Sec. 201 National Readiness, Preparedness, and Mitigation Committee
Establishment— There is established a National Readiness, Preparedness and Mitigation Committee (in this section referred to as the “Committee”).
Members— The Committee shall consist of 9 members appointed by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development or the Secretary’s designee, as follows:
Three individuals from nationally recognized organizations representing State or local catastrophe response providers or catastrophe management professionals.
Three individuals representing nationally recognized non-profits active in catastrophe preparedness and response.
Three individuals representing nationally recognized organizations with expertise in contingency planning, residential construction, building code development and implementation, and land use policy.
Terms—
In general— Except as provided in paragraphs (2) and (3), each member of the Committee shall be appointed for a term of 3 years.
Initial members— Of the members initially appointed to the Committee—
one member appointed under each of paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of subsection (b) shall be appointed for a term of 1 year;
one member appointed under each of paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of subsection (b) shall be appointed for a term of 2 years; and
one member appointed under each of paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of subsection (b) shall be appointed for a term of 3 years.
Vacancies— A member appointed to fill an unexpired term shall serve the remainder of that term.
Termination— In the event that the Committee terminates, all appointments shall terminate.
Prohibition of compensation; reimbursement— Members of the Committee shall receive no compensation by reason of their service on the Committee, but shall be reimbursed as provided by rules and by-laws established by the National Commission on Natural Catastrophe Preparation and Protection established under section 101.
Duties— The members of the Committee shall administer the program under subsection (f) and conduct oversight of the program and activities under such program.
Readiness, preparedness, and mitigation grant program—
Allocation of amount— Beginning upon the expiration of the 12-month period that begins on the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall ensure that, to the extent provided in appropriation Acts, approximately 35 percent of the annual net investment income of the Fund under sec. 102(g), but not less than $15,000,000, and not more than 20 percent of the premium charged for reinsurance coverage under section 102 in any given year, shall be used for grants to States, units of local government, nonprofit organizations, and other appropriate public and private entities to develop, enhance, or maintain programs and initiatives to improve and maintain catastrophe response, citizen preparedness and protection, and prevention and mitigation of losses from natural catastrophes.
Program elements— The amounts made available under paragraph (1) shall be allocated for each of the following purposes in equal amounts:
Catastrophe response readiness— For catastrophe response readiness programs, which shall include national initiatives that develop, enhance, or maintain the capacity of a public safety agency or other organization to be better prepared, equipped, and trained to respond to natural catastrophes.
Citizen and community preparedness— For citizen and community preparedness, which shall include programs and initiatives, such as those offered by the American Red Cross, to improve education and training to ensure that citizens and organizations in their community are better prepared for natural catastrophes.
Prevention and mitigation— For prevention and mitigation of loss from natural catastrophes, which shall include methods to reduce loss of life and property, including appropriate measures to—
encourage awareness of the risk factors and what steps can be taken to eliminate or reduce them;
identify location of risks, by giving careful consideration to the natural risks for the location of the property and providing that information to the builder, developer and homeowner; and
provide for construction relative to the risk and hazards, including—
establishment and adoption of State, or locally mandated building codes, as amended by the governing body;
adequate enforcement of the building codes; and
focusing on prevention and mitigation for existing homes, with an emphasis on how structures can be retrofitted cost-effectively to make them compliant with building codes.
Continuous improvement, coordination and integration— The National Commission on Natural Catastrophe Preparation and Protection established under section 101 shall work with eligible State plans and the Committee to continuously improve, coordinate, and integrate catastrophe readiness, citizen and community preparedness, and loss prevention and mitigation at the local, State, regional, and national levels.