2026-0210
INTRODUCED BY: MATTHEW JEWELL, PARISH PRESIDENT
ST. CHARLES PARISH COUNCIL
(DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING & ZONING)
RESOLUTION NO. ___________
Title
A resolution authorizing endorsement of the Commission on Natural Disaster Risk Management and Insurance Act and to urge Congress to consider and advance federal policy options to insurance affordability and availability.
Body
WHEREAS, the Parish of St. Charles is essential to the nation’s economy, as an industrial and logistical hub, and the people of St. Charles represent critical workers of these facilities; and,
WHEREAS, the resilience of the residential, commercial, and industrial properties in the Parish of St. Charles and its coastal economy is affected by the affordability and availability of insurance; and,
WHEREAS, since Hurricane Ida’s impact and Risk Rating 2.0’s implementation in 2021, residents of the Parish of St. Charles have expressed heightened concern about both homeowners and flood insurance premiums; and,
WHEREAS, the Parish of St. Charles 2030 Comprehensive Plan Update identified “significantly higher insurance rates, which can lead to residents being priced out of the area, minimizing the worth of residents’ homes, or causing residents to be upside down on their mortgage”; and,
WHEREAS, the Parish of St. Charles is a National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP)-participating community, earning Class 7 rating in FEMA’s Community Rating System (CRS) for floodplain management practices, with Class 6 recommended September 29, 2025; and,
WHEREAS, according to Benjamin J. Keys and Philip Mulder’s "Property Insurance and Disaster Risk: New Evidence from Mortgage Escrow Data” NBER Working Paper, the average Parish of St. Charles homeowners’ insurance premium is $5,341, an increase of 100.1% since 2021 and now the 16th highest average premium of all counties nationally; and,
WHEREAS, according to the Coalition for Sustainable Flood Insurance (CSFI)’s analysis of National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) data, the average Parish of St. Charles premium under Risk Rating 2.0 is $2,766, a 239.2% increase from legacy rates of $815; and,
WHEREAS, the Parish of St. Charles has studied and implemented risk mitigation projects, including levees, pumpstations, canal and retention improvements and coastal protection projects, and continues to invest in future risk management to be systemized and incentivized by insurance methodologies; and,
WHEREAS, the Parish of St. Charles adopted the Stabilizing Habitats through Infrastructure, Ecology, and Land Defense Plan (SHIELD) as its official coastal-priorities plan to advance priority coastal projects that address ecological restoration needs and improve community resilience; and,
WHEREAS, the Parish of St. Charles has filed a lawsuit in federal court against the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) demanding transparency on Risk Rating 2.0 modeling; and,
WHEREAS, options to reform federal insurance programs and address multi-peril insurability, affordability, and transparency have been proposed by CSFI; and,
WHEREAS, CSFI published the “Policy Options for a Natural Catastrophe Insurance Program” white paper in January 2026, identifying the need for “a study commission involving experts across sectors should be authorized by Congress to evaluate all options and formally recommend an appropriate intervention”; and,
WHEREAS, subsequently, the “Commission on Natural Disaster Risk Management and Insurance Act” was introduced in the House of Representative as H.R.8439 in April 2026; and,
WHEREAS, the bill would “establish a nonpartisan commission on natural disaster risk management, insurance, and other financial and economic protection” that is composed of experts in fields such as “insurance, reinsurance, insurance regulation, policyholder concerns, emergency management, risk management, public finance, financial markets, actuarial analysis, flood mapping and planning, structural engineering, building standards, land use planning, natural disasters, meteorology, seismology, environmental issues, quantitative catastrophic risk modeling”; and,
WHEREAS, the Commission’s duties include, but are not limited to, assessing “current efforts of States, communities, and individuals to mitigate their natural disaster risks, including the affordability and effectiveness of such mitigation,” “the current condition of, as well as the outlook for, the availability and affordability of property and casualty insurance in all regions of the country and an analysis of factors that may be adversely impacting such availability and affordability,” “the appropriate role, if any, for the Federal Government in the stabilization of property and casualty insurance, reinsurance, or other impacted markets following catastrophic loss events”; and,
WHEREAS, within two years of enactment, the Commission would submit a report that includes “a detailed statement of the findings and assessments” and “recommendations for legislative, regulatory, administrative, or other actions at the Federal, State, or local levels”.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED we the members of the Parish Council and the Parish President support:
SECTION 1. That the Parish of St. Charles endorses the Commission on Natural Disaster Risk Management and Insurance Act, and urges action by the 119th Congress to enact the bill;
SECTION 2. That the Parish of St. Charles is “thought partner” to CSFI’s “Policy
Options for a Natural Catastrophe Insurance Program” white paper;
SECTION 3. That the Parish of St. Charles supports the continued work of Congress, CSFI, and other groups towards the assessment and of actions at the Federal, State, or local levels that affect disaster risk management and insurance.
The foregoing resolution having been submitted to a vote, the vote thereon was as follows:
And the resolution was declared adopted this ______ day of ____________, 2026, to become effective five (5) days after publication in the Official Journal.
CHAIRMAN:
SECRETARY:
DLVD/PARISH PRESIDENT:
APPROVED : DISAPPROVED:
PARISH PRESIDENT:
RETD/SECRETARY:
AT: RECD BY: