NACo Hails New FEMA Public Assistance Dashboard Requirement as Major Win for Counties

WASHINGTON — The National Association of Counties (NACo) today celebrated the enactment of Section 313 of the Homeland Security and Further Additional Continuing Appropriations Act of 2026 (H.R.7147) which requires the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to publish an interactive, publicly accessible dashboard tracking all requests for reimbursement under FEMA’s Public Assistance (PA) Program. The provision represents one of the most significant transparency reforms in federal disaster assistance in recent memory – and a direct victory for county governments that have long called for greater visibility into the PA process.

The new law requires FEMA to post reimbursement request data no more than 90 days after receiving it, and within 60 days of a project entering final review at the Department of Homeland Security. The dashboard must include project-level detail, including cost estimates, applicant identifiers, submission dates, project descriptions and the federal and non-federal cost-share breakdown for every grant.

"When disasters strike, county emergency managers and first responders are first on the scene, and long after, we take the lead to rebuild our communities," said NACo President J.D. Clark. "For too long, counties have submitted project worksheets and waited — sometimes years — without clear visibility into where our reimbursement stands or why it was delayed. Section 313 changes that. This is accountability in action, and it is a direct result of county leaders coming to Washington and demanding better."

The provision comes just days after NACo's Intergovernmental Disaster Reform Task Force convened nearly 20 county leaders from 13 states in Washington, D.C. for a fly-in focused on exactly this kind of systemic reform. In 2025, 680 counties experienced at least one federally declared disaster, underscoring the urgency counties feel around improving the disaster recovery process at every stage.

"In my role as task force co-chair, I've seen firsthand how much counties have been let down by a lack of visibility into the PA process, and leading this group alongside fellow county officials has been deeply meaningful work,” said Cynthia Lee Sheng, President of Jefferson Parish, Louisiana. “Section 313 is a direct result of that collective effort; and as someone who has watched Jefferson Parish struggle through the reimbursement process firsthand, this transparency reform is long overdue. But it's one of many reforms still needed, and we're not stepping back until they're done."

Commissioner Adrian Garcia from Harris County, Texas added, "Co-chairing this task force has meant channeling the real experiences of counties like Harris County into federal policy change, and I've worked alongside incredible county leaders who refuse to accept the status quo on disaster recovery. Section 313 shows that determination is working. We came to Washington last week to demand better for our residents, and we'll keep coming back until every piece of this broken system is reformed."

For counties, the practical impact is substantial. County governments are often responsible for rebuilding roads, utilities, public facilities and protective infrastructure following a federally declared disaster. Historically, the reimbursement process has lacked visibility – leaving local officials unable to track project status, anticipate cash flow needs or identify where bottlenecks were occurring.

NACo's Intergovernmental Disaster Reform Task Force will continue to monitor FEMA's implementation of Section 313 and engage withs federal partners to ensure the dashboard delivers the transparency counties and our residents deserve.

For more information about NACo's disaster reform priorities, click here or contact Jessica Hartl at jhartl@naco.org.