amendment to public works and economic development act of 1965

amendment to public works and economic development act of 1965 Sec. 501. The Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965, as amended, is amended by adding at the end thereof the following new title: “TITLE VIII— ECONOMIC RECOVERY FOR DISASTER AREAS “purpose of title “Sec. 801. (a) It is the purpose of this title to provide assistance for the economic recovery, after the period of emergency aid and replacement of essential facilities and services, of any major disaster area which has suffered a dislocation of its economy of sufficient severity to require (1) assistance in planning for development to replace that lost in the major disaster; (2) continued coordination of assistance available under Federal-aid programs; and (3) continued assistance toward the restoration of the employment base. “(b) As used in this title, the term ‘major disaster’ means a major disaster declared by the President in accordance with the Disaster Relief Act of 1974. “disaster recovery planning “Sec. 802. (a) (1) In the case of any area affected by a major disaster the Governor may request the President for assistance under this title. The Governor, within thirty days after authorization of such assistance by the President, shall designate a Recovery Planning Council for such area or for each part thereof. “(2) Such Recovery Planning Council shall be composed of not less than five members, a majority of whom shall be local elected officials of political subdivisions within the affected areas, at least one representative of the State, and a representative of the Federal Government appointed by the President in accordance with paragraph (3) of this subsection. During the major disaster, the Federal coordinating officer shall also serve on the Recovery Planning Council. “(3) The Federal representative on such Recovery Planning Council may be the Chairman of the Federal Regional Council for the affected area, or a member of the Federal Regional Council designated by the Chairman of such Regional Council. The Federal representative on such Recovery Planning Council may be the Federal Cochairman of the Regional Commission established pursuant to title V of this Act, or the Appalachian Regional Development Act of 1965, or his designee, where all of the area affected by a major disaster is within the boundaries of such Commission. “(4) The Governor may designate an existing multijurisdictional organization as the Recovery Planning Council where such organization complies with paragraph (2) of this subsection with the addition of State and Federal representatives except that if all or part of an area affected by a major disaster is within the jurisdiction of an existing multijurisdictional organization established under title IV of this Act or title I I I of the Appalachian Regional Development Act of 1965, such organization, with the addition of State and Federal representatives in accordance with paragraph (2) of this subsection, shall be designated by the Governor as the Recovery Planning Council. In88 Stat. 161 any case in which such title III or IV organization is designated as the Recovery Planning Council under this paragraph, some local elected officials of political subdivisions within the affected areas must be appointed to serve on such Recovery Planning Council. Where possible, the organization designated as the Recovery Planning Council shall be or shall be subsequently designated as the appropriate agency required by section 204 of the Demonstration Cities and Metropolitan Development Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 3334) and by the Intergovernmental Cooperation Act of 1968 (P.L. 90–577; 82 Stat. 1098). “(5) The Recovery Planning Council shall include private citizens as members to the extent feasible, and shall provide for and encourage public participation in its deliberations and decisions. “(b) The Recovery Planning Council (1) shall review existing plans for the affected area; and (2) may recommend to the Governor and responsible local governments such revisions as it determines necessary for the economic recovery of the area, including the development of new plans and the preparation of a recovery investment plan for the 5-year period following the declaration of the major disaster. The Recovery Planning Council shall accept as one element of the recovery investment plans determinations made under section 402(f) of the Disaster Relief Act of 1974. “(c) (1) A recovery investment plan prepared by a Recovery Planning Council may recommend the revision, deletion, reprograming, or additional approval of Federal-aid projects and programs within the area— “(A) for which application has been made but approval not yet granted; “(B) for which funds have been obligated or approval granted but construction not yet begun; “(C) for which funds have been or are scheduled to be apportioned within the five years after the declaration of the disaster; “(D) which may otherwise be available to the area under any State schedule or revised State schedule of priorities; or “(E) which may reasonably be anticipated as becoming available under existing programs. “(2) Upon the recommendation of the Recovery Planning Council and the request of the Governor, any funds for projects or programs identified pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection may, to any extent consistent with appropriation Acts, be placed in reserve by the responsible Federal agency for use in accordance with such recommendations. Upon the request of the Governor and with the concurrence of affected local governments, such funds may be transferred to the Recovery Planning Council to be expended in the implementation of the recovery investment plan, except that no such transfer may be made unless such expenditure is for a project or program for which such funds originally were made available by an appropriation Act. “public works and development facilities grants and loans “Sec. 803. (a) The President is authorized to provide funds to any Recovery Planning Council for the implementation of a recovery investment plan by public bodies. Such funds may be used— “(1) to make loans for the acquisition or development of land and improvements for public works, public service, or development facility usage, including the acquisition or development of parks or open spaces, and the acquisition, construction, rehabilitation, alteration, expansion, or improvement of such facilities, including related machinery and equipment, and 88 Stat. 162 “(2) to make supplementary grants to increase the Federal share for projects for which funds are reserved pursuant to subsection (c) (2) of section 802 of this Act, or other Federal-aid projects in the affected area. “(b) Grants and loans under this section may be made to any State, local government, or private or public nonprofit organization representing any area or part thereof affected by a major disaster. “(c) No supplementary grant shall increase the Federal share of the cost of any project to greater than 90 per centum, except in the case of a grant for the benefit of Indians or Alaska Natives, or in the case of any State or local government which the President determines has exhausted its effective taxing and borrowing capacity. “(d) Loans under this section shall bear interest at a rate determined by the Secretary of the Treasury taking into consideration the current average market yield on outstanding marketable obligations of the United States with remaining periods to maturity comparable to the average maturities of such loans, adjusted to the nearest one-eighth of 1 per centum, less 1 per centum per annum. “(e) Financial assistance under this title shall not be extended to assist establishments relocating from one area to another or to assist subcontractors whose purpose is to divest, or whose economic success is dependent upon divesting, other contractors or subcontractors of contracts therefore customarily performed by them. Such limitations shall not be construed to prohibit assistance for the expansion of an existing business entity through the establishment of a new branch, affiliate, or subsidiary of such entity if the Secretary of Commerce finds that the establishment of such branch, affiliate, or subsidiary will not result in an increase in unemployment of the area of original location or in any other area where such entity conducts business operations, unless the Secretary has reason to believe that such branch, affiliate, or subsidiary is being established with the intention of closing down the operations of the existing business entity in the area of its original location or in any other area where it conducts such operations. “loan guarantees “Sec. 804. The President is authorized to provide funds to Recovery Planning Councils to guarantee loans made to private borrowers by private lending institutions (1) to aid in financing any project within an area affected by a major disaster for the purchase or development of land and facilities (including machinery and equipment) for industrial or commercial usage including the construction of new buildings, and rehabilitation of abandoned or unoccupied buildings, and the alteration, conversion, or enlargement of existing buildings; and (2) for working capital in connection with projects in areas assisted under paragraph (1), upon application of such institution and upon such terms and conditions as the President may prescribe. No such guarantee shall at any time exceed 90 per centum of the amount of the outstanding unpaid balance of such loan. “technical assistance “Sec. 805. (a) In carrying out the purposes of this title the President is authorized to provide technical assistance which would be useful in facilitating economic recovery in areas affected by major disasters. Such assistance shall include project planning and feasibility studies, management and operational assistance, and studies evaluating the needs of, and developing potentialities for, economic recovery88 Stat. 163 of such areas. Such assistance may be provided by the President directly, through the payment of funds authorized for this title to other departments or agencies of the Federal Government, through the employment of private individuals, partnerships, firms, corporations, or suitable institutions, under contracts entered into for such purposes, or through grants-in-aid to appropriate public or private nonprofit State, area, district, or local organizations. “(b) The President is authorized to make grants to defray not to exceed 75 per centum of the administrative expenses of Recovery Planning Councils designated pursuant to section 802 of this Act. In determining the amount of the non-Federal share of such costs or expenses, the President shall give due consideration to all contributions both in cash and in kind, fairly evaluated, including but not limited to space, equipment, and services. Where practicable, grants-in-aid authorized under this subsection shall be used in conjunction with other available planning grants, to assure adequate and effective planning and economical use of funds. “authorization of appropriations “Sec. 806. There is authorized to be appropriated not to exceed $250,000,000 to carry out this title.”.