The SNOW Act of 2025 (H.R. 437) would expand and adapt the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to better address winter storms. Key changes include allowing hazard mitigation assistance to fund winter-storm-related activities (such as snow-removal equipment), creating a flexible set of triggers to broaden when a major disaster declaration can be made for winter storms, and increasing the federal cost-share for disaster response and recovery, especially in rural and disadvantaged areas. The bill also directs FEMA to issue regulations to apply winter-storm assistance across multiple program authorities and to allow more rapid response when State capacity is overwhelmed. In short, it aims to make winter storms more eligible for federal support and to boost federal funding in affected communities, with a particular emphasis on rural and economically disadvantaged areas.
Key Points
- 1Allow hazard mitigation assistance to be used for winter storms, including paying for equipment to remove snow, to reduce future risk and hardship in areas affected by winter storms.
- 2Define “winter storm” and create a waiver process to broaden major disaster declarations for winter storms if at least two conditions are met (state-determined damages; extreme weather indicators such as high winds and wind chills, or prolonged lake-effect snow; or Census-based rural/disadvantaged criteria).
- 3FEMA to issue regulations enabling winter-storm assistance across multiple program authorities (debris removal, roads and bridges, water control, public buildings, utilities, parks, etc.) and to provide assistance when State/local capacity is exceeded.
- 4Expand and define “rural or disadvantaged area” for cost-share purposes using Census-based income and urbanicity criteria.
- 5Increase federal cost-share for various disaster programs:
- 6- Section 403: base federal share not less than 75%; not less than 90% in rural or disadvantaged areas.
- 7- Section 404 (hazard mitigation): potential up to 90% federal share for cost-effective measures in rural or disadvantaged areas, with caps tied to disaster size (15% of approved grants for up to $2B; 10% for $2B-$10B; 7.5% for $10B-$35.333B), and subject to evaluation/approval under the President (and related sections).
- 8- Section 407(d) (debris/wreckage removal) and Section 503(a) (general assistance): not less than 75% federal share, with not less than 90% in rural or disadvantaged areas.
- 9Section 2(d) defines “response zone or region” as areas listed by a State for disaster-declaration purposes, and reiterates the winter-storm definition tied to 404(i).