---
kind: "diff"
citation: "H.R. 3300"
bill: "113-hr-3300"
heading: "FEMA Reauthorization Act of 2013"
from: "ih"
from_label: "Introduced in House"
to: "rh"
to_label: "Reported in House"
sections_amended: 3
sections_added: 5
sections_removed: 0
url: "https://uscodex.org/bills/113/hr/3300/changes/rh"
---
# H.R. 3300 — what changed
H.R. 3300, FEMA Reauthorization Act of 2013 — 3 sections amended and 5 added between Introduced in House and Reported in House.
Edits are marked `struck` and `inserted`.
## Sec. 101 Reauthorization of Federal Emergency Management Agency
- Section 699 of Public Law 109–295 (6 U.S.C. 811) is amended—
- (1) by striking “administration and operations” each place it appears and inserting “management and administration”;
- (2) in paragraph (2) by striking “and”;
- (3) in paragraph (3) by striking the period at the end and inserting “; and”; and
- (4) by adding at the end the following:
- “(4) for fiscal year 2014, $972,145,000;
- “(5) for fiscal year 2015, $972,145,000; and
- “(6) for fiscal year 2016, $972,145,000.”
## Sec. 102 Integrated public alert and warning system modernization
- (a) Short title— This section may be cited as the “Integrated Public Alert and Warning System Modernization Act of 2013”.
- (b) Integrated public alert and warning system modernization—
- (1) In general— To provide timely and effective disaster warnings under this section, the President, acting through the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, shall—
- (A) modernize the integrated public alert and warning system of the United States (in this section referred to as the public alert and warning system) to ensure that the President under all conditions is able to alert and warn governmental authorities and the civilian population in areas endangered by disasters; and
- (B) implement the public alert and warning system.
- (2) Implementation requirements— In carrying out paragraph (1), the Administrator shall, consistent with the recommendations in the final report of the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System Advisory Committee (established under subsection (c))—
- (A) establish or adopt, as appropriate, common alerting and warning protocols, standards, terminology, and operating procedures for the public alert and warning system;
- (B) include in the public alert and warning system the capability to adapt the distribution and content of communications on the basis of geographic location, risks, or personal user preferences, as appropriate;
- (C) include in the public alert and warning system the capability to alert and warn, and provide the equivalent amount of information to individuals with disabilities and individuals with access and functional needs;
- (D) ensure that training, tests, and exercises are conducted for the public alert and warning system and that the system is incorporated into other training and exercise programs of the Department of Homeland Security, as appropriate;
- (E) establish and integrate into the National Incident Management System a comprehensive and periodic training program to instruct and educate Federal, State, tribal, and local government officials in the use of the Common Alerting Protocol enabled Emergency Alert System;
- (F) conduct, at least once every 3 years, periodic nationwide tests of the public alert and warning system; and
- (G) ensure that the public alert and warning system is resilient, secure, and can withstand acts of terrorism and other external attacks.
- (3) System requirements— The public alert and warning system shall—
- (A) incorporate multiple communications technologies;
- (B) be designed to adapt to, and incorporate, future technologies for communicating directly with the public;
- (C) to the extent technically feasible, be designed to provide alerts to the largest portion of the affected population, including nonresident visitors and tourists and individuals with disabilities and access and functional needs, and improve the ability of remote areas to receive alerts;
- (D) promote local and regional public and private partnerships to enhance community preparedness and response;
- (E) provide redundant alert mechanisms if practicable so as to reach the greatest number of people regardless of whether they have access to, or utilize, any specific medium of communication or any particular device; and
- (F) include a mechanism to ensure the protection of individual privacy.
- (4) Implementation plan— Not later than 180 days after the date of submission of the report of the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System Advisory Committee, the Administrator shall submit to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate a detailed plan to implement the public alert and warning system. The plan shall include a timeline for implementation, a spending plan, and recommendations for any additional authority that may be necessary to fully implement this subsection.
- (5) Maximum funds— The Administrator may use not more than $12,733,000 of the amount made available pursuant to section 699 of the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006 (6 U.S.C. 811) for each of fiscal years 2014, 2015, and 2016 to carry out the provisions of this section.
- (c) Integrated public alert and warning system advisory committee—
- (1) Establishment— Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency shall establish an advisory committee to be known as the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System Advisory Committee (in this subsection referred to as the Advisory Committee).
- (2) Membership— The Advisory Committee shall be composed of the following members (or their designees) to be appointed by the Administrator as soon as practicable after the date of enactment of this Act:
- (A) The Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission.
- (B) The Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the Department of Commerce.
- (C) The Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information of the Department of Commerce.
- (D) The Director of the Office of Disability Integration and Coordination of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
- (E) [was (4)(3)(6)] Representatives of State and local governments, representatives of emergency management agencies, and representatives of emergency response providers, selected from among individuals nominated by national organizations representing governments and personnel.
- (F) [was (4)(3)(7)] Representatives from federally recognized Indian tribes and national Indian organizations.
- (G) [was (4)(3)(8)] Individuals who have the requisite technical knowledge and expertise to serve on the Advisory Committee, including representatives of—
- (i) [was (4)(3)(8)(2)] communications service providers;
- (ii) [was (4)(3)(8)(3)] vendors, developers, and manufacturers of systems, facilities, equipment, and capabilities for the provision of communications services;
- (iii) [was (4)(3)(8)(4)] third-party service bureaus;
- (iv) [was (4)(3)(8)(5)] the broadcasting industry, including commercial and noncommercial radio and television stations;
- (v) the commercial mobile radio service industry;
- (v) the cellular industry;
- (vi) [was (4)(3)(8)(7)] the cable industry;
- (vii) [was (4)(3)(8)(8)] the satellite industry; and
- (viii) [was (4)(3)(8)(9)] national organizations representing individuals with disabilities and access and functional needs and national organizations representing the elderly.
- (H) [was (4)(3)(9)] Qualified representatives of such other stakeholders and interested and affected parties as the Administrator considers appropriate.
- (3) Chairperson— The Administrator shall serve as the Chairperson of the Advisory Committee.
- (4) Meetings—
- (A) Initial meeting— The initial meeting of the Advisory Committee shall take place not later than 120 days after the date of enactment of this Act.
- (B) Other meetings— After the initial meeting, the Advisory Committee shall meet meet, at least annually, at the call of the Chairperson.
- (C) Notice; open meetings— Meetings held by the Advisory Committee shall be duly noticed at least 14 days in advance and shall be open to the public.
- (D) Interested persons— Interested persons shall be permitted to attend, appear before, or file statements with the Advisory Committee, in accordance with subsection (c) of section 552b of title 5, United States Code.
- (E) Meeting minutes— The Advisory Committee shall keep detailed minutes of each meeting, which shall contain a record of the persons present, a complete and accurate description of matters discussed and conclusions reached, and copies of all reports received, issued, or approved by the Advisory Committee.
- (F) Availability of information— The records, reports, transcripts, minutes, appendixes, working papers, drafts, studies, agenda, or other documents which were made available to or prepared for or by the Advisory Committee shall be available for public inspection and copying, subject to section 552 of title 5, United States Code, at a single location in the office of FEMA until the Advisory Committee ceases to exist.
- (5) Rules—
- (A) Quorum— One-third of the members of the Advisory Committee shall constitute a quorum for conducting business of the Advisory Committee.
- (B) Subcommittees— To assist the Advisory Committee in carrying out its functions, the Chairperson may establish appropriate subcommittees composed of members of the Advisory Committee and other subject matter experts as the Chairperson considers necessary.
- (C) Additional rules— The Advisory Committee may adopt such other rules as are necessary to carry out its duties.
- (6) Consultation with nonmembers— The Advisory Committee and the program offices for the integrated public alert and warning system for the United States shall regularly meet with groups that are not represented on the Advisory Committee to consider new and developing technologies that may be beneficial to the public alert and warning system. Such groups may include—
- (A) the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency;
- (B) entities engaged in federally funded research; and
- (C) academic institutions engaged in relevant work and research.
- (7) Recommendations— The Advisory Committee shall develop recommendations for an integrated public alert and warning system, including—
- (A) recommendations for common alerting and warning protocols, standards, terminology, and operating procedures for the public alert and warning system; and
- (B) recommendations to provide for a public alert and warning system that—
- (i) has the capability to adapt the distribution and content of communications on the basis of geographic location, risks, or personal user preferences, as appropriate;
- (ii) has the capability to alert and warn individuals with disabilities and individuals with limited English proficiency;
- (iii) incorporates multiple communications technologies;
- (iv) is designed to adapt to, and incorporate, future technologies for communicating directly with the public;
- (v) is designed to provide alerts to the largest portion of the affected population feasible, including nonresident visitors and tourists, and improve the ability of remote areas to receive alerts;
- (vi) promotes local and regional public and private partnerships to enhance community preparedness and response; andresponse;
- (vii) provides redundant alert mechanisms if practicable in order to reach the greatest number of people regardless of whether they have access to, or utilize, any specific medium of communication or any particular device.device; and
- (viii) promotes the participation of representatives from traditionally underserved and underrepresented communities, to ensure that alerts and warnings reach such populations.
- (8) Initial and annual report— Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Advisory Committee shall submit to the Administrator, the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives, and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate a report containing the recommendations of the Advisory Committee.
- (9) Federal advisory committee act— Neither the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) nor any rule, order, or regulation promulgated under that Act shall apply to the Advisory Committee.
- (10) Termination— The Advisory Committee shall terminate not later than 3 6 years after the date of enactment of this Act.
- (d) Limitation on statutory construction— Nothing in this section shall be construed to authorize or require FEMA or any other government entity to require any action on the part of the Federal Communications Commission, the Department of Commerce, the Office of Emergency Communications, or any other nongovernment entity nor impact any existing obligations of these entities.
## Sec. 202 Eligibility of public broadcasting facilities for certain disaster assistance
- (a) In general—Private nonprofit facility defined— Subtitle A of title VI Section 102(11)(B) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5196 et seq.) 5122(11)(B)) is amended by adding at the end the following:inserting “public broadcasting facilities,” after “workshops,”.
- “617. Emergency management assistance compact grants
- “(a) In general—The Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency may make grants to provide for implementation of the Emergency Management Assistance Compact consented to by Congress in the joint resolution entitled “Joint resolution granting the consent of Congress to the Emergency Management Assistance Compact” (Public Law 104–321; 110 Stat. 3877).
- “(b) Eligible grant recipients—States and the Administrator of the Emergency Management Assistance Compact shall be eligible to receive grants under subsection (a).
- “(c) Use of funds—A grant received under this section shall be used—
- “(1) to carry out recommendations identified in the Emergency Management Assistance Compact after-action reports for the 2004 and 2005 hurricane seasons;
- “(2) to administer compact operations on behalf of States, as such term is defined in the compact, that have enacted the compact;
- “(3) to continue coordination with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and appropriate Federal agencies;
- “(4) to continue coordination with States and local governments and their respective national organizations; and
- “(5) to assist State and local governments, emergency response providers, and organizations representing such providers with credentialing the providers and the typing of emergency response resources.
- “(d) Coordination—The Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency shall consult with the Administrator of the Emergency Management Assistance Compact to ensure effective coordination of efforts in responding to requests for assistance.
- “(e) Authorization of Appropriations—There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $2,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2014, 2015, and 2016. Such sums shall remain available until expended.”
- (b) Repeal—Critical services defined— Section 661 406(a)(3)(B) of the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform such Act of 2006 (6 (42 U.S.C. 761) 5172(a)(3)(B)) is repealed.amended by striking “communications,” and inserting “communications (including public broadcasting),”.
## Sec. 203 Federal disaster assistance nonprofit fairness — added
- (a) Definition of private nonprofit facility— Section 102(10)(B) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122(10)(B)) is amended to read as follows:
- “(B) Additional facilities—In addition to the facilities described in subparagraph (A), the term “private nonprofit facility” includes any private nonprofit facility that provides essential services of a governmental nature to the general public (including museums, zoos, performing arts facilities, community arts centers, community centers, including houses of worship exempt from taxation under section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, libraries, homeless shelters, senior citizen centers, rehabilitation facilities, shelter workshops, and facilities that provide health and safety services of a governmental nature), as defined by the President.”
- (b) Repair, restoration, and replacement of damaged facilities— Section 406(a)(3) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5172(a)(3)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
- “(C) Nonprofit fairness—A church, synagogue, mosque, temple, or other house of worship, and a private nonprofit facility operated by a religious organization, shall be eligible for contributions under paragraph (1)(B), without regard to the religious character of the facility or the primary religious use of the facility.”
- (c) Applicability— This section and the amendments made by this section shall apply to the provision of assistance in response to a major disaster or emergency declared on or after October 28, 2012.
## Sec. 204 Reauthorization of emergency management assistance compact grants — added
- (a) In general— Subtitle A of title VI of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5196 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
- “617. Emergency management assistance compact grants
- “(a) In general—The Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency may make grants to provide for implementation of the Emergency Management Assistance Compact consented to by Congress in the joint resolution entitled “Joint resolution granting the consent of Congress to the Emergency Management Assistance Compact” (Public Law 104–321; 110 Stat. 3877).
- “(b) Eligible grant recipients—States and the Administrator of the Emergency Management Assistance Compact shall be eligible to receive grants under subsection (a).
- “(c) Use of funds—A grant received under this section shall be used—
- “(1) to carry out recommendations identified in the Emergency Management Assistance Compact after-action reports for the 2004 and 2005 hurricane seasons;
- “(2) to administer compact operations on behalf of States, as such term is defined in the compact, that have enacted the compact;
- “(3) to continue coordination with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and appropriate Federal agencies;
- “(4) to continue coordination with States and local governments and their respective national organizations; and
- “(5) to assist State and local governments, emergency response providers, and organizations representing such providers with credentialing the providers and the typing of emergency response resources.
- “(d) Coordination—The Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency shall consult with the Administrator of the Emergency Management Assistance Compact to ensure effective coordination of efforts in responding to requests for assistance.
- “(e) Authorization of Appropriations—There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $2,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2014, 2015, and 2016. Such sums shall remain available until expended.”
- (b) Repeal— Section 661 of the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006 (6 U.S.C. 761) is repealed.
## Sec. 205 Physical testing standards for electric utility facilities — added
- (a) Study— The Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency shall conduct a study to compare the differences between—
- (1) the physical testing standards that the Administrator applies with respect to electric utility facilities as a condition for Federal assistance; and
- (2) the physical testing standards that are applied to electric utility facilities by the electric utilities industry and by the Rural Utilities Service of the Department of Agriculture.
- (b) Report— Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall submit to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee of the Senate a report on the results of the study.
- (c) Funding— The Administrator shall carry out this section using funds available to the Administrator for management and expenses.
## Sec. 206 Review and report regarding the eligibility of certain housing entities to receive disaster assistance — added
- (a) In general— Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) shall, using funds from FEMA’s management and expenses account, complete a review of, and submit to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives a report describing, options, both commercial and governmental, available to housing cooperatives and condominium associations to assist in repairing and rebuilding common areas following a major disaster.
- (b) Report specifics— The report shall include—
- (1) a description of the current eligibility of housing cooperative and condominium association owners and residents to receive disaster relief funds under FEMA disaster relief programs;
- (2) a description of the availability of individual assistance for such owners and residents to help cover the costs of repairing disaster-related damage to common areas, including any details of instances in the past 10 years in which cooperative or condominium owners or residences received such assistance to help cover costs and assessments for repairs to common areas;
- (3) a description of commercial options and requirements, including insurance coverage, that may be applicable; and
- (4) a discussion of options, including any proposed changes to law, for addressing any gaps identified in available assistance to address disaster-related damage to common areas.
## Sec. 207 Audit timeframe limitation — added
- Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency shall issue a rule that limits the timeframe of any audit conducted under section 318 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5161).