H.R. 10754: Rural Disaster Fairness Act of 2026

This bill would change how the federal government measures whether a county has suffered enough disaster damage to qualify for certain FEMA public assistance support.

What it does

Under current rules, FEMA uses a “per capita indicator” tied to the amount of estimated public assistance damage in a county. If the damage meets that threshold, the county may be more likely to qualify for federal disaster aid.

This bill would require FEMA to cut that damage threshold in half for counties where less than 15% of the county’s total land area is subject to the county’s real property taxes. In plain terms, this is aimed at counties with a large amount of untaxed land, which may include rural areas with lots of federally owned, state-owned, tribal, or otherwise non-taxed land.

Practical effect

For eligible counties, it would become easier to meet the damage threshold used in FEMA’s local-impact evaluation. That could make some counties more likely to qualify for federal disaster assistance after an event like a flood, storm, wildfire, or other disaster.

The bill does not create a new disaster program. Instead, it changes an existing formula so that some counties would be judged under a lower damage benchmark.

Where the change applies

The bill amends a provision in the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 related to FEMA disaster assistance determinations. It specifically focuses on the county-level “local impact” assessment.

Relevant Companies

None found