STATE HOME GRANT PROGRAM.

SEC. 207. STATE HOME GRANT PROGRAM. (a) General Regulations.—Section 8134 is amended— (1) by redesignating subsection (b) as subsection (c); (2) by striking the matter in subsection (a) preceding paragraph (2) and inserting the following: “(a) (1)The Secretary shall prescribe regulations for the purposes of this subchapter. “(2) In those regulations, the Secretary shall prescribe for each State the number of nursing home and domiciliary beds for which assistance under this subchapter may be furnished. Such regulations shall be based on projected demand for such care 10 years after the date of the enactment of the Veterans Millennium Health Care and Benefits Act by veterans who at such time are 65 years of age or older and who reside in that State. In determining such projected demand, the Secretary shall take into account travel distances for veterans and their families. “(3) (A) In those regulations, the Secretary shall establish criteria under which the Secretary shall determine, with respect to an application for assistance under this subchapter for a project described in subparagraph (B) which is from a State that has a need for additional beds as determined under subsections (a)(2) and (d)(1), whether the need for such beds is most aptly characterized as great, significant, or limited. Such criteria shall take into account the availability of beds already operated by the Secretary and other providers which appropriately serve the needs which the State proposes to meet with its application. “(B) This paragraph applies to a project for the construction or acquisition of a new State home facility, a project to increase the number of beds available at a State home facility, and a project to replace beds at a State home facility. “(4) The Secretary shall review and, as necessary, revise regulations prescribed under paragraphs (2) and (3) not less often than every four years. “(b) The Secretary shall prescribe the following by regulation:”; (3) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) of subsection (b), as designated by paragraph (2), as paragraphs (1) and (2); 113 STAT. 1565 (4) in subsection (c), as redesignated by paragraph (1), by striking “subsection (a)(3)” and inserting “subsection (b)(2)”; and (5) by adding at the end the following new subsection: “(d)(1)In prescribing regulations to carry out this subchapter, the Secretary shall provide that in the case of a State that seeks assistance under this subchapter for a project described in subsection (a)(3)(B), the determination of the unmet need for beds for State homes in that State shall be reduced by the number of beds in all previous applications submitted by that State under this subchapter, including beds which have not been recognized by the Secretary under section 1741 of this title. “(2) (A) Financial assistance under this subchapter for a renovation project may only be provided for a project for which the total cost of construction is in excess of $400,000 (as adjusted from time-to-time in such regulations to reflect changes in costs of construction). “(B) For purposes of this paragraph, a renovation project is a project to remodel or alter existing buildings for which financial assistance under this subchapter may be provided and does not include maintenance and repair work which is the responsibility of the State.”. (b) Applications With Respect to Projects.—Section 8135 is amended— (1) in subsection (a)— (A) by striking “set forth—” in the matter preceding paragraph (1) and inserting “set forth the following:”; (B) by capitalizing the first letter of the first word in each of paragraphs (1) through (9); (C) by striking the comma at the end of each of paragraphs (1) through (7) and inserting a period; and (D) by striking “, and” at the end of paragraph (8) and inserting a period; (2) by redesignating subsections (b), (c), (d), and (e) as subsections (c), (d), (e), and (f), respectively; (3) by inserting after subsection (a) the following new subsection (b): “(b) (1)Any State seeking to receive assistance under this subchapter for a project that would involve construction or acquisition of either nursing home or domiciliary facilities shall include with its application under subsection (a) the following: “(A) Documentation (i) that the site for the project is in reasonable proximity to a sufficient concentration and population of veterans who are 65 years of age and older, and (ii) that there is a reasonable basis to conclude that the facilities when complete will be fully occupied. “(B) A financial plan for the first three years of operation of such facilities. “(C) A five-year capital plan for the State home program for that State. “(2) Failure to provide adequate documentation under paragraph (1)(A) or to provide an adequate financial plan under paragraph (1)(B) shall be a basis for disapproving the application”; and (4) in subsection (c), as redesignated by paragraph (2)— (A) in paragraph (1), by striking “for a grant under subsection (a) of this section” in the matter preceding 113 STAT. 1566 subparagraph (A) and inserting “under subsection (a) for financial assistance under this subchapter”; (B) in paragraph (2)— (i) by striking “the construction or acquisition of” in subparagraph (A); and (ii) by striking subparagraphs (B), (C), and (D) and inserting the following: “(B) An application from a State for a project at an existing facility to remedy a condition or conditions that have been cited by an accrediting institution, by the Secretary, or by a local licensing or approving body of the State as being threatening to the lives or safety of the patients in the facility. “(C) An application from a State that has not previously applied for award of a grant under this subchapter for construction or acquisition of a State nursing home. “(D) An application for construction or acquisition of a nursing home or domiciliary from a State that the Secretary determines, in accordance with regulations under this subchapter, has a great need for the beds to be established at such home or facility. “(E) An application from a State for renovations to a State home facility other than renovations described in subparagraph (B). “(F) An application for construction or acquisition of a nursing home or domiciliary from a State that the Secretary determines, in accordance with regulations under this subchapter, has a significant need for the beds to be established at such home or facility. “(G) An application that meets other criteria as the Secretary determines appropriate and has established in regulations. “(H) An application for construction or acquisition of a nursing home or domiciliary from a State that the Secretary determines, in accordance with regulations under this subchapter, has a limited need for the beds to be established at such home or facility.”; and (C) in paragraph (3), by striking subparagraph (A) and inserting the following: “(A) may not accord any priority to a project for the construction or acquisition of a hospital; and”. (c) Transition.—(1)The provisions of sections 8134 and 8135 of title 38, United States Code, as in effect on November 10, 1999, shall continue in effect after that date with respect to applications described in section 8135(b)(2)(A) of such title, as in effect on that date, that are identified in paragraph (2) (and to projects and grants pursuant to those applications). The Secretary shall accord priority among those applications in the order listed in paragraph (2). (2) Applications covered by paragraph (1) are the following: (A) Any application for a fiscal year 1999 priority one project. (B) Any application for a fiscal year 2000 priority one project that was submitted by a State that (i) did not receive grant funds from amounts appropriated for fiscal year 1999 under the State home grant program, and (ii) does not have any fiscal year 1999 priority one projects. (3) For purposes of this subsection— 113 STAT. 1567 (A) the term “fiscal year 1999 priority one project” means a project on the list of approved projects established by the Secretary on October 29, 1998, under section 8135(b)(4) of title 38, United States Code, as in effect on that date that (pursuant to section 8135(b)(2)(A) of that title) is in the grouping of projects on that list designated as Priority Group 1; (B) the term “fiscal year 2000 priority one project” means a project on the list of approved projects established by the Secretary on November 3, 1999, under section 8135(b)(4) of title 38, United States Code, as in effect on that date that (pursuant to section 8135(b)(2)(A) of that title) is in the grouping of projects on that list designated as Priority Group 1; and (C) the term “State home grant program” means the grant program under subchapter III of chapter 81 of title 38, United States Code. (d) Effective Date for Initial Regulations.—The Secretary shall prescribe the initial regulations under subsection (a) of section 8134 of title 38, United States Code, as added by subsection (a), not later than April 30, 2000.