US SB3895

FEMA Administrator must amend disaster assistance evaluation rules within 120 days of enactment, updating 44 CFR section 206.48

Public Assistance Program criteria weighted as: localized impacts (40%), estimated cost (10%), insurance coverage (10%), hazard mitigation (10%), recent multiple disasters (10%), other federal programs (10%), and economic circumstances (10%)

Individual Assistance Program criteria weighted as: concentration of damages (20%), trauma (20%), special populations (20%), insurance (20%), voluntary agency assistance (10%), average individual assistance by state (5%), and economic considerations (5%)

Economic circumstances evaluation must include local assessable tax base, local sales tax, median income compared to state levels, poverty rate compared to state, and state unemployment rate compared to national rate

Amended rules apply retroactively to any major disaster declaration request denied on or after January 1, 2012