Reps. LaMalfa and Thompson Introduce Disaster Resiliency and Coverage Act of 2025
Washington, D.C.—Congressman Doug LaMalfa (R-Richvale) and Congressman Mike Thompson (D-CA) introduced legislation this week to provide homeowners in disaster-prone regions with incentives to harden their properties against wildfires and other risks. This legislation is intended to help address the ongoing insurance crisis in California and other states, as the rise in frequency and intensity of natural disasters has led insurers to raise rates and exit certain markets entirely.
“Homeowners should be able to lower their insurance costs by reducing the risks to their property, but right now, many are stuck with skyrocketing rates or no coverage at all,” said Rep. LaMalfa. “This bill gives them a real chance to make improvements that not only strengthen their homes but also help bring insurers back to the market.
“Property insurance has quickly become one of the single biggest issues I hear about in my district. People can’t get covered: either the available options are completely unaffordable, or there are no options available at all. It’s an untenable situation,” said Thompson. “By incentivizing homeowners to mitigate disaster risks on their property, we aim to bring insurers back into the market and bring rates back into more affordable territory.”
This legislation creates a grant program, administered through State governments, through which certain individual households in designated disaster-prone regions are eligible for up to $10,000 for specified disaster resiliency work on their homes. In addition, it stipulates that payments from State-run disaster resiliency programs and payments from various federal emergency agricultural programs are not considered income for federal tax purposes. Finally, this legislation provides a 30 percent tax credit for qualified disaster risk mitigation activities conducted by individuals or businesses. The credit is meant to complement the grant program by providing meaningful assistance to larger property owners for whom mitigation activity costs would far exceed $10,000.
Congressman Doug LaMalfa is Chairman of the Congressional Western Caucus and a lifelong farmer representing California’s First Congressional District, including Butte, Colusa, Glenn, Lassen, Modoc, Shasta, Siskiyou, Sutter, Tehama and Yuba Counties.
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