Small Town and Regional Vitality Investment Act
This bill establishes, and provides funding for, a program through which the Rural Development Innovation Center shall make grants to local governments to address major community-development and public-infrastructure challenges.
[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6383 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
115th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 6383
To provide funds to enable counties to make competitive grants to
qualified local units of government to address major community
development and public infrastructure challenges, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 16, 2018
Mr. Walz introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Agriculture
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide funds to enable counties to make competitive grants to
qualified local units of government to address major community
development and public infrastructure challenges, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Small Town and Regional Vitality
Investment Act''.
SEC. 2. GRANTS FOR COUNTIES.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of Agriculture, through the Rural
Development Innovation Center, shall make a block grant in accordance
with this Act to a county with a submission approved by the Secretary
under section 3, for each year in the 5-year period during which the
plan included in the submission is to be in effect.
(b) Definitions.--In this Act:
(1) Qualified local unit of government.--The term
``qualified local unit of government'' means a town, city,
village, township, or similar entity that has a population of
no greater than 30,000 individuals.
(2) Regional planning entity.--The term ``regional planning
entity'' means a regional planning commission, regional
council, or council of governments.
(3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Agriculture.
SEC. 3. SUBMISSION; CONSOLIDATED PLAN.
(a) Submission.--A county that desires grants under this Act shall
submit to the Secretary a consolidated plan that--
(1) provides a broad overview of the projects for which the
grants are to be used;
(2) identifies ways to engage residents of the county
(including by holding public hearings, publishing information
on available funds, or providing technical assistance for
persons interested in applying for grant funds) throughout the
process of applying for, and using grants provided under this
Act;
(3) identifies specific areas in need of improvement in the
county;
(4) describes the short- and long-term community and
economic development objectives of the county;
(5) identifies the private, public, and nonprofit
institutions that are willing and able to assist in carrying
out the plan;
(6) has been developed in coordination with the regional
planning entity for the area in which the county is located
(or, if there is no such entity for the area, the Secretary),
and using the Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy
developed by the Economic Development Administration in
coordination with the regional planning entity (or, if there is
no such entity, the Secretary);
(7) specifies the 5-year period during which the plan is to
be in effect;
(8) is submitted to the Secretary and the office of
economic development of the State in which the county is
located, not later than 45 days before the beginning of the 5-
year period referred to in paragraph (7); and
(9) includes--
(A) a binding commitment from the State in which
the county is located to provide the county with $10
(from funds not provided by the Federal Government) to
carry out the plan for each $85 in funds provided to
the county under this Act to carry out the plan; and
(B) a binding commitment from the county that the
county will, alone or in combination with one or more
local units of government in the county, expend a total
of $5 (from funds not provided by the Federal
Government) for each $85 in funds provided to the
county under this Act to carry out the plan.
(b) Approval; Disapproval.--
(1) Approval.--The Secretary shall approve a submission
that meets the requirements of subsection (a) if--
(A) not less than 80 percent of the grants to be
provided to the submitter under this Act would be
distributed to one or more qualified local units of
government through a competitive grant program, and the
submitter would retain not more than 20 percent of the
grants;
(B) the grants would be used, in accordance with
the consolidated plan contained in the submission, to
purchase, construct, improve, or operate essential
community facilities (including health care facilities;
public facilities, such as town halls, courthouses,
airport hangers, or public transportation; community
support services, such as workforce housing, child care
centers, community centers, or transitional housing;
public safety services; educational services, including
classroom technological modernization; utility
services, including environmental protection services
such as sewage disposal, sanitation, and pollution
abatement; local food systems; and local amenities),
purchase equipment, and pay related project expenses,
consistent with section 5; and
(C) the submitter demonstrates that there is
substantial community support for the plan.
(2) Disapproval.--The Secretary shall make available to the
general public the reasons for the disapproval of a submission
made pursuant to this section.
SEC. 4. ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.
(a) In General.--The Secretary shall allocate the amounts made
available by this Act among counties with submissions approved under
section 3, in accordance a formula prescribed by the Secretary in
regulations, that the Secretary determines would best allow counties to
address major community development and public infrastructure
challenges. In developing the formula, the Secretary shall consider the
following criteria:
(1) Per capita income levels.
(2) Population growth rates.
(b) Evaluation.--Every 2 years, the Secretary shall evaluate the
effectiveness of the formula prescribed under subsection (a), and
revise the formula, as necessary, to best enable counties to address
major community development and public infrastructure challenges.
(c) Report to Congress.--The Secretary shall submit to the Congress
a report on each formula used under this section, which sets forth the
formula and explains how allocating the amounts made available by this
Act best achieves the purposes of this Act.
SEC. 5. LIMITATIONS; USE OF FUNDS.
(a) Limitations.--A local unit of government to which a grant is
made under this Act may not use the grant--
(1) to discriminate against any person on the basis of
race, color, sex, age, sexual orientation, or national origin;
(2) as matching funds to receive Federal funds under any
other law; or
(3) in contravention of the requirements under sections
3141 through 3144, 3146, and 3147 of title 40, United States
Code.
(b) Use of Funds.--A county to which funds are provided under this
Act for a fiscal year shall reserve 1 percent of the funds for
administration of the funds.
SEC. 6. ANNUAL ACTION REPORTS; AUDITS BY THE INSPECTOR GENERAL.
(a) Annual Action Reports.--By the end of each year for which a
grant is made under this Act to a county, the county shall submit to
the Secretary a report that--
(1) identifies the development goals of the county for the
succeeding year;
(2) contains a brief summary of the actions and activities
to be undertaken with funds provided under this Act, and
identifies specific, measurable goals that match the priorities
identified in the plan to be carried out using the funds;
(3) outlines the Federal and non-Federal resources that
will be used in doing so;
(4) details the progress made by the county in achieving
the goals identified as described in this subsection for the
preceding year; and
(5) includes information on the amount of the grant
provided to the county for the year covered by the report, and
details on how the money was distributed for each project under
the plan referred to in section 3.
(b) Audits by the Inspector General.--The Inspector General of the
Department of Agriculture shall conduct periodic and random audits of
the projects to which funds are provided under this Act.
SEC. 7. APPROPRIATION.
Out of any money in the Treasury of the United States not otherwise
appropriated, there are appropriated $10,000,000,000 for fiscal year
2019 and each succeeding fiscal year for grants under this Act.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Commodity Exchanges, Energy, and Credit.
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