Sponsors (2)
The bill improves the precision, consistency, and timeliness of flood mapping—helping homeowners, planners, and emergency responders better manage flood risk—but does so at added cost, potential privacy tradeoffs, and risks of negative impacts on property values and insurance availability for some owners.
Homeowners will get more precise, parcel-level flood maps and structure footprints, giving property owners clearer, actionable information about their flood risk to guide mitigation and insurance decisions.
Policyholders, NFIP administrators, and taxpayers will benefit from a more reliable, regularly updated national mapping program (including requirements for periodic verification and a dedicated funding stream), which should reduce rate‑setting errors and mismatches and support more accurate insurance pricing.
Local governments and communities nationwide will have access to standardized geospatial data and models, improving planning, hazard mitigation prioritization, and coordination for resilience projects.
Homeowners in high-risk areas may face falling property values and reduced insurance availability as widely available granular risk data and structure footprints make flood exposure more visible to buyers and insurers.
Taxpayers, NFIP policyholders, and local governments may bear higher costs because reserving 5% of specified NFIP revenue for mapping, meeting stricter accuracy standards, and maintaining gage networks increases program and compliance expenses that could translate into higher premiums or reduced funds for other needs.
Property owners may face privacy risks if FEMA publishes parcel-level owner data or otherwise disseminates owner-identifying information.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Requires FEMA to upgrade NFIP rate maps with parcel and planimetric data, meet modern spatial standards, publish a national geospatial flood data repository, strengthen USGS stream gages, and fund mapping with quarterly 5% NFIP revenue transfers.
Introduced September 9, 2025 by Troy Downing · Last progress September 9, 2025
Requires FEMA to modernize National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) rate maps by adding detailed planimetric features and parcel identification (including addresses as practicable), updating spatial reference and accuracy to current national standards, publishing a national geospatial data repository with flood models and structure footprints, and coordinating with USGS to strengthen stream gage networks and real‑time data feeds. The bill also requires periodic verification of maps, sets procurement rules for mapping and surveying contracts, and directs quarterly transfers equal to 5% of specified NFIP revenues to support map creation and maintenance. The changes affect FEMA operations and budgets, mapping and surveying contractors, state and local governments that use flood maps for planning and permitting, homeowners and businesses whose flood risk and insurance rates rely on NFIP maps, and insurers/financial institutions that use flood data for underwriting and lending decisions.