COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND HOUSING COMMITTEE

REWRITE OF PUBLIC INSURANCE

WHEREAS, cities have a tremendous stake in disaster assistance and are the first-responders to the needs of residents when disasters strike; and

WHEREAS, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is proposing to rewrite the insurance requirements for the Public Assistance Program and recently issued an Advance Notice on its proposal; and

WHEREAS, the agency’s proposal will preclude public entities from receiving Federal disaster assistance if these additional Federal insurance requirements are not met; and

WHEREAS, while the U.S. Conference of Mayors understands the agency’s desire to try to contain the costs of disaster assistance, this proposal shifts the burden to cities, states, schools, universities, and hospitals by increasing the financial and administrative costs of disasters on these public entities; and

WHEREAS, this proposal places a disproportionate financial impact on cities located in earthquake and other disaster prone areas, as they will find it extremely difficult or impossible to purchase the insurance required by the proposed rule; and

WHEREAS, the proposal will slow delivery of vital recovery aid by requiring additional insurance-related determinations and administrative processes; and

WHEREAS, the proposal will adversely impact key mitigation efforts by public agencies by requiring that limited budget resources be spent on insurance rather than on needed mitigation,

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the U.S. Conference of Mayors urges the President, Congress and FEMA to ensure that a comprehensive and detailed financial impact analysis be conducted with the active input of the affected public entities before any change in the rule is considered; and

FURTHER BE IT RESOLVED, that the U.S. Conference of Mayors urges the President, Congress and FEMA to ensure that public agency concerns on the proposed rule are fully addressed and alternatives are considered before the rule is finalized.