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HR 5870 112th Congress House

Disaster Declaration Improvement Act

Official title: To revise the regulations regarding estimated cost of the assistance and localized impacts factors used by the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and for other purposes.

Introduced: June 5, 2012 Introduced by: Schiff, Adam B. Democratic · California See on congress.gov
Emergency Management Administrative law and regulatory proceduresDepartment of Homeland SecurityDisaster relief and insuranceFederal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)State and local finance
This bill died when the 112th Congress ended
It never became law before the 112th Congress (2011–2012) adjourned, and bills don't carry over to the next Congress. It would have to be reintroduced. You can still save it for reference, but it won't receive updates.
 Everywhere this bill has been 3 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
May 31, 2012
Referred to the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management.
May 30, 2012
Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
May 30, 2012
Introduced in House
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 Latest action May 31, 2012

Referred to the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management.

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Disaster Declaration Improvement Act - Directs the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to issue a revised rule governing factors to consider in evaluating a governor's request for a major disaster declaration to require: (1) the "estimated cost of assistance" to be considered equally with the other five factors described in the rule; and (2) the "evaluation of localized impacts" to include consideration of the budgetary resources available to local and state governments to respond to and recover from such disaster and the impact of the disaster on a small city or a census-designated place with a population of less than 25,000 or a medium city with a population of less than 250,000 if either is located within a large county with a population of more than 1 million and in a large state with a population of more than 5 million if the level of financial damage in such city exceeds 10% of the city's general fund or $100 per capita of the census-designated place or city.

 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 2
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APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 5870: Disaster Declaration Improvement Act. 112th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/112-HR-5870/
MLA
"H.R. 5870: Disaster Declaration Improvement Act." 112th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/112-HR-5870/.
Bluebook (legal)
H.R. 5870, 112th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/112-HR-5870/.
Markdown link
[H.R. 5870: Disaster Declaration Improvement Act](https://openamerica.io/bill/112-HR-5870/)
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