Sec. 101. Rebuilding public infrastructure

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A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.

Title IV of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act ( 42 U.S.C. 5170 et seq. ) is amended by inserting after section 408 the following: The President may make grants— to a State or local government for the repair, restoration, reconstruction, or replacement of a public facility damaged or destroyed by a major disaster; and subject to paragraph (2), to a person that owns or operates a private nonprofit facility damaged or destroyed by a major disaster for the repair, restoration, reconstruction, or replacement of the facility.

The President may make grants to a private nonprofit facility under paragraph (1)(B) only if— the facility provides critical services (as defined by the President) in the event of a major disaster; or the owner or operator of the facility— has applied for a disaster loan under section 7(b) of the Small Business Act ( 15 U.S.C. 636(b) ); and has been determined to be ineligible for such a loan; or has obtained such a loan in the maximum amount for which the Small Business Administration determines the facility is eligible.

A church, synagogue, mosque, temple, or other house of worship, educational facility, or any other private nonprofit facility shall be eligible for grants under paragraph (1)(B), without regard to the religious character of the facility or the primary religious use of the facility. No house of worship, educational facility, or any other private nonprofit facility may be excluded from receiving grants under paragraph (1)(B) because leadership or membership in the organization operating the house of worship is limited to persons who share a religious faith or practice.

In this paragraph, the term critical services includes power, water (including water provided by an irrigation organization or facility), sewer, wastewater treatment, communications (including broadcast and telecommunications), education, food and emergency supply distribution, and emergency medical care. The President shall notify the following committees not later than 30 days after making any contribution under this section in an amount greater than $20,000,000: The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate.

The Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives. The Committee on Appropriations of the Senate. The Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives. Grant funds made to a State, local government, or a person that owns or operates a private nonprofit facility under this section may be used— to repair, restore, reconstruct, or replace the public or private nonprofit facility damaged or destroyed by a major disaster to applicable building codes as of the time of repair, restoration, reconstruction, or replacement, including incorporating mitigation measures consistent with disaster risks for the geographical area; to repair, restore, incorporate mitigation measures, or expand other selected public facilities; to construct new facilities; and combined to construct a consolidated facility or facilities of a State, local government, or owner or operator of a private nonprofit facility; or to fund hazard mitigation measures that the State or local government determines necessary to meet a need for governmental services and functions in the area affected by the major disaster.

The amount of a grant made available pursuant to subsection

(a)shall be determined, without regard to preexisting condition, based on the estimated cost to repair, restore, reconstruct, or replace the public or private nonprofit facility damaged or destroyed by a major disaster to applicable building codes as of the time of repair, restoration, reconstruction, or replacement. Such cost estimate shall— be developed by an appropriately licensed professional; include the cost of incorporating mitigation measures consistent with disaster risks for the geographical area; include associated expenses including labor costs, management costs, materials, and any other costs to repair, restore, reconstruct, or replace the impacted facility; and include the cost of developing such estimate. The cost estimate carried out under subparagraph

(A)shall be presumed to be accurate and reasonable unless there is evidence of criminal fraud. Upon submission by the applicant of the cost estimate carried out under paragraph (2), any review by the Administrator shall be completed not later than 90 days after the receipt of such estimate. In evaluating whether such cost estimation is accurate and reasonable, the Administrator may not consider preexisting condition and the evaluation shall be conducted by an appropriately licensed professional with familiarity with the relevant geographical location, including market considerations and availability of labor and materials for the applicable project. Unless there is evidence of criminal fraud, such estimate shall be deemed to be approved not later than 90 days after the submission of such estimate. Not later than 30 days after the approval of a cost estimate under this subsection, the Administrator shall make the grant funds available to the applicant. Not later than 2 years after such approval, the State, local government, or person that owns or operates a private nonprofit facility may submit a revised cost estimate to account for changes in labor, material, or other costs associated with fluctuations in the market. Upon receipt of a revised cost estimate, the Administrator shall review such revision in the same manner and with the same time limitations as apply to the initial cost estimate. Upon approval of the grant or one-time adjustment, notwithstanding any other provision of law, including section 3716(e) of title 31, United States Code, unless there is evidence of criminal fraud, no legal or administrative action with respect to such approval or adjustment, as applicable, to recover any payment under this section shall be initiated in any forum. A State, local government, or owner or operator of a private nonprofit facility may, with the approval of the Administrator, designate a large, complex infrastructure project as a phased project. With respect to projects designated under subparagraph (A), the respective applicant may submit cost estimates for each phase designated for such project. The submissions for each phase under subparagraph

(B)shall be approved in the same manner and with the same limitations as outlined in paragraphs

(3)through (5). All cost estimates submitted under this section shall be submitted not later than 5 years after the date of the respective major disaster declaration under this title, unless the 5-year period is extended by the President. A State, local government, or owner or operator of a private nonprofit facility that receives funding under this section shall, for each major disaster declared for which funding was provided under this section, submit an annual progress report to the Administrator that includes— a list with descriptions of projects funded; a list and number of projects permitted and commenced; a list of completed projects; and a list of remaining projects and the status of such projects. Upon receipt of a report under this paragraph, the Administrator shall make such report publicly available on the website of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this section and annually thereafter, the inspector general of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, established in section 14 of the FEMA Act of 2025 , shall conduct a review and submit to the committees described in subsection (a)(3) a report containing— a sampling of cost estimates approved in the prior year and assess their reasonableness taking into account labor, material, and market conditions in the relevant locality at the time of the estimate; information on whether the Administrator has placed any overly burdensome requirements on the applicant in the submission process, including whether or not the Administrator has failed to accept submissions based on nonsubstantive or technical reasons; and any evidence of criminal fraud and whether there have been any referrals for further investigation or prosecution. In this subsection: The term applicable building codes means the latest 2 published editions of relevant consensus-based codes, specifications, and standards, including amendments made by State, local, Indian tribal, or territorial governments during the adoption process that incorporate the latest hazard-resistant designs and establish criteria for design, construction, and maintenance for the relevant project. The term appropriately licensed professional means an individual who is an engineer, architect, builder, cost estimator, tradesperson, or similar professional (or combinations thereof, as needed) that is licensed, certified, or authorized to work in the relevant State to perform the type of work related to producing a cost estimate for the relevant project described under this subsection. Except as provided in paragraph (2), the Federal share of assistance under this section shall be not less than 75 percent of the estimated cost of repair, restoration, reconstruction, or replacement carried out under this section. The President may reduce the Federal share of assistance under this section to not less than 65 percent through a sliding scale following an event associated with a major disaster in which a State or Indian tribal government has failed to implement appropriate mitigation measures to address the hazard that caused the damage. Such mitigation measures shall include— establishing and maintaining State-funded mitigation programs dedicated to investment in State and local mitigation projects for public and private nonprofit facilities other than projects carried out with Federal funds; maintaining specified insurance on the facilities subject to projects described under subparagraph (A); employing qualified State and local emergency management and personnel; and using non-Federal funding sources to complete projects in the preapproved project mitigation plan approved under section 322(f). The President may provide incentives to a State or Tribal government to invest in measures that increase readiness for, and resilience from, a major disaster by recognizing such investments through a sliding scale that increases the minimum Federal share to 85 percent. Such measures shall include— establishing and maintaining a dedicated disaster account; establishing and maintaining State risk management programs with dedicated funding for third-party insurance policies, captive insurance, and actuarially sound self-insurance risk pools that insure public facilities against future disaster risk; establishing and maintaining other disaster programs managed and funded by the State, including disaster assistance to individuals; facilitating participation in the community rating system; granting tax incentives for projects that reduce risk; facilitating the adoption and enforcement of 1 of the 2 latest editions of relevant consensus-based codes, specifications, and standards, including amendments made by State, local, Indian tribal, or territorial governments during the adoption process that incorporate the latest hazard-resistant designs and establish criteria for the design, construction, and maintenance of residential structures and facilities that may be eligible for assistance under this Act for purposes of protecting the health, safety, and general welfare of the buildings’ users against disasters; establishing robust floodplain management standards; updating State risk assessments with future projections; integrating hazard mitigation planning into resource management plans; and incorporating multi-beneficial natural systems and nature-based solutions in disaster resilience efforts. Nothing in this paragraph prevents the President from increasing the Federal cost share above 85 percent. In making cost-share determinations under this subsection, the President shall consider— whether a county, or county equivalents, impacted by a disaster has done significantly more to implement the resilience measures listed in subparagraphs

(A)through

(D)of paragraph

(2)and clauses

(i)through

(x)of paragraph (3)(A); and the total population and capacity of each State to implement such measures. Grant funding received under this section may be used in combination with other Federal funding and private sector funding. In any case in which a building code or mitigation standard is in conflict across Federal agencies of a combined funding project described in subparagraph (A), any codes or standards promulgated by the President, through the Administrator, pursuant to this Act shall be applied. . Section 406 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act ( 42 U.S.C. 5172 ) is amended by adding at the end the following: A State, local government, or owner or operator of a private nonprofit facility eligible for assistance under this section for a project for which an application has been submitted before the date of enactment of this subsection may opt to receive a grant pursuant to section 409 in lieu of contributions available under this section. No application may be approved under this section if such application is submitted on or after the date that is 180 days after the date of enactment of this subsection. The authorities under subsections

(a)through

(c)and subsections

(e)through

(f)of this section shall terminate on December 31, 2032. . Section 428 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act ( 42 U.S.C. 5189f ) is amended— in subsection

(b)by striking 406, ; in subsection (e)— by striking The alternative procedures and all that follows through and 502(a)(5)— and inserting For debris removal under sections 403(a)(3)(A), 407, and 502(a)(5), the President shall adopt alternative procedures for— ; by redesignating subparagraphs

(A)through

(F)as paragraphs

(1)through (6), respectively, and adjusting the margins accordingly; and in paragraph (6), as so redesignated, by redesignating clauses

(i)through

(iii)as subparagraphs

(A)through (C), respectively, and adjusting the margins accordingly; and by striking subsection (h). Section 203(i) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act ( 42 U.S.C. 5133(i) ) is amended by inserting 409, after 408, each place it appears. Section 311 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act ( 42 U.S.C. 5154 ) is amended— in subsection (a)(1) by inserting or 409 after section 406 ; in subsection

(b)by inserting or 409 after section 406 ; and in subsection

(c)by striking section 406 or 422 and inserting section 406, 409, or 422 each place it appears. Section 324(b)(2)(B) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act ( 42 U.S.C. 5165b(b)(2)(B) ) is amended by inserting 409, after 407, . Section 406(d) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act ( 42 U.S.C. 5172(d) ) is amended— in paragraph

(1)by striking available under this section and inserting available under this section or section 409 ; and in paragraph

(2)by striking under this section and inserting under this section or section 409 . Section 422(a) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act ( 42 U.S.C. 5189(a) ) is amended— in paragraph

(1)by inserting or 409 after section 406 ; and in the matter following paragraph

(3)by striking 407, or 502 and inserting 407, 409, or 502 . Section 430 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act ( 42 U.S.C. 5189h ) is amended— in subsection

(a)by inserting or 409 after section 406 ; and in subsection (e)(1) by inserting 409, after 407, . The amendments made by this section shall take effect on the date that is 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act. Any regulations or policies in effect on the date of enactment of this Act related to Public Assistance or related assistance that conflict or are inconsistent with this section, including subsections (i), (k), and

(l)of section 206.201 of title 44, Code of Federal Regulations, and section 206.202 of such title shall not apply to section 409 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, as added by this section. Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall notify the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate of any regulations in effect on the date of enactment of this Act that the Administrator intends to apply to such section 409. Such notification shall include a justification and specify the ambiguity the regulation is intended to clarify. Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall provide the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate any written policies and procedures in effect on the date of enactment of this Act that the Administration intends to apply to carry out this section.

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