DISCRETIONARY AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY.

SEC. 203. DISCRETIONARY AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY. (a) Training and Activities.—Section 681(a) (42 U.S.C. 9910(a)) is amended by striking “to provide for—” and all that follows through the end thereof and inserting the following: “to provide for ongoing activities of national or regional significance related to the purposes of this subtitle, with special emphasis on— “(1) a Community Initiative Program, awarded on a competitive basis, to fund private, nonprofit community development corporations for purposes of planning and carrying out community and economic development activities in economically distressed areas and in rural areas, as described in subsection (c); “(2) grants to support the design, development, and wide-spread availability of interactive information technology among the nationwide network of Community Service Block Grant eligible entities, State administrators, national associations and organizations, and program recipients to promote electronic communication and access to program information that would enhance the effective delivery of social services; and “(3) grants to nonprofit private organizations that provide assistance for migrants and seasonal farmworkers.”. (b) Community Initiative Program.—Subsection (b) of section 681 (42 U.S.C. 9910) is amended to read as follows: “(b) Community Initiative Program.— “(1) In general.— “(A) Economic development activities.— Economic development activities under this section shall be designed to address the economic needs of low-income individuals and families by creating employment and business development opportunities. “(B) Consultation.— The Secretary shall exercise the authority provided under subparagraph (A) in consultation with other relevant Federal officials. “(C) Governing boards.— Each community development corporation receiving funds under this section shall be governed by a board that shall consist of residents of the community and business and civic leaders and shall have as a principal purpose planning, developing, or man-aging low-income housing or community development projects. “(D) Geographic distribution.— In providing assistance or entering into other arrangements under this section, the Secretary shall take into consideration the geographic distribution of funds among States and the relative proportion of funding among rural and urban areas. “(E) Reservation.— Of the amounts made available to carry out this section, the Secretary may reserve not 108 STAT. 655to exceed 1 percent for each fiscal year to make grants to private nonprofit organizations or to enter into contracts with private nonprofit or for profit organizations to provide technical assistance to aid community development corporations in developing or implementing projects funded under this section and to evaluate projects funded under this section. “(2) Rural community development activities.— Rural community development activities under this section shall include— “(A) grants to private, nonprofit corporations that provide assistance to rural low-income families in home repair and in planning and developing low-income rural rental housing units; and “(B) grants to multistate, regional private, nonprofit organizations that provide training and technical assistance to small, rural communities in meeting their community facility needs.”.