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HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 236 FILED ON: 1/7/2025
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 980
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_________________
PRESENTED BY:
Patrick Joseph Kearney
_________________
To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:
The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
An Act establishing a flood mitigation and preparedness program.
_______________
PETITION OF:
NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Patrick Joseph Kearney4th Plymouth1/7/2025 1 of 8
HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 236 FILED ON: 1/7/2025
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 980
By Representative Kearney of Scituate, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 980) of
Patrick Joseph Kearney for legislation to establish a flood mitigation and preparedness program.
Environment and Natural Resources.
[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE HOUSE, NO. 842 OF 2023-2024.]
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
(2025-2026)
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An Act establishing a flood mitigation and preparedness program.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
of the same, as follows:
1 Section 1. Flood mitigation and preparedness loan or grant program
2 (a) There shall be established and set upon the books of the Commonwealth a separate
3fund to be known as the Flood Mitigation and Preparedness Fund into which shall be deposited
4amounts credited or transferred to the fund by the general court or any other source including,
5without limitation, federal grants; loan repayments; investment earnings on monies in the fund;
6and any other amounts required to be credited to the fund by operation of law, resolution or
7agreement entered into by the Department of Conservation and Recreation. The fund shall be
8administered by the Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs. Monies deposited into the
9fund that are unexpended at the end of the fiscal year shall not revert to the General Fund and
10shall be available for expenditure in the subsequent fiscal year. 2 of 8
11 (b) Amounts credited to the fund shall be used, without further appropriation, to provide
12grants or loans to local governmental bodies to:
13 i. Finance costs or to loan against federal reimbursements to individuals that meet
14program eligibility by the community, for projects that include, but are not limited to, elevating
15vulnerable utilities, installation of flood equalization vents, elevating buildings, or any eligible
16project as defined in Section 3 that is determined to be flood mitigation or wet floodproofing
17projects and,
18 ii. Fund all the administrative actions involved in administering this program or any other
19state or federal mitigation grant or loan programs at the community level whether funding is or is
20not awarded and,
21 iii. Fund outreach and education activities within communities that relate to information
22around programs and projects that are funded within this Act.
23 Section 2. Definitions
24 Base Flood Elevation (BFE)—Elevation of flooding, including wave height, having a 1%
25chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year.
26 Community—Any state or area or political subdivision thereof, or any Indian tribe or
27authorized tribal organization, or authorized native organization, which has the authority to adopt
28and enforce this standard for areas within its jurisdiction.
29 Design Flood Elevation (DFE) —Elevation of the design flood, including wave height,
30relative to the datum specified on the community’s flood hazard map. 3 of 8
31 Dry Floodproofing—A combination of measures that results in a structure, including the
32attendant utilities and equipment, being watertight with all elements substantially impermeable
33and with structural components having the capacity to resist flood loads.
34 Flood- A general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of two or
35more acres of normally dry land area or of two or more properties, at least one of which is the
36policyholder’s property, from:
37 (i) overflow of inland or tidal waters;
38 (ii) unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters from any source; or
39 (iii) mudflow; or
40 (b) collapse or subsidence of land along the shore of a lake or similar body of water as a
41result of erosion or undermining caused by waves or currents of water exceeding anticipated
42cyclical levels that result in a flood as defined in this section.
43 Floodproofing—Any combination of structural or nonstructural adjustments, changes, or
44actions that reduce or eliminate flood damage to a structure, contents, and attendant utilities and
45equipment.
46 Mitigation— sustained action to reduce or eliminate risk to people and property from
47hazards and their effects.
48 Preparedness— a state of readiness to respond to a disaster, crisis or any other type of
49emergency situation. 4 of 8
50 Special Flood Hazard Area —Land in the floodplain subject to a 1% or greater chance of
51flooding in any given year; area delineated on the Flood Insurance Rate Map as Zone A, AE, A1-
5230, A99, AR, AO, AH, V, VO, VE, or V1-30.
53 Structure—Any building or other structure, including gas and liquid storage tanks.
54 Structural Elevation— The raising of a vulnerable structure's finished first floor safely at
55or above the design flood elevation and demolishing or retrofitting the foundation.
56 Substantial improvement- Any reconstruction, rehabilitation, addition, or other
57improvement to a structure, the cost of which equals or exceeds 50% of its pre-improvement
58market value This term includes structures that have incurred substantial damage, regardless of
59the actual repair work performed.
60 Wet Floodproofing—Floodproofing method that relies on the use of flood damage-
61resistant materials and construction techniques in areas of a structure that are below the elevation
62required by this standard by intentionally allowing those areas to flood
63 Section 3. Program eligibility
64 (a) For funding under Section 1 sub paragraph (i), those eligible to receive funding are
65any buildings defined by the NFIP to be a 1-4 family residence that meet the following criteria:
66 i. Those properties deemed as Severe Repetitive Losses under the National Flood
67Insurance Program
68 ii. Those properties deemed as Repetitive Losses under the National Flood Insurance
69Program iii. Those deemed as “vulnerable populations” as defined by the Massachusetts Hazard
70Mitigation and Climate Adaptation Plan as found on page 2-10. 5 of 8
71 A priority shall be given to those that meet multiple categories of the above eligibility
72criteria. The secretary shall determine whether the program funds all projects within a
73community application per award.
74 (b) For funding under Section 1 sub paragraph ii and iii, those eligible for funding are
75communities within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts that,
76 i. Participate in the National Flood Insurance Program, and
77 ii. Have active and approved Hazard Mitigation Plans, and
78 iii. Have qualifying structures for eligibility under Section 3 paragraph (a)
79 Section 4. Program requirements
80 (a) The secretary shall promulgate rules and regulations for the administration and
81implementation of this section within the framework of the following requirements for projects
82under Section 1 paragraph (i):
83 i. Eligible applicants with eligible projects shall apply to the community where the
84project resides
85 ii. The Community shall review applications for program eligibility and program
86requirements. The Community shall then send applications to the Flood Mitigation Review
87Board
88 iii. Any substantially improved funded project shall comply with current state building
89code. Any funded building retrofit project that does not constitute a substantial improvement but 6 of 8
90would be defined as wet or dry floodproofing by the NFIP must result in a project that would
91both:
92 a. Reduce the premium of an NFIP flood insurance policy, whether in place or placed in
93the future on the structure and b. Follow state building codes and requirements for the particular
94parts of the project being completed
95 No project shall be approved which does not, by judgment of the local code official,
96reduce flood damage and flood risk to the structure.
97 iv. Any project which is funded that elevated utilities must require such utilities be
98elevated at or above the design flood elevation or to the buildings next highest floor, whichever
99is higher.
100 v. Projects that are funded shall be inspected by the local code official. The final
101inspection and signed off completion documents shall be sent no later than 30 days from
102completion to the Flood Mitigation Review Board for record keeping and tracking purposes.
103 Section 5. Application process
104 (a) All applications for funding under Section 1 sub paragraph (i) from individuals
105meeting program eligibility requirements shall be submitted to the community. The application
106timeframe shall be September 1st to December 31st annually. The local code official shall
107review projects to ensure the projects meet program eligibility and program requirements. The
108community shall, at the end of the application period, review applications for both program
109eligibility and program requirements. Those eligible applications shall be sent to the Flood
110Mitigation Review Board for approval and funding. 7 of 8
111 (b) Applications for funding under Section 1 sub paragraph (ii) and (iii) shall be sent
112from the community to the Flood Mitigation and Preparedness Review Board for funding. A
113detailed plan for outreach and education following similar guidance to the Community Rating
114System’s Program For Public Information shall be followed for funding under Section 1 sub
115paragraph (iii).
116 Section 6. Flood Mitigation and Preparedness Review Board
117 (a) The Flood Mitigation and Preparedness Review Board, an independent body
118established by the governor, shall review applications submitted by communities to ensure that
119projects meet the program eligibility and program requirements. The Review Board shall only
120deem that projects meet these requirements for approval and may only disapprove applications
121by not meeting project requirements for funding as funding allows in each application period.
122 (b) Projects that do not meet program eligibility and requirements shall be denied funding
123by the Review Board. A letter from the Review Board must be sent no later than 90 days from
124the date that projects are not funded to the Community explaining the reasons. If a project within
125the Community’s application does not meet program eligibility and program requirements, the
126Review Board may approve the portions of Community’s application that do meet the program
127requirements.
128 (c) The Review Board shall be comprised of the secretary of energy and environmental
129affairs or a designee, who shall serve as the Board chair, the chair of the state board of building
130regulation and standards or a designee, the director of the office of coastal zone management or a
131designee, 2 persons to be appointed by the director of the Massachusetts Emergency
132Management Agency, 1 of whom shall be a contractor with experience in home elevations and 1 8 of 8
133of whom shall be an insurance agent with knowledge in flood insurance and experience in
134guiding and consulting for mitigation activities, the acting state hazard mitigation officer of the
135state hazard mitigation team, a licensed lender with knowledge in flood insurance, 203k home
136loan lending and traditional loans who shall be appointed by the acting state hazard mitigation
137officer of the state hazard mitigation team, and 3 persons to be appointed by the governor, 1 of
138whom shall be a representative from a statewide environmental group, 1 of whom shall be a
139representative of the executive office of energy and environmental affairs with knowledge of
140climate change adaptation, and 1 of whom shall be a representative from the executive office of
141public safety and security with knowledge of the federal hazard mitigation grant program and
142experience with mitigation activities.
143 Section 7. Time effective
144 (a) This act becomes effective sixty days following approval by the Governor