H.R. 8830

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8830 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8830

To require the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency 
to carry out a pilot program to enhance the mapping of urban flooding 
and associated property damage and the availability of that mapped data 
to homeowners, businesses, and localities to help understand and 
mitigate the risk of such flooding, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

May 14, 2026

Mr. Quigley introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the 
Committee on Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently 
determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To require the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency 
to carry out a pilot program to enhance the mapping of urban flooding 
and associated property damage and the availability of that mapped data 
to homeowners, businesses, and localities to help understand and 
mitigate the risk of such flooding, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Flood Mapping Modernization and 
Homeowner Empowerment Pilot Program Act of 2026''.

SEC. 2. FLOOD MAPPING MODERNIZATION AND HOMEOWNER EMPOWERMENT PILOT 
PROGRAM.

(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the 
Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
(2) Coastal.--The term ``coastal'' means, with respect to a 
unit of general local government, that the unit borders a body 
of water that--
(A) is more than 2,000 square miles in size; and
(B) is not a river.
(3) Pelagic.--The term ``pelagic'' means, with respect to a 
unit of general local government, that--
(A) the unit is a coastal unit; and
(B) the body of water that the unit borders is--
(i) an ocean; or
(ii) a large, open body of water, including 
a bay or a gulf, that empties into an ocean.
(4) Pilot program.--The term ``pilot program'' means the 
pilot program carried out by the Administrator under this 
section.
(5) Urban flooding.--The term ``urban flooding''--
(A) means the inundation, by water, of property in 
a built environment, particularly in a densely 
populated area, that--
(i) is caused by falling rain--
(I) collecting on an impervious 
surface; or
(II) increasing the level of a body 
of water that is located near that 
built environment; and
(ii) overwhelms the capacity of drainage 
systems in the built environment, such as storm 
sewers;
(B) includes--
(i) a situation in which stormwater enters 
a building through a window, door, or other 
opening;
(ii) the backup of water through a sewer 
pipe, shower, toilet, sink, or floor drain;
(iii) the seepage of water through a wall 
or a floor;
(iv) the accumulation of water on property 
or a public right-of-way; and
(v) the overflow from a body of water, such 
as a river, lake, or ocean; and
(C) does not include flooding in an undeveloped or 
agricultural area.
(6) Urbanized area.--The term ``urbanized area'' means an 
area that has been defined and designated as an urbanized area 
by the Bureau of the Census during the most recently completed 
decennial census.
(b) Establishment.--The Administrator shall carry out a pilot 
program to make grants to units of local government to--
(1) enhance the production of maps relating to urban 
flooding and associated property damage; and
(2) increase the availability of the maps described in 
paragraph (1) to homeowners, businesses, and units of local 
government to enable those entities to minimize the risk of 
urban flooding.
(c) Objectives.--Amounts from grants made under the pilot program 
may be used only to carry out activities that meet the following 
objectives:
(1) Developing a methodology for assessing the risk of 
urban flooding through the deployment of technology-based 
mapping tools that--
(A) are easily understandable by the public; and
(B) effectively convey information regarding the 
level of flood risk.
(2) Providing structure-specific projections of annual 
chance flood frequency.
(3) Providing structure-based flood risk assessments.
(4) Providing program design for the mitigation of the risk 
of urban flooding.
(5) Incorporating information regarding climate trends into 
urban flooding risk assessments.
(6) Making the information described in this subsection 
publicly available on the internet through a web-based portal 
so as to increase transparency regarding homeowner flood risks.
(d) Eligible Recipients.--
(1) In general.--A grant under the pilot program may be 
made only to--
(A) a unit of general local government that is 
located in an urbanized area with a population of more 
than 50,000 individuals; or
(B) a stormwater management authority of a unit of 
general local government described in subparagraph (A).
(2) One-time grants.--A grant under the pilot program may 
not be made to--
(A) any unit of general local government, or the 
stormwater management authority of a unit of general 
local government, that previously received a grant 
under the pilot program;
(B) any unit of general local government if the 
stormwater management agency for that unit previously 
received a grant under the pilot program; or
(C) any stormwater management agency of a unit of 
general local government if that unit previously 
received a grant under the pilot program.
(3) Treatment of certain stormwater management 
authorities.--
(A) In general.--In the case of a stormwater 
management authority that operates with respect to more 
than 1 unit of general local government, the 
application of that authority shall be considered for 
purposes of paragraph (2) of this subsection and 
subsections (f), (g), and (h)(1) to be made for the 
largest unit of general local government with respect 
to which that authority operates.
(B) Rule of construction.--Nothing in subparagraph 
(A) may be construed to limit the ability of a 
stormwater management authority described in that 
subparagraph to carry out activities under a 
demonstration project in any other jurisdiction in, or 
with respect to any other unit of general local 
government with, which that authority operates.
(e) Applications.--To be eligible for a grant under the pilot 
program, a unit of general local government or a stormwater management 
agency shall submit to the Administrator an application in such form 
and containing such information as the Administrator shall require.
(f) Selection of Recipients.--
(1) Annual selection.--Subject to paragraph (2), and to the 
submission of approvable applications, in each fiscal year for 
which amounts are made available for grants under the pilot 
program, the Administrator shall select, from among 
applications submitted under subsection (e) for that fiscal 
year, 3 units of general local government or stormwater 
management authorities to receive grants under the pilot 
program.
(2) Aggregate limit.--Subject only to the submission of 
approvable applications, the Administrator shall select, in the 
aggregate over the entire duration of the pilot program, 12 
units of general local government or stormwater management 
authorities to receive grants under the pilot program, as 
follows:
(A) Tier 1.--Three of the applicants selected shall 
be units of general local government, or stormwater 
management authorities for those units, each of which 
has a population of more than 800,000 individuals, as 
follows:
(i) Pelagic coastal city.--One shall be--
(I) a unit of general local 
government that is a pelagic unit; or
(II) a stormwater authority for a 
unit described in subclause (I).
(ii) Non-pelagic coastal city.--One shall 
be--
(I) a unit of general local 
government that--
(aa) is a coastal unit; and
(bb) is not a pelagic unit; 
or
(II) a stormwater authority for a 
unit described in subclause (I).
(iii) Non-coastal city.--One shall be--
(I) a unit of general local 
government that is not a coastal unit; 
or
(II) a stormwater authority for a 
unit described in subclause (I).
(B) Tier 2.--Six of the applicants selected shall 
be units of general local government, or stormwater 
management authorities for those units, each of which 
has a population of more than 200,000 individuals and 
not more than 800,000 individuals, as follows:
(i) Coastal cities.--Three shall be--
(I) units of general local 
government that are coastal units; or
(II) stormwater management 
authorities for units described in 
subclause (I).
(ii) Non-coastal cities.--Three shall be--
(I) units of general local 
government that are not coastal units; 
or
(II) stormwater management 
authorities for units described in 
subclause (I).
(C) Tier 3.--Three of the applicants selected shall 
be--
(i) units of general local government, each 
of which has a population of more than 50,000 
individuals and not more than 200,000 
individuals; or
(ii) stormwater management authorities for 
units described in clause (i).
(g) Priority.--
(1) In general.--The Administrator shall select applicants 
for grants under the pilot program based on the extent to which 
the applications of those applicants shall achieve the 
objectives described in subsection (c).
(2) Tiers 2 and 3.--In selecting applicants to receive 
grants under the pilot program under subparagraphs (B) and (C) 
of subsection (f)(2), the Administrator shall give priority to 
applicants--
(A) that are highly vulnerable to sea level rise;
(B) within which are located a military 
installation or another facility relating to national 
security concerns; or
(C) that have--
(i) populations that are highly vulnerable 
to urban flooding; and
(ii) an uneven capacity for flood 
mitigation and response efforts resulting from 
socioeconomic factors.
(h) Amount.--
(1) Considerations.--In determining the amount of a grant 
under the pilot program, the Administrator shall consider the 
population of the grant recipient, which may be considered in 
terms of the tier under subsection (f)(2) with respect to the 
recipient.
(2) Federal share.--The amount of a grant under the pilot 
program may not exceed 75 percent of the total cost incurred in 
carrying out the activities described in subsection (c).
(i) Duration.--The Administrator shall require each recipient of a 
grant under the pilot program to complete the activities described in 
subsection (c), which shall be, subject to subsection (h)(2), carried 
out using the grant amounts, not later than 18 months after the date on 
which the recipient initially receives the grant amounts under the 
pilot program.
(j) Use of Census Data.--The Administrator shall make all 
determinations regarding population under the pilot program by using 
data from the most recently completed decennial census by the Bureau of 
the Census.
(k) Grantee Reports to FEMA.--Each recipient of a grant under the 
pilot program shall, not later than 30 months after the date on which 
the recipient initially receives the grant amounts, submit to the 
Administrator a report that describes--
(1) the activities carried out with the grant amounts;
(2) how the activities carried out with the grant amounts 
have met the objectives described in subsection (c);
(3) any lessons learned in carrying out the activities 
described in paragraph (2); and
(4) any recommendations for future mapping modernization 
efforts by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
(l) Biennial Reports by FEMA.--Not later than 2 years after the 
date of enactment of this Act, and not less frequently than once every 
2 years thereafter until the date on which all activities carried out 
with amounts from grants under the pilot program are completed, the 
Administrator shall submit to Congress and make available to the public 
on an internet website a report that--
(1) describes--
(A) the progress of the activities carried out with 
amounts from those grants; and
(B) the effectiveness of technology-based mapping 
tools used in carrying out the activities described in 
subparagraph (A); and
(2) with respect to the final report that the Administrator 
is required to submit under this subsection, includes 
recommendations to Congress and the executive branch of the 
Federal Government for implementing strategies, practices, and 
technologies to mitigate the effects of urban flooding.
(m) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that, because 
the pilot program is limited with respect to scope and resources, 
communities that participate in the pilot program should acknowledge 
that the most successful efforts to mitigate the effects of urban 
flooding--
(1) take a structural-based mitigation approach with 
respect to construction, which includes--
(A) recognizing any post-storm damage that may 
occur; and
(B) pursuing designs that proactively minimize 
future flood damage;
(2) make individuals in the community aware, through any 
cost-effective and available means of education, of the best 
approaches regarding the construction of properties that are 
able to survive floods, which reduces the cost of future 
repairs; and
(3) encourage home and property owners to consider the 
measures described in paragraphs (1) and (2), which are the 
most cost-effective and prudent ways to reduce the impact of 
flooding, when constructing or renovating building components.
(n) Funding.--There are authorized to be appropriated for grants 
under the pilot program--
(1) $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2027; and
(2) $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2028, to remain available 
through fiscal year 2030.
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