HB 1678 To amend the Robert T Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act concerning the statute of limitations for actions to recover disaster or emergency assistance payments, and for other purposes

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About HB-1678

To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act concerning the statute of limitations for actions to recover disaster or emergency assistance payments, and for other purposes.

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Section 1

This bill amends the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to prohibit any administrative action to recover any payment made to a state or local government for disaster or emergency assistance initiated in any forum (with exceptions for fraud) after three years following the transmission of the final expenditure report for project completion, as certified by the grantee (currently, after three years following the transmission of the final expenditure report for the disaster or emergency). Such revised prohibition shall apply to any such payment provided on or after January 1, 2004. Any administrative action to recover such a payment that is pending on the date of enactment of this bill shall be terminated. The bill makes the same report change with respect to the deadline:

• (1) for any dispute arising under such Act for which there shall be a presumption that accounting records were maintained that adequately identify the source and application of funds provided for financially assisted activities, and
• (2) by which the inability of the government to produce source documentation supporting expenditure reports shall not constitute evidence to rebut such presumption.