II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1743 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to create tax incentives for 

coal community zones, to provide education and training opportunities 

for individuals living and working in coal communities, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

AUGUST 3, 2017 

Mr. BENNET introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Finance 

A BILL 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to create 

tax incentives for coal community zones, to provide education and training opportunities for individuals living 

and working in coal communities, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Coal Community Empowerment Act of 2017’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

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TITLE I—COAL COMMUNITY ZONE TAX INCENTIVES 

Sec. 101. Coal community zones. 

TITLE II—EDUCATION AND TRAINING FOR COAL COMMUNITIES 

Sec. 201. Definitions. 

Sec. 202. Individual support accounts. 

Sec. 203. Priority for employment and training activities for qualifying individuals. 

Sec. 204. Development grants. 

Sec. 205. Business training funds. 

Sec. 206. Interagency agreement. 

1 TITLE I—COAL COMMUNITY 

2 ZONE TAX INCENTIVES 

3 SEC. 101. COAL COMMUNITY ZONES. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter Y of chapter 1 of the 

5 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at 

6 the end the following new part: 

7 ‘‘PART IV—COAL COMMUNITY ZONES 

‘‘Sec. 1400V–1. Definition of coal community zone. 

‘‘Sec. 1400V–2. Application of empowerment zone incentives to coal community 

zones. 

‘‘Sec. 1400V–3. Commercial revitalization deduction. 

‘‘Sec. 1400V–4. Exclusion of capital gains. 

‘‘Sec. 1400V–5. Application of new markets tax credit to investments in community development entities serving coal community zones. 

8 ‘‘SEC. 1400V–1. DEFINITION OF COAL COMMUNITY ZONE. 

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—For purpose of this part, the 

10 term ‘coal community zone’ means any county in the 

11 United States in which— 

12 ‘‘(1)(A) there were not less than 50 fewer indi13 viduals employed at coal mines in such county for 

14 calendar year 2015 as compared to calendar year 

15 2011 (determined based on data collected by the 

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1 Federal Mine Safety and Health Administration), 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(B) the quarterly average of the total number 

4 of employees employed in such county for the first 

5 calendar year in the applicable period (as estimated 

6 by the Bureau of Labor Statistics) was not more 

7 than 20,000, or 

8 ‘‘(2) not less than an average of 5 percent of 

9 the total employment within the county during the 

10 applicable period was at coal mines. 

11 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section— 

12 ‘‘(1) APPLICABLE PERIOD.—The term ‘applica13 ble period’ means the period beginning after Decem14 ber 31, 2010, and ending before January 1, 2016. 

15 ‘‘(2) COAL MINE.—The term ‘coal mine’ has the 

16 meaning given such term under section 3(h)(2) of 

17 the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977. 

18 ‘‘SEC. 1400V–2. APPLICATION OF EMPOWERMENT ZONE IN19 CENTIVES TO COAL COMMUNITY ZONES. 

20 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this title, except 

21 as otherwise provided in this section, a coal community 

22 zone shall be treated as an empowerment zone designated 

23 under subchapter U. 

24 ‘‘(b) PERIOD OF DESIGNATION.—A designation as an 

25 empowerment zone under subsection (a) shall remain in 

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1 effect during the period beginning on January 1, 2018, 

2 and ending on December 31, 2022. 

3 ‘‘(c) SPECIAL RULES FOR BONDS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a coal com5 munity zone bond— 

6 ‘‘(A) such bond shall not be treated as a 

7 private activity bond for purposes of section 

8 146, and 

9 ‘‘(B) section 1394(c) shall not apply. 

10 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION ON AMOUNT OF BONDS.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—There is a national 

12 coal community zone bond limitation for all coal 

13 community zone bonds. Such limitation is 

14 $1,000,000,000. 

15 ‘‘(B) ALLOCATION OF LIMITATION.—The 

16 Secretary shall allocate the limitation under 

17 subparagraph (A) to States in which there are 

18 located coal community zones. Such allocation 

19 shall be in proportion to the population of resi20 dents in coal community zones in such States 

21 relative to the total population of residents in 

22 all coal community zones. The limitation allo23 cated to a State under the preceding sentence 

24 shall be allocated to issuers of coal community 

25 zone bonds in such State. 

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1 ‘‘(C) DESIGNATION SUBJECT TO LIMITA2 TION AMOUNT.—The maximum face amount of 

3 bonds issued which may be designated under 

4 paragraph (3)(A) shall not exceed the limitation 

5 amount allocated to such issuer under subpara6 graph (B). 

7 ‘‘(3) COAL COMMUNITY BOND.—For purposes 

8 of this subsection, the term ‘coal community bond’ 

9 means any bond which would be described in section 

10 1394(a) if— 

11 ‘‘(A) such bond was designated for pur12 poses of this subsection by the bond issuer, and 

13 ‘‘(B) only coal community zones were 

14 taken into account under sections 1397C and 

15 1397D. 

16 ‘‘(d) SPECIAL RULES FOR EMPLOYMENT CREDIT.— 

17 In applying section 1396 to a coal community zone, the 

18 term ‘qualified zone employee’ shall not include any indi19 vidual who begins work for the employer before January 

20 1, 2018. Rules similar to section 51(i)(2) shall apply for 

21 purposes of the preceding sentence. 

22 ‘‘(e) SPECIAL RULES FOR INCREASED SECTION 179 

23 EXPENSING.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In applying section 1397A 

25 to a coal community zone— 

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1 ‘‘(A) ‘$500,000’ shall be substituted for 

2 ‘$35,000’ in subsection (a)(1)(A), and 

3 ‘‘(B) in lieu of applying subsection (a)(2), 

4 the dollar amount in effect under section 

5 179(b)(2) shall be increased by the lesser of— 

6 ‘‘(i) $500,000, or 

7 ‘‘(ii) the cost of section 179 property 

8 which is qualified zone property (as defined 

9 in section 179D) placed in service during 

10 the taxable year. 

11 ‘‘(2) INFLATION ADJUSTMENT.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of any 

13 taxable year beginning in a calendar year after 

14 2018, the $500,000 amounts in subparagraphs 

15 (A) and (B)(i) of paragraph (1) shall each be 

16 increased by an amount equal to— 

17 ‘‘(i) such dollar amount, multiplied by 

18 ‘‘(ii) the cost-of-living adjustment de19 termined under section 1(f)(3) for the cal20 endar year in which the taxable year be21 gins, determined by substituting ‘calendar 

22 year 2017’ for ‘calendar year 1992’ in sub23 paragraph (B) thereof. 

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1 ‘‘(B) ROUNDING.—Any increase deter2 mined under subparagraph (A) shall be rounded 

3 to the nearest multiple of $10,000. 

4 ‘‘(f) SPECIAL RULES FOR NONRECOGNITION OF GAIN

5 ON ROLLOVER OF EMPOWERMENT ZONE INVEST6 MENTS.—In applying section 1397B to a coal community 

7 zone— 

8 ‘‘(1) ‘December 31, 2017’ shall be substituted 

9 for ‘the date of the enactment of this paragraph’ in 

10 subsection (b)(1)(A)(iii), and 

11 ‘‘(2) ‘January 1, 2023’ shall be substituted for 

12 ‘the day after the date set forth in section 

13 1391(d)(1)(A)(i)’ in subsection (b)(1)(A)(iv). 

14 ‘‘SEC. 1400V–3. COMMERCIAL REVITALIZATION DEDUCTION. 

15 ‘‘For purposes of section 1400I— 

16 ‘‘(1) a coal community zone shall be treated as 

17 a renewal community, and 

18 ‘‘(2) in applying such section to a coal commu19 nity zone— 

20 ‘‘(A) subsection (d)(2)(A) shall be applied 

21 by substituting ‘each calendar year after 2017 

22 and before 2023 is $16,000,000 for each coal 

23 community zone (as defined in section 1400V– 

24 1) in the State’ for ‘each calendar year after 

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1 2001 and before 2010 is $12,000,000 for each 

2 renewal community in the State’, and 

3 ‘‘(B) subsection (g) shall be applied by 

4 substituting ‘December 31, 2022’ for ‘Decem5 ber 31, 2009’. 

6 ‘‘SEC. 1400V–4. EXCLUSION OF CAPITAL GAINS. 

7 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Gross income does not include 

8 any qualified capital gain from the sale or exchange of 

9 a qualified coal community zone asset held for more than 

10 5 years. 

11 ‘‘(b) QUALIFIED COAL COMMUNITY ZONE ASSET.— 

12 For purposes of this section— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘qualified coal 

14 community zone asset’ means— 

15 ‘‘(A) any qualified coal community zone 

16 stock, 

17 ‘‘(B) any qualified coal community zone 

18 partnership interest, and 

19 ‘‘(C) any qualified coal community zone 

20 business property. 

21 ‘‘(2) QUALIFIED COAL COMMUNITY ZONE

22 STOCK.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

24 subparagraph (B), the term ‘qualified coal commstockstill on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS

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1 munity zone stock’ means any stock in a do2 mestic corporation if— 

3 ‘‘(i) such stock is acquired by the tax4 payer after December 31, 2017, and before 

5 January 1, 2023, at its original issue (di6 rectly or through an underwriter) from the 

7 corporation solely in exchange for cash, 

8 ‘‘(ii) as of the time such stock was 

9 issued, such corporation was a coal com10 munity zone business (or, in the case of a 

11 new corporation, such corporation was 

12 being organized for purposes of being a 

13 coal community zone business), and 

14 ‘‘(iii) during substantially all of the 

15 taxpayer’s holding period for such stock, 

16 such corporation qualified as a coal com17 munity zone business. 

18 ‘‘(B) REDEMPTIONS.—A rule similar to 

19 the rule of section 1202(c)(3) shall apply for 

20 purposes of this paragraph. 

21 ‘‘(3) QUALIFIED COAL COMMUNITY ZONE PART22 NERSHIP INTEREST.—The term ‘qualified coal com23 munity zone partnership interest’ means any capital 

24 or profits interest in a domestic partnership if— 

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1 ‘‘(A) such interest is acquired by the tax2 payer after December 31, 2017, and before 

3 January 1, 2023, from the partnership solely in 

4 exchange for cash, 

5 ‘‘(B) as of the time such interest was ac6 quired, such partnership was a coal community 

7 zone business (or, in the case of a new partner8 ship, such partnership was being organized for 

9 purposes of being a coal community zone busi10 ness), and 

11 ‘‘(C) during substantially all of the tax12 payer’s holding period for such interest, such 

13 partnership qualified as a coal community zone 

14 business. 

15 A rule similar to the rule of paragraph (2)(B) shall 

16 apply for purposes of this paragraph 

17 ‘‘(4) QUALIFIED COAL COMMUNITY ZONE BUSI18 NESS PROPERTY.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘qualified 

20 coal community zone business property’ means 

21 tangible property if— 

22 ‘‘(i) such property was acquired by 

23 the taxpayer by purchase (as defined in 

24 section 179(d)(2)) after December 31, 

25 2017, and before January 1, 2023, 

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1 ‘‘(ii) the original use of such property 

2 in the coal community zone commences 

3 with the taxpayer, and 

4 ‘‘(iii) during substantially all of the 

5 taxpayer’s holding period for such prop6 erty, substantially all of the use of such 

7 property was in a coal community zone 

8 business of the taxpayer. 

9 ‘‘(B) SPECIAL RULE FOR SUBSTANTIAL IM10 PROVEMENTS.—The requirements of clauses (i) 

11 and (ii) of subparagraph (A) shall be treated as 

12 satisfied with respect to— 

13 ‘‘(i) property which is substantially 

14 improved by the taxpayer before January 

15 1, 2023, and 

16 ‘‘(ii) any land on which such property 

17 is located. 

18 The determination of whether a property is sub19 stantially improved shall be made under clause 

20 (ii) of section 1400B(b)(4)(B), except that ‘De21 cember 31, 2017’ shall be substituted for ‘De22 cember 31, 1997’ in such clause. 

23 ‘‘(5) COAL COMMUNITY ZONE BUSINESS.—For 

24 purposes of this section, the term ‘coal community 

25 zone business’ means any entity or proprietorship 

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1 which would be a qualified business entity or quali2 fied proprietorship under section 1397C if references 

3 to coal community zones were substituted for ref4 erences to empowerment zones. 

5 ‘‘(c) QUALIFIED CAPITAL GAIN.—For purposes of 

6 this section— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro8 vided in this subsection, the term ‘qualified capital 

9 gain’ means any gain recognized on the sale or ex10 change of— 

11 ‘‘(A) a capital asset, or 

12 ‘‘(B) property used in the trade or busi13 ness (as defined in section 1231(b)). 

14 ‘‘(2) GAIN BEFORE 2018 OR AFTER 2022 NOT

15 QUALIFIED.—The term ‘qualified capital gain’ shall 

16 not include any gain attributable to periods before 

17 January 1, 2018, or after December 31, 2022. 

18 ‘‘(3) CERTAIN RULES TO APPLY.—Rules similar 

19 to the rules of paragraphs (3), (4), and (5) of sec20 tion 1400B(e) shall apply for purposes of this sub21 section. 

22 ‘‘(d) CERTAIN RULES TO APPLY.—For purposes of 

23 this section, rules similar to the rules of paragraphs (5), 

24 (6), and (7) of subsection (b), and subsections (f) and (g), 

25 of section 1400B shall apply; except that for such purmstockstill on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS

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1 poses section 1400B(g)(2) shall be applied by substituting 

2 ‘January 1, 2018’ for ‘January 1, 1998’ and ‘December 

3 31, 2022’ for ‘December 31, 2014’. 

4 ‘‘(e) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall prescribe 

5 such regulations as may be appropriate to carry out the 

6 purposes of this section, including regulations to prevent 

7 the abuse of the purposes of this section. 

8 ‘‘SEC. 1400V–5. APPLICATION OF NEW MARKETS TAX CRED9 IT TO INVESTMENTS IN COMMUNITY DEVEL10 OPMENT ENTITIES SERVING COAL COMMU11 NITY ZONES. 

12 ‘‘For purposes of section 45D— 

13 ‘‘(1) a qualified community development entity 

14 shall be eligible for an allocation under subsection 

15 (f)(2) thereof of the increase in the new markets tax 

16 credit limitation described in paragraph (2) only if 

17 a significant mission of such entity is the recovery 

18 and redevelopment of population census tracts with19 in coal community zones, 

20 ‘‘(2) the new markets tax credit limitation oth21 erwise determined under subsection (f)(1) thereof 

22 shall be increased by an amount equal to 

23 $300,000,000 for each of calendar years 2017, 

24 2018, 2019, and 2020, to be allocated among quali25 fied community development entities to make qualimstockstill on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS

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1 fied low-income community investments within coal 

2 community zones, and 

3 ‘‘(3) subsection (f)(3) thereof shall be applied 

4 separately with respect to the amount of the increase 

5 under paragraph (2).’’. 

6 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

7 (1) Section 1394(f)(3)(B) of the Internal Rev8 enue Code of 1986 is amended by inserting ‘‘or any 

9 coal community zone’’ after ‘‘District of Columbia 

10 Enterprise Zone’’. 

11 (2) The table of parts for subchapter Y of chap12 ter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 

13 amended by adding at the end the following new 

14 item: 

‘‘PART IV—COAL COMMUNITY ZONES’’. 

15 TITLE II—EDUCATION AND 

16 TRAINING FOR COAL COMMU17 NITIES 

18 SEC. 201. DEFINITIONS. 

19 In this title: 

20 (1) COAL COMMUNITY INDIVIDUAL.—The term 

21 ‘‘coal community individual’’ means an individual— 

22 (A) with a principal residence in a coal 

23 community zone; or 

24 (B) who works in a coal community zone. 

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1 (2) COAL COMMUNITY STUDENT.—The term 

2 ‘‘coal community student’’ means a coal community 

3 individual attending an educational program. 

4 (3) COAL COMMUNITY ZONE.—The term ‘‘coal 

5 community zone’’ has the meaning given the term in 

6 section 1400V–1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 

7 1986, as added by section 101. 

8 (4) COAL-FIRED GENERATOR.—The term ‘‘coal9 fired generator’’ means an electric utility steam gen10 erating unit that burns coal for 50 percent or more 

11 of the average annual heat input. 

12 (5) COAL-RELATED EMPLOYEE.—The term 

13 ‘‘coal-related employee’’ means, with respect to any 

14 county, any individual who— 

15 (A) is employed at a coal mine (as defined 

16 in section 3(h)(2) of the Federal Mine Safety 

17 and Health Act of 1977(30 U.S.C. 802)) in 

18 such county, or 

19 (B) is employed at a coal-fired generator 

20 located in such county by the owner of such 

21 coal-fired generator. 

22 (6) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti23 ty’’ means a partnership between— 

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1 (A)(i) an institution of higher education 

2 (as defined in section 102 of the Higher Edu3 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002)); 

4 (ii) a nonprofit educational organization; 

5 or 

6 (iii) a provider identified under section 122 

7 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity 

8 Act (29 U.S.C. 3152); and 

9 (B) not less than 1 business or industry 

10 that intends to expand or hire additional or new 

11 workers who are coal community individuals or 

12 who previously worked in the coal community 

13 zone. 

14 (7) IN-DEMAND INDUSTRY SECTOR OR OCCUPA15 TIONS.—The term ‘‘in-demand industry sector or oc16 cupation’’ has the meaning given the term in section 

17 3 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 

18 (29 U.S.C. 3102). 

19 (8) LOCAL ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘local 

20 administrator’’ means an entity that— 

21 (A) is— 

22 (i) a local governmental agency; 

23 (ii) a partnership consisting of a local 

24 governmental agency and an institution of 

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1 higher education or a nonprofit organiza2 tion; 

3 (iii) a local board (as defined in sec4 tion 3 of the Workforce Innovation and 

5 Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3102)); 

6 (iv) a State governmental agency; or 

7 (v) a nonprofit organization; and 

8 (B) has been selected by the local govern9 ment of a coal community zone to administer 

10 the individual support account program under 

11 section 202 and the business training fund pro12 gram under section 205, to the extent the local 

13 government elects to apply for grants under ei14 ther such section. 

15 (9) QUALIFYING INDIVIDUAL.—The term 

16 ‘‘qualifying individual’’ means an individual— 

17 (A) whose principal residence is within a 

18 coal community zone; and 

19 (B) whom the local administrator of the 

20 coal community zone determines is in need of 

21 additional education and training in order to 

22 obtain long-term employment at a high wage. 

23 (10) RECOGNIZED POSTSECONDARY CREDEN24 TIAL.—The term ‘‘recognized postsecondary creden25 tial’’ has the meaning given the term in section 3 of 

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1 the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 

2 U.S.C. 3102). 

3 (11) SECRETARIES.—The term ‘‘Secretaries’’ 

4 means the Secretary of Education and the Secretary 

5 of Labor. 

6 SEC. 202. INDIVIDUAL SUPPORT ACCOUNTS. 

7 (a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—For each fiscal year for 

9 which funds are available under subsection (f), the 

10 Secretaries, in accordance with the interagency 

11 agreement described in section 206, shall carry out 

12 a program awarding grants to local administrators 

13 of coal community zones, to enable the local admin14 istrators to use such funds to manage individual 

15 support accounts for qualifying individuals. 

16 (2) DURATION.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—Grants awarded under 

18 paragraph (1) shall be expended for approved 

19 education and training by the last day of the 3- 

20 year period beginning on the award date. 

21 (B) RENEWAL.—The Secretaries may 

22 renew a grant under paragraph (1) once for an 

23 additional 2-year period, if the local adminis24 trator demonstrates that the program under the 

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1 grant has had a record of success and high2 quality outcomes. 

3 (b) APPLICATION.—A local administrator of a coal 

4 community zone desiring funds under this section shall 

5 submit an application to the Secretaries at such time, in 

6 such manner, and containing such information, as the Sec7 retaries may require. Such application shall include— 

8 (1) the number of qualifying individuals in the 

9 community; 

10 (2) a plan for allocating funds to qualifying in11 dividuals; 

12 (3) a description of the providers of education 

13 and training in the community and their outcomes14 based track record of success, including, for such 

15 programs— 

16 (A) the student completion rates of the 

17 programs of education and training; 

18 (B) the employment rates for students 

19 completing the programs of education and 

20 training as of 1 year, 3 years, and 5 years after 

21 the completion of the program; and 

22 (C) the annual salary of students com23 pleting the programs of education and training 

24 as of 1 year, 3 years, and 5 years after comple25 tion of the program; and 

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1 (4) if new eligible education and training pro2 viders are expected to open or expand to the coal 

3 community zone or the local administrator plans to 

4 recruit or encourage new such providers— 

5 (A) a description of such providers; and 

6 (B) evidence to demonstrate such providers 

7 will be high-quality and result in the employ8 ment of a significant percentage of individuals 

9 in high-wage, in demand industries. 

10 (c) DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.—The Secretaries shall 

11 award funds under this section to local administrators 

12 that submit an application under subsection (b) based 

13 on— 

14 (1) the number of people affected by the decline 

15 in employment opportunities for coal-related employ16 ees during the applicable period; 

17 (2) the quality of the providers of education 

18 and training in the community; and 

19 (3) the likelihood that funding will result in em20 ployment in a high-demand, high-wage industry for 

21 coal-related employees or others in the community in 

22 need of additional education and training. 

23 (d) USE OF FUNDS.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—A local administrator receiv25 ing funds under this section for a coal community 

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1 zone shall use such funds to establish individual sup2 port accounts described in paragraph (2) for quali3 fying individuals. 

4 (2) INDIVIDUAL SUPPORT ACCOUNTS.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—Amounts made avail6 able through an individual support account es7 tablished for a qualifying individual shall be 

8 used to pay for education and training costs de9 scribed in paragraph (3) that will prepare the 

10 qualifying individual for long-term, high-wage 

11 employment. 

12 (B) AMOUNT.—For any fiscal year, the 

13 amount provided under this section for an indi14 vidual support account of a qualifying indi15 vidual for a fiscal year shall not exceed the 

16 maximum amount of a Federal Pell Grant for 

17 the most recent award year. 

18 (C) LIMITED FUNDS.—If, for any fiscal 

19 year, the amount of funds provided under this 

20 section to a local administrator for a coal com21 munity zone are not enough to fund individual 

22 support accounts for all qualifying individuals 

23 in the coal community zone requesting such ac24 counts, the local administrator shall give a pri25 ority to qualifying individuals requesting to use 

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1 the account funds for education and training 

2 programs that— 

3 (i) prepare individuals for in-demand 

4 industry sectors or occupations; and 

5 (ii) have strong outcomes based on 

6 the criteria described in subsection 

7 (e)(1)(B). 

8 (3) ELIGIBLE EDUCATION AND TRAINING PRO9 GRAMS.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—Amounts provided in 

11 an individual support account for a qualifying 

12 individual may be used for costs related to a 

13 program of education and training approved by 

14 the local administrator under subparagraph 

15 (B), which may include— 

16 (i) a program offered by an institution 

17 of higher education (as defined in section 

18 102 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

19 (20 U.S.C. 1002)); 

20 (ii) a program of training, including a 

21 program leading to a recognized postsec22 ondary credential, offered by an eligible 

23 provider of training services identified 

24 under section 122 of the Workforce Innomstockstill on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS

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1 vation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 

2 3152); and 

3 (iii) costs (including associated edu4 cation, curriculum, and mentorship costs), 

5 related to an apprenticeship, internship, or 

6 externship— 

7 (I) in an in-demand industry sec8 tor or occupation; or 

9 (II) for a position where there is 

10 a reasonable expectation of long-term 

11 employment. 

12 (B) ADDITIONAL EDUCATION AND TRAIN13 ING PROGRAMS.—A local administrator shall 

14 provide a process through which the adminis15 trator may approve the use of funds in an indi16 vidual support account for education or training 

17 expenses. Through such process, the adminis18 trator shall— 

19 (i) allow a qualified individual to re20 quest the approval of a particular provider 

21 or program of education and training, or a 

22 particular education and training expense, 

23 on an individual basis; 

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1 (ii) before approving a provider, pro2 gram of education or training, or other 

3 education and training expense, consider— 

4 (I) the local industry demands; 

5 (II) the likelihood that an indi6 vidual will be employed following the 

7 completion of the program of edu8 cation or training; and 

9 (III) the quality and effectiveness 

10 of the program of education or train11 ing offered by the provider, based on 

12 the outcomes-based record of success 

13 of the provider, including— 

14 (aa) the student completion 

15 rates of the programs of edu16 cation and training offered by the 

17 provider; 

18 (bb) the employment rates 

19 for students completing the pro20 grams of education and training 

21 as of 1 year, 3 years, and 5 years 

22 after the completion of the pro23 gram; and 

24 (cc) the annual salary of 

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1 grams of education and training 

2 as of 1 year, 3 years, and 5 years 

3 after completion of the program; 

4 and 

5 (iii) make a determination that such 

6 provider is in the best interest of the coal 

7 community zone and the qualifying individ8 uals. 

9 (e) REPORTS.— 

10 (1) LOCAL ADMINISTRATOR REPORTS.—Each 

11 local administrator receiving funds under this sec12 tion for a fiscal year shall, for each such year, pre13 pare and submit a report to the Secretaries that in14 cludes— 

15 (A) a description of the achievements of 

16 the program supported under this section, in17 cluding the program’s levels of performance 

18 achieved with respect to the primary indicators 

19 of performance described in section 

20 116(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Workforce Innovation 

21 and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 

22 3141(b)(2)(A)(i)); 

23 (B) a description of the outcomes-based re24 sults for the programs of training and edu25 cation for which funds were used under this 

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1 section, in the aggregate and individually, in2 cluding— 

3 (i) the student completion rates of the 

4 program of education and training; 

5 (ii) the employment rates for students 

6 completing the program of education and 

7 training as of 1 year, 3 years, and 5 years 

8 after the completion of the program; and 

9 (iii) the annual salary of students 

10 completing the program of education and 

11 training as of 1 year, 3 years, and 5 years 

12 after completion of the program; 

13 (C) the return on investment of funds pro14 vided to individual support accounts under this 

15 section; and 

16 (D) any other information that the Secre17 taries may require. 

18 (2) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Secretaries 

19 shall prepare and submit an annual report to Con20 gress regarding the program supported under this 

21 section. 

22 (3) INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION SCIENCES EVAL23 UATION.—The Director of the Institute of Education 

24 Sciences shall evaluate the effectiveness, quality, and 

25 return in investment of funds under this section. 

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1 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

2 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of 

3 Labor to carry out this section such sums as may be nec4 essary for each of fiscal years 2018 through 2023. 

5 SEC. 203. PRIORITY FOR EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING AC6 TIVITIES FOR QUALIFYING INDIVIDUALS. 

7 (a) REQUIRED LOCAL EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING

8 ACTIVITIES.—Section 134(c) of the Workforce Innovation 

9 and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3174(c)) is amended by 

10 adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(4) PRIORITY INDIVIDUALS.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—With respect to funds 

13 allocated to a local area for adult employment 

14 and training activities under paragraph (2)(A) 

15 or (3) of section 133(b) or for dislocated worker 

16 employment and training activities under sec17 tion 133(b)(2)(B), priority shall be given to pri18 ority individuals for receipt of career services 

19 described in paragraph (2) and training serv20 ices. The appropriate local board and the Gov21 ernor shall direct the one-stop operators in the 

22 local area with regard to making determinations 

23 related to such priority. 

24 ‘‘(B) DEFINITION.—In this paragraph, the 

25 term ‘priority individual’ means a qualifying inmstockstill on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS

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1 dividual, as defined in section 201 of the Coal 

2 Community Empowerment Act of 2017, who is 

3 eligible to receive the service involved under this 

4 subsection.’’. 

5 (b) ALLOWABLE LOCAL EMPLOYMENT AND TRAIN6 ING ACTIVITIES.—Section 134(d) of the Workforce Inno7 vation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3174(d)) is 

8 amended by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(6) PRIORITY INDIVIDUALS.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—With respect to funds 

11 allocated to a local area for adult employment 

12 and training activities under paragraph (2)(A) 

13 or (3) of section 133(b) or for dislocated worker 

14 employment and training activities under sec15 tion 133(b)(2)(B), priority shall be given to pri16 ority individuals for receipt of services described 

17 in paragraphs (1) through (5) of this sub18 section. The appropriate local board and the 

19 Governor shall direct the one-stop operators in 

20 the local area with regard to making determina21 tions related to such priority. 

22 ‘‘(B) DEFINITION.—In this paragraph, the 

23 term ‘priority individual’ means a qualifying in24 dividual, as defined in section 201 of the Coal 

25 Community Empowerment Act of 2017, who is 

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1 eligible to receive the service involved under this 

2 subsection.’’. 

3 SEC. 204. DEVELOPMENT GRANTS. 

4 (a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—From amounts made avail6 able to carry out this section, the Secretaries, in ac7 cordance with the interagency agreement described 

8 in section 206, shall award grants, on a competitive 

9 basis, to eligible entities, to support the eligible enti10 ties in the development, revamping, improvement, or 

11 expansion of programs of education and training for 

12 coal community zones in in-demand industry sectors 

13 or occupations or in industries in local demand. 

14 (2) DURATION.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—A grant awarded under 

16 this section shall be for a period of 3 years. 

17 (B) RENEWAL.—The Secretaries may 

18 renew a grant awarded under section for a sin19 gle 2-year period, if— 

20 (i) the eligible entity demonstrates 

21 that the program under the grant has a 

22 record of success and high-quality out23 comes; and 

24 (ii) the local government or local ad25 ministrator that submitted the demonstramstockstill on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS

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1 tion of application approval under the ini2 tial application under subsection (b)(1)(E) 

3 approves of the renewal. 

4 (b) APPLICATION.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity desiring a 

6 grant under this section shall submit an application 

7 to the Secretaries at such time, in such manner, and 

8 containing such information as the Secretaries may 

9 require, including— 

10 (A) the number of coal community stu11 dents in the coal community zone to be served; 

12 (B) a plan for allocating funds to coal 

13 community students; 

14 (C) a description of the eligible entity’s 

15 track record of success with the programs of 

16 education and training to be supported under 

17 the grant, including— 

18 (i) the student completion rates of the 

19 programs of education and training; 

20 (ii) the employment rates for students 

21 completing the programs of education and 

22 training as of 1 year, 3 years, and 5 years 

23 after the completion of the program; 

24 (D) a demonstration that the eligible entity 

25 is of high quality and will be a benefit to the 

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1 coal community students and the coal commu2 nity zone; 

3 (E) a demonstration of application ap4 proval from the local government of the coal 

5 community zone or, in the case of a coal com6 munity zone receiving a grant under section 

7 202, the local administrator for such grant, in8 cluding a statement that the application and 

9 funds requested under the application is in the 

10 best interest of the coal community zone and 

11 coal community students; and 

12 (F) an assurance that if the program sup13 ported under the grant does not enroll the re14 quired percentage of coal community students 

15 under subsection (c)(1), the eligible entity shall 

16 reimburse the Secretaries, in the amount and 

17 manner described in subsection (d). 

18 (c) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity receiving a 

19 grant under this program shall use such funds for the de20 velopment, revamping, improvement, or expansion of a 

21 high-quality training and education program that— 

22 (1) predominantly serves coal community stu23 dents by ensuring that not less than 75 percent of 

24 the students enrolled in the program are coal com25 munity students; 

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1 (2) provides training in high-wage, high-demand 

2 industries or in industries in local demand; 

3 (3) is free or offered at a very low cost to coal 

4 community students; and 

5 (4) enters into an agreement with each coal 

6 community student that enrolls in the program to 

7 ensure that the eligible entity can obtain the infor8 mation necessary for the report under subsection 

9 (e)(1). 

10 (d) REIMBURSEMENT.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity that does 

12 not enroll the required percentage described in sub13 section (c)(1) shall reimburse the Secretaries in the 

14 amount equal to the product of— 

15 (A) the average per-student cost of the 

16 program; and 

17 (B) the number of additional coal commu18 nity students that would have been needed in 

19 order for the program to meet the 75 percent 

20 coal community student enrollment requirement 

21 under subsection (c)(1). 

22 (2) USE OF REIMBURSED FUNDS.—Any funds 

23 reimbursed to the Secretaries under this subsection 

24 may be used by the Secretaries to award additional 

25 grants under this section. 

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1 (e) REPORTS.— 

2 (1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY REPORT.—Each eligible 

3 entity receiving a grant under this section shall pre4 pare and submit to the Secretaries an annual report 

5 regarding the outcomes of the grant, including— 

6 (A) the number of students, and the num7 ber of coal community students, enrolled in the 

8 program supported under the grant; 

9 (B) the number of students, and the num10 ber of coal community students, completing 

11 such program; 

12 (C) the number of students, and the num13 ber of coal community students, who have com14 pleted such program and who are employed 

15 after completion of such program as of— 

16 (i) 6 months after the date of comple17 tion; 

18 (ii) 1 year after the date of comple19 tion; 

20 (iii) 3 years after the date of comple21 tion; and 

22 (iv) 5 years after the date of comple23 tion; 

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1 (D) the average wage of students, and the 

2 average wage of coal community students, who 

3 have completed such program as of— 

4 (i) 6 months after the date of comple5 tion; 

6 (ii) 1 year after the date of comple7 tion; and 

8 (iii) 3 years after the date of comple9 tion; and 

10 (E) the satisfaction rate of all students, 

11 and the satisfaction rate of coal community stu12 dents, including students who completed the 

13 program and students who did not complete— 

14 (i) 6 months after the date of comple15 tion or leaving the program; 

16 (ii) 1 year after the date of completion 

17 or leaving the program; and 

18 (iii) 3 years after the date of comple19 tion or leaving the program. 

20 (2) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Secretaries 

21 shall prepare and submit an annual report to Con22 gress regarding the grants awarded under this sec23 tion. 

24 (3) INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION SCIENCES EVAL25 UATION.—The Director of the Institute of Education 

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1 Sciences shall evaluate the effectiveness, quality, and 

2 return in investment of grant funds provided under 

3 this section. 

4 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

5 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Edu6 cation to carry out this section such sums as may be nec7 essary for fiscal years 2018 through 2023. 

8 SEC. 205. BUSINESS TRAINING FUNDS. 

9 (a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—From amounts made avail11 able under subsection (e), the Secretaries, in accord12 ance with the interagency agreement under section 

13 206, shall award grants, on a competitive basis, to 

14 local administrators to enable the local administra15 tors to award subgrants under subsection (c) to 

16 businesses to provide in-house training, and future 

17 employment, to coal community individuals. 

18 (2) DURATION.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—A grant awarded under 

20 this section shall be for a 3-year period. 

21 (B) LIMITATION.—A local administrator 

22 may not receive more than 1 grant under this 

23 section. 

24 (b) APPLICATIONS.—A local administrator desiring a 

25 grant under this section shall submit to the Secretaries 

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1 an application at such time, in such manner, and con2 taining such information as the Secretaries may require, 

3 including— 

4 (1) the number of coal community individuals 

5 in the coal community zone to be served; 

6 (2) the number of coal community individuals 

7 that will benefit from the program; 

8 (3) a description of the eligible businesses de9 scribed in subsection (c)(2) that will participate in 

10 the program proposed under the grant, including the 

11 in-demand industry sectors or occupations rep12 resented by the businesses; 

13 (4) the target employment numbers of partici14 pating individuals for the eligible businesses partici15 pating; 

16 (5) a plan for allocating grant funds to busi17 nesses; and 

18 (6) a description of the process through which 

19 the coal community agency will evaluate any re20 quests to waive the employment requirement under 

21 subsection (c)(3)(B). 

22 (c) SUBGRANTS.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each local administrator re24 ceiving a grant under this section shall use grant 

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1 scribed in paragraph (2), to enable the eligible busi2 nesses to provide in-house training to coal commu3 nity individuals in preparation for employment with 

4 or advancement within the eligible businesses. 

5 (2) ELIGIBILITY.—In order to be eligible for a 

6 subgrant under this subsection, a business shall— 

7 (A) be a business located in a coal commu8 nity zone; and 

9 (B) provide an assurance that the business 

10 will hire, for a minimum of one year, each coal 

11 community individual who completes the in12 house training provided under the subgrant or 

13 will reimburse the local administrator in accord14 ance with paragraph (3). 

15 (3) REIMBURSEMENT OF TRAINING FOR EM16 PLOYEES NOT HIRED.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—A business that does 

18 not hire or retain, for a period of not less than 

19 1 year, all coal community individuals who com20 plete the in-house training provided under a 

21 subgrant under this subsection shall reimburse 

22 the local administrator in the amount equal to 

23 the cost of the training provided to such em24 ployee, subject to subparagraph (B). 

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1 (B) WAIVER.—Upon request by a business 

2 receiving a subgrant under this subsection, the 

3 local administrator may waive the reimburse4 ment requirement of subparagraph (A) for a 

5 business if the local administrator determines 

6 that— 

7 (i) the business made substantial ef8 fort to comply with the employment re9 quirement under subparagraph (A); 

10 (ii) hired a significant percentage of 

11 individuals relative to the amount of funds 

12 provided under the grant; or 

13 (iii) the decision made by the business 

14 to not hire or retain an individual was for 

15 cause. 

16 (C) USE OF REIMBURSED FUNDS.—By not 

17 later than 30 days after receiving a reimburse18 ment under paragraph (3)(A), a local adminis19 trator— 

20 (i) shall report the receipt of such 

21 funds to the Secretaries; and 

22 (ii) may apply to the Secretaries for 

23 permission to reallocate the funds received 

24 under this paragraph during the grant pe25 riod. 

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1 (d) REPORTS.— 

2 (1) REPORTS BY BUSINESSES.—Each business 

3 receiving a subgrant under subsection (c) shall pre4 pare and submit an annual report to the local ad5 ministrator regarding the subgrant, including— 

6 (A) the numbers of coal community indi7 viduals— 

8 (i) beginning the training provided 

9 under this section; 

10 (ii) completing such training; 

11 (iii) hired by the business within 3 

12 months of completion; and 

13 (iv) still employed by the business, as 

14 of 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, and 4 years 

15 after the completion of the training; and 

16 (B) the average salary of the coal commu17 nity individuals hired after completing the 

18 training. 

19 (2) REPORTS BY COAL COMMUNITY AGEN20 CIES.—Each local administrator receiving a grant 

21 under this section shall prepare and submit an an22 nual report to the Secretaries regarding the grant 

23 under this section. 

24 (3) REPORT BY SECRETARIES.—The Secretaries 

25 shall prepare and submit an annual report to Conmstockstill on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS

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1 gress regarding the grant program under this sec2 tion that includes the information provided by the 

3 coal community agencies under paragraph (2). 

4 (4) INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION SCIENCES EVAL5 UATION.—The Director of the Institute of Education 

6 Sciences shall evaluate the effectiveness, quality, and 

7 return in investment of grant funds provided under 

8 this section. 

9 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

10 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of 

11 Labor to carry out this section such sums as may be nec12 essary for each of fiscal years 2018 through 2023. 

13 SEC. 206. INTERAGENCY AGREEMENT. 

14 The Secretary of Education and the Secretary of 

15 Labor shall jointly administer the programs under sections 

16 203, 204, and 205 in accordance with such terms as the 

17 Secretaries set forth in an interagency agreement. Such 

18 interagency agreement shall include, at a minimum and 

19 for each such program— 

20 (1) a description of the respective roles and re21 sponsibilities of the Secretaries (both jointly and 

22 separately); and 

23 (2) provisions establishing that, for each of the 

24 programs under such sections, the Secretary to 

25 whom funds are authorized to be appropriated under 

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1 section 202(f), 204(f), or 205(e) shall have fiscal au2 thority over the program carried out under such sec3 tion and will be responsible for the obligation and 

4 disbursement of such funds. 

Æ 

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