Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 114 Part 2.djvu/915

 PUBLIC LAW 106-390 —OCT. 30, 2000 114 STAT. 1553 (1) natural disasters, including earthquakes, tsunamis, tornadoes, hurricanes, flooding, and wildfires, pose great danger to human life and to property throughout the United States; (2) greater emphasis needs to be placed on— (A) identifying and assessing the risks to States and local governments (including Indian tribes) from natural disasters; (B) implementing adequate measures to reduce losses from natural disasters; and (C) ensuring that the critical services and facilities of communities will continue to function after a natural disaster; (3) expenditures for postdisaster assistance are increasing without commensurate reductions in the likelihood of future losses from natural disasters; (4) in the expenditure of Federal funds under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.), high priority should be given to mitigation of hazards at the local level; and (5) with a unified effort of economic incentives, awareness and education, technical assistance, and demonstrated Federal support. States and local governments (including Indian tribes) will be able to— (A) form effective community-based partnerships for hazard mitigation purposes; (B) implement effective hazard mitigation measures that reduce the potential damage from natural disasters; (C) ensure continued functionality of critical services; (D) leverage additional non-Federal resources in meeting natural disaster resistance goals; and (E) make commitments to long-term hazard mitigation efforts to be applied to new and existing structures. (b) PURPOSE.— The purpose of this title is to establish a national disaster hazard mitigation program— (1) to reduce the loss of life and property, human suffering, economic disruption, and disaster assistance costs resulting from natural disasters; and (2) to provide a source of predisaster hazard mitigation funding that will assist States and local governments (including Indian tribes) in implementing effective hazard mitigation measures that are designed to ensure the continued functionality of critical services and facilities after a natural disaster. SEC. 102. PREDISASTER HAZA^ MITIGATION. (a) IN GENERAL.— Title II of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5131 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: "SEC. 203. PREDISASTER HAZARD MITIGATION. "(a) DEFINITION OF SMALL IMPOVERISHED COMMUNITY.— In this President, section, the term 'small impoverished community' means a commu- 42 USC 5133. nity of 3,000 or fewer individuals that is economically disadvantaged, as determined by the State in which the community is located and based on criteria established by the President. "(b) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM. — The President may establish a program to provide technical and financial assistance to States and local governments to assist in the implementation of

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