I

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 3901

To establish a Southern Rural Development Commission.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

FEBRUARY 24, 1994

Mr. HILLIARD (for himself and Ms. MCKINNEY) introduced the following bill;

which was referred jointly to the Committees on Public Works and Transportation, Energy and Commerce, Education and Labor, and Agriculture

A BILL

To establish a Southern Rural Development Commission.

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 ‘‘Southern Rural Devel5 opment Commission Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

7 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that—

8 (1) parts of the Southern United States, bor9 dering the Mississippi Delta or located in the tradi10 tional Old South region, have not shared properly in

11 the Nation’s prosperity; and
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1 (2) in parts of the Southern United States, eco2 nomic growth, education, and the means to achieve

3 the American dream are often not obtainable.

4 (b) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this Act—

5 (1) to assist the regions described in subsection

6 (a) in meeting their special problems;

7 (2) to promote the human and economic devel8 opment of small rural communities located in the re9 gions described in subsection (a); and

10 (3) to establish a Southern Rural Development

11 Commission to supply the regions described in sub12 section (a) with the common facilities necessary to

13 stimulate the growth of the regions and meet their

14 common needs.

15 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT.

16 There is established a commission to be known as the

17 Southern Rural Development Commission.

18 SEC. 4. MEMBERSHIP.

19 (a) MEMBERS.—

20 (1) NUMBER.—The Commission shall be com21 posed of 21 members, including 20 voting members

22 and 1 counsel.

23 (2) VOTING MEMBERS.—

24 (A) REPRESENTATION OF STATES.—The

25 20 voting members shall be residents of the
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1 States and counties specified in sections 5(b),

2 5(c), and 5(d). 2 residents of each State listed

3 in section 5(b) shall be appointed to the Com4 mission. Not more than 1 individual who re5 sides in a particular county may be appointed

6 to the Commission.

7 (B) INITIAL APPOINTMENTS.—

8 (i) RECOMMENDATIONS.—Each Unit9 ed States Representative, and United

10 States Senator, representing a State speci11 fied in section 5(b) may recommend 1 per12 son for membership on the Commission.

13 (ii) APPOINTMENT OF 1 PERSON REC14 OMMENDED BY EACH HOUSE.—Of the 2

15 Commission members from each State

16 specified in section 5(b), the President

17 shall appoint 1 from among the persons

18 recommended by the State’s delegation to

19 the United States House of Representa20 tives, and 1 from among the persons rec21 ommended by the State’s delegation to the

22 United States Senate.

23 (iii) ADDITIONAL RECOMMENDA24 TIONS.—If the President chooses not to

25 appoint any of the persons originally rec-
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1 ommended by a State’s delegation to 1

2 House of Congress, the President may re3 quest 1 additional recommendation from

4 each member of the State’s delegation to

5 such House, and the process of rec6 ommendations may continue until an ap7 pointment is made.

8 (C) APPOINTMENTS TO FILL VACANCIES.—

9 (i) IN GENERAL.—A vacancy in a

10 State’s 2-member delegation to the Com11 mission shall be filled in the manner de12 scribed in subparagraph (B), except as

13 specified in clause (ii).

14 (ii) APPOINTMENT OF PERSON REC15 OMMENDED BY 1 HOUSE.—The President

16 shall appoint to fill a vacancy in a State’s

17 delegation to the Commission 1 person

18 among the persons recommended by the

19 State’s delegates to whichever House of

20 Congress had the initial right to rec21 ommend the member whose departure cre22 ates the vacancy.

23 (D) ALTERNATIVE METHOD OF APPOINT24 MENT.—
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1 (i) APPOINTMENT OF PERSON REC2 OMMENDED BY OTHER HOUSE.—If none of

3 a State’s delegates to 1 House of Congress

4 recommends any person to fill a vacancy

5 on the Commission that should, under sub6 paragraph (B) or (C), be filled by appoint7 ment from among persons recommended

8 by such delegates, the President shall ap9 point a person from among the persons

10 recommended by the State’s delegates to

11 the other House of Congress.

12 (ii) ADDITIONAL RECOMMENDA13 TIONS.—The President may request addi14 tional recommendations as described in

15 subparagraph (B)(iii).

16 (iii) APPOINTMENT OF PERSON REC17 OMMENDED BY GOVERNOR.—If a State’s

18 delegates to both Houses of the Congress

19 fail to cumulatively recommend enough

20 persons to fill any vacancy in the State’s

21 delegation to the Commission, the Gov22 ernor of the State shall recommend at

23 least 3 persons for each such vacancy, and

24 the President shall appoint to fill the va-
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1 cancy a person from among the persons

2 recommended by the Governor.

3 (3) COUNSEL.—

4 (A) APPOINTMENT.—1 member who does

5 not reside in any of the States specified in sec6 tion 5(b) shall be appointed by the President to

7 be the Counsel, and the representative of the

8 Federal Government, on the Commission.

9 (B) DUTIES.—The Counsel shall act as

10 legal counsel to the Commission and as liaison

11 between the Commission and the President.

12 The Counsel shall review grant applications

13 submitted to the Commission, give the Commis14 sion legal advice relating to the applications,

15 and attend the meetings of the Commission.

16 (C) PAY.—Initially, the 1st person to serve

17 as Counsel shall be paid the amount the Presi18 dent determines to be necessary. The amount of

19 the Counsel’s salary may be adjusted by the

20 Commission not more than once a year, and not

21 sooner than 12 months after the President sets

22 the initial salary of the 1st Counsel.

23 (D) LACK OF VOTING POWER.—The Coun24 sel may not participate in any vote taken by the

25 Commission, and may not serve as chairperson.
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1 (E) REVIEW.—The Commission shall re2 view the performance of the Counsel every 4

3 years, beginning 4 years after the appointment

4 of the 1st Counsel, at a semiannual meeting of

5 the Commission. The Commission may remove

the Counsel by a vote of 4 6 ⁄5 of the voting mem7 bers present. An appointment to fill a vacancy

8 in the Counsel’s position shall be made in the

9 same manner as the appointment of the 1st

10 Counsel.

11 (4) TIMING OF APPOINTMENTS.—The appoint12 ments of the initial members shall be made not more

13 than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this

14 Act. An appointment to fill any other vacancy on the

15 Commission, including a vacancy in the Counsel’s

16 position, shall be made not later than 30 days after

17 the vacancy occurs.

18 (5) CHAIRPERSON.—The chairperson shall be

19 the more senior member (the member who has

20 served longer on the Commission) of each State’s

21 delegation in turn, with each State taking its turn

22 in alphabetical order. The chairperson shall serve a

23 1-year term. For the 1st year of the Commission,

24 the chair shall be held jointly by the 2 members rep-
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1 resenting the State that is the 1st alphabetically of

2 the States specified in section 5(b).

3 (6) QUORUM.—11 voting members of the Com4 mission shall constitute a quorum.

5 (b) TERMS OF SERVICE.—

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in this

7 subsection, each voting member shall be appointed

8 for a term of 4 years. A member may serve after the

9 expiration of the member’s term until a successor is

10 appointed.

11 (2) TERMS OF INITIAL APPOINTEES.—For each

12 State, the initial member who was recommended by

13 a Member of the House of Representatives shall

14 serve a 2 year term. If neither of the initial members

15 from a State was recommended by a Member of the

16 House of Representatives, or if both were, the Presi17 dent shall designate at the time of appointment

18 which of the members 1st appointed to the Commis19 sion from the State is appointed for a term of 2

20 years.

21 (3) APPOINTMENT TO COMPLETE ANOTHER’S

22 TERM.—A member appointed to fill a vacancy occur23 ring before the expiration of the term for which the

24 member’s predecessor was appointed shall be ap25 pointed in the manner described in subsection
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1 (a)(2)(C), but shall serve only for the remainder of

2 the predecessor’s term.

3 (4) CONSECUTIVE TERMS.—A person shall not

4 be appointed to serve 2 consecutive terms as a mem5 ber. For purposes of this paragraph, appointment to

6 complete another’s term under paragraph (3) shall

7 not be considered to be an appointment to a term.

8 (c) COMPENSATION.—

9 (1) PAY.—Voting members shall serve without

10 pay.

11 (2) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—While away from

12 their homes or regular places of business in the per13 formance of the duties of the Commission, members

14 shall be allowed travel expenses in the same manner

15 that persons employed intermittently in Government

16 service are allowed travel expenses under section

17 5703 of title 5, United States Code.

18 SEC. 5. AUTHORITY TO MAKE GRANTS.

19 (a) AUTHORITY.—The Commission may make grants

20 to the counties specified in subsections (c) and (d) in order

21 to wholly or partially fund projects that will achieve 1 or

22 more of the following purposes:

23 (1) Human resource development, education,

24 and job training.
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1 (2) Provision of health care services and facili2 ties, and social services, for underserved commu3 nities.

4 (3) Planning and development regarding the en5 vironment and natural resources, including but not

6 limited to conservation, land stabilization, and ero7 sion control.

8 (4) Development of transportation facilities and

9 services, including development of highway systems.

10 (5) Establishment of rural cooperatives.

11 (6) Water and sewer resource surveys.

12 (7) Assessment of the needs of rural commu13 nities, including needs relating to the subjects of

14 paragraphs (1) through (6), and development of pro15 grams to meet such needs.

16 (b) STATES CONTAINING ELIGIBLE COUNTIES AND

17 HAVING REPRESENTATIVES ON COMMISSION.—The

18 States that contain counties eligible for grants under sub19 section (a), and will have representatives on the Commis20 sion, are Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana,

21 Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee,

22 and Virginia.

23 (c) ELIGIBLE COUNTIES.—The following counties

24 may apply, alone or in cooperation with 1 or more other
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1 counties referred to in this subsection, for grants under

2 subsection (a):

3 (1) ALABAMA COUNTIES.—Barbour, Bullock,

4 Butler, Choctaw, Clarke, Conecuh, Dallas, Greene,

5 Hale, Henry, Lowndes, Macon, Marengo, Perry,

6 Pickens, Pike, Sumter, and Wilcox Counties in the

7 State of Alabama.

8 (2) ARKANSAS COUNTIES.—Chicot, Crittenden,

9 Desha, Fulton, Jackson, Jefferson, Lafayette, Law10 rence, Lee, Lincoln, Mississippi, Monroe, Newton,

11 Phillips, Poinsett, Searcy, Stone, St. Francis, and

12 Woodruff Counties in the State of Arkansas.

13 (3) FLORIDA COUNTIES.—Franklin, Gadsden,

14 Hamilton, and Madison Counties in the State of

15 Florida.

16 (4) GEORGIA COUNTIES.—Atkinson, Bulloch,

17 Brooks, Burke, Calhoun, Clarke, Clay, Clinch, Crisp,

18 Decatur, Dooly, Early, Emanuel, Evans, Greene,

19 Hancock, Irwin, Jefferson, Jenkins, Lanier, Macon,

20 Marion, Mitchell, Quitman, Randolph, Seminole,

21 Stewart, Taliaferro, Taylor, Telfair, Terrell,

22 Treutlen, Turner, Twiggs, Warren, Wheeler, Wilcox,

23 and Worth Counties in the State of Georgia.

24 (5) LOUISIANA PARISHES.—Acadia, Allen, As25 sumption, Avoyelles, Bienville, Caldwell, Catahoula,
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1 Claiborne, Concordia, De Soto, East Carroll, East

2 Feliciana, Evangeline, Franklin, Grant, Iberville,

3 Jefferson Davis, Lincoln, Madison, Morehouse,

4 Natchitoches, Pointe Coupee, Red River, Richland,

5 Sabine, St. Helena, St. James, St. Landry, St. Mar6 tin, St. Mary, Tangipahoa, Tensas, Vermilion,

7 Washington, Webster, West Carroll, West Feliciana,

8 and Winn Parishes in the State of Louisiana.

9 (6) MISSISSIPPI COUNTIES.—Adams, Amite,

10 Attala, Benton, Bolivar, Calhoun, Carroll, Choctaw,

11 Claiborne, Clay, Coahoma, Copiah, Covington,

12 DeSoto, Forrest, Franklin, Greene, Holmes, Hum13 phreys, Issaquena, Jasper, Jefferson, Jefferson

14 Davis, Kemper, Lafayette, Lawrence, Leake,

15 Leflore, Marion, Marshall, Montgomery, Noxubee,

16 Oktibbeha, Panola, Pike, Perry, Quitman, Scott,

17 Sharkey, Stone, Sunflower, Tallahatchie, Tunica,

18 Walthall, Washington, Wayne, Wilkinson, Winston,

19 Yalobusha, and Yazoo Counties in the State of Mis20 sissippi.

21 (7) NORTH CAROLINA COUNTIES.—Bertie, Hali22 fax, Hertford, Swain, Tyrrell, and Warren Counties

23 in the State of North Carolina.

24 (8) SOUTH CAROLINA COUNTIES.—Allendale,

25 Bamberg, Clarendon, Dillon, Hampton, Jasper, Lee,
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1 Marion, Marlboro, and Williamsburg Counties in the

2 State of South Carolina.

3 (9) TENNESSEE COUNTIES.—Campbell, Clai4 borne, Cocke, Fentress, Hancock, Haywood, John5 son, Lake, and Scott Counties in the State of Ten6 nessee.

7 (10) VIRGINIA COUNTIES.—Dickenson, Lee,

8 Northampton, Norton City, and Radford Counties in

9 the State of Virginia.

10 (d) ADDITIONAL COUNTIES.—A county not specified

11 in subsection (c) shall be eligible to obtain a grant under

12 this Act if—

13 (1) 25 percent or more of the legal residents of

14 the county are below the Federal poverty line;

15 (2) the county is rural, as defined by the Com16 mission;

17 (3) the county is located in a State referred to

18 in subsection (b);

19 (4) the county submits a letter to the Commis20 sion requesting that the county be considered eligible

21 to receive grants under this Act, and the Commis22 sion receives the letter at least 14 days before the

23 next semiannual meeting of the Commission; and

24 (5) the Commission fails to disapprove the

county’s eligibility, by a vote of 4 25 ⁄5 of the voting
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1 members present, at the semiannual meeting of the

2 Commission that follows the date on which the Com3 mission receives the letter required by paragraph

4 (4).

5 (e) REMOVAL OF ELIGIBILITY.—At any time, a vote

of 4 6 ⁄5 of the voting members may make a county ineligible

7 to submit applications for grants under subsection (a).

8 (f) APPLICATIONS.—To apply for a grant from the

9 Commission, a county, or 2 or more counties acting to10 gether, shall submit to the Commission an application in

11 the form and manner required by the Commission. Each

12 application shall contain—

13 (1) a description of the purpose of the project

14 for which the grant is sought;

15 (2) the amount of the grant requested by the

16 county;

17 (3) information demonstrating the need for the

18 proposed project in the county;

19 (4) the extent to which the project will address

20 the need; and

21 (5) any other information and assurances the

22 Commission may require.

23 (g) CRITERIA.—

24 (1) NEED.—In awarding grants, the Commis25 sion shall give priority to the applicants that dem-
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1 onstrate the most urgent need for the proposed

2 project. If 2 or more applicants demonstrate the

3 same degree of need, the grant shall be awarded to

4 the applicant that filed its application first.

5 (2) COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT.—The Commis6 sion shall next consider the extent to which the pro7 posed project aids community development by mak8 ing the affected community more self-reliant.

9 (3) ADDITIONAL CRITERIA.—The Commission

10 shall also consider additional criteria, including the

11 per capita income, poverty, and population of the

12 county that will be benefited by the project, the pur13 pose of the project, and the extent to which the

14 project will fill the need it is meant to address.

15 SEC. 6. CONDUCT OF COMMISSION BUSINESS.

16 (a) MEETINGS.—The Commission shall meet in

17 March and September of each year, in Washington, D.C.,

18 and members shall attend the meetings. The Commission

19 may hold additional meetings that are necessary to ad20 dress emergency situations, but it shall not hold more than

21 2 additional meetings per year.

22 (b) VOTES.—

23 (1) NEED FOR QUORUM.—A quorum shall be

24 required before a vote may be taken.
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1 (2) OFFICIAL ACTIONS.—No official actions of

2 the Commission may be taken without the approval,

by vote, of 3 3 ⁄5 of the voting members present.

4 (2) CALCULATION.—If the number of voting

5 members present does not divide evenly by 5, the

number which constitutes 3 6 ⁄5 of the voting members

7 present shall be determined by dividing the number

8 of voting members who are present by 5, multiplying

9 by 3, and rounding up to the nearest whole number.

10 (c) BYLAWS.—The Commission may make bylaws,

11 rules, and regulations that are consistent with this Act,

12 and that the Commission decides are necessary to carry

13 out its responsibilities under this Act.

14 (d) OFFICE.—The Commission shall maintain its of15 fice in Washington, D.C.

16 (e) MAILS.—The Commission may use the United

17 States mails in the same manner and under the same con18 ditions as other Federal agencies.

19 SEC. 7. STAFF AND SUPPORT SERVICES.

20 (a) ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF.—

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the procedures

22 and approval of the Commission, administrative staff

23 shall be hired and paid to perform duties necessary

24 to implement the policies of this Act.
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1 (2) NUMBER AND TYPE OF EMPLOYEES.—The

2 Commission may not hire more permanent employ3 ees than are necessary to assist in the regular busi4 ness of the Commission. The Commission may hire

5 nonpermanent employees as necessary. Cumulatively,

6 the Commission may not hire more than 25 employ7 ees.

8 (3) CHIEF OF STAFF.—Appointment and deter9 mination of the salary of the Chief of Staff shall re10 quire a vote of the Commission. The Chief of Staff,

11 with the approval of the Commission, may hire and

12 determine the initial salaries of the remaining Com13 mission employees.

14 (b) STAFF OF FEDERAL AGENCIES.—At the request

15 of the Commission, the head of any Federal agency may

16 detail any of the personnel of the agency to the Commis17 sion to assist the Commission to implement the policies

18 of this Act.

19 (c) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—The Commission

20 may procure temporary or intermittent services of experts

21 and consultants under section 3109(b) of title 5, United

22 States Code.

23 (d) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT SERVICES.—At the

24 request of the Commission, the head of a Federal agency,

25 including the General Services Administration, may make
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1 any facility or service of the agency available to the Com2 mission to assist the Commission to carry out this Act.

3 SEC. 8. MEANS TO OBTAIN INFORMATION.

4 (a) HEARINGS AND SESSIONS.—The Commission

5 may hold hearings, take testimony, and receive affidavits

6 and other evidence, that the Commission considers appro7 priate to carry out this Act.

8 (b) POWERS OF MEMBERS AND AGENTS.—Any mem9 ber or agent of the Commission may, if authorized by the

10 Commission, take any action that the Commission is au11 thorized to take by this section.

12 (c) OBTAINING OFFICIAL DATA.—The Commission,

13 through its chairperson, may request directly from any

14 Federal agency any information necessary to enable the

15 Commission to implement the policies of this Act. The

16 head of the agency may comply with the request unless

17 the release of the information to the public by the agency

18 is prohibited by law.

19 (d) OTHER SOURCES OF INFORMATION.—The Com20 mission may receive testimony from or consult with other

21 individuals and groups, including independent agencies,

22 institutions, and groups that are interested in rural devel23 opment.
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1 SEC. 9. ANNUAL REPORTS.

2 (a) GRANTEE REPORTS.—Each county that receives

3 a grant under section 5(a) shall prepare and submit a re4 port to the Commission not later than 30 days after the

5 end of each fiscal year in which the county expends any

6 part of the grant. With respect to each project for which

7 any part of the grant was expended during the fiscal year,

8 the report shall—

9 (1) specify the amount of grant funds expended

10 for the project;

11 (2) specify the outcome and results of the

12 project;

13 (3) specify whether the purpose of the project

14 has been achieved; and

15 (4) include any other information the Commis16 sion may require by rule.

17 (b) COMMISSION REPORTS.—The Commission shall

18 submit a report to the President and the Congress, not

19 later than December 31 after each fiscal year in which

20 the Commission makes a grant. The report shall—

21 (1) specify which counties received grants in the

22 fiscal year preceding the report;

23 (2) include descriptions of each project for

24 which a grant was made during the fiscal year pre25 ceding the report, including the purpose of the

26 project, the amount of the grant provided to carry
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1 out the project, and whether the purpose of the

2 project has been achieved; and

3 (3) include any other information the Commis4 sion considers appropriate.

5 SEC. 10. DEFINITIONS.

6 For purposes of this Act:

7 (1) The term ‘‘Commission’’ means the South8 ern Rural Development Commission.

9 (2) The term ‘‘Counsel’’ means the member of

10 the Commission who is appointed pursuant to sec11 tion 5(a)(3)(A) to be the representative of the Fed12 eral Government on the Commission.

13 (3) The term ‘‘county’’ includes a parish.

14 (4) The term ‘‘member’’ means a member of

15 the Commission.

16 (5) The term ‘‘voting member’’ means a mem17 ber other than the Counsel.

18 SEC. 11. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

19 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out

20 this Act $151,000,000 for fiscal year 1994 and such sums

21 as may be necessary for each succeeding fiscal year.

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