The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, commonly known as the Stafford Act, is a 1988 United States federal law designed to bring an orderly and systematic means of federal natural disaster assistance for state and local governments in carrying out their responsibilities to aid citizens. Congress's intention was to encourage states and localities to develop comprehensive disaster preparedness plans, prepare for better intergovernmental coordination in the face of a disaster, encourage the use of insurance coverage, and provide federal assistance programs for losses due to a disaster.
The Stafford Act is a 1988 amended version of the Disaster Relief Act of 1974. It created the system in place today by which a presidential disaster declaration or an emergency declaration triggers financial and physical assistance through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The Act gives FEMA the responsibility for coordinating government-wide relief efforts. The Federal Response Plan includes contributions from 28 federal agencies and non-governmental organizations, such as the American Red Cross. It is named for Vermont Sen. Robert Stafford (in Senate 1971–89), who helped pass the law.
Congress amended it by passing the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000, in 2006 with the Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards Act, and again in 2018 with the Disaster Recovery Reform Act (DRRA).
Titles Title I: Findings, Declarations and Definitions Title I provides the intent of Congress to ensure continued and orderly assistance from the federal government to state and local governments to relieve hardship and damage that result from disasters. As defined by Title I, an emergency is "any occasion or instance for which, in the determination of the President, Federal assistance is needed to supplement State and local efforts and capabilities to save lives and to protect property and public health and safety, or to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe in any part of the United States A major disaster is defined as any natural catastrophe, fire, flood, or explosion, determined by the president to warrant the additional resources of the federal government to alleviate damages or suffering they cause".§
Title II: Disaster Preparedness and Mitigation Assistance Title II authorizes the President to establish a disaster preparedness program that utilizes the appropriate agencies and gives the President the right to provide technical assistance to states in order to complete a comprehensive plan to prepare against disasters. The President can also administer grants to states to provide funding for the preparation and revitalization of emergency plans.
Title II articulates the necessity of a disaster warning system. This includes the readiness of all appropriate federal agencies to issue warnings to state and local authorities and the disbursement of warnings to the public. This title authorizes the President to make use of either the civil defense communication system or any commercial communications systems that are voluntarily given to the president to issue warnings to the public.
Predisaster hazard mitigation plans were also detailed in Title II. Under this title, the President can establish a program to provide financial assistance to states through the National Predisaster Mitigation Fund. States can then develop a mitigation plan that can lessen the impact of a disaster on the public health, infrastructure, and economy of the community. The President can also establish a federal interagency task force to implement predisaster mitigation plans administered by the federal government. The director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) serves as the chairperson of the task force. Other members of the task force include relevant federal agencies, state and local organizations, and the American Red Cross.
Title III: Major Disaster and Emergency Assistance Administration Title III, Section 302 explains that upon the declaration of a major disaster or emergency, the President must appoint a federal coordinating officer to help in the affected area. This coordinating officer helps make initial appraisals of the types of relief most needed, establishes field offices, and coordinates the administration of relief among the state, localities, and nonprofits. According to Section 303, the President must also form emergency support teams staffed with federal personnel. These support teams are sent to affected areas to help the federal coordinating officer carry out his or her responsibilities. The President also helps with the establishment of regional support teams. Section 304 also explains the reimbursement process for expenditures by federal agencies under the Act.
Section 305 states the federal government is not liable for any claims based on "the exercise or performance of or the failure to exercise or perform a discretionary function or duty on the part of Federal agency or an employee of the Federal Government in carrying out the provisions of this Act". In general, the expenditure of federal funds for debris clearance, reconstruction, or other emergency assistance which is carried out by contract with private organizations or firms is given to those organizations and firms already residing in or doing business in the affected area (Section 307).
Title III, Section 308 explains the government's nondiscrimination requirements. The President has the right to issue and alter regulations affecting the guidance of personnel carrying out federal assistance in affected areas. These regulations include provisions for ensuring that the distribution of supplies, processing of applications, and other relief activities are accomplished in the fair and impartial way without discrimination on the grounds of color, race, nationality, sex, religion, age, disability, economic status, or English proficiency. It also explains that no geographic areas can be precluded from federal assistance by any type of scale based on income or population.
Section 312 explains Duplication of Benefits (DoB), the rule that anyone who receives disaster assistance for a specific loss cannot receive Federal funding for that same specific loss.42 U.S.C. 5155. https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=(title:42%20section:5155%20edition:prelim)US House of Representatives, Office of the Law Revision Counsel."Form II-2, Duplication of Benefits (DOB) Fact Sheet". https://www.fema.gov/pdf/government/grant/resources/hbf_ii_2.pdf
Penalties are set forth in Section 314 of this title. Any person who misuses the funds obtained under the Act may be fined up to one and one-half times the amount that they misused. The Attorney General may also bring a civil action for relief. Any individual who knowingly violates any part of this Act can be subject to a civil penalty of no more than $5,000 per violation.
The last portion of Title III, Section 322, sets forth the requirements of mitigation plans. Each plan developed by a local or tribal government must both describe actions to mitigate hazards and risks identified under the plan and it must establish a strategy to implement those actions. State plans must do four things. The first is to describe the actions to mitigate hazards and risks identified under the plan. Then it must show a way to support the development of a local mitigation plan. The plan must then show how it will provide technical assistance to its local and tribal governments for mitigation plans. Lastly, it must identify and prioritize the mitigation actions that it will support as its resources become available. The President must allow for sufficient public notice and time for public comment (Section 325) before implementing any new or modified policy under this Act that governs the implementation of any public assistance program or that could result in a major reduction of assistance under the public assistance program.
The President shall appoint a Small State and Rural Advocate whose main responsibility is to ensure the fair treatment of small states and rural communities in the provision of assistance under the Act (Section 326). The advocate may also help small states prepare requests for emergency declarations.
Title IV: Major Disaster Assistance Programs The procedures for declaring a major disaster are to be made by the governor of the state. When a disaster occurs, the governor executes the state's emergency plan. If the Governor then decides that the disaster is of such severity that the state and affected local governments cannot possibly handle the effects of the disaster, the Governor will make a request to the President explaining the amount of resources they currently have available and commit to the cost-sharing requirements in the Stafford Act. The President can then declare a major disaster or emergency in the affected area.
Title IV sets out the authority of the President during major disasters or emergencies. The president has many powers under this act. These powers include, but are limited to: directing any federal agency to help the affected area (including precautionary evacuations), coordinating all disaster relief assistance, providing technical and advisory assistance (issuing warnings, providing for the public health and safety, and participating in recovery activities), distributing medicine, food and other supplies, and providing accelerating federal assistance when the President deems it necessary. Lastly, the President can also provide any emergency communications or public transportation that an affected location might need. The federal share of these types of assistance is no less than 75 percent of the eligible costs. The President has the ability to contribute up to 75 percent of the cost of any state or local hazard mitigation effort that is deemed as cost-effective and substantially reducing the risk of a major disaster.
During a major disaster the Governor may request that the President direct the Secretary of Defense to use the resources of the United States Department of Defense for the purposes of any emergency work. This work is only allowed to be carried out for 10 days. Emergency work is defined as "clearance and removal of debris and wreckage and temporary restoration of essential public facilities and services". Title IV also provides a framework for many essential governmental functions during an emergency including legal services, relocation assistance, distribution of food coupons and unemployment assistance.
If, during an emergency, a local government has lost such a substantial amount of revenues that they cannot perform essential government responsibilities, the President is authorized to provide Community Disaster Loans. The loan amounts are based on need and cannot exceed either (1) 25 percent of the annual operating budget of that local government for the fiscal year in which the disaster occurs and not exceeding $5,000,000, or (2) if the loss of tax and other revenues of the local government as a result of the disaster is at least 75 percent of the annual operating budget of the local government for that fiscal year, 50 percent of the annual operating budget of that local government for the fiscal year in which the disaster occurs, not exceeding $5,000,000.
The federal government will not have the authority to impede the access of an essential service provider to an area impacted by a major disaster. A major service provider is defined as either: a telecommunications service, electrical services, natural gas, water and sewer services, or, is a municipal entity, nonprofit entity, or private entity that is responding to the disaster.