By Cuellar H.C.R. No. 109 75R7785 MPC-D HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 1-1 WHEREAS, To ensure the prudent use of tax dollars designated 1-2 for disaster assistance, the federal Flood Disaster Protection Act 1-3 of 1973 mandates the purchase of flood insurance as a condition of 1-4 receipt of federal or federally related financial assistance for 1-5 the acquisition or construction of buildings in Special Flood 1-6 Hazard Areas (SFHAs); and 1-7 WHEREAS, The Act prohibits federal agencies such as the 1-8 Federal Housing Administration, the Veterans Administration, the 1-9 Small Business Administration, and any federally regulated lending 1-10 institution from making or guaranteeing a loan for a building in an 1-11 SFHA unless flood insurance has been purchased; additionally, it is 1-12 standard practice for most mortgage companies to require flood 1-13 insurance on property in designated flood zones as a condition of a 1-14 loan; and 1-15 WHEREAS, The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the 1-16 entity responsible for designating and mapping flood risk zones, 1-17 uses several criteria to establish floodplain classifications, 1-18 including a community's historical flood and hydrology data, flood 1-19 control measures, existing and planned development, and topography; 1-20 and 1-21 WHEREAS, For many communities in Texas, the flood insurance 1-22 requirement is determined using maps that may have been drawn as 1-23 far back as the 1970s or early 1980s; these dated flood maps do not 1-24 accurately reflect changes in population, development, or flood 2-1 control or storm sewer improvements that a community may have 2-2 implemented to reduce the risk of flooding; and 2-3 WHEREAS, A glaring example of this problem is the city of 2-4 Laredo, where residents and business owners are required to 2-5 purchase flood insurance based on FEMA-designated flood zone maps 2-6 drawn in 1982; and 2-7 WHEREAS, During the past decade, the City of Laredo has 2-8 constructed numerous concrete channels to divert flood waters and 2-9 has made storm sewer improvements to help reduce the risk of flood; 2-10 these projects have been carried out to accommodate the rapid 2-11 population growth in the city, which has tripled in size over the 2-12 last 15 years; and 2-13 WHEREAS, The result of federally mandated flood insurance 2-14 requirements based on outdated maps has created a windfall for 2-15 insurance companies, which are collecting millions of dollars in 2-16 flood insurance from people who no longer live in flood zones; now, 2-17 therefore, be it 2-18 RESOLVED, That the 75th Legislature of the State of Texas 2-19 hereby urge the Congress of the United States to request that the 2-20 Federal Emergency Management Agency update community flood maps 2-21 every 10 years; and, be it further 2-22 RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official 2-23 copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to 2-24 the speaker of the house of representatives and president of the 2-25 senate of the United States Congress, and to all members of the 2-26 Texas delegation to the congress with the request that it be 2-27 officially entered in the Congressional Record as a memorial to the 3-1 Congress of the United States of America.