Snowfall Assistance Transparency Act

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [H.R. 10932 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 10932

To direct the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency provide to the requesting State or Indian tribe the recommendation report for a major disaster declaration, to develop factors for recommending a declaration of a major disaster for a snowstorm or other snowfall event, and for other purposes.

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IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

October 29, 2026

Mr. Kean introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

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A BILL

To direct the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency provide to the requesting State or Indian tribe the recommendation report for a major disaster declaration, to develop factors for recommending a declaration of a major disaster for a snowstorm or other snowfall event, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Snowfall Assistance Transparency Act''.

SEC. 2. PROCEDURES ON RECOMMENDATIONS AND DETERMINATIONS FOR MAJOR DISASTER DECLARATIONS.

Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency shall issue such regulations as are necessary to update subpart B of part 206 of title 44, Code of Federal Regulations, to require the following: (1) With respect to a recommendation for a major disaster declaration described under subsection (c)(1) of section 206.37 of such title, the Administrator shall make such recommendation available to the requesting Governor or Chief Executive concurrent with the submission to the President. (2) Upon issuing an approval or denial of a major disaster described under section 206.38 of such title, the President shall provide to the requesting Governor or Chief Executive a detailed justification of such approval or denial that includes-- (A) a description of any deficiencies in the content of the recommendation provided by the Administrator; (B) an explanation of the determination that the damage caused by the disaster did or did not exceed the capacity of the State or Indian tribal government; (C) a consideration of loss of life and potential continued threats to public safety; (D) the total value of the damage caused by the disaster as estimated by the President, in consultation with the Administrator and impacted State or Indian tribal government, that was used to make the disaster declaration determination; and (E) how the President, in consultation with the Administrator-- (i) determined the capabilities of local governments to respond to the disaster; and (ii) considered whether there was severe local impact or were recent multiple disasters in the impacted area.

SEC. 3. CONSIDERATIONS FOR RECOMMENDATION OF MAJOR DISASTER RELATED TO SNOWSTORMS.

(a) In General.--Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency shall implement an enhanced process for the Administrator to consider recommending a major disaster declaration for a snowstorm or other snowfall event. (b) Process for Recommendation.-- (1) Discretionary assessment.--Notwithstanding section 206.227 of title 44, Code of Federal Regulations, the process implemented under subsection (a) shall provide that the Administrator may recommend a major disaster declaration for a snowstorm or other snowfall event that does not have a record or near record snowfall by considering additional factors. (2) Snow response assessment.--The additional factors referred to in paragraph (1) shall include the following: (A) Local impacts at the county and municipal level. (B) The snow removal response plan of the State. (C) The total and the available snow removal budget of the State. (D) Any contracting agreements on snow removal for which the State is a party. (E) Any agreements between the State and another State for snow removal. (F) Any impact to individuals or property that the Administrator considers appropriate. (c) Major Disaster Declaration Defined.--In this section, the term ``major disaster declaration'' means a declaration of a major disaster by the President under section 401 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170). <all>