II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2258 

To direct the Secretary of the Interior to establish a Parks, Jobs, and 

Equity Program to support job creation, economic revitalization, and 

park development for communities impacted by COVID–19. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 24, 2021 

Mr. HICKENLOOPER (for himself, Mr. PADILLA, Ms. DUCKWORTH, Mr. 

BLUMENTHAL, and Mr. VAN HOLLEN) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of the Interior to establish a Parks, 

Jobs, and Equity Program to support job creation, economic revitalization, and park development for communities impacted by COVID–19. 

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 ‘‘Parks, Jobs, and Eq5 uity Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 


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1 (1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti2 ty’’ means— 

3 (A) a city or town of a State or territory 

4 of the United States, or an Indian Tribe, 

5 that— 

6 (i) represents or otherwise serves a 

7 qualifying urban area; or 

8 (ii) has a population of 30,000 or 

9 more in the most recent census; 

10 (B) a special purpose district serving— 

11 (i) a qualifying urban area; or 

12 (ii) a city or town with a population 

13 of 30,000 or more in the most recent cen14 sus and managing open space for public 

15 recreation; and 

16 (C) the District of Columbia. 

17 (2) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 

18 has the meaning given that term in section 4 of the 

19 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

20 Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 

21 (3) LOW-INCOME COMMUNITY.—The term ‘‘low22 income community’’ means any census block group 

23 in which 51 percent or more households have an an24 nual income equal at or below 80 percent of the me25 dian income of the area in which the household is 


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1 located, as reported by the Department of Housing 

2 and Urban Development. 

3 (4) PARKS, JOBS AND EQUITY PROGRAM.—The 

4 term ‘‘Parks, Jobs, and Equity Program’’ means the 

5 program established under section 3(a). 

6 (5) POVERTY LEVEL.—The term ‘‘poverty 

7 level’’ means the income poverty guidelines for the 

8 nonfarm population of the United States, as pre9 scribed by the Office of Management and Budget. 

10 (6) QUALIFYING URBAN AREA.—The term 

11 ‘‘qualifying urban area’’ means an area identified by 

12 the Census Bureau as an area with a population of 

13 30,000 or more in the most recent census. 

14 (7) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

15 the Secretary of the Interior. 

16 SEC. 3. GRANTS AUTHORIZED. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish the 

18 Parks, Jobs, and Equity Program to support park devel19 opment and delivery of recreation services, and in so 

20 doing, help create or preserve jobs, and provide economic 

21 stimulus in communities impacted by COVID–19. 

22 (b) FUNDING.—The Secretary, acting through the 

23 Parks, Jobs, and Equity Program, shall provide funding 

24 to States, territories, the District of Columbia, and Indian 

25 Tribes according to the following formula: 


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1 (1) 49 percent divided equally among the 

2 States. For the purposes of this paragraph, the Dis3 trict of Columbia and the territories of the United 

4 States shall collectively be treated as a single State 

5 and shall receive shares of apportionment in propor6 tion to qualifying urban areas. 

7 (2) 49 percent divided proportionally among 

8 States based on each State’s share of urban popu9 lation, as defined by the Census Bureau, to the total 

10 urban population of the United States, based on the 

11 most recent census. 

12 (3) 2 percent for competitive grants to be 

13 awarded by the Secretary to Indian Tribes that 

14 qualify as an eligible entity. 

15 SEC. 4. ALLOCATION. 

16 (a) AMOUNTS TO STATES, TERRITORIES, AND THE

17 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.—The Governor of a State or ter18 ritory (or a designated liaison officer) or the Mayor of the 

19 District of Columbia shall distribute funds provided to the 

20 State, territory, or District of Columbia under this Act 

21 as follows: 

22 (1) Not less than 50 percent of funds shall be 

23 provided to eligible entities for eligible uses that ben24 efit a low-income community. 


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1 (2) Funds to eligible entities shall be not less 

2 than $50,000 and not more than $1,000,000. 

3 (3) Not more than 2.5 percent of funds may be 

4 used for administrative expenses of the State, terri5 tory, or the District of Columbia. 

6 (4) Not more than 10 percent of funds provided 

7 to an eligible entity may be used for administrative 

8 expenses. 

9 (b) AMOUNTS TO INDIAN TRIBES.— 

10 (1) AMOUNT.—Grant amounts under this Act 

11 to an eligible Indian Tribe shall be not less than 

12 $50,000 and not more than $1,000,000. 

13 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—An Indian 

14 Tribe may not retain more than 10 percent of each 

15 grant received under this Act for administrative ex16 penses. 

17 (c) TIMING.— 

18 (1) DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.—The Secretary 

19 shall distribute funds made available to carry out 

20 this Act not more than 45 days after such funds are 

21 made available to the Secretary. 

22 (2) APPLICATION PROCEDURES.—The Gov23 ernors or Executive Officers of States and territories 

24 and the governing body of each Indian Tribe shall— 


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1 (A) devise accelerated application proce2 dures by which eligible entities may apply for 

3 funds under this Act; 

4 (B) inform eligible entities and low-income 

5 communities about the opportunity to apply for 

6 funds under this Act, the application proce7 dures by which eligible entities may apply for 

8 funds, and the eligible uses for funding; 

9 (C) distribute funds to eligible entities not 

10 later than 180 days after distribution from the 

11 Secretary; and 

12 (D) direct each eligible entity that receives 

13 funds under this Act to spend such funds not 

14 later than 2 years after the funds are made 

15 available to that eligible entity. 

16 (3) EXTENSION.—Governors and Executive Of17 ficers of a State or territory and the governing body 

18 of an Indian Tribe may grant extensions of the 

19 deadlines in this subsection for not more than 180 

20 additional days for good cause shown. 

21 SEC. 5. ELIGIBLE USES. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—A grant recipient may use a grant 

23 awarded under this Act— 


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1 (1) to acquire land or water that will be used 

2 to provide outdoor recreation opportunities to the 

3 public; 

4 (2) to develop or renovate outdoor recreational 

5 facilities that provide outdoor recreation opportuni6 ties to the public; 

7 (3) to improve delivery of recreation services to 

8 the public (including supporting park personnel, 

9 training, recreation programming, and purchase of 

10 recreation equipment and supplies); and 

11 (4) to develop native event sites and cultural 

12 gathering spaces. 

13 (b) PRIORITIES.—Priority shall be given to projects 

14 that— 

15 (1) create or significantly enhance park and 

16 recreational opportunities for a community in a 

17 qualifying urban area that lacks parks and/or out18 door recreation areas within one-half mile or a 10- 

19 minute walk; 

20 (2) improve outdoor recreation opportunities for 

21 high-need populations based on income, age, or other 

22 measures of vulnerability and need; 

23 (3) provide opportunities for employment or job 

24 training either in park construction or rehabilitation 

25 or delivery of recreation services; 


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1 (4) engage and empower underserved commu2 nities and youth; and 

3 (5) take advantage of coordination among var4 ious levels of government. 

5 (c) LIMITATIONS ON USE.—A grant recipient may 

6 not use grant funds for— 

7 (1) maintenance activities; 

8 (2) facilities that support semiprofessional or 

9 professional athletics; 

10 (3) indoor facilities such as recreation centers 

11 or facilities that support primarily nonoutdoor pur12 poses; 

13 (4) activities that are not in accordance with 

14 Comprehensive State Plans under section 200305 of 

15 title 54, United States Code; or 

16 (5) acquisition of land or interests in land that 

17 restrict access to specific persons. 

18 SEC. 6. REPORTING. 

19 (a) REQUIREMENT.—Each year that a State or Ter20 ritory that receives a grant under this Act shall submit 

21 to the Secretary performance and financial reports that— 

22 (1) summarize the status of and activities con23 ducted under each subgrant during the report pe24 riod; and 


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1 (2) provide a description of each subgrant 

2 project’s accomplishments and impact during the re3 port period, such as new park access opportunities, 

4 new recreation opportunities (facilities and services), 

5 jobs created, and other community benefits. 

6 (b) AVAILABILITY TO CONGRESS.—The Secretary 

7 shall make such reports submitted under subsection (a) 

8 available to the House Committee on Natural Resources 

9 and Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. 

10 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

11 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec12 retary for the purposes of this Act, $500,000,000, to re13 main available until expended. 

Æ 


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