Quake Insurance Requirement for Public Buildings Dies in Congress

Officials in earthquake-prone California have won their fight--at least for now--against federal legislation that would require hazard insurance for all public buildings.

Despite Senate support for the requirement, the House removed it late Tuesday after vigorous opposition from the state’s entire 52-member congressional delegation.

“The requirement to insure all public structures would have been prohibitively expensive, and it would have been impossible to find the insurers to provide enough coverage at any cost,” U.S. Rep. Jerry Lewis of Redlands, head of the state’s GOP delegation, said in a written statement.

The proposal by Republican Sens. Christopher Bond of Missouri and James Inhofe of Oklahoma would require cities, counties and states to insure everything from schools to hospitals against disasters such as earthquakes, floods and hurricanes.

Local governments would lose federal aid unless they bought the insurance.

Proponents say the requirement would save federal taxpayers money.

Lewis contends that it would shift the cost to Californians and “other states where residents must already cope with the need to prepare their own property against earthquakes and other disasters.”