management, conservation areas ad- 11 jacent to floodplains, implementation of water- 12 shed or greenway master plans, and reconnection 13 of floodplains; 14 ‘‘(B) the study and creation of land use in- 15 centives that reward developers for greater reli- 16 ance on low impact development stormwater best 17 management practices, exchange density in- 18 creases for increased open space and improve- 19 ment of neighborhood catch basins to mitigate 20 urban flooding, reward developers for including 21 and augmenting natural infrastructure adjacent 22 to and around building projects without reliance 23 on increased sprawl, and reward developers for 24 addressing wildfire ignition; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:18 Sep 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3779.RH H3779 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 3779 RH ‘‘(C) the study and creation of an erosion 1 response plan that accommodates river, lake, for- 2 est, plains, and ocean shoreline retreating or 3 bluff stabilization due to increased flooding and 4 disaster impacts. 5 ‘‘(5) ADMINISTRATIVE AND TECHNICAL COSTS.— 6 For each fiscal year, a participating entity may use 7 the amount described in paragraph (1)(C) to— 8 ‘‘(A) pay the reasonable costs of admin- 9 istering the programs under this section, includ- 10 ing the cost of establishing an entity loan fund; 11 ‘‘(B) provide technical assistance to rec [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]