H. R. 23

One Hundred Eighth Congress

of the

United States of America

AT THE FIRST SESSION

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,

the seventh day of January, two thousand and three

An Act

To amend the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to authorize

communities to use community development block grant funds for construction

of tornado-safe shelters in manufactured home parks.

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 ‘‘Tornado Shelters Act’’.

SEC. 2. CDBG ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.

Section 105(a) of the Housing and Community Development

Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5305(a)) is amended—

(1) in paragraph (22), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end;

(2) in paragraph (23), by striking the period at the end

and inserting a semicolon; and

(3) by inserting after paragraph (23) the following new

paragraph:

‘‘(24) the construction or improvement of tornado-safe shelters for residents of manufactured housing, and the provision

of assistance (including loans and grants) to nonprofit and

for-profit entities (including owners of manufactured housing

parks) for such construction or improvement, except that—

‘‘(A) a shelter assisted with amounts provided pursuant

to this paragraph may be located only in a neighborhood

(including a manufactured housing park) that—

‘‘(i) contains not less than 20 manufactured

housing units that are within such proximity to the

shelter that the shelter is available to the residents

of such units in the event of a tornado;

‘‘(ii) consists predominantly of persons of low and

moderate income; and

‘‘(iii) is located within a State in which a tornado

has occurred during the fiscal year for which the

amounts to be used under this paragraph were made

available or any of the 3 preceding fiscal years, as

determined by the Secretary after consultation with

the Director of the Federal Emergency Management

Agency;

‘‘(B) such a shelter shall comply with standards for

construction and safety as the Secretary, after consultation

with the Director of the Federal Emergency Management

Agency, shall provide to ensure protection from tornadoes;
H. R. 23—2

‘‘(C) such a shelter shall be of a size sufficient to

accommodate, at a single time, all occupants of manufactured housing units located within the neighborhood in

which the shelter is located; and

‘‘(D) amounts may not be used for a shelter as provided

under this paragraph unless there is located, within the

neighborhood in which the shelter is located (or, in the

case of a shelter located in a manufactured housing park,

within 1,500 feet of such park), a warning siren that is

operated in accordance with such local, regional, or national

disaster warning programs or systems as the Secretary,

after consultation with the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, considers appropriate to ensure

adequate notice of occupants of manufactured housing

located in such neighborhood or park of a tornado; and’’.

SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

In addition to any amounts otherwise made available for grants

under title I of the Housing and Community Development Act

of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.), there is authorized to be appropriated for assistance only for activities pursuant to section

105(a)(24) of such Act $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2004.

Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Vice President of the United States and

President of the Senate.