FEMA
Hazard Mitigation Assistance Program and Policy Guide (Version 2.1)
- Effective 03/2023, ongoing in 2025
- Outlines updated policy and procedural requirements for Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP), BRIC (now suspended), FMA, and PDM grants, including application processes, eligibility, and how activities are reviewed across programs.
- Practitioners must carefully comply with new project documentation, cost-share, and reporting standards for continued funding.
Building Code Requirement Revisions
- Pending per FEMA Act of 2025 (H.R.4669)
- Would clarify federal building code standards and flexibility for states if enacted, impacting mitigation project design.
Executive Order 14239
This order was signed 03/18/2025. It aims to empower state, local, and individual preparedness while prioritizing infrastructure and strategic investments. The order directs a review and reformulation of national response policies within 240 days, including moving away from an all-hazards approach. It calls for the creation of a National Risk Register to assess and quantify risks to national infrastructure. The Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, is tasked with proposing improvements to federal preparedness within the year. The order encourages increased state and local roles in national resilience, which could influence federal funding formulas and prioritizations to state and local investments.
The EPA and other agencies have already started modernizing funding streams to align with the EO’s principles, emphasizing programs that empower state and local investments in resilience over federal direct response. Pending federal changes may alter eligibility or scoring for mitigation grants, particularly for statewide and local programs able to demonstrate effective, risk-based planning and implementation. Practitioners may also see a reduction in federal planning requirements or directives, replaced by state- or locally-driven requirements tied to new metrics or performance benchmarks coming from the National Resilience Strategy and revised federal guidance.
FEMA Review Council
This council was created by executive order in January 2025 is tasked with conducting a comprehensive assessment of FEMA’s disaster response and organizational effectiveness over the past four years. The Council’s mandate includes evaluating FEMA’s performance, gathering input from stakeholders (including local and state officials), and making recommendations on potential reforms, restructuring, or changes to FEMA’s mission. Practitioners should monitor the Council’s activities and be prepared for adjustments in policy or guidance resulting from its report.
"There are serious concerns of political bias in FEMA. Indeed, at least one former FEMA responder has stated that FEMA managers directed her to avoid homes of individuals supporting the campaign of Donald J. Trump for President. And it has lost mission focus, diverting limited staff and resources to support missions beyond its scope and authority, spending well over a billion dollars to welcome illegal aliens." - Federal Register
11/18/2025 Update
While advocacy groups and professional associations have submitted recommendations urging expansion of mitigation funding, improvement of building codes, and continued support for resilience grants, no new guidelines or program changes resulting specifically from council deliberations have been announced to date.
