II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 292 

To amend title 40, United States Code, to modify certain requirements 

for Regional Commissions, to reauthorize the Northern Border Regional 

Commission, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 7, 2023 

Mrs. SHAHEEN (for herself, Ms. COLLINS, Mr. SCHUMER, Mr. KING, Mrs. 

GILLIBRAND, Mr. WELCH, Ms. HASSAN, and Mr. SANDERS) introduced 

the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee 

on Environment and Public Works 

A BILL 

To amend title 40, United States Code, to modify certain 

requirements for Regional Commissions, to reauthorize 

the Northern Border Regional Commission, and for other 

purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Northern Border Re5 gional Commission Reauthorization Act of 2023’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. REGIONAL COMMISSIONS MODIFICATIONS. 

2 (a) MEMBERSHIP OF COMMISSIONS.—Section 15301 

3 of title 40, United States Code, is amended— 

4 (1) in subsection (b)(2)(C)— 

5 (A) by striking ‘‘An alternate member’’ 

6 and inserting the following: 

7 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—An alternate 

8 member’’; and 

9 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(ii) STATE ALTERNATES.—If the al11 ternate State member is unable to vote in 

12 accordance with clause (i), the alternate 

13 State member may delegate voting author14 ity to a designee, subject to the condition 

15 that the executive director shall be notified, 

16 in writing, of the designation not less than 

17 1 week before the applicable vote is to take 

18 place.’’; and 

19 (2) in subsection (f), by striking ‘‘a Federal em20 ployee’’ and inserting ‘‘an employee’’. 

21 (b) DECISIONS OF COMMISSIONS.—Section 15302 of 

22 title 40, United States Code, is amended— 

23 (1) in subsection (a), by inserting ‘‘or State al24 ternate members, including designees’’ after ‘‘State 

25 members’’; and 


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1 (2) by striking subsection (c) and inserting the 

2 following: 

3 ‘‘(c) QUORUMS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), a 

5 Commission shall determine what constitutes a 

6 quorum for meetings of the Commission. 

7 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—Any quorum for meet8 ings of a Commission shall include— 

9 ‘‘(A) the Federal Cochairperson or the al10 ternate Federal Cochairperson; and 

11 ‘‘(B) a majority of State members or alter12 nate State members, including designees (exclu13 sive of members representing States delinquent 

14 under section 15304(c)(3)(C)).’’. 

15 (c) ADMINISTRATIVE POWERS AND EXPENSES OF

16 COMMISSIONS.—Section 15304(a)(9) of title 40, United 

17 States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘maintain a govern18 ment relations office in the District of Columbia and’’. 

19 (d) MEETINGS OF COMMISSIONS.—Section 15305(b) 

20 of title 40, United States Code, is amended by striking 

21 ‘‘with the Federal Cochairperson’’ and all that follows 

22 through the period at the end and inserting the following: 

23 ‘‘with— 

24 ‘‘(1) the Federal Cochairperson; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) at least a majority of the State members 

2 or alternate State members (including designees) 

3 present in-person or via electronic means.’’. 

4 SEC. 3. TRANSFER OF FUNDS FROM OTHER FEDERAL 

5 AGENCIES. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 153 of subtitle V of title 

7 40, United States Code, is amended— 

8 (1) by redesignating section 15308 as section 

9 15309; and 

10 (2) by inserting after section 15307 the fol11 lowing: 

12 ‘‘§ 15308. Transfer of funds from other Federal agen13 cies 

14 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (c), for 

15 purposes of this subtitle, each Commission may accept 

16 transfers of funds from other Federal agencies. 

17 ‘‘(b) TRANSFERS.—Any Federal agency authorized to 

18 carry out an activity that is within the authority of a Com19 mission may transfer to the Commission any appropriated 

20 funds for the activity. 

21 ‘‘(c) TREATMENT.—Any funds transferred to a Com22 mission under this section— 

23 ‘‘(1) shall remain available until expended; and 

24 ‘‘(2) may, to the extent necessary to carry out 

25 this subtitle, be transferred to, and merged with, the 


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1 amounts made available by appropriations Acts for 

2 the Commission by the Federal Cochairperson.’’. 

3 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chap4 ter 153 of subtitle V of title 40, United States Code, is 

5 amended by striking the item relating to section 15308 

6 and inserting the following: 

‘‘15308. Transfer of funds from other Federal agencies. 

‘‘15309. Annual reports.’’. 

7 SEC. 4. ECONOMIC AND INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT 

8 GRANTS. 

9 Section 15501 of title 40, United States Code, is 

10 amended— 

11 (1) in subsection (a)— 

12 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (4) 

13 through (9) as paragraphs (6) through (11), re14 spectively; and 

15 (B) by inserting after paragraph (3) the 

16 following: 

17 ‘‘(4) to design, build, implement, or upgrade 

18 transportation or basic public infrastructure or 

19 workforce capacity to support the adaption to and 

20 mitigation of climate challenges; 

21 ‘‘(5) to promote the production of housing to 

22 meet economic development and workforce needs;’’; 

23 and 


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1 (2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘paragraph 

2 (1), (2), (3), or (7)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph (1), 

3 (2), (3), (4), (5), (7), or (9)’’. 

4 SEC. 5. FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 155 of subtitle V of title 

6 40, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end 

7 the following: 

8 ‘‘§ 15507. Discretionary grants 

9 ‘‘(a) GRANTS TO WHICH PERCENTAGE LIMITATION

10 DOESN’T APPLY.—Discretionary grants made by a Com11 mission to implement significant regional initiatives, to 

12 take advantage of special development opportunities, or to 

13 respond to emergency economic distress in the region of 

14 the Commission may be made without regard to the per15 centage limitations described in section 15501(d). 

16 ‘‘(b) LIMITATION ON AGGREGATE AMOUNT.—For 

17 each fiscal year, the aggregate amount of discretionary 

18 grants referred to in subsection (a) shall not be more than 

19 10 percent of the amount made available to carry out this 

20 subtitle for the fiscal year. 

21 ‘‘§ 15508. Payment of non-Federal share for certain 

22 Federal grant programs 

23 ‘‘Notwithstanding any other provision of law relating 

24 to payment of a non-Federal share of a project carried 

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1 able to carry out this subtitle shall be available for the 

2 payment of such a non-Federal share for any project for 

3 which a Commission is not the sole or primary funding 

4 source, subject to the condition that the project is con5 sistent with the purposes of the Commission.’’. 

6 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chap7 ter 155 of subtitle V of title 40, United States Code, is 

8 amended by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘15507. Discretionary grants. 

‘‘15508. Payment of non-Federal share for certain Federal grant programs.’’. 

9 SEC. 6. NORTHERN BORDER REGIONAL COMMISSION. 

10 (a) COUNTIES IN MAINE AND NEW HAMPSHIRE.— 

11 Section 15733 of title 40, United States Code, is amend12 ed— 

13 (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘Lincoln,’’ 

14 after ‘‘Knox,’’; and 

15 (2) in paragraph (2), by inserting 

16 ‘‘Merrimack,’’ after ‘‘Grafton,’’. 

17 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 

18 15751 of title 40, United States Code, is amended by 

19 striking subsection (a) and inserting the following: 

20 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be ap21 propriated to each Commission to carry out this subtitle— 

22 ‘‘(1) $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2023 

23 through 2027; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) $60,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2028 

2 through 2032.’’. 

3 SEC. 7. NORTHERN FOREST REGION PROGRAMS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle V of title 40, United 

5 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol6 lowing: 

7 ‘‘CHAPTER 159—NORTHERN FOREST 

8 REGION PROGRAMS 

9 ‘‘§ 15901. Definitions 

10 ‘‘In this chapter: 

11 ‘‘(1) NBRC.—The term ‘NBRC’ means the 

12 Northern Border Regional Commission established 

13 by section 15301(a)(3). 

14 ‘‘(2) NORTHERN FOREST REGION.—The term 

15 ‘Northern Forest region’ means the counties in16 cluded in the NBRC under section 15733. 

17 ‘‘§ 15902. State capacity building grant program 

18 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

19 ‘‘(1) COMMISSION STATE.—The term ‘Commis20 sion State’ means each of the States of Maine, New 

21 Hampshire, New York, and Vermont. 

22 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE COUNTY.—The term ‘eligible 

23 county’ means a county described in section 15733. 


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1 ‘‘(3) PROGRAM.—The term ‘program’ means 

2 the State capacity building grant program estab3 lished under subsection (b). 

4 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT.—The NBRC shall establish a 

5 State capacity building grant program to provide grants 

6 to Commission States to carry out the purpose under sub7 section (c). 

8 ‘‘(c) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the program is to 

9 support the efforts of the NBRC— 

10 ‘‘(1) to better support business retention and 

11 expansion in eligible counties; 

12 ‘‘(2) to create programs to encourage job cre13 ation and workforce development in eligible counties; 

14 ‘‘(3) to prepare economic and infrastructure 

15 plans for eligible counties; 

16 ‘‘(4) to expand access to high-speed broadband 

17 in eligible counties; 

18 ‘‘(5) to provide technical assistance that results 

19 in NBRC investments in transportation, water, 

20 wastewater, and other critical infrastructure; 

21 ‘‘(6) to create initiatives to increase the effec22 tiveness of local development districts in eligible 

23 counties; and 

24 ‘‘(7) to implement new or innovative economic 

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1 igible counties of Commission States to compete in 

2 the global economy. 

3 ‘‘(d) USE OF FUNDS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Funds from a grant under 

5 the program may be used to support a project, pro6 gram, or related expense of the Commission State in 

7 an eligible county. 

8 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—Funds from a grant under 

9 the program shall not be used for— 

10 ‘‘(A) the purchase of furniture, fixtures, or 

11 equipment; 

12 ‘‘(B) the compensation of— 

13 ‘‘(i) any State member of the Com14 mission (as described in section 

15 15301(b)(1)(B)); or 

16 ‘‘(ii) any State alternate member of 

17 the Commission (as described in section 

18 15301(b)(2)(B)); or 

19 ‘‘(C) the cost of supplanting existing State 

20 programs. 

21 ‘‘(e) ANNUAL WORK PLAN.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For each fiscal year, before 

23 providing a grant under the program, each Commis24 sion State shall provide to the NBRC an annual 


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1 work plan that includes the proposed use of the 

2 grant. 

3 ‘‘(2) APPROVAL.—No grant under the program 

4 shall be provided to a Commission State unless the 

5 NBRC has approved the annual work plan of the 

6 State. 

7 ‘‘(f) AMOUNT OF GRANT.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The amount of a grant 

9 provided to a Commission State under the program 

10 for a fiscal year shall be based on the proportion 

11 that— 

12 ‘‘(A) the amount paid by the Commission 

13 State (including any amounts paid on behalf of 

14 the Commission State by a nonprofit organiza15 tion) for administrative expenses for the appli16 cable fiscal year (as determined under section 

17 15304(c)); bears to 

18 ‘‘(B) the amount paid by all Commission 

19 States (including any amounts paid on behalf of 

20 a Commission State by a nonprofit organiza21 tion) for administrative expenses for that fiscal 

22 year (as determined under that section). 

23 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENT.—To be eligible to receive 

24 a grant under the program for a fiscal year, a Com25 mission State (or a nonprofit organization on behalf 


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1 of the Commission State) shall pay the amount of 

2 administrative expenses of the Commission State for 

3 the applicable fiscal year (as determined under sec4 tion 15304(c)). 

5 ‘‘(3) APPROVAL.—For each fiscal year, a grant 

6 provided under the program shall be approved and 

7 made available as part of the approval of the annual 

8 budget of the NBRC. 

9 ‘‘(g) GRANT AVAILABILITY.—Funds from a grant 

10 under the program shall be available only during the fiscal 

11 year for which the grant is provided. 

12 ‘‘(h) REPORT.—Each fiscal year, each Commission 

13 State shall submit to the NBRC and make publicly avail14 able a report that describes the use of the grant funds 

15 and the impact of the program in the Commission State. 

16 ‘‘(i) CONTINUATION OF PROGRAM.—The program 

17 under this section shall be a continuation of the program 

18 under section 6304(c) of the Agriculture Improvement Act 

19 of 2018 (40 U.S.C. 15501 note; Public Law 115–334) (as 

20 in effect on the day before the date of enactment of this 

21 section). 

22 ‘‘(j) FUNDING.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be 

24 appropriated to carry out this section $5,000,000 for 

25 each of fiscal years 2023 through 2032. 


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1 ‘‘(2) SUPPLEMENT, NOT SUPPLANT.—Funds 

2 made available to carry out this section shall supple3 ment and not supplant funds made available for the 

4 NBRC and other activities of the NBRC. 

5 ‘‘§ 15903. Demonstration health projects 

6 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—To demonstrate the value of ade7 quate health facilities and services to the economic devel8 opment of the Northern Forest region, the NBRC may 

9 make grants for the planning, construction, equipment, 

10 and operation of demonstration health, nutrition, and 

11 child care projects, including hospitals, regional health di12 agnostic and treatment centers, and other facilities and 

13 services necessary for the purposes of this section. 

14 ‘‘(b) PLANNING GRANTS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE AMOUNTS AND

16 MAKE GRANTS.—The NBRC may make grants for 

17 expenses of planning necessary for the development 

18 and operation of demonstration health projects for 

19 the Northern Forest region. 

20 ‘‘(2) MAXIMUM NBRC CONTRIBUTIONS.—The 

21 maximum NBRC contributions for a grant for the 

22 construction or equipment of any component of a 

23 demonstration health project shall be made in ac24 cordance with section 15501(d). 


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1 ‘‘(3) SOURCES OF ASSISTANCE.—The NBRC 

2 contribution may be provided entirely from amounts 

3 authorized under this section or in combination with 

4 amounts provided under other Federal grant pro5 grams. 

6 ‘‘(4) FEDERAL SHARE.—Notwithstanding any 

7 provision of law limiting the Federal share in other 

8 Federal grant programs described in paragraph (3), 

9 amounts appropriated to carry out this section may 

10 be used to increase the Federal share to the max11 imum percentage cost of a grant authorized by para12 graph (2). 

13 ‘‘(c) CONSTRUCTION AND EQUIPMENT GRANTS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) ADDITIONAL USES FOR CONSTRUCTION

15 GRANTS.—Grants under this section for construction 

16 may also be used for— 

17 ‘‘(A) the acquisition of privately owned fa18 cilities— 

19 ‘‘(i) not operated for profit; or 

20 ‘‘(ii) previously operated for profit if 

21 the NBRC finds that health services would 

22 not otherwise be provided in the area 

23 served by the facility if the acquisition is 

24 not made; and 

25 ‘‘(B) initial equipment. 


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1 ‘‘(2) STANDARDS FOR MAKING GRANTS.— 

2 Grants under this section for construction shall be 

3 made in accordance with section 15501 and shall not 

4 be incompatible with the applicable provisions of title 

5 VI of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 291 

6 et seq.), the Developmental Disabilities Assistance 

7 and Bill of Rights Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 15001 et 

8 seq.), and other laws authorizing grants for the con9 struction of health-related facilities, without regard 

10 to any provisions in those laws relating to appropria11 tion authorization ceilings or to allotments among 

12 the States. 

13 ‘‘(3) MAXIMUM NBRC CONTRIBUTIONS.—The 

14 maximum NBRC contributions for a grant for the 

15 construction or equipment of any component of a 

16 demonstration health project shall be made in ac17 cordance with section 15501(d). 

18 ‘‘(4) SOURCES OF ASSISTANCE.—The NBRC 

19 contribution may be provided entirely from amounts 

20 authorized under this section or in combination with 

21 amounts provided under other Federal grant pro22 grams for the construction or equipment of health23 related facilities. 

24 ‘‘(5) FEDERAL SHARE.—Notwithstanding any 

25 provision of law limiting the Federal share in other 


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1 Federal grant programs described in paragraph (4), 

2 amounts authorized under this section may be used 

3 to increase Federal grants for component facilities of 

4 a demonstration health project to a maximum of 80 

5 percent of the cost of the facilities. 

6 ‘‘(d) OPERATION GRANTS.— 

7 ‘‘(1) STANDARDS FOR MAKING GRANTS.—A 

8 grant for the operation of a demonstration health 

9 project shall not be made unless the facility is pub10 licly owned, or owned by a public or private non11 profit organization, and is not operated for profit. 

12 ‘‘(2) MAXIMUM NBRC CONTRIBUTIONS.—Grants 

13 under this section for the operation (including initial 

14 operating amounts and operating deficits, including 

15 the cost of attracting, training, and retaining quali16 fied personnel) of a demonstration health project, 

17 whether or not constructed with amounts authorized 

18 to be appropriated by this section, shall be made in 

19 accordance with section 15501(d). 

20 ‘‘(3) SOURCES OF ASSISTANCE.—The NBRC 

21 contribution may be provided entirely from amounts 

22 appropriated to carry out this section or in combina23 tion with amounts provided under other Federal 

24 grant programs for the operation of health related 

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1 opment services, including parts A and B of title IV 

2 and title XX of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

3 601 et seq., 620 et seq., 1397 et seq.). 

4 ‘‘(4) FEDERAL SHARE.—Notwithstanding any 

5 provision of law limiting the Federal share in those 

6 other programs, amounts appropriated to carry out 

7 this section may be used to increase Federal grants 

8 for operating components of a demonstration health 

9 project to the maximum percentage cost of a grant 

10 authorized by this subsection. 

11 ‘‘(5) STATE DEEMED TO MEET REQUIREMENT

12 OF PROVIDING ASSISTANCE OR SERVICES ON STATE13 WIDE BASIS.—Notwithstanding any provision of the 

14 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 301 et seq.) requir15 ing assistance or services on a statewide basis, a 

16 State providing assistance or services under a Fed17 eral grant program described in paragraph (3) in 

18 any area of the region approved by the NBRC is 

19 deemed to be meeting that requirement. 

20 ‘‘(e) EMPHASIS ON PROGRAMS TO ADDRESS SUB21 STANCE USE DISORDERS.—To provide for the further de22 velopment of the human resources of the Northern Forest 

23 region, grants under this section shall give special empha24 sis to projects and activities to address substance use dis25 orders, including opioid and methamphetamine use, in the 


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1 Northern Forest region, including projects and activi2 ties— 

3 ‘‘(1) to increase access to and disseminate in4 formation on the availability of substance use dis5 order treatment programs; 

6 ‘‘(2) to strengthen the substance use disorder 

7 workforce operating in the Northern Forest region, 

8 including programs to attract and retain relevant 

9 health care services, businesses, and staff; 

10 ‘‘(3) to facilitate the sharing of best practices 

11 among States, counties, and other experts in the 

12 Northern Forest region with respect to reducing 

13 substance use disorders; 

14 ‘‘(4) to initiate or expand programs designed to 

15 eliminate or reduce the harm to the workforce and 

16 economic growth of the region that results from that 

17 abuse; and 

18 ‘‘(5) to develop relevant infrastructure, includ19 ing broadband infrastructure that supports the use 

20 of telemedicine.’’. 

21 (b) REPEAL.—Section 6304(c) of the Agriculture Im22 provement Act of 2018 (40 U.S.C. 15501 note; Public 

23 Law 115–334) is repealed. 

24 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

25 for subtitle V of title 40, United States Code, is amended 


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1 by inserting after the item relating to chapter 157 the fol2 lowing: 

‘‘CHAPTER 159–NORTHERN FOREST REGION PROGRAMS

‘‘15901. Definitions. 

‘‘15902. State capacity building grant program. 

‘‘15903. Demonstration health projects.’’. 

Æ 


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