Federal Disaster Assistance Improvement Act

Section 401 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170) is amended by adding at the end the following:

The chief executive officer of an affected county may submit a request for a declaration by the President that a major disaster exists consistent with the requirements of subsection (a) under the following circumstances:

(A) The Governor of the State or territory in which the affected county is located does not request such a declaration.

(B) The affected county is not included in a request for assistance made by the Governor of the State or territory in which such county is located.

(C) The affected county communicates with the Governor of the State or territory in which the affected county is located about the disaster or potential request for a major disaster declaration before the period described in paragraph (2)(A) has lapsed.

The chief executive officer of an affected county may not submit a request for a declaration by the President that a major disaster exists until—

(A) the period during which the Governor of the State or territory in which such county is located may request such a declaration has lapsed; or

(B) the Governor of the State or territory in which such county is located has communicated to the chief executive officer of the county that the Governor will not seek such a declaration from the President.

In implementing assistance authorized by the President under this Act in response to a request from the chief executive officer of an affected county for a major disaster declaration, any reference in this title or title III to a State or the Governor of a State is deemed to refer to an affected county or the chief executive officer of an affected county, as appropriate.

Nothing in this subsection shall prohibit a county from receiving assistance under this title through a declaration made by the President at the request of a State under subsection (a) if the President does not make a declaration under this subsection for the same incident.

In this subsection, the term county means a county, parrish, or equivalent subdivision of a State or Territory of the United States that is a unit of general local government.

In the event a county is located in a State where 1 or more counties are not units of general local government, the term county includes the largest city, town, or unit of general local government by population in an area affected by a major disaster on behalf of all affected cities, towns, and other local units of general local government.

Section 501 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5191) is amended by adding at the end the following:

The chief executive officer of an affected county may submit a request for a declaration by the President that an emergency exists consistent with the requirements of subsection (a) under the following circumstances:

(A) The Governor of the State or territory in which the affected county is located does not request such a declaration.

(B) The affected county is not included in a request for assistance made by the Governor of the State or territory in which such county is located.

(C) The affected county communicates with the Governor of the State or territory in which the affected county is located about the emergency or potential request for an emergency declaration before the period described in paragraph (2)(A) has lapsed.

The chief executive officer of an affected county may not submit a request for a declaration by the President that an emergency exists until—

(A) the period during which the Governor of the State or territory in which such county is located may request such a declaration has lapsed; or

(B) the Governor of the State or territory in which such county is located has communicated to the chief executive officer of the county that the Governor will not seek such a declaration from the President.

In implementing assistance authorized by the President under this Act in response to a request of the chief executive officer of an affected county for an emergency declaration, any reference in this title or title III to a State or the Governor of a State is deemed to refer to an affected county or the chief executive officer of an affected county, as appropriate.

Nothing in this subsection shall prohibit a county from receiving assistance under this title through a declaration made by the President at the request of a State under subsection (a) if the President does not make a declaration under this subsection for the same incident.

In this subsection, the term county means a county, parrish, or equivalent subdivision of a State or Territory of the United States that is a unit of general local government.

In the event a county is located in a State where 1 or more counties are not units of general local government, the term county includes the largest city, town, or unit of general local government by population in an area affected by an emergency on behalf of all affected cities, towns, and other units of general local government.

Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall issue such regulations, after providing public notice and opportunity for comment, as are necessary to establish a process to implement the amendments made by this section.

The regulations required under subparagraph (A) shall include—

(i) a process by which the chief executive officer of a county may—

(I) submit a request for the Administrator to recommend that the President make a major disaster or emergency declaration for such county; and

(II) upon approval of such request, directly receive any assistance provided pursuant to such request;

(ii) in addition to the eligibility factors described under section 206.48 of title 44, Code of Federal Regulations, eligibility criteria for the approval of a request from a county for a major disaster or emergency declaration that gives consideration to—

(I) poverty rates within such county;

(II) the economy within such county, including the economy of the area within such county that is impacted by the disaster or emergency;

(III) relevant social vulnerability indexes for residents of such county;

(IV) the rate of unemployment before the disaster or emergency within such county;

(V) underserved communities within such county;

(VI) the fiscal condition of the unit of government with jurisdiction over such county;

(VII) the degree to which a significant proportion of residents of such county received Federal benefits during the year preceding the disaster or emergency, including—

(aa) benefits provided under the Medicaid program under title XIX of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.);

(bb) benefits provided under the supplemental nutrition assistance program established under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.);

(cc) benefits provided under the program of block grants to States for temporary assistance for needy families established under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.); and

(dd) any other Federal benefits the Administrator determines is appropriate; and

(VIII) the impact of other recent disasters and emergencies on residents within such county;

(iii) eligibility criteria for contiguous counties located within the same State or territory to seek Federal disaster assistance together; and

(iv) timelines for a chief executive officer of a county to submit such request and opportunities to seek extensions, where appropriate.

Upon issuing a final regulation pursuant to paragraph (1), the Administrator shall issue guidance regarding such regulation, including publicizing and providing guidance directly to counties about the process by which the chief executive officer of a county may submit a request for the declaration of a major disaster or emergency.

The Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Administration shall monitor and analyze events that—

(1) significantly impact underserved communities; and

(2) would be eligible to be declared by the President as a major disaster or emergency under this Act except that the Governor or head of an Indian tribe with jurisdiction over the area in which the event occurred did not request the declaration of a major disaster or emergency pursuant to this Act.

In this section, the term underserved community means a geographically distinct area with a population that—

(1) has limited or no access to resources or are otherwise disenfranchised; and

(2) may include individuals who are—

(A) socioeconomically disadvantaged;

(B) have limited English language proficiency;

(C) geographically isolated or educationally disenfranchised;

(D) people of color;

(E) of ethnic and national origin minorities;

(F) women and children;

(G) individuals with disabilities and others with access and functional needs; and

(H) seniors.

(1) in evaluating the need for assistance to vulnerable populations and low-income communities; and

(2) the effects of unemployment, lack of insurance, and other factors that necessary to assess the ability of vulnerable and disadvantaged communities’ ability to recover from a major disaster or emergency.

In providing assistance under this Act in response to a major disaster or emergency, the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Administration shall consider highly localized impacts of the major disaster or emergency on underserved communities (as defined in section 328) that impact the ability of such vulnerable and disadvantaged communities to recover from the major disaster or emergency.

(1) review an regulations covering public assistance or individual assistance provided under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) to ensure that the evaluation for providing such public assistance or individual assistance evaluation includes sufficient equity-related considerations, including considerations related to income, unemployment, and the poverty level; and

(2) evaluate the potential effect of applying greater weight to equity-related considerations in providing such public assistance or individual assistance.

Section 401(a) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170(a)) is amended by striking Based on the request of a Governor under this section, and inserting With respect to a request for a declaration by the President under this section, the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Administration shall identify the minimum data and information required to evaluate a declaration request, request and receive such information from the State, and provide a recommendation as to whether to declare a major disaster to the President. Based on the request of a Governor under this section and the recommendation of the Administrator,.

Section 501(a) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5191(a)) is amended by striking Based upon such Governor's request, and inserting With respect to a request for a declaration by the President under this section, the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Administration shall identify the minimum data and information required to evaluate a declaration request, request and receive such information from the State, and provide a recommendation as to whether to declare an emergency to the President. Based upon such Governor's request and the recommendation of the Administrator,.

Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Administration shall—

(1) establish a simplified method for requesting a major disaster declaration under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act declaration submission; and

(2) revise such regulations as are necessary to identify conditions underserved communities, as defined in section 328 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, need to meet to be appropriate for the simplified method under paragraph (1).

Potential considerations could relate to community population size, population demographics, whether the community is an underserved community, or the financial and/or staff capacity of the affected community.