State AGs Seek Enforcement of Order on Disaster Funding

Detected February 18th, 2026

Summary

Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell and 23 other states have filed a motion asking a federal court to enforce its December 11, 2025 order that prohibited FEMA from terminating the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program. The states allege the federal government has not complied with the order to resume funding for disaster preparedness projects.

View original document View source feed page

What changed

Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell, along with a coalition of 23 states, has filed a motion with the District Court of Massachusetts to enforce a December 11, 2025 order. This order previously prohibited the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) from terminating the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program and directed the agency to reverse the termination. The states contend that FEMA has failed to comply with the court's directive, leaving communities vulnerable and critical mitigation projects on hold.

The practical implication of this filing is that regulated entities, specifically government agencies involved in disaster preparedness and infrastructure resilience, must now face potential court-ordered compliance measures. The states are seeking enforcement to compel FEMA to make pre-disaster mitigation funds available as statutorily required and to communicate the status of the program's resumption. Failure to comply with the original court order and this subsequent enforcement action could lead to further legal penalties and mandates for FEMA.

Source document (simplified)

This page, AG Campbell Asks Court To Enforce Order Preventing Trump Administration From Unlawfully Cutting Billions In Disaster Preparedness Funding, is offered by
Office of the Attorney General
show more

Allie Zuliani, Deputy Press Secretary

Phone

Call Allie Zuliani, Deputy Press Secretary at (617) 727-2543

Online

Email Allie Zuliani, Deputy Press Secretary at Allie.Zuliani@mass.gov

Boston — Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell and a coalition of 23 states today filed a motion asking the District Court of Massachusetts to enforce its December 11, 2025 order that prohibited the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) from terminating the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities Program (BRIC) and directed the agency to promptly take all steps necessary to reverse the termination.

For the past 30 years, the BRIC program has provided communities across the nation with resources to proactively fortify their infrastructure against natural disasters. By focusing on mitigation and community resilience, the program has saved lives, reduced injury, protected property, and saved money that would have otherwise been spent on post-disaster costs.

“The Trump Administration’s continued failure to resume the BRIC program leaves our communities vulnerable to floods, wildfires, power outages, and other disasters, putting countless lives at risk every day,” said AG Campbell. “Our municipalities cannot wait any longer, as critical projects across the Commonwealth remain unfinished and on pause. The Trump Administration must comply with the court order and resume the operation of this lifesaving program.”

On July 16, 2025 AG Campbell and the coalition filed a lawsuit to prevent FEMA from terminating its BRIC program – an action which had already delayed, scaled back, and cancelled hundreds of mitigation projects across the country depending on this funding. On December 11, 2025 the coalition won their case. The court declared the termination of this congressionally mandated program unlawful and ordered FEMA to promptly take all steps necessary to reverse the termination.

Over two months have passed and the federal government has offered no indication that they have complied with the court order. FEMA’s regional offices lack information about whether and when it will resume the BRIC program, and some have indicated that FEMA is taking a “wait and see” approach—contrary to the clear terms of the court’s order. During this time, the federal government has not identified any concrete steps that it has taken to reverse the BRIC termination.

AG Campbell and the coalition are asking the court to enforce the December 11 order by requiring the federal government to make pre-disaster mitigation funds available as required by statute, communicate the status and next steps for current BRIC projects to the states, communicate the reversal of the BRIC termination to all relevant stakeholders, and file status reports with the court outlining any actions taken or planned to comply with the order.

Over the past four years, FEMA has selected nearly 2,000 projects to receive roughly $4.5 billion in BRIC funding nationwide. Communities across the Commonwealth have been awaiting BRIC funds for planning and implementing climate proofing for vulnerable Boston neighborhoods, bridge upgrades in Manchester-by-the-Sea, flood protection efforts for the Blue Line tunnel connecting Logan Airport to Boston, flood and drought protection in Clarksburg, a major coastal flood resilience project in Chelsea and Everett, and critical local hazard mitigation planning for communities across the state, among other essential projects.

Joining AG Campbell in filing this motion, which she co-led with Washington Attorney General Nick Brown, are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Wisconsin, the governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and the governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

Allie Zuliani, Deputy Press Secretary

Phone

Call Allie Zuliani, Deputy Press Secretary at (617) 727-2543

Online

Email Allie Zuliani, Deputy Press Secretary at Allie.Zuliani@mass.gov

Allie Zuliani, Deputy Press Secretary

Phone

Call Allie Zuliani, Deputy Press Secretary at (617) 727-2543

Online

Email Allie Zuliani, Deputy Press Secretary at Allie.Zuliani@mass.gov

Help Us Improve Mass.gov with your feedback

Did you find what you were looking for on this webpage? Yes No If you have any suggestions for the website, please let us know. How can we improve the page? Please do not include personal or contact information. You will not get a response The feedback will only be used for improving the website. If you need assistance, please Contact the Attorney General's Office at (617) 727-2200. Please limit your input to 500 characters.

Please remove any contact information or personal data from your feedback. You will NOT get a response. If you need assistance, please Contact the Attorney General's Office at (617) 727-2200. Please let us know how we can improve this page. Please remove any contact information or personal data from your feedback. You will NOT get a response. If you need assistance, please Contact the Attorney General's Office at (617) 727-2200. Thank you for your website feedback! We will use this information to improve this page.

If you would like to continue helping us improve Mass.gov, join our user panel to test new features for the site.