H.R. 744 — Disaster Management Costs Modernization Act

This section amends management cost provisions under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5165b), which authorize fixed percentages of FEMA grant awards to cover grantee and subgrantee administrative costs for public assistance programs (i.e., 15% of hazard mitigation grants under section 404, with up to 10% for grantees and 5% for subgrantees; 12% of public assistance grants under sections 406 and 407, with up to 7% for grantees and 5% for subgrantees). (As background, management costs include direct and indirect administrative expenses associated with specific disaster projects, and unspent amounts previously could not be reallocated.) Specifically, the section (1) restructures subsection (b)(2) without altering the fixed percentages to specify that the FEMA Administrator shall provide both excess funds as described in new subsection (c) and the percentage rates; (2) adds new subsection (c) defining "excess funds for management costs" as the difference between authorized amounts under the percentages and actual expenditures at grant closeout, authorizing the President to make such excess available to grantees or subgrantees under sections 403 (essential assistance), 404 (hazard mitigation), 406 (repairs), 407 (debris removal), or 502 (emergency assistance) for capacity-building to prepare for, recover from, or mitigate disasters or emergencies, or for future management costs, with funds remaining available for 5 years; (3) applies these changes to grants for major disasters or emergencies declared on or after enactment and funded by post-enactment appropriations; (4) directs the Government Accountability Office (GAO), within 180 days of enactment, to report to specified congressional committees on actual management costs for post-enactment major disasters (including whether set-asides are appropriate) and comparable data for the prior 5 years (e.g., amounts set aside, uses, disaster lengths, and reasons); and (5) states that no additional funds are authorized. (Thus, grantees and subgrantees may repurpose unspent management cost allocations from eligible grants rather than losing them at closeout.)