Lawmakers seek to delay flood insurance law

Federal and state officials continue to pursue delays of the 2012 Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act, citing the financial damage that dramatic increases in flood insurance rates will have upon home and business owners.

The Biggert-Waters Act eliminates subsidies for the National Flood Insurance Program and increased rates to reflect true risk for many property owners. It also called for the Federal Emergency Management Agency to redraw flood plain maps, leading to the inclusion of more homes and businesses in newly enlarged high-risk flood zones that require flood insurance.

On Oct. 29, a bipartisan coalition of 57 congressmen filed the Grimm-Waters-Richmond Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act. The legislation would delay implementation of Biggert-Waters for two years after the conclusion of an affordability study, calling upon FEMA to propose an affordability framework for Congress to review during that time.

FEMA has estimated the initial affordability study would take two years to complete, so passage of the Grimm-Waters-Richmond Act would effectively yield a four-year implementation delay.

The Grimm-Waters-Richmond Act would also require FEMA to certify that the agency has fully adopted a modernized risk-based approach to analyze the likelihood of flooding.

Four members of Congress from Massachusetts – William Keating, Stephen Lynch, John Tierney and Niki Tsongas – were among the 57 co-sponsors.

The Biggert-Waters Act required FEMA to complete an affordability study prior to imposing the new rates, but the study was not completed.

On Nov. 15, Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley filed an amicus brief in federal court in support of a lawsuit brought by the state of Mississippi alleging that the rules enacted by FEMA are arbitrary and capricious.

“These new rates will devastate many families and businesses throughout Massachusetts,” Coakley wrote. “The federal government should delay these changes until FEMA has followed all the steps required by law. In setting these new flood insurance rates, FEMA not only failed to evaluate their economic impact, but also failed to gather all the data required to ensure the new rates are accurate.”

The Biggert-Waters Act began to take effect on Jan. 1, 2013, and its implementation schedule continues over the next several years.

Additional information of the impact of the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act on property owners may be found at www.fema.gov/flood-insurance-reform-act-2012.