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.

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