A bill to amend the Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act of 1977 and the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 to authorize the appropriation of funds to the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to carry out the earthquake hazards reduction program and the fire prevention control program, and for other purposes.
Latest action. Referred to House Committee on Science and Technology.
Title I: Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program - Amends the Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act of 1977 to designate the Federal Emergency Management Agency as the agency with the primary responsibilities to conduct and coordinate the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program. Requires the Director of such agency to: (1) recommend to the President the role and responsibility of each appropriate Federal department, agency, and entity with respect to each object and element of the program; (2) provide for the cooperation and coordination with, and assistance to, interested governmental entities in all States; (3) compile by September 30, 1981, and update and submit to Congress annually a written program plan with budget options; and (4) recommend appropriate roles for other levels of government, individuals, and private organizations. Directs that the research elements of the program include the development techniques for the delineation and evaluation of the potential effects of earthquakes, and their application on a regional basis. Authorizes the Director of the United States Geological Survey to issue an earthquake prediction or advisory as deemed necessary. Requires the Director to recommend specific actions to the State and local officials and residents of an area for which a prediction has been made. Includes within the mitigation elements of the program: (1) the transmittal to Congress by the Director of an intraagency coordination plan for earthquake hazard mitigation and response; and (2) the development and implementation by the Director of a preparedness plan for response to earthquake predictions which includes a prototype plan for a major metropolitan area with specific adaptations for other high risk metropolitan areas. Eliminates the reporting to Congress requirement when proposed action under such plan has not been initiated. Directs the Director to conduct and submit to Congress a study recommending amendments to the Disaster Relief Act of 1974 to include funding for the period of time following a validated earthquake prediction. Authorizes appropriations for fiscal year 1981 for: (1) the continuation of the Interagency Committee on Seismic Safety in Construction and the Building Seismic Safety Council programs; (2) plans and preparedness for earthquake disasters; (3) prediction response planning; (4) architectural and engineering planning and practice programs; (5) development and application of a public education program; (6) earthquake policy research by the National Science Foundation; (7) use by the Center for Building Technology, National Bureau of Standards; (8) the United States Geological Survey; (9) the National Science Foundation; and (10) the National Bureau of Standards. Title II: Fire Prevention and Control - Amends the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 1981 for: (1) a three-year concentrated demonstration program of fire prevention and control in two States with high fire death rates; (2) rural fire prevention and control; and (3) research and development activities at the Fire Research Center of the National Bureau of Standards. Establishes minimum amounts to be spent on such programs. Title III: Multihazard Research, Planning, and Mitigation - Authorizes and directs the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to initiate studies to define and develop a multihazard research, planning, and implementation process within the Agency, develop prototypical multihazard mitigation projects for State and local governments, and prepare a report on the status of the Agency's emergency information and communication systems and the advisability of developing a unified system and using communication satellites. Title IV: General Provisions - Sets forth the ratio for the apportionment of funds appropriated for the programs included in this Act.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on April 2, 1980. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on April 2, 1980: Referred to House Committee on Science and Technology.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 96th Congress (1979-80), 613 of the 12,581 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.9 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
GEORGE BROWN (D-CA) introduced it on April 2, 1980, and 1 member has since signed on as a cosponsor.
They are 1 Republican.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on April 2, 1980, 16962 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 16962 days ago, on April 2, 1980.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 96th Congress has not finished by January 3, 1981 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers