Housing Survivors of Major Disasters Act
Officially: “Housing Survivors of Major Disasters Act” Read the full text
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1Short title
This section would give the Act the short title Housing Survivors of Major Disasters Act.
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1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Housing Survivors of Major Disasters Act .
2Definitions
This section would define two terms used in the Act: FEMA would mean the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and Administrator would mean the Administrator of FEMA.
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2. Definitions In this Act: (1) FEMA The term FEMA means the Federal Emergency Management Agency. (2) Administrator The term Administrator means the Administrator of FEMA.
3Eligibility for and use of disaster assistance
This section would apply where an individual or household does not have documented ownership rights in the primary residence they lived in before the disaster. When the President decides whether to provide assistance under paragraphs (2) and (3) of section 408(c) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, the President would have to consider a claim of constructive ownership where the evidence supports that it is more likely than not the individual or household has such ownership. In deciding whether that more-likely-than-not standard is met, the Administrator would have to consider all evidence submitted by the individual or household, whether digital or physical, including any of the following: a deed or title for the property; a mortgage payment booklet or other mortgage document; a mobile home certificate of title; a real estate property tax receipt; a will and testament naming the individual as owner along with the property's address; in a State that does not require a will and testament to transfer immovable property, a death certificate and birth certificate that show an automatic transfer of legal ownership; homeowners insurance documentation; home purchase contracts, including a bill of sale, bond for title, or land installment contract; receipts for major repairs or maintenance dated within the five years before the disaster; court documents; a letter prepared after the disaster from a mobile home park owner or manager, or from a public office, that meets FEMA's requirements; notice of federal benefits; student loan documentation; or any other documentation, certification, identification, or proof of occupancy or ownership not on this list that can reasonably link the individual to the property, as determined by the President. Where the evidence of constructive ownership is not sufficient, the Administrator could require the individual or household to sign a declarative statement, under penalty of perjury, explaining why they are the constructive owner of the property, but the Administrator could not require that statement to be notarized. For purposes of this section, constructive ownership would mean that the residence is owner-occupied, as determined by the Administrator, for the purposes of section 408 of the Stafford Act. This section would apply to funds appropriated on or after the date this Act becomes law.
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3. Eligibility for and use of disaster assistance (a) Evidence (1) Consideration Where an individual or household does not have documented ownership rights in their predisaster primary residence, in making a determination to provide assistance pursuant to paragraphs (2) and (3) of section 408(c) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act ( 42 U.S.C. 5174(c) ), the President shall consider an individual or household claim to having constructive ownership where evidence supports that it is more likely than not the individual or household has such ownership. (2) Forms of evidence In determining whether it is more likely than not that an individual or household has constructive ownership under paragraph (1), the Administrator shall consider all evidence provided by an individual or household, including a digital or physical copy of the following: (A) The deed or title for the applicable property. (B) A mortgage payment booklet or another mortgage document. (C) Property title of mobile home certificate of title. (D) A real estate property tax receipt. (E) A will and testament with the name and address of the individual that conveys the individual is the owner. (F) In a State that does not require a will and testament for the transfer of immovable property, a death certificate and birth certificate that establishes an automatic transfer of legal ownership. (G) Homeowners insurance documentation. (H) Home Purchase Contracts, including, but not limited to, Bill of Sale, Bond for Title, Land Installment Contracts. (I) Receipts of major repairs or maintenance dated within five years prior to the disaster. (J) Court Documents. (K) Letter prepared after the disaster from a mobile home park owner or manager or public office that meets FEMA requirements. (L) Notice of Federal benefits. (M) Student loan documentation. (N) Any other documentation, certification, identification, or proof of occupancy or ownership not included on this list that can reasonably link the individual requesting assistance to the applicable property, as determined by the President. (3) Declarative statement (A) In general Where evidence of constructive ownership is not sufficient, the Administrator may require the individual or household to provide a declarative statement, signed under penalty of perjury, that describes why the individual or household is the constructive owner of the property. (B) Prohibition of notarization The Administrator may not require notarization of a declarative statement submitted under this paragraph. (b) Definition of constructive ownership In this section, the term constructive ownership means that an individual’s or household’s residence is owner-occupied, as determined by the Administrator, the purposes of section 408 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act ( 42 U.S.C. 5174 ). (c) Applicability This section shall apply to funds appropriated on or after the date of enactment of this Act.
4Repair and rebuilding
This section would change several rules on FEMA housing assistance under section 408 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act. Under section 408(b)(1), assistance that is currently available only when a residence is rendered uninhabitable, or uninhabitable as a result of damage caused by a major disaster, would instead be available whenever a residence is damaged by a major disaster, a broader standard that would no longer require the home to be unlivable. Under section 408(c)(4), the type of housing assistance covered there would be provided if the President determines that it is a cost-effective alternative to other housing solutions, including the costs of temporary housing provided under section 408, replacing the previous conditions for providing that assistance. Under section 408(f)(3)(J)(ii), the Administrator would no longer be bound to a deadline of not later than two years after enactment of that paragraph to carry out the action described there; the Administrator would carry it out without that two-year deadline. Under section 408(f)(3)(J)(iii), the alternative termination point of two years after enactment of that paragraph, and the whichever occurs sooner comparison tied to it, would be removed, so that two-year-after-enactment date would no longer be one of the triggers ending the provision described there. This section and its amendments would apply only to applications received on or after the date this Act becomes law and to amounts appropriated on or after that date.
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4. Repair and rebuilding (a) Housing assistance Section 408(b)(1) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act ( 42 U.S.C. 5174(b)(1) ) is amended— (1) by striking rendered uninhabitable and inserting damaged by a major disaster ; and (2) by striking uninhabitable, as a result of damage caused by a major disaster and inserting damaged by a major disaster . (b) Types of housing assistance Section 408(c)(4) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act ( 42 U.S.C. 5174 ) is amended by striking in cases in which and all that follows through the end of the paragraph and inserting if the President determines such assistance is a cost effective alternative to other housing solutions, including the costs associated with temporary housing provided under this section. . (c) Provision of grants as pilot program Section 408(f)(3)(J) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act ( 42 U.S.C. 5174(f)(3)(J) ) is amended— (1) in clause (ii) by striking Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this paragraph, the Administrator and inserting The Administrator ; and (2) in clause (iii)— (A) by striking 2 years after the date of enactment of this paragraph or ; and (B) by striking , whichever occurs sooner . (d) Applicability This section and the amendments made by this section shall only apply to— (1) applications received on or after the date of enactment of this Act; and (2) amounts appropriated on or after the date of enactment of this Act.
5Determination of budgetary effects
This section would state that, for purposes of complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, the budgetary effects of this Act would be measured using the latest statement titled Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation for this Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional Record by the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, as long as that statement is submitted before the vote on passage.
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5. Determination of budgetary effects The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, shall be determined by reference to the latest statement titled Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation for this Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional Record by the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, provided that such statement has been submitted prior to the vote on passage.
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In the House.