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.