PRINTER'S NO. 265
No. 237 Session of 1989
INTRODUCED BY BOWLEY, VEON, YANDRISEVITS, HERMAN, DALEY, TRELLO,
MICHLOVIC, STEIGHNER, CAPPABIANCA, MORRIS, PISTELLA,
LETTERMAN, TIGUE, McVERRY, OLIVER, FOX, COLAIZZO AND PRESTON,
FEBRUARY 6, 1989
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS, FEBRUARY 6, 1989
AN ACT
1 Providing for the establishment and operation of a Statewide
2 disaster assistance program and fund; and imposing additional
3 powers and duties on the Pennsylvania Emergency Management
4 Agency.
5 TABLE OF CONTENTS
6 Section 1. Short title.
7 Section 2. Findings and legislative intent.
8 Section 3. Definitions.
9 Section 4. Individual aid program.
10 Section 5. Rules and regulations.
11 Section 6. Penalty.
12 Section 7. Creation of fund.
13 Section 8. Severability.
14 Section 9. Repeals.
15 Section 10. Applicability.
16 Section 11. Effective date.
17 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
18 hereby enacts as follows:
1 Section 1. Short title.
2 This act shall be known and may be cited as the Pennsylvania
3 Disaster Assistance Act.
4 Section 2. Findings and legislative intent.
5 (a) Findings.--
6 (1) Often individuals and political subdivisions which
7 have suffered losses due to natural or man-made disasters
8 have received inadequate or no Federal or State financial
9 assistance to aid in the restoration of homes and public
10 facilities.
11 (2) There is a need to establish a State-funded disaster
12 assistance program to aid Pennsylvania's citizens and
13 political subdivisions that suffer losses during Federal
14 declared disasters.
15 (3) It is in the public interest pursuant to section 17
16 of Article VIII of the Constitution of Pennsylvania to
17 provide additional aid to individuals and political
18 subdivisions to supplement the compensation which they
19 receive from private insurance and the Federal Government.
20 (b) Legislative intent.--It is the intent of the General
21 Assembly to provide for comprehensive disaster assistance
22 programs which will provide a mechanism for financial assistance
23 to individuals, families and political subdivisions in the event
24 a natural or man-made disaster has occurred.
25 Section 3. Definitions.
26 The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
27 have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
28 context clearly indicates otherwise:
29 "Adjusted loss." The total eligible loss excluding:
30 (1) Any amount received by or due the applicant from
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1 private insurance and Federal or State-subsidized funds,
2 including, but not limited to, Small Business Administration
3 loans, Federal Emergency Management Agency benefits and the
4 Individual and Family Grant Program grants.
5 (2) An amount for which the applicant would have been
6 eligible from Federal or State-subsidized funds had the
7 applicant applied for or accepted the assistance.
8 "Agency." The Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency.
9 "Disaster." A man-made or natural disaster.
10 "Family." An individual or a group of two or more
11 individuals related by birth, marriage or adoption and residing
12 together in their primary residence at the time of the disaster.
13 "Federal declared disaster." Those disasters designated as
14 such by the President, by the Small Business Administration
15 (physical disaster declaration), or by the United States
16 Secretary of Agriculture.
17 "Fund." The Pennsylvania Disaster Assistance Fund.
18 "Homeowner." The legal owner at the time of the disaster of
19 residential property located in a disaster area.
20 "Man-made disaster." An industrial, nuclear or
21 transportation accident, explosion, conflagration, power
22 failure, natural resource shortage or other condition, except
23 enemy action, resulting from man-made causes, such as oil spills
24 and other injurious environmental contamination, which threatens
25 or causes substantial damage to property, human suffering,
26 hardship or loss of life.
27 "Natural disaster." A hurricane, tornado, storm, flood, high
28 water, wind-driven water, tidal wave, earthquake, landslide,
29 mudslide, snowstorm, drought, fire, explosion or other
30 catastrophe which results in substantial damage to property,
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1 hardship, suffering or possible loss of life.
2 "Owner-occupied primary residence." A residence which was
3 the principal residence of its legal owner at the time of the
4 disaster.
5 "Political subdivisions." All counties, cities, boroughs,
6 incorporated towns, townships, school districts and municipal
7 authorities created under the act of May 2, 1945 (P.L.382,
8 No.164), known as the Municipality Authorities Act of 1945.
9 "Public facility." A publicly owned flood control,
10 navigation, irrigation, reclamation, public power, sewage
11 treatment and collection, water supply and distribution,
12 watershed development, or airport facility; a bridge, street,
13 road or highway which is not a subject of Federal aid; any other
14 public building, structure, or system, and any park.
15 "Recreation purposes." Real or personal property, or both,
16 used for the purpose of entertainment or amusement.
17 "Tenant." One who, at the time of the disaster, was renting
18 as his primary residence a premises located in a disaster area.
19 Section 4. Individual aid program.
20 (a) General rule.--Disasters may occur within the
21 Commonwealth of Pennsylvania which cause sufficient damage to
22 qualify for a Federal Declared Disaster Declaration under the
23 Federal Disaster Relief Act of 1974 (Public Law 93-288, 42
24 U.S.C. § 5121). This declaration may initiate aid for
25 individuals, businesses and local governments through the
26 Federal Individual and Family Grant Program, the Public
27 Assistance Program, and the Small Business Administration's low-
28 interest loan program. When a Federal declaration of disaster
29 has been issued, the Commonwealth shall provide those State
30 matching funds that are required by either Federal law or
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1 regulation from sources other than the Pennsylvania Disaster
2 Assistance Fund. All moneys received from the Federal Government
3 for the purpose of disaster relief assistance or for damages
4 caused by the disaster are hereby appropriated to the
5 departments, boards, commissions or agencies designated by the
6 Governor.
7 (b) Establishment of aid program.--In order to provide funds
8 for the Governor, in accordance with 35 Pa.C.S. Ch. 73 Subch. A
9 (relating to the Governor and disaster emergencies) to alleviate
10 the hardships and repair the damage caused by the disaster, the
11 following supplemental grant program is established to assist
12 victims of these disasters.
13 (c) Individual.--The agency shall administer a grant program
14 which provides emergency funds to residents of counties stricken
15 by disasters which were the subject of a Federal declaration of
16 disaster.
17 (d) Individual eligibility.--An applicant's request for
18 funding shall be subject to the following evaluation:
19 (1) Upon receipt and approval of a sworn application by
20 a homeowner for nonbusiness or nonfarm real property damaged
21 or destroyed, or a homeowner or tenant of premises he rents
22 as his primary residence for personal property damaged or
23 destroyed in a Federal declared disaster, the agency may make
24 an individual grant to cover a portion of the adjusted loss.
25 (2) For the purpose of this subsection, total eligible
26 loss shall be the loss from damage to an owner-occupied
27 primary residence and the loss from damage to personal
28 property, including clothing, household furnishings and
29 appliances, incurred by a homeowner in his owner-occupied
30 primary residence or incurred by a tenant in premises he
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1 rents as a primary residence. Eligible loss shall not include
2 an item used principally for recreational purposes.
3 (3) An applicant whose previous year's income does not
4 exceed 300% of the previous year's poverty income guidelines
5 using gross income before taxes shall be eligible to
6 participate in this grant program. The applicant, in order to
7 be eligible for this program by reason of a loss in a
8 federally declared disaster, must have registered at a
9 disaster assistance center, unless extenuating circumstances
10 prevented registration. Extenuating circumstances shall be
11 determined by the agency on an individual case-by-case basis.
12 The determination shall be subject to appeal to the
13 Commonwealth Court.
14 (4) The amount of the grant shall be determined in
15 accordance with the following schedule:
16 (i) 50% of the first $5,000 of adjusted loss.
17 (ii) 25% of the second $5,000 of adjusted loss.
18 (iii) 10% of the remaining adjusted loss.
19 (iv) No grant shall exceed $12,500.
20 (e) Limitation on eligibility.--If the real property is
21 condemned under eminent domain proceedings and the measure of
22 damage is calculated under section 602 of the act of June 22,
23 1964 (Sp.Sess., P.L.84, No.6), known as the Eminent Domain Code,
24 the property owner shall not be eligible for a grant under
25 subsection (d) for property for which compensation is granted in
26 the eminent domain proceedings.
27 (f) Administration.--The agency shall administer the grant
28 program in the following manner:
29 (1) Grants under this section shall be administered by
30 the agency in prompt fashion.
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1 (2) Applications shall be made available to disaster
2 victims within 60 days of the Federal declaration of
3 disaster.
4 (3) If sufficient funds are not appropriated,
5 distribution of the grants shall be on a pro rata basis.
6 (4) Funds for this grant program shall come from
7 appropriations to the Pennsylvania Disaster Assistance Fund
8 Section 5. Rules and regulations.
9 The agency shall promulgate rules and regulations necessary
10 to carry out the provisions of this act and cause them to be
11 published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin. Regulations shall be
12 subject to review pursuant to the act of June 25, 1982 (P.L.633,
13 No.181), known as the Regulatory Review Act.
14 Section 6. Penalty.
15 A person making a false claim under the provisions of this
16 act shall be subject to a penalty in the amount of three times
17 the amount of the grant with interest of 6% from the effective
18 date of the grant. This penalty may be enforced by the Attorney
19 General in an assumpsit action and collected in the manner that
20 other debts due and owing the Commonwealth are collected.
21 Section 7. Creation of fund.
22 (a) Creation of Pennsylvania Disaster Assistance Fund.--
23 There is hereby created a special fund to be known as the
24 Pennsylvania Disaster Assistance Fund which shall be only
25 available for the purposes of this act or such other disaster
26 assistance as the General Assembly may, from time to time,
27 appropriate funds.
28 (b) Nonlapsing appropriation.--Appropriations to the fund
29 shall not lapse to the General Fund if not used during the
30 fiscal year.
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1 Section 8. Severability.
2 The provisions of this act are severable. If any provision of
3 this act or its application to any person or circumstance is
4 held invalid, the invalidity shall not affect other provisions
5 or applications of this act which can be given effect without
6 the invalid provision or application.
7 Section 9. Repeals.
8 All acts and parts of acts are repealed insofar as they are
9 inconsistent with this act.
10 Section 10. Applicability.
11 This act shall apply to disasters occurring in this
12 Commonwealth on or after the effective date of this act which
13 were the subject of a Federal disaster declaration.
14 Section 11. Effective date.
15 This act shall take effect immediately.
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