H.R. 5825 (111th): Multi-State Disaster Relief Act

Introduced:
Jul 22, 2010 (111th Congress, 2009–2010)
Sponsor:
Rep. Baron Hill [D-IN9]
Status:
Died (Passed House)

The bill’s title was written by the bill’s sponsor. H.R. stands for House of Representatives bill.

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Status

This bill was introduced in a previous session of Congress and was passed by the House on July 27, 2010 but was never passed by the Senate.

Progress
Introduced Jul 22, 2010
Referred to Committee Jul 22, 2010
Passed House Jul 27, 2010
Cosponsors
1 cosponsors (1D) (show)
Committees

House Transportation and Infrastructure

Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

The committee chair determines whether a bill will move past the committee stage.

Full Title

To review, update, and revise the factors to measure the severity, magnitude, and impact of a disaster and to evaluate the need for assistance to individuals and households.

Summary

No summaries available.

Text

Read Bill Text »

Last updated Jul 28, 2010.
3 pages

Primary Source

View on THOMAS (The Library of Congress)

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Citation

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GovTrack’s Bill Summary

We don’t have a summary available yet.

Library of Congress Summary

The summary below was written by the Congressional Research Service, which is a nonpartisan division of the Library of Congress.

7/27/2010--Passed House without amendment. (This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary has been expanded because action occurred on the measure.)
Multi-State Disaster Relief Act - Directs the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), in cooperation with representatives of state and local emergency management agencies, to review, update, and revise through rulemaking the factors considered, when evaluating a governor's request for a major disaster declaration, to measure the severity, magnitude, and impact of a disaster.
Requires the Administrator to include as a factor whether a contiguous county in an adjacent state has been designated in a major disaster or emergency as a result of the same incident.
Directs the Administrator to report to specified congressional committees on FEMA's current regulations, policies, procedures, and practices on: (1) recommending major disaster or emergency declarations in order to provide assistance to individuals and households; and (2) making post-declaration designations of the need for assistance to individuals and households in a county that is contiguous to a state that has received a major disaster or emergency declaration for the same incident.

House Republican Conference Summary

The summary below was written by the House Republican Conference, which is the caucus of Republicans in the House of Representatives.

This summary can be found at http://www.gop.gov/bill/111/2/hr5825.

Background

The Federal Emergency Management Agency currently provides disaster assistance on a state-by-state basis.  During the event of a disaster, it is upon the Governor to decide whether the incident is beyond the capacity of the state to handle, in which that Governor will make a request to the President to receive a declaration of a major disaster.

When a disaster crosses over state lines, FEMA treats the incidents as two separate cases and requires each state to meet a separate statewide damage threshold in order to be declared as a major disaster declaration; and therefore, receive assistance and funding.

Summary

H.R. 5825 would update and revise the criteria for evaluating the need for assistance in regard to measuring the severity, magnitude, and impact of a disaster to individuals and households.

Individual Assistance Factors:

In order to provide more objective criteria in regard to evaluating the need for assistance to individuals and households and to increase speed for a declaration of a major disaster, the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), along with representatives of state and local emergency management agencies, shall review, update, and revise through rulemaking the factors considered when measuring the severity, magnitude, and impact of a disaster.

 

Consideration of a contiguous county:  In reviewing, updating, and revising the factors in measuring the impact of a disaster, the Administrator shall include as a factor whether a contiguous county in an adjacent state has been designated in a major disaster or emergency as a result of the same incident.

The bill requires FEMA Administrator to submit a report to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee within 3 months of the bill’s enactment:

  • Recommending to the President whether a state should receive a major disaster declaration to provide individual assistance. 

  • How assistance is provided to individuals located in a county contiguous to a state that has received a major disaster declaration, after a major disaster declaration has already been issued for the neighboring state. 

House Democratic Caucus Summary

The House Democratic Caucus does not provide summaries of bills.

So, yes, we display the House Republican Conference’s summaries when available even if we do not have a Democratic summary available. That’s because we feel it is better to give you as much information as possible, even if we cannot provide every viewpoint.

We’ll be looking for a source of summaries from the other side in the meanwhile.

The bill contains the following citations to other parts of U.S. law:

United States Code

The United States Code is the compilation of permanent laws enacted by Congress. Temporary and other non-permanent laws do not appear in the United States Code. (About half of the United States Code is the law itself, called positive law. The other half is merely a compilation of the laws but has no legal significance.)