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S. 3606 — what changed

National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program Reauthorization Act of 2024

From Reported in Senate to Engrossed in Senate. 3 sections amended between Reported in Senate and Engrossed in Senate.

Sec. 4 Modification of definitions

Section 4 of the Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act of 1977 (42 U.S.C. 7703) is amended—

(1)
in paragraph (3), by inserting “, including secondary effects such as earthquake-caused tsunamis”; and
(2)
by adding at the end the following:

“(11) The term Tribal government has the meaning given the term “tribal government” in section in section 421 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 658).

changed “(12) The term functional recovery means a post-earthquake performance state in which a building or lifeline infrastructure system is maintained, or restored, to safely and adequately support the basic intended functions associated with the pre-earthquake use or occupancy of a building, or the pre-earthquake service level of a lifeline infrastructure system.”system.

added “(13) The term earthquake forecast means a statement of probabilities that 1 or more earthquakes within a clearly specified magnitude range may occur within a specified time interval and geographic region.”

Sec. 5 Improvements to National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program

(a)
Program activities— Subsection (a)(2) of section 5 of the Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act of 1977 (42 U.S.C. 7704) is amended—
(1)
in subparagraph (B)—
(A)
in the matter before clause (i)—
(i)
by striking “and local” and inserting “, local, and Tribal”; and
(ii)
by striking “and constructing” and inserting “, designing, constructing, evaluating, and retrofitting”;
(B)
changed in clause (ii), by striking “voluntary consensus codes for earthquake hazards reduction” and inserting “consensus codes for earthquake hazards reduction, including improved post-earthquake functional recovery,”;amending clause (ii) to read as follows:

added “(ii) development of standards, guidelines, and voluntary standards, guidelines, and consensus codes for earthquake hazards reduction for buildings, structures, and lifeline infrastructure, including post-earthquake recovery-based performance objectives that address reoccupancy and downtime of community-prioritized buildings, structures, and services provided by lifeline infrastructure;”

(C)
in clause (iii), by striking “and hazards reduction; and” and inserting “functional recovery, and other hazards reduction topics;”;
(D)
in clause (iv)—
(i)
by inserting “and maintaining” after “publishing”;
(ii)
changed by inserting “tsunami “in coordination with the National Tsunami Hazards Mitigation Program, tsunami susceptibility,” after “liquefaction susceptibility,”; and
(iii)
by striking “; and” and inserting a semicolon; and
(E)
by adding at the end the following:

changed “(v) subject to the availability of funds, development of best practices and guidelines to create an inventory of and conduct seismic performance evaluations of buildings, structures, and lifeline infrastructure with high seismic risk, especially those that are critical to community resilience; and

changed “(vi) subject to the availability of funds, the provision of technical assistance upon request by a State, local, or Tribal government regarding—

“(I) the creation of an inventory of buildings, structures, and lifeline infrastructure;

“(II) the performance of seismic performance evaluations; and

“(III) cost-effective best practices for retrofitting existing buildings, structures, and lifeline infrastructure.”

(2)
in subparagraph (C), by striking “; and” and inserting a semicolon;
(3)
by redesignating subparagraph (D) as subparagraph (E); and
(4)
by inserting after subparagraph (C) the following:

“(D) improve the understanding of—

“(i) the multiple hazards associated with earthquakes, including liquefaction, tsunamis, landslides, structural fires, and the compounding effects of climate on these hazards; and

“(ii) potential mitigation measures for such hazards; and”

(b)
Duties of Interagency Coordinating Committee on Earthquake Hazards Reduction— Subsection (a)(3)(D)(ii) of such section is amended—
(1)
in subclause (V), by inserting “and associated secondary hazards” before the period at the end; and
(2)
by adding at the end the following:

“(VIII) Coordinating with the Chair of the Federal Communications Commission on the timely broadcasting of emergency alerts generated by the earthquake early warning system.”

(c)
Biennial report— Subsection (a)(4)(A) of such section is amended by striking “under paragraph (3)(D)(i)(I)” each place it appears and inserting “under paragraph (3)(D)(ii)(I)”.
(d)
Advisory committee— Subsection (a)(5)(A) of such section is amended—
(1)
added by inserting “the Chair of the Scientific Earthquake Studies Advisory Committee and” after “including”;
(2)
renumbered was (5)(3) by striking “and local government” and inserting “, local, and Tribal governments”; and
(3)
renumbered was (5)(4) by inserting “social,” after “scientific,”.
(e)
Lead agency for responsibilities of Program agencies— Subsection (b)(1) of such section is amended—
(1)
in subparagraph (A)—
(A)
by striking “and local” and inserting “local, and Tribal governments”; and
(B)
by striking “plan and constructing” and inserting “planning, designing, constructing, evaluating, and retrofitting”;
(2)
by redesignating subparagraphs (C) and (D) as subparagraphs (F) and (G), respectively; and
(3)
by inserting after subparagraph (B) the following:

“(C) improve the understanding of earthquake-caused fires and support the development of engineering tools and construction methods that mitigate the risk of fire following earthquakes;

“(D) develop, in coordination with the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, best practices and guidelines for a State, local, or Tribal government to create an inventory of buildings, structures, or lifeline infrastructure that are critical to community resilience or otherwise have high seismic risk;

“(E) provide, in coordination with the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, technical assistance to a State, local, or Tribal government requesting such assistance with respect to the creation of an inventory of buildings, structures, or lifeline infrastructure;”

(f)
Responsibilities of Federal Emergency Management Agency— Subsection (b)(2) of such section is amended—
(1)
in subparagraph (A)—
(A)
in clause (i)—
(i)
by inserting “and Tribal governments” after “States”;
(ii)
changed by striking “safety inspections” and inserting “performance evaluations”; “and performance evaluations” after “safety inspections”; and
(iii)
by inserting “and improve post-earthquake functional recovery” after “seismic safety”;
(B)
in clause (ii), by inserting “, including Tribal entities,” after “appropriate audiences”;
(C)
in clause (iii)—
(i)
by striking “of seismic resistant” and inserting “to all appropriate audiences, including Tribal governments, of”; and
(ii)
by inserting “that enhance seismic safety, improve post-earthquake functional recovery, and reduce losses from earthquakes” after “and lifeline infrastructure”;
(D)
in clause (iv)—
(i)
in striking “and local” and inserting “, local, and Tribal”; and
(ii)
by striking “; and” and inserting a semicolon;
(E)
by redesignating clause (v) as clause (vi); and
(F)
by inserting after clause (iv) the following:

“(v) shall provide technical assistance to State, local, or Tribal governmental entities in the creation of evacuation plans in the event of an earthquake, landslide, tsunami, or other earthquake-related hazard; and”

(2)
in subparagraph (B)—
(A)
in the subparagraph heading, by inserting “and Tribal” after “State”;
(B)
in the matter before clause (i), by inserting “or Tribal government” after “State”; and
(C)
in clause (i), by striking “safety” and inserting “performance, community resilience, or public awareness”.
(g)
Responsibilities of United States Geological Survey— Subsection (b)(3) of such section is amended—
(1)
in subparagraph (B), by striking “and local” and inserting “, local, and Tribal”;
(2)
in subparagraph (C), by inserting “, the Chair of the Federal Communications Commission,” after “Agency”;
(3)
changed by redesignating subparagraphs (D) through (K) as subparagraphs (J) (L) through (O), (Q), respectively;
(4)
by inserting after subparagraph (C) the following:

“(D) coordinate with the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency on data sharing and resource allocation to support a timely response to oceanic earthquakes and tsunamis;

“(E) in consultation with the Chair of the Federal Communications Commission, ensure that earthquake alerts and early warnings are broadcast as rapidly and reliably as possible, in the predominant languages in the affected region, to ensure maximum warning time for nearby persons;

changed “(F) expand the earthquake early warning system within and to additional high earthquake risk hazard areas, including making improvements as practicable to improve detection and increase the time between warning messages and perceptible ground motion;

changed “(G) coordinating with affected State and Tribal governments on earthquake early warning system improvements;”improvements;

added “(H) issue earthquake forecasts, when appropriate, for aftershocks associated with significant earthquakes in the United States;”

(5)
changed in subparagraph (H), (I), as redesignated by paragraph (3), by inserting “the Chair of the Federal Communications Commission,” after “Agency,”;
(6)
changed in subparagraph (K), (L), as redesignated by paragraph (3), by striking “; and” and inserting a semicolon;
(7)
changed in subparagraph (L), (M), as redesignated by paragraph (3), by striking the period at the end and inserting a semicolon; and
(8)
changed in subparagraph (N), (O), as redesignated by paragraph (3), by inserting “maps of natural hazards associated with earthquakes and”.
(h)
Responsibilities of National Science Foundation— Subsection (b)(4)(A) of such section is amended—
(1)
in clause (iii), by inserting “including updated tsunami and liquefaction risk maps,”; and
(2)
in clause (vii), by striking “Historically Black Colleges and Universities and those serving large proportions of Hispanics, Native Americans, Asian-Pacific Americans, and other underrepresented populations” and inserting “institutions described in section 371(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1067q(a))”.

Sec. 7 Seismic standards

Section 8 of the Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act of 1977 (42 U.S.C. 7705b) is amended—

(1)
in subsection (b), by striking “under paragraph (1)” and inserting “under subsection (a)”; and
(2)
by adding at the end the following:

“(c) Implementation of recommendations—Each Program agency, as part of their Program responsibilities, shall execute research, projects, grants, and other activities that support, promote, advance, or otherwise implement the recommendations in the report submitted pursuant to subsection (b) to improve the performance of the built environment in terms of post-earthquake reoccupancy and functional recovery time.

“(d) Biennial reports

changed “(1) Biennial reports to Interagency Coordinating Committee—No later than June September 30, 2025, and not less frequently than once every 2 years thereafter, each Program agency shall submit to the Interagency Coordinating Committee a report on activities and progress made to support, promote, or advance the implementation of the recommendations included in the report submitted pursuant to subsection (b).

“(2) Inclusion in biennial reports of Interagency Coordinating Committee—The Interagency Coordinating Committee shall include the information received under paragraph (1) in each biennial report submitted under section 5(a)(4), including consideration of a prioritized work plan to coordinate activities among the Program agencies and the necessary Program budget to fully implement the recommendations described in paragraph (1).”