U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff of California has introduced bipartisan legislation aimed at helping communities rebuild faster after a wildfire or other natural disaster.
The Reducing Red Tape for Rebuilding Act would extend the timeframe that local governments have to receive funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help pay the wages, including overtime pay, of additional staff hired to perform building code enforcement, which includes the processing of building permits.
Now, cities and counties can only receive this funding during the first 180 days after a qualifying disaster has been declared.
But often, communities are still removing debris and completing clean-up during those first six months. By the time they’re ready to transition to the rebuilding stage, the window for cities and counties to receive this FEMA funding has closed.
Debris removal after the Palisades and Eaton fires was considered the fastest in U.S. history yet still took more than six months to complete.
The legislation that Schiff introduced this week would extend the window that local governments have to receive this FEMA funding from 180 days to two years. In addition, cities and counties can decide when that two-year period would start, rather than have the clock automatically start the day a disaster is declared.
“After disaster strikes, communities should be able to access support from the federal government without delay or bureaucratic red tape. But our current laws are not working as they should,” Schiff said.
The Reducing Red Tape for Rebuilding Act, he said, would expand federal assistance to help local governments “process rebuilding projects more quickly following disasters.”
Local permitting departments often face major backlogs even before a disaster. After one hits, their staffing needs can more than double, according to Schiff’s office.
The National Fire Protection Association, National Emergency Management Association, National Association of Counties and the International Code Council are among more than a dozen organizations endorsing the legislation.
Bill Owens, chair of the National Association of Home Builders, laid out in a statement the benefits of allowing FEMA to cover, for a longer period of time, the cost of additional staff to help with the building permitting process.
“For builders, that means fewer delays caused by understaffed local departments, more efficient permitting and inspections, and a faster path to getting housing projects back underway during recovery,” Owens said.
The bill, S. 5276, is co-sponsored by Sen. Joni Ernst, a Republican from Iowa, and has been referred to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs for consideration.