WHEREAS, the National Flood Insurance Program is a federal program enabling property owners in participating communities to purchase flood insurance; and

WHEREAS, the National Flood Insurance Program provides an insurance alternative for flood damage, which homeowners insurance does not cover; and

WHEREAS, the National Flood Insurance Program provides an insurance alternative to disaster funds in order to meet the escalating costs of repairing flood damage to buildings and their contents; and

WHEREAS, everyone in a participating community of the National Flood Insurance Program can buy flood insurance, even for property located in a high flood risk area; and

WHEREAS, flood insurance is available to protect houses, condominiums, apartments, and nonresidential buildings, including commercial structures; and

WHEREAS, homeowners, renters, and owners of businesses can take more responsibility to protect their properties and assets before disasters like hurricanes, tsunamis, earthquakes, and severe flooding from heavy rains occur; and

WHEREAS, the Community Rating System of the National Flood Insurance Program is a voluntary program designed to encourage community floodplain management activities that exceed minimum National Flood Insurance Program standards; and

WHEREAS, the flood insurance premium rates within a participating community are discounted up to ten percent in low to moderate flood risk zones and up to forty-five percent in high risk flood zones along shorelines, rivers, and streams; and

WHEREAS, premium discounts are based upon a community's compliance with eighteen activities related to:

WHEREAS, today, over one thousand communities across the United States receive flood insurance premium reductions based upon their implementation of local mitigation, outreach, and educational activities; and

WHEREAS, according to FEMA statistics, the most significant flood losses in United States between 1978 and present were the result of Hurricane Katrina; and

WHEREAS, the National Flood Insurance Program paid 124,082 claims for Hurricane Katrina losses, for a total of $11,716,356,733, with an average loss of $94,424; and

WHEREAS, in Hawaii, only Maui County participates in the National Flood Insurance Program's Community Rating System, and provides its residents with a five percent discount on policies for low to moderate flood risk areas and a ten percent discount for policies for special flood hazard areas or high risk flood areas; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2006, that the City and County of Honolulu, the County of Hawaii, the County of Maui, and the County of Kauai are requested to adopt an ordinance designating a county official to be a full-time coordinator to work with the Community Rating System of the National Flood Insurance Program; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that each county's designated county representative is requested to submit any necessary documentation to participate in the Community Rating System program and to ensure that the county is in full compliance with the rules and regulations of the National Flood Insurance Program; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the counties are requested to submit a report to the Legislature, no later than twenty days before the convening of the Regular Session of 2007, describing the status of the county's participation in the National Flood Insurance Program's Community Rating System; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Mayor of the City and County of Honolulu, the Mayor of the County of Hawaii, the Mayor of the County of Maui, and the Mayor of the County of Kauai.

Report Title:

National Flood Insurance Program; Community Rating System; County Coordinator