RELIEF Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 5868 To amend the Act of August 18, 1941 (commonly known as the Flood Control Act of 1941), to allow a non-Federal sponsor to carry out certain work, to provide for reimbursement of costs to complete such work, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 12, 2020 Mr. FORTENBERRY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure A BILL To amend the Act of August 18, 1941 (commonly known as the Flood Control Act of 1941), to allow a non- Federal sponsor to carry out certain work, to provide for reimbursement of costs to complete such work, 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 ‘‘Restoring the Efforts 4 of Local Involvement in Emergencies and Floods Act’’ or 5 the ‘‘RELIEF Act’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:44 Feb 19, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5868.IH H5868 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 5868 IH SEC. 2. WORK CARRIED OUT BY A NON-FEDERAL SPONSOR. 1 Section 5(a) of the Act of August 18, 1941 (Chapter 2 377, 55 Stat. 650; 33 U.S.C. 701n), is amended by adding 3 at the end the following new paragraph: 4 ‘‘(5) WORK CARRIED OUT BY A NON-FEDERAL 5 SPONSOR.— 6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may 7 authorize a non-Federal sponsor to carry out 8 work described in paragraph (1). 9 ‘‘(B) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to carry 10 out work described in paragraph (1), a non- 11 Federal sponsor shall— 12 ‘‘(i) enter into a written agreement 13 with the Secretary prior to initiation of 14 such work; and 15 ‘‘(ii) carry out such work in compli- 16 ance with the requirements of— 17 ‘‘(I) subchapter IV of chapter 31 18 of title 40, United States Code; 19 ‘‘(II) chapter 37 of title 40, 20 United States Code; and 21 ‘‘(III) any other terms or condi- 22 tions the Secretary considers appro- 23 priate. 24 ‘‘(C) REIMBURSEMENT.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:44 Feb 19, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5868.IH H5868 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 5868 IH ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Upon a deter- 1 mination by the Secretary that the work 2 carried out by a non-Federal sponsor pur- 3 suant to a written agreement required by 4 subparagraph (B)(i) is complete, the Sec- 5 retary shall reimburse such non-Federal 6 sponsor for the Federal share of costs to 7 complete such work. 8 ‘‘(ii) ADDITIONAL REIMBURSE- 9 MENT.—If the Federal share of the cost to 10 complete work performed pursuant to a 11 written agreement required by subpara- 12 graph (B)(i) exceeds the amount agreed to 13 by the Secretary under such agreement, 14 the reimbursement of any amounts in addi- 15 tion to such agreement shall be at the dis- 16 cretion of the Secretary. 17 ‘‘(D) ANNUAL LIMIT ON REIMBURSEMENTS 18 NOT APPLICABLE.—A written agreement re- 19 quired by subparagraph (B)(i) is not subject to 20 section 102 of the Energy and Water Develop- 21 ment Appropriations Act of 2006 (33 U.S.C. 22 2221).’’. 23 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:44 Feb 19, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H5868.IH H5868 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS