Promoting Resilient Buildings Act
The Promoting Resilient Buildings Act would advance federal efforts to reduce disaster risk by tying federal building resilience work to the most up-to-date, consensus-based codes and standards, and by creating a new pilot program that provides grants to individuals for residential retrofit projects. Specifically, the bill revises definitions for predisaster mitigation and reorganizes parts of the Hazard Mitigation Revolving Loan Fund, while establishing a Residential Retrofit and Resilience Pilot Program under FEMA to help homeowners strengthen homes against natural hazards through measures such as elevating structures, floodproofing, seismic retrofits, wind and wildfire protections, and tornado safe rooms. The pilot would use up to 10% of existing predisaster mitigation funding for grants to individuals, run through September 30, 2030, and require reporting on outcomes and costs. The act emphasizes use of the two most recent published editions of relevant codes and standards and directs grant priority to financially needy households. It would take effect only with new appropriations after enactment and clarifies that the changes apply only to the predisaster mitigation and hazard mitigation loan programs.
Key Points
- 1Short title: The act is titled the Promoting Resilient Buildings Act.
- 2Definitions and code references: Within predisaster mitigation definitions, the bill adds definitions for “latest published editions” (the two most recently published consensus-based codes, specifications, and standards) and for “small impoverished community.”
- 3Reorganization of loan fund provisions: Section 205(f) of the Stafford Act is amended to strike one paragraph and renumber the remaining paragraphs, effectively reorganizing the hazard mitigation revolving loan fund provisions without creating new loan authority.
- 4Residential Retrofit and Resilience Pilot Program: Creates a new pilot under section 203 to provide grants to states/local governments, which then pass funds to individuals for residential resilience retrofits. Retrofit measures include elevating homes, floodproofing, tornado safe rooms, seismic retrofits, wildfire mitigation, wind retrofits, and other measures meeting defined health, safety, and welfare standards and aligned with current codes.
- 5Funding and timeline: The Administrator may use up to 10% of annual section 203 assistance to fund the pilot. The program must be established within 1 year of enactment and terminated by September 30, 2030. Grants are prioritized for financially needy applicants.
- 6Reporting and evaluation: By no later than four years after enactment, FEMA must report on grant activity, retrofit types and costs, participant demographics, avoided disaster impacts, and implementation challenges with recommendations.
- 7Applicability: The residential retrofit pilot applies only to amounts appropriated after enactment, and the act clarifies that it does not alter programs outside predisaster mitigation and the hazard mitigation revolving loan fund.