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RESOLUTION URGING CONGRESS TO ENACT LEGISLATION TO PREVENT FLOOD INSURANCE PREMIUM RATE INCREASES ON HOMEOWNERS MANDATED BY THE BIGGERT-WATERS FLOOD INSURANCE REFORM ACT OF 2012; URGING CONGRESS TO ENACT THE FLOOD INSURANCE IMPLEMENTATION REFORM ACT OF 2013, H.R. 2199 OR SIMILAR LEGISLATION DELAYING THE PENDING PREMIUM RATE INCREASES ON HOMEOWNERS UNDER THE BIGGERT-WATERS FLOOD INSURANCE REFORM ACT OF 2012

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WHEREAS, under the National Flood Insurance Program, all property owners with federally insured mortgages in high risk of flooding areas are required to purchase flood insurance; and
WHEREAS, over 5.5 million people in the United States currently hold flood insurance policies; and
WHEREAS, 37 percent of the nation�s National Flood Insurance Program policies are held by Florida property owners; and
WHEREAS, 268,648 flood insurance policies in Florida are currently subsidized; and
WHEREAS, Florida homeowners have supported the National Flood Insurance Program with more than $16 billion in payments in the past three decades while claiming only $3.7 billion; and
WHEREAS, Congress passed the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012 in July of 2012 to address the financial instability of the National Flood Insurance Program by raising flood insurance premiums; and
WHEREAS, without action by Congress, the implementation of the subsidy reforms included in the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012 would have the effect of raising flood insurance premiums by 25 percent each year until premiums reflect full risk rates for owners of:
1. Primary residences with subsidized premiums upon the sale of the property, lapse of the current policy, repeated flooding, or purchase of a new policy;
2. Business properties with subsidized premiums;
3. Severe repetitive loss properties;
4. Any property that has incurred flood-related damage in which the cumulative amounts of claims payments exceeded the fair market value of such property; and
WHEREAS, economists agree that increased flood insurance premiums can cause property values to drop, bank mortgages to go into default, and local tax bases to erode; and
WHEREAS, stagnant home sales and depressed home values were two of the leading causes of the most recent recession in the United States; and
WHEREAS, housing prices in Miami-Dade County have only recently started to recover from the housing market collapse that began in 2007; and
WHEREAS, the South Florida housing market remains fragile; and
WHEREAS, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), insurance companies that service National Flood Insurance policies retain 12.5 percent to 13.4 percent of premiums for their internal expenses; and
WHEREAS, the requirement in the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012 that FEMA conduct an affordability study of methods for establishing an affordability framework for flood insurance has not been satisfied; and
WHEREAS, Congressman Cedrick Richmond (D � Louisiana) has sponsored H.R. 2199, the Flood Insurance Implementation Reform Act of 2013, to delay implementation of certain provisions of the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act; and
WHEREAS, the Flood Insurance Implementation Reform Act of 2013 would delay, for three years, the increase in premiums on properties whose current premiums do not reflect full risk rates; and
WHEREAS, this legislation would also provide FEMA with greater means to conduct an affordability study of the National Flood Insurance Program; and
WHEREAS, this Board would like to express its support for H.R. 2199,
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA, that this Board:
Section 1. Urges Congress to enact legislation to prevent flood insurance premium rate increases on homeowners mandated by the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012.
Section 2. Urges Congress to enact the Flood Insurance Implementation Reform Act of 2013, H.R. 2199 or similar legislation delaying the pending premium rate increases under the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012.
Section 3. Directs the Clerk of the Board to transmit a certified copy of this resolution to the members of the Florida Congressional Delegation, Senator David Vitter, Senator Mary Landrieu, U.S. Representative Michael Grimm, U.S. Representative, Steven Palazzo and U.S. Representative Steve Stockman.
Section 4. Directs the County�s federal lobbyists to advocate for the passage of the legislation set forth in Sections 1 and 2 above, and authorizes and directs the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs to amend the 2013 Federal Legislative Package to include this item and to include this item in the 2014 Federal Legislative Package when it is presented to the Board.