July 2004 Government
Affairs Update
IN THIS ISSUE …
- New Legislation Preempts FCC Fax Rule.
- FEMA Map Modernization Update
- Bush signs National Flood Insurance Reform Act
- FCC Single Line Proposal
New Legislation Preempts FCC Fax
Rule. Legislation
was recently introduced that would eliminate a rule set to take effect next
year requiring marketers to obtain written permission before sending faxes,
including to those with whom they have existing business relationships. The
Junk Fax Prevention Act, H.R. 4600 would do away with the FCC Fax rule.
However, the bill would require that all faxes sent for commercial or marketing
purposes include a toll-free telephone and fax number to which recipients could
respond to opt out of future fax communications. The bill also gives the FCC
discretion to exempt nonprofit trade associations from the requirement to
include opt-out information on faxes sent in furthering the association’s
tax-exempt purpose.
FEMA Map Modernization Update. Laurence Socci recently attended a meeting
with FEMA and the Floodmap Modernization providers. Speakers
from FEMA and Baker Engineering, the Map Mod Providers, were on hand to discuss
the progress of the Map Mod Project. They are working to address the
recommendations set for the in the GAO report. As part of addressing the
recommendations, FEMA and the Map Mod providers will work with integrated
program teams, one of which will include engineering and mapping members. A new
website was developed so that the public can follow the progress of the
project, or the Multi-Hazard Implementation Plan. The website is http://hazards.fema.gov . The public will
be able to track studies and management reports. In March 2005, the public will
be able to upload data on to the site. (There will be quality assurance and
quality controls on the website to make sure the data is proper. Surveyors and
cartographers are encouraged to add data through their local government.
We were
given an e-mail address to use to send ideas and suggestions to the Map Mod
team. That address is: case@mapmodteam.com
. Finally, a draft of the Multi-Hazard Implementation Plan, which will list
counties in the order in which they will receive funding for their map modernization,
will come out in late July or early August.
Bush signs National Flood Insurance
Reform Act. President Bush recently signed into law S. 2238, The
Bunning-Bereuter-Blumenauer Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2004. The measure
will become effective immediately.
S. 2238
reauthorizes the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), administered by the
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), through 2008. The Act passed the
House on June 21, under suspension of the rules by voice vote.
Reforms in the law will address the problem of repetitive loss properties
through flood mitigation. The law authorizes the launch of a pilot program that
will require people to either accept mitigation assistance or face
significantly higher premiums. Owners who refuse assistance will no longer be
eligible for subsidized flood insurance far below the actuarial risk rate they
should be paying. Over time, as mitigation offers change the nature of
repetitive loss properties, the NFIP is expected to save a significant amount
of money, since FEMA estimates that these properties alone cost the program
$200 million annually. Section
107 of the law provides that for purposes of flood insurance and floodplain
management activities under the program, geospatial digital flood hazard data
distributed by FEMA or printed products derived from that data are
interchangeable and legally equivalent for the determination of the location of
one in 100-year and one in 500-year floodplains if all other geospatial data
shown on the printed product meets FEMA accuracy standards.
FCC Single Line Proposal. The FCC is proposing a rule which would affect our
members in rural areas throughout the country. The proposal would make changes
to the Universal Service Program, a Congressional Act which disperses funds to
support affordable and available facilities and services in all rural areas
across America. Under the proposal, Universal Service Funds (USF) would be paid
only for the first line in a rural resident or small business. The price of
additional lines in high cost rural areas would be unaffordable for most
homeowners and small businesses. Additionally, there would be mandatory quality
of service standards. We are in the process of gathering more information about
the proposal and meeting with telecommunication representatives about it.