Bill Text: PA HB776 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Providing for small disaster assistance, for low-interest loans to individual disaster victims and businesses and for municipal grants.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2009-03-06 - Referred to VETERANS AFFAIRS AND EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS [HB776 Detail]

Download: Pennsylvania-2009-HB776-Introduced.html

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PRINTER'S NO. 866
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No. 776 Session of2009
INTRODUCED BY PETRI, BELFANTI, CALTAGIRONE, CLYMER, DeWEESE, EVERETT, FAIRCHILD, FREEMAN, GEIST, GEORGE, GIBBONS, GOODMAN, HENNESSEY, KILLION, KORTZ, MAJOR, O'NEILL, PAYNE, PETRARCA, READSHAW, REICHLEY, SCAVELLO, SIPTROTH, SOLOBAY, VULAKOVICH, WALKO, WHITE AND YOUNGBLOOD, MARCH 6, 2009
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON VETERANS AFFAIRS AND EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS, MARCH 6, 2009
AN ACT
Providing for small disaster assistance, for low-interest loans
to individual disaster victims and businesses and for
municipal grants.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Legislative findings.
The General Assembly finds that many communities in this
Commonwealth frequently are subject to natural and manmade
disasters which cause significant damage and disruption in the
life of the community but which are not of sufficient magnitude
to qualify for Federal disaster assistance programs.
Nevertheless, these losses are of considerable importance to
those directly affected and their communities and to the health
and welfare of the citizens of this Commonwealth's many
communities.
Section 2. Definitions.
The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Agency." The Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency.
"Business." The term includes nonprofit organizations and
the nonsectarian portion of religious facilities.
"Cost-of-living increase." The amount of increase equal to
the percentage change in the Consumers Price Index for All Urban
Consumers (CPI-U) for the Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and
Maryland area for the most recent 12-month period for which
figures have been officially reported by the United States
Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics immediately
prior to the date the adjustment is to take effect.
"Fund." The Small Disaster Assistance Fund established under
section 3.
"Small disaster." An event which results in total uninsured
losses for all affected individuals and businesses of not more
than $2,000,000 and which occurred after June 30, 2009, and
falls below the current Federal guidelines for Federal disaster
assistance but which involves:
(1) damage exceeding 40% of the total value of a
structure and contents of each of at least five homes or two
businesses;
(2) loss of life; or
(3) total estimated damages of at least $250,000 to
public facilities.
Section 3. Small Disaster Assistance Fund.
(a) Fund established.--There is hereby established in the
State Treasury the Small Disaster Assistance Fund to assist the
victims of natural and manmade disasters with low-interest loans
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and grants. The fund shall be a nonlapsing fund. The fund shall
consist of moneys appropriated by the General Assembly and
Federal moneys appropriated for disaster assistance. Except as
otherwise provided in this act, assistance shall not be
available to a person that owns property within a 100-year flood
plain and does not have flood insurance. All loan repayments
shall be placed in the fund to be used for the purposes of this
act.
(b) Coordination and administration of fund.--All field and
other activities of the fund shall be coordinated by the agency,
including budgetary allocations from the fund and reports to the
General Assembly on program performance and needs. Final
authority on all individual requests for assistance from the
fund shall rest with the administering agencies. Program
elements of the fund shall be administered as follows:
(1) For residential housing and contents, the
Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency.
(2) For business and municipal programs, the Department
of Community and Economic Development.
(c) Small disaster declarations.--
(1) A county emergency management director may petition
the agency for a declaration of a small disaster. The
agency's determination on the petition shall be deemed a
final order, subject to review under 2 Pa.C.S. Ch. 7 Subch. A
(relating to judicial review of Commonwealth agency action).
(2) A declaration of small disaster shall extend the
assistance available under this act to all persons,
businesses and municipalities within a county that suffered
any level of physical damages from the small disaster event.
Section 4. Low-interest loans to individual disaster victims.
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(a) Residential loans.--Persons who have lost clothing,
furniture, appliances, furnaces, hot water heaters or other
contents of their primary residences as the result of a small
disaster are eligible for low-interest loans of not more than
$7,500 per person in multiperson households and not more than
$15,000 in single person households. Persons may also be
eligible for a low-interest loan for the purpose of
investigating flood damage, elevation of primary residence or
flood mitigation projects and debris removal. The total amount
per household shall not be more than $30,000.
(b) Coverage.--Loans shall cover only that portion of loss
not covered by insurance.
Section 5. Business loans.
(a) Business loans.--
(1) Loans to businesses shall be for a term of not more
than 15 years, except where the term is extended by hardship
suspensions of payments. Business loans shall be secured by a
mortgage on real property of the business or other suitable
collateral.
(2) Business loans may also be eligible for a low-
interest loan for the purpose of investigating flood damage,
elevation of primary residence or flood mitigation projects
and debris removal. Business loans may be used to repair or
replace all of the following when lost or seriously damaged
due to a small disaster:
(i) Fixed equipment.
(ii) Major moveable equipment.
(iii) Furnishings.
(iv) Real property.
(v) Leasehold improvements.
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(vi) Inventory, if it can be shown that an insurance
policy at a reasonable premium in relation to value was
not available to replace the inventory.
(3) At the discretion of the Department of Community and
Economic Development, individual business loans may be
increased up to 150% of eligible repair or replacement costs
to assist in business retention and recovery. The sum of all
business loans may not be more than one-half of all funds
available for expenditure in the fund in any fiscal year.
Section 6. Interest.
All loans shall bear interest for the entire term at a rate
no greater than the annual cost-of-living increase in the year
in which the loan is granted.
Section 7. Municipal grants.
(a) General rule.--Municipalities affected by a small
disaster may apply for grants to rectify conditions or
inadequate public facilities that led directly to the small
disaster or contributed substantially to its occurrence or the
inability of local officials to bring the damage under control.
(b) Municipal grants.--Municipal and county grants may be
used for repairing or replacing all of the following when lost
or seriously damaged due to a small disaster:
(1) Municipal-owned buildings.
(2) Municipal-owned major equipment other than vehicles,
plows, backhoes and similar gasoline-powered or diesel-
powered mobile machinery.
(3) Municipal-owned office machines.
(4) Municipal-maintained streets.
(5) Municipal water and sewer lines and other public
utilities.
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(6) Municipal recreational facilities.
Section 8. Effective date.
This act shall take effect immediately.
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