Urban development action grants

The Secretary is authorized to make urban development action grants to cities and urban counties which are experiencing severe economic distress to help stimulate economic development activity needed to aid in economic recovery. There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $225,000,000 for fiscal year 1988, and $225,000,000 for fiscal year 1989. Any amount appropriated under this subsection shall remain available until expended. A city or urban county which fails to meet the minimum standards established pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be eligible for assistance under this section if it meets the requirements of the first sentence of such paragraph and— Applications for assistance under this section shall— Except in the case of a city or urban county eligible under subsection (b)(2), the Secretary shall establish selection criteria for a national competition for grants under this section which must include— the following other criteria: the extent to which the project will relieve the most pressing employment or residential needs of the applicant by— additional consideration for projects with the following characteristics: The Secretary shall award points to each application as follows: The Secretary shall distribute grant funds under this section so that to the extent practicable during each funding cycle— Each competition for grants described in any clause of subparagraph (A) shall be for an amount equal to the sum of— The Secretary may not approve any grant to a city or urban county eligible under subsection (b)(2) unless— Activities assisted under this section may include such activities, in addition to those authorized under section 5305(a) of this title, as the Secretary determines to be consistent with the purposes of this section. In any case in which the project proposes the repayment to the applicant of the grant funds, such funds shall be made available by the applicant for economic development activities that are eligible activities under this section or section 5305 of this title. The applicant shall annually provide the Secretary with a statement of the projected receipt and use of repaid grant funds during the next year together with a report acceptable to the Secretary on the use of such funds during the most recent preceding full fiscal year of the applicant. The Secretary shall, at least on an annual basis, make reviews and audits of recipients of grants under this section as necessary to determine the progress made in carrying out activities substantially in accordance with approved plans and timetables. The Secretary may adjust, reduce, or withdraw grant funds, or take other action as appropriate in accordance with the findings of these reviews and audits, except that funds already expended on eligible activities under this chapter shall not be recaptured or deducted from future grants made to the recipient. No assistance may be provided under this section for projects intended to facilitate the relocation of industrial or commercial plants or facilities from one area to another, unless the Secretary finds that the relocation does not significantly and adversely affect the unemployment or economic base of the area from which the industrial or commercial plant or facility is to be relocated. The provisions of this paragraph shall apply only to projects that do not have identified intended occupants. No assistance may be provided or utilized under this section for any project with identified intended occupants that is likely to facilitate— a relocation of any operation of an industrial or commercial plant or facility or other business establishment— The restrictions established in paragraph (2) shall not apply if the Secretary determines that the relocation or expansion does not significantly and adversely affect the employment or economic base of the city, county, or community from which the relocation or expansion occurs. Following notice of intent to withhold, deny, or cancel assistance under paragraph (1) or (2), the Secretary shall provide a period of not less than 90 days in which the applicant can appeal to the Secretary the withholding, denial, or cancellation of assistance. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, nothing in this section or in any legislative history related to the enactment of this section may be construed to permit an inference or conclusion that the policy of the Congress in the urban development action grant program is to facilitate the relocation of businesses from one area to another. For purposes of this subsection, the term “operation” includes any plant, equipment, facility, position, employment opportunity, production capacity, or product line. Not later than 60 days after February 5, 1988, the Secretary shall issue such regulations as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this subsection. Such regulations shall include specific criteria to be used by the Secretary in determining whether there is a significant and adverse effect under paragraph (3). Not less than 25 per centum of the funds made available for grants under this section shall be used for cities with populations of less than fifty thousand persons which are not central cities of a metropolitan statistical area. The Secretary shall encourage cooperation by geographically proximate cities of less than 50,000 population by permitting consortia of such cities, which may also include county governments that are not urban counties, to apply for grants on behalf of a city that is otherwise eligible for assistance under this section. Any grants awarded to such consortia shall be administered in compliance with eligibility requirements applicable to individual cities. A grant may be made under this section only where the Secretary determines that there is a strong probability that (1) the non-Federal investment in the project would not be made without the grant, and (2) the grant would not substitute for non-Federal funds which are otherwise available to the project. In making grants under this section, the Secretary shall take such steps as the Secretary deems appropriate to assure that the amount of the grant provided is the least necessary to make the project feasible. For purposes of this section, the Secretary may reduce or waive the requirement in section 5302(a)(5)(B)(ii) of this title that a town or township be closely settled. In the case of any application which identifies any property in accordance with subsection (c)(4)(B), the Secretary may not commit funds with respect to an approved application unless the applicant has certified to the Secretary that the appropriate State historic preservation officer and the Secretary of the Interior have been provided an opportunity to take action in accordance with the provisions of section 5320(b) of this title. If no amounts are set aside under, or amounts are precluded from being appropriated for this section for fiscal years after fiscal year 1983, any amount which is or becomes available for use under this section after fiscal year 1983 shall be added to amounts appropriated under section 5303 of this title, except that amounts available to the Secretary for use under this subsection as of October 1, 1993, and amounts released to the Secretary pursuant to subsection (t) may be used to provide grants under section 5308(q) of this title..22 So in original. An unincorporated portion of an urban county that is approved by the Secretary as an identifiable community for purposes of this section is eligible for a grant under subsection (b)(2) if such portion meets the eligibility requirements contained in the first sentence of subsection (b)(1) and the requirements of subsection (b)(2)(B) (applied to the population of the portion of the urban county) and if it otherwise complies with the provisions of this section. Of the amounts appropriated for purposes of this section for any fiscal year, not more than $2,500,000 may be used by the Secretary to make technical assistance grants to States or their agencies, municipal technical advisory services operated by universities, or State associations of counties or municipalities, to enable such entities to assist units of general local government described in subsection (i) in developing, applying for assistance for, and implementing programs eligible for assistance under this section. In utilizing the discretion of the Secretary when providing assistance and applying selection criteria under this section, the Secretary may not discriminate against applications on the basis of (1) the type of activity involved, whether such activity is primarily housing, industrial, or commercial; or (2) the type of applicant, whether such applicant is a city or urban county. For fiscal years 1988 and 1989, the maximum grant amount for any project under this section is $10,000,000. If a grant or a portion of a grant under this section remains unexpended upon the issuance of a notice implementing this subsection, the grantee may enter into an agreement, as provided under this subsection, with the Secretary to receive a percentage of the grant amount and relinquish all claims to the balance of the grant within 90 days of the issuance of notice implementing this subsection (or such later date as the Secretary may approve). The Secretary shall not recapture any funds obligated pursuant to this section during a period beginning on April 11, 1994, until 90 days after the issuance of a notice implementing this subsection. A grantee may receive as a grant under this subsection— 33 percent of such unexpended amounts if— 25 percent of such unexpended amounts if—