1-1 By: Cuellar (Senate Sponsor - Truan) H.C.R. No. 109 1-2 (In the Senate - Received from the House April 14, 1997; 1-3 April 16, 1997, read first time and referred to Committee on 1-4 Natural Resources; May 8, 1997, reported favorably by the following 1-5 vote: Yeas 8, Nays 0; May 8, 1997, sent to printer.) 1-6 HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 1-7 WHEREAS, To ensure the prudent use of tax dollars designated 1-8 for disaster assistance, the federal Flood Disaster Protection Act 1-9 of 1973 mandates the purchase of flood insurance as a condition of 1-10 receipt of federal or federally related financial assistance for 1-11 the acquisition or construction of buildings in Special Flood 1-12 Hazard Areas (SFHAs); and 1-13 WHEREAS, The Act prohibits federal agencies such as the 1-14 Federal Housing Administration, the Veterans Administration, the 1-15 Small Business Administration, and any federally regulated lending 1-16 institution from making or guaranteeing a loan for a building in an 1-17 SFHA unless flood insurance has been purchased; additionally, it is 1-18 standard practice for most mortgage companies to require flood 1-19 insurance on property in designated flood zones as a condition of a 1-20 loan; and 1-21 WHEREAS, The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the 1-22 entity responsible for designating and mapping flood risk zones, 1-23 uses several criteria to establish floodplain classifications, 1-24 including a community's historical flood and hydrology data, flood 1-25 control measures, existing and planned development, and topography; 1-26 and 1-27 WHEREAS, For many communities in Texas, the flood insurance 1-28 requirement is determined using maps that may have been drawn as 1-29 far back as the 1970s or early 1980s; these dated flood maps do not 1-30 accurately reflect changes in population, development, or flood 1-31 control or storm sewer improvements that a community may have 1-32 implemented to reduce the risk of flooding; and 1-33 WHEREAS, A glaring example of this problem is the city of 1-34 Laredo, where residents and business owners are required to 1-35 purchase flood insurance based on FEMA-designated flood zone maps 1-36 drawn in 1982; and 1-37 WHEREAS, During the past decade, the City of Laredo has 1-38 constructed numerous concrete channels to divert flood waters and 1-39 has made storm sewer improvements to help reduce the risk of flood; 1-40 these projects have been carried out to accommodate the rapid 1-41 population growth in the city, which has tripled in size over the 1-42 last 15 years; and 1-43 WHEREAS, The result of federally mandated flood insurance 1-44 requirements based on outdated maps has created a windfall for 1-45 insurance companies, which are collecting millions of dollars in 1-46 flood insurance from people who no longer live in flood zones; now, 1-47 therefore, be it 1-48 RESOLVED, That the 75th Legislature of the State of Texas 1-49 hereby urge the Congress of the United States to request that the 1-50 Federal Emergency Management Agency update community flood maps 1-51 every 10 years; and, be it further 1-52 RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official 1-53 copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to 1-54 the speaker of the house of representatives and president of the 1-55 senate of the United States Congress, and to all members of the 1-56 Texas delegation to the congress with the request that it be 1-57 officially entered in the Congressional Record as a memorial to the 1-58 Congress of the United States of America. 1-59 * * * * *