SNOW Act of 2025

This bill expands FEMA help for winter storms. It lets communities use FEMA hazard‑mitigation funds to cut future risk—like buying snow‑removal equipment—after a winter storm hits. FEMA must set new rules that can waive the usual snowfall and statewide damage tests for declaring a major disaster if at least two conditions are met, such as the state saying damages in a response zone exceed its own threshold, dangerous winds and wind chills or long‑lasting lake‑effect snow, or the area being low‑income or not urban. It also directs FEMA to offer winter‑storm help for debris removal, roads and bridges, public utilities, public buildings, parks, and more, and to allow individual and emergency aid when the state says the storm is beyond local capacity. The bill raises how much the federal government pays in rural or disadvantaged areas to 90% for many kinds of FEMA assistance, including debris removal and hazard‑mitigation projects; otherwise the federal share is at least 75%.

Key points

• Who is affected: Towns and counties hit by winter storms, especially rural or low‑income places; states and local governments; households needing help after severe snow events.
• What changes: Easier path to a disaster declaration for snowstorms; more ways to use FEMA funds (including snow‑removal equipment); broader categories of winter‑storm assistance; federal share boosted to 90% in rural or disadvantaged areas; “rural or disadvantaged” means areas below the national median income or not urban .
• When: FEMA must create these rules through regulations; timing is set by FEMA’s rulemaking process required by the bill.