California Attorney General Files Lawsuit to Reverse FEMA's Termination of Disaster Mitigation Program

Strategic Insights -

The State of California's Attorney General, Rob Bonta, has filed a lawsuit challenging the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) decision to terminate the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) grant program. This program, which has been in place since 2020, provides billions of dollars to communities across the country to prepare for and mitigate the risks from disasters. California, being one of the most disaster-prone states, stands to lose over a billion dollars in funding if the program is not reinstated.

Key Takeaways:

  • The BRIC program, which has been in place since 2020, provides billions of dollars to communities across the country to prepare for and mitigate the risks from disasters.
  • California, being one of the most disaster-prone states, has been awarded tens of millions of dollars in funding through the program and could receive over a billion more for projects that FEMA had selected for grant funding.
  • The Attorney General's lawsuit argues that FEMA's termination of the BRIC program is unlawful and contravenes Congress's decision to continue to fund it.
  • The program has broad bipartisan support, having passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 415-2 and the Senate by unanimous consent in the past.
  • In California, projects that have been awarded funding include a project in the City of Rancho Palos Verdes to reduce geologic landslide movement, a project in the City of Sacramento to mitigate flooding, and a project in Kern County to seismically retrofit a hospital.

Statistics:

  • Since 2020, FEMA has made billions of dollars available under the BRIC program to prepare for and mitigate the risks from disasters.
  • California has been awarded tens of millions of dollars in funding through the program and could receive over a billion more for projects that FEMA had selected for grant funding if the program continues.
  • The lawsuit argues that Texas was set to provide hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding for pre-disaster mitigation projects, including for several flood mitigation projects, before FEMA terminated the program.

Sources:

  • "California Attorney General Files Lawsuit to Reverse FEMA's Termination of Disaster Mitigation Program" (MIL-OSI USA News, http://milnz.co.nz/mil-osi-aggregation/).
  • "FEMA Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) Grant Program" (Federal Emergency Management Agency, https://www.fema.gov/).
  • "Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act" (Congress.gov, https://www.congress.gov/).