Calendar No. 511

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 88

[Report No. 104–331]

A BILL

To increase the overall economy and efficiency of

flexibility plans.ance programs in accordance with approved localamounts available under certain Federal assistments and private, nonprofit organizations to useuse of Federal funding, by enabling local governGovernment operations and enable more efficient

JULY 23, 1996

Reported with an amendment and an amendment to the

title
II

Calendar No. 511

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 88

[Report No. 104–331]

To increase the overall economy and efficiency of Government operations

and enable more efficient use of Federal funding, by enabling local

governments and private, nonprofit organizations to use amounts available under certain Federal assistance programs in accordance with approved local flexibility plans.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JANUARY 4, 1995

Mr. HATFIELD (for himself and Mr. INHOFE ) introduced the following bill;

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Governmental Affairs

JULY 23, 1996

Reported by Mr. STEVENS, with an amendment and an amendment to the title

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]

A BILL

To increase the overall economy and efficiency of Government

operations and enable more efficient use of Federal funding, by enabling local governments and private, nonprofit

organizations to use amounts available under certain

Federal assistance programs in accordance with approved

local flexibility plans.
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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 ‘‘Local Empowerment

5 and Flexibility Act of 1995’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 The Congress finds that—

8 (1) historically, Federal programs have ad9 dressed the Nation’s problems by providing categor10 ical financial assistance with detailed requirements

11 relating to the use of funds;

12 (2) while the assistance described in paragraph

13 (1) has been directed at critical problems, some pro14 gram requirements may inadvertently impede the ef15 fective delivery of services;

16 (3) the Nation’s local governments and private,

17 nonprofit organizations are dealing with increasingly

18 complex problems which require the delivery of many

19 kinds of services;

20 (4) the Nation’s communities are diverse, and

21 different needs are present in different communities;

22 (5) it is more important than ever to provide

23 programs that—
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1 (A) promote more effective and efficient

2 local delivery of services to meet the full range

3 of needs of individuals, families, and society;

4 (B) respond flexibly to the diverse needs of

5 the Nation’s communities;

6 (C) reduce the barriers between programs

7 that impede local governments’ ability to effec8 tively deliver services; and

9 (D) empower local governments and pri10 vate, nonprofit organizations to be innovative in

11 creating programs that meet the unique needs

12 of their communities while continuing to ad13 dress national policy goals; and

14 (6) many communities have innovative planning

15 and community involvement strategies for providing

16 services, but Federal, State, and local regulations

17 often hamper full implementation of local plans.

18 SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

19 The purposes of this Act are to—

20 (1) enable more efficient use of Federal, State,

21 and local resources;

22 (2) place less emphasis in Federal service pro23 grams on measuring resources and procedures and

24 more emphasis on achieving Federal, State, and

25 local policy goals;
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1 (3) enable local governments and private, non2 profit organizations to adapt programs of Federal fi3 nancial assistance to the particular needs of their

4 communities, by—

5 (A) drawing upon appropriations available

6 from more than one Federal program; and

7 (B) integrating programs and program

8 funds across existing Federal financial assist9 ance categories; and

10 (4) enable local governments and private, non11 profit organizations to work together and build

12 stronger cooperative partnerships to address critical

13 service problems.

14 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

15 For purposes of this Act—

16 (1) the term ‘‘approved local flexibility plan’’

17 means a local flexibility plan that combines funds

18 from Federal, State, local government or private

19 sources to address the service needs of a community

20 (or any part of such a plan) that is approved by the

21 Flexibility Council under section 5;

22 (2) the term ‘‘community advisory committee’’

23 means such a committee established by a local gov24 ernment under section 9;
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1 (3) the term ‘‘Flexibility Council’’ means the

2 council composed of the—

3 (A) Assistant to the President for Domes4 tic Policy;

5 (B) Assistant to the President for Eco6 nomic Policy;

7 (C) Secretary of the Treasury;

8 (D) Attorney General;

9 (E) Secretary of the Interior;

10 (F) Secretary of Agriculture;

11 (G) Secretary of Commerce;

12 (H) Secretary of Labor;

13 (I) Secretary of Health and Human Serv14 ices;

15 (J) Secretary of Housing and Urban De16 velopment;

17 (K) Secretary of Transportation;

18 (L) Secretary of Education;

19 (M) Secretary of Energy;

20 (N) Secretary of Veterans Affairs;

21 (O) Secretary of Defense;

22 (P) Director of Federal Emergency Man23 agement Agency;

24 (Q) Administrator of the Environmental

25 Protection Agency;
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1 (R) Director of National Drug Control

2 Policy;

3 (S) Administrator of the Small Business

4 Administration;

5 (T) Director of the Office of Management

6 and Budget; and

7 (U) Chair of the Council of Economic Ad8 visers.

9 (4) the term ‘‘covered Federal financial assist10 ance program’’ means an eligible Federal financial

11 assistance program that is included in a local flexi12 bility plan of a local government;

13 (5) the term ‘‘eligible Federal financial assist14 ance program’’—

15 (A) means a Federal program under which

16 financial assistance is available, directly or indi17 rectly, to a local government or a qualified or18 ganization to carry out the specified program;

19 and

20 (B) does not include a Federal program

21 under which financial assistance is provided by

22 the Federal Government directly to a bene23 ficiary of that financial assistance or to a State

24 as a direct payment to an individual;
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1 (6) the term ‘‘eligible local government’’ means

2 a local government that is eligible to receive finan3 cial assistance under 1 or more covered Federal pro4 grams;

5 (7) the term ‘‘local flexibility plan’’ means a

6 comprehensive plan for the integration and adminis7 tration by a local government of financial assistance

8 provided by the Federal Government under 2 or

9 more eligible Federal financial assistance programs;

10 (8) the term ‘‘local government’’ means a sub11 division of a State that is a unit of general local gov12 ernment (as defined under section 6501 of title 31,

13 United States Code);

14 (9) the term ‘‘priority funding’’ means giving

15 higher priority (including by the assignment of extra

16 points, if applicable) to applications for Federal fi17 nancial assistance submitted by a local government

18 having an approved local flexibility program, by—

19 (A) a person located in the jurisdiction of

20 such a government; or

21 (B) a qualified organization eligible for as22 sistance under a covered Federal financial as23 sistance program included in such a plan;

24 (10) the term ‘‘qualified organization’’ means a

25 private, nonprofit organization described in section
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1 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 that

2 is exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of the

3 Internal Revenue Code of 1986; and

4 (11) the term ‘‘State’’ means the 50 States, the

5 District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, American Samoa,

6 Guam, and the Virgin Islands.

7 SEC. 5. PROVISION OF FEDERAL FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE IN

8 ACCORDANCE WITH APPROVED LOCAL

9 FLEXIBILITY PLAN.

10 (a) PAYMENTS TO LOCAL GOVERNMENTS.—Notwith11 standing any other provision of law, amounts available to

12 a local government or a qualified organization under a cov13 ered Federal financial assistance program included in an

14 approved local flexibility plan shall be provided to and

15 used by the local government or organization in accord16 ance with the approved local flexibility plan.

17 (b) ELIGIBILITY FOR BENEFITS.—An individual or

18 family that is eligible for benefits or services under a cov19 ered Federal financial assistance program included in an

20 approved local flexibility plan may receive those benefits

21 only in accordance with the approved local flexibility plan.
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1 SEC. 6. APPLICATION FOR APPROVAL OF LOCAL FLEXIBIL2 ITY PLAN.

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—A local government may submit

4 to the Flexibility Council in accordance with this section

5 an application for approval of a local flexibility plan.

6 (b) CONTENTS OF APPLICATION.—An application

7 submitted under this section shall include—

8 (1)(A) a proposed local flexibility plan that

9 complies with subsection (c); or

10 (B) a strategic plan submitted in application

11 for designation as an enterprise community or an

12 empowerment zone under section 1391 of the Inter13 nal Revenue Code of 1986;

14 (2) certification by the chief executive of the

15 local government, and such additional assurances as

16 may be required by the Flexibility Council, that—

17 (A) the local government has the ability

18 and authority to implement the proposed plan,

19 directly or through contractual or other ar20 rangements, throughout the geographic area in

21 which the proposed plan is intended to apply;

22 and

23 (B) amounts are available from non-Fed24 eral sources to pay the non-Federal share of all

25 covered Federal financial assistance programs

26 included in the proposed plan; and
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1 (3) any comments on the proposed plan submit2 ted under subsection (d) by the Governor of the

3 State in which the local government is located;

4 (4) public comments on the plan including the

5 transcript of at least 1 public hearing and comments

6 of the appropriate community advisory committee

7 established under section 9; and

8 (5) other relevant information the Flexibility

9 Council may require to approve the proposed plan.

10 (c) CONTENTS OF PLAN.—A local flexibility plan sub11 mitted by a local government under this section shall in12 clude—

13 (1) the geographic area to which the plan ap14 plies and the rationale for defining the area;

15 (2) the particular groups of individuals, by serv16 ice needs, economic circumstances, or other defining

17 factors, who shall receive services and benefits under

18 the plan;

19 (3)(A) specific goals and measurable perform20 ance criteria, a description of how the plan is ex21 pected to attain those goals and criteria;

22 (B) a description of how performance shall be

23 measured; and
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1 (C) a system for the comprehensive evaluation

2 of the impact of the plan on participants, the com3 munity, and program costs;

4 (4) the eligible Federal financial assistance pro5 grams to be included in the plan as covered Federal

6 financial assistance programs and the specific bene7 fits that shall be provided under the plan under such

8 programs, including—

9 (A) criteria for determining eligibility for

10 benefits under the plan;

11 (B) the services available;

12 (C) the amounts and form (such as cash,

13 in-kind contributions, or financial instruments)

14 of nonservice benefits; and

15 (D) any other descriptive information the

16 Flexibility Council considers necessary to ap17 prove the plan;

18 (5) except for the requirements under section

19 8(b)(3), any Federal statutory or regulatory require20 ment applicable under a covered Federal financial

21 assistance program included in the plan, the waiver

22 of which is necessary to implement the plan;

23 (6) fiscal control and related accountability pro24 cedures applicable under the plan;
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1 (7) a description of the sources of all non-Fed2 eral funds that are required to carry out covered

3 Federal financial assistance programs included in

4 the plan;

5 (8) written consent from each qualified organi6 zation for which consent is required under section

7 6(b)(2); and

8 (9) other relevant information the Flexibility

9 Council may require to approve the plan.

10 (d) PROCEDURE FOR APPLYING.—(1) To apply for

11 approval of a local flexibility plan, a local government shall

12 submit an application in accordance with this section to

13 the Governor of the State in which the local government

14 is located.

15 (2) A Governor who receives an application from a

16 local government under paragraph (1) may, by no later

17 than 30 days after the date of that receipt—

18 (A) prepare comments on the proposed local

19 flexibility plan included in the application;

20 (B) describe any State laws which are necessary

21 to waive for successful implementation of a local

22 plan; and

23 (C) submit the application and comments to the

24 Flexibility Council.
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1 (3) If a Governor fails to act within 30 days after

2 receiving an application under paragraph (2), the applica3 ble local government may submit the application to the

4 Flexibility Council.

5 SEC. 7. REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF LOCAL FLEXIBILITY

6 PLANS.

7 (a) REVIEW OF APPLICATIONS.—Upon receipt of an

8 application for approval of a local flexibility plan under

9 this Act, the Flexibility Council shall—

10 (1) approve or disapprove all or part of the plan

11 within 45 days after receipt of the application;

12 (2) notify the applicant in writing of that ap13 proval or disapproval by not later than 15 days after

14 the date of that approval or disapproval; and

15 (3) in the case of any disapproval of a plan, in16 clude a written justification of the reasons for dis17 approval in the notice of disapproval sent to the ap18 plicant.

19 (b) APPROVAL.—(1) The Flexibility Council may ap20 prove a local flexibility plan for which an application is

21 submitted under this Act, or any part of such a plan, if

22 a majority of members of the Council determines that—

23 (A) the plan or part shall improve the effective24 ness and efficiency of providing benefits under cov25 ered Federal programs included in the plan by re-
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1 ducing administrative inflexibility, duplication, and

2 unnecessary expenditures;

3 (B) the applicant local government has ade4 quately considered, and the plan or part of the plan

5 appropriately addresses, any effect that administra6 tion of each covered Federal program under the plan

7 or part of the plan shall have on administration of

8 the other covered Federal programs under that plan

9 or part of the plan;

10 (C) the applicant local government has or is de11 veloping data bases, planning, and evaluation proc12 esses that are adequate for implementing the plan or

13 part of the plan;

14 (D) the plan shall more effectively achieve Fed15 eral financial assistance goals at the local level and

16 shall better meet the needs of local citizens;

17 (E) implementation of the plan or part of the

18 plan shall adequately achieve the purposes of this

19 Act and of each covered Federal financial assistance

20 program under the plan or part of the plan;

21 (F) the plan and the application for approval of

22 the plan comply with the requirements of this Act;

23 (G) the plan or part of the plan is adequate to

24 ensure that individuals and families that receive ben25 efits under covered Federal financial assistance pro-
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1 grams included in the plan or part shall continue to

2 receive benefits that meet the needs intended to be

3 met under the program; and

4 (H) the local government has—

5 (i) waived the corresponding local laws nec6 essary for implementation of the plan; and

7 (ii) sought any necessary waivers from the

8 State.

9 (2) The Flexibility Council may not approve any part

10 of a local flexibility plan if—

11 (A) implementation of that part would result in

12 any increase in the total amount of obligations or

13 outlays of discretionary appropriations or direct

14 spending under covered Federal financial assistance

15 programs included in that part, over the amounts of

16 such obligations and outlays that would occur under

17 those programs without implementation of the part;

18 or

19 (B) in the case of a plan or part that applies

20 to assistance to a qualified organization under an el21 igible Federal financial assistance program, the

22 qualified organization does not consent in writing to

23 the receipt of that assistance in accordance with the

24 plan.
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1 (3) The Flexibility Council shall disapprove a part of

2 a local flexibility plan if a majority of the Council dis3 approves that part of the plan based on a failure of the

4 part to comply with paragraph (1).

5 (4) In approving any part of a local flexibility plan,

6 the Flexibility Council shall specify the period during

7 which the part is effective. An approved local flexibility

8 plan shall not be effective after the date of the termination

9 of effectiveness of this Act under section 13.

10 (5) Disapproval by the Flexibility Council of any part

11 of a local flexibility plan submitted by a local government

12 under this Act shall not affect the eligibility of a local gov13 ernment, a qualified organization, or any individual for

14 benefits under any Federal program.

15 (c) MEMORANDA OF UNDERSTANDING.—(1) The

16 Flexibility Council may not approve a part of a local flexi17 bility plan unless each local government and each qualified

18 organization that would receive financial assistance under

19 the plan enters into a memorandum of understanding

20 under this subsection with the Flexibility Council.

21 (2) A memorandum of understanding under this sub22 section shall specify all understandings that have been

23 reached by the Flexibility Council, the local government,

24 and each qualified organization that is subject to a local

25 flexibility plan, regarding the approval and implementa-
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1 tion of all parts of a local flexibility plan that are the sub2 ject of the memorandum, including understandings with

3 respect to—

4 (A) all requirements under covered Federal fi5 nancial assistance programs that are to be waived by

6 the Flexibility Council under section 8(b);

7 (B)(i) the total amount of Federal funds that

8 shall be provided as benefits under or used to ad9 minister covered Federal financial assistance pro10 grams included in those parts; or

11 (ii) a mechanism for determining that amount,

12 including specification of the total amount of Fed13 eral funds that shall be provided or used under each

14 covered Federal financial assistance program in15 cluded in those parts;

16 (C) the sources of all non-Federal funds that

17 shall be provided as benefits under or used to ad18 minister those parts;

19 (D) measurable performance criteria that shall

20 be used during the term of those parts to determine

21 the extent to which the goals and performance levels

22 of the parts are achieved; and

23 (E) the data to be collected to make that deter24 mination.
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1 (d) LIMITATION ON CONFIDENTIALITY REQUIRE2 MENTS.—The Flexibility Council may not, as a condition

3 of approval of any part of a local flexibility plan or with

4 respect to the implementation of any part of an approved

5 local flexibility plan, establish any confidentiality require6 ment that would—

7 (1) impede the exchange of information needed

8 for the design or provision of benefits under the

9 parts; or

10 (2) conflict with law.

11 SEC. 8. IMPLEMENTATION OF APPROVED LOCAL FLEXIBIL12 ITY PLANS; WAIVER OF REQUIREMENTS.

13 (a) PAYMENTS AND ADMINISTRATION IN ACCORD14 ANCE WITH PLAN.—Notwithstanding any other law, any

15 benefit that is provided under a covered Federal financial

16 assistance program included in an approved local flexibil17 ity plan shall be paid and administered in the manner

18 specified in the approved local flexibility plan.

19 (b) WAIVER OF REQUIREMENTS.—(1) Notwithstand20 ing any other law and subject to paragraphs (2) and (3),

21 the Flexibility Council may waive any requirement applica22 ble under Federal law to the administration of, or provi23 sion of benefits under, any covered Federal assistance pro24 gram included in an approved local flexibility plan, if that

25 waiver is—
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1 (A) reasonably necessary for the implementa2 tion of the plan; and

3 (B) approved by a majority of members of the

4 Flexibility Council.

5 (2) The Flexibility Council may not waive a require6 ment under this subsection unless the Council finds that

7 waiver of the requirement shall not result in a qualitative

8 reduction in services or benefits for any individual or fam9 ily that is eligible for benefits under a covered Federal fi10 nancial assistance program.

11 (3) The Flexibility Council may not waive any re12 quirement under this subsection—

13 (A) that enforces any constitutional or statu14 tory right of an individual, including any right

15 under—

16 (i) title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

17 (42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.);

18 (ii) section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of

19 1973 (29 U.S.C. 701 et seq.);

20 (iii) title IX of the Education Amendments

21 of 1972 (86 Stat. 373 et seq.);

22 (iv) the Age Discrimination Act of 1975

23 (42 U.S.C. 6101 et seq.); or

24 (v) the Americans with Disabilities Act of

25 1990;
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1 (B) for payment of a non-Federal share of

2 funding of an activity under a covered Federal fi3 nancial assistance program; or

4 (C) for grants received on a maintenance of ef5 fort basis.

6 (c) SPECIAL ASSISTANCE.—To the extent permitted

7 by law, the head of each Federal agency shall seek to pro8 vide special assistance to a local government or qualified

9 organization to support implementation of an approved

10 local flexibility plan, including expedited processing, prior11 ity funding, and technical assistance.

12 (d) EVALUATION AND TERMINATION.—(1) A local

13 government, in accordance with regulations issued by the

14 Flexibility Council, shall—

15 (A) submit such reports on and cooperate in

16 such audits of the implementation of its approved

17 local flexibility plan; and

18 (B) periodically evaluate the effect implementa19 tion of the plan has had on—

20 (i) individuals who receive benefits under

21 the plan;

22 (ii) communities in which those individuals

23 live; and
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1 (iii) costs of administering covered Federal

2 financial assistance programs included in the

3 plan.

4 (2) No later than 90 days after the end of the 1-

5 year period beginning on the date of the approval by the

6 Flexibility Council of an approved local flexibility plan of

7 a local government, and annually thereafter, the local gov8 ernment shall submit to the Flexibility Council a report

9 on the principal activities and achievements under the plan

10 during the period covered by the report, comparing those

11 achievements to the goals and performance criteria in12 cluded in the plan under section 6(c)(3).

13 (3)(A) The Flexibility Council may terminate the ef14 fectiveness of an approved local flexibility plan, if the

15 Flexibility Council, after consultation with the head of

16 each Federal agency responsible for administering a cov17 ered Federal financial assistance program included in

18 such, determines—

19 (i) that the goals and performance criteria in20 cluded in the plan under section 6(c)(3) have not

21 been met; and

22 (ii) after considering any experiences gained in

23 implementation of the plan, that those goals and cri24 teria are sound.
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1 (B) In terminating the effectiveness of an approved

2 local flexibility plan under this paragraph, the Flexibility

3 Council shall allow a reasonable period of time for appro4 priate Federal, State, and local agencies and qualified or5 ganizations to resume administration of Federal programs

6 that are covered Federal financial assistance programs in7 cluded in the plan.

8 (e) FINAL REPORT; EXTENSION OF PLANS.—(1) No

9 later than 45 days after the end of the effective period

10 of an approved local flexibility plan of a local government,

11 or at any time that the local government determines that

12 the plan has demonstrated its worth, the local government

13 shall submit to the Flexibility Council a final report on

14 its implementation of the plan, including a full evaluation

15 of the successes and shortcomings of the plan and the ef16 fects of that implementation on individuals who receive

17 benefits under those programs.

18 (2) The Flexibility Council may extend the effective

19 period of an approved local flexibility plan for such period

20 as may be appropriate, based on the report of a local gov21 ernment under paragraph (1).

22 SEC. 9. COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEES.

23 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—A local government that ap24 plies for approval of a local flexibility plan under this Act
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1 shall establish a community advisory committee in accord2 ance with this section.

3 (b) FUNCTIONS.—A community advisory committee

4 shall advise a local government in the development and

5 implementation of its local flexibility plan, including advice

6 with respect to—

7 (1) conducting public hearings; and

8 (2) reviewing and commenting on all commu9 nity policies, programs, and actions under the plan

10 which affect low income individuals and families,

11 with the purpose of ensuring maximum coordination

12 and responsiveness of the plan in providing benefits

13 under the plan to those individuals and families.

14 (c) MEMBERSHIP.—The membership of a community

15 advisory committee shall—

16 (1) consist of—

17 (A) persons with leadership experience in

18 the private and voluntary sectors;

19 (B) local elected officials;

20 (C) representatives of participating quali21 fied organizations; and

22 (D) the general public; and

23 (2) include individuals and representatives of

24 community organizations who shall help to enhance
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1 the leadership role of the local government in devel2 oping a local flexibility plan.

3 (d) OPPORTUNITY FOR REVIEW AND COMMENT BY

4 COMMITTEE.—Before submitting an application for ap5 proval of a final proposed local flexibility plan, a local gov6 ernment shall submit the final proposed plan for review

7 and comment by a community advisory committee estab8 lished by the local government.

9 (e) COMMITTEE REVIEW OF REPORTS.—Before sub10 mitting annual or final reports on an approved Federal

11 assistance plan, a local government or private nonprofit

12 organization shall submit the report for review and com13 ment to the community advisory committee.

14 SEC. 10. TECHNICAL AND OTHER ASSISTANCE.

15 (a) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—(1) The Flexibility

16 Council may provide, or direct that the head of a Federal

17 agency provide, technical assistance to a local government

18 or qualified organization in developing information nec19 essary for the design or implementation of a local flexibil20 ity plan.

21 (2) Assistance may be provided under this subsection

22 if a local government makes a request that includes, in

23 accordance with requirements established by the Flexibil24 ity Council—
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1 (A) a description of the local flexibility plan the

2 local government proposes to develop;

3 (B) a description of the groups of individuals to

4 whom benefits shall be provided under covered Fed5 eral assistance programs included in the plan; and

6 (C) such assurances as the Flexibility Council

7 may require that—

8 (i) in the development of the application to

9 be submitted under this title for approval of the

10 plan, the local government shall provide ade11 quate opportunities to participate to—

12 (I) individuals and families that shall

13 receive benefits under covered Federal fi14 nancial assistance programs included in

15 the plan; and

16 (II) governmental agencies that ad17 minister those programs; and

18 (ii) the plan shall be developed after con19 sidering fully—

20 (I) needs expressed by those individ21 uals and families;

22 (II) community priorities; and

23 (III) available governmental resources

24 in the geographic area to which the plan

25 shall apply.
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1 (b) DETAILS TO COUNCIL.—At the request of the

2 Flexibility Council and with the approval of an agency

3 head who is a member of the Council, agency staff may

4 be detailed to the Flexibility Council on a nonreimbursable

5 basis.

6 SEC. 11. FLEXIBILITY COUNCIL.

7 (a) FUNCTIONS.—The Flexibility Council shall—

8 (1) receive, review, and approve or disapprove

9 local flexibility plans for which approval is sought

10 under this Act;

11 (2) upon request from an applicant for such ap12 proval, direct the head of an agency that administers

13 a covered Federal financial assistance program

14 under which substantial Federal financial assistance

15 would be provided under the plan to provide tech16 nical assistance to the applicant;

17 (3) monitor the progress of development and

18 implementation of local flexibility plans;

19 (4) perform such other functions as are as20 signed to the Flexibility Council by this Act; and

21 (5) issue regulations to implement this Act

22 within 180 days after the date of its enactment.

23 (b) REPORTS.—No less than 18 months after the

24 date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter,

25 the Flexibility Council shall submit a report on the 5 Fed-
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1 eral regulations that are most frequently waived by the

2 Flexibility Council for local governments with approved

3 local flexibility plans to the President and the Congress.

4 The President shall review the report and determine

5 whether to amend or terminate such Federal regulations.

6 SEC. 12. REPORT.

7 No later than 54 months after the date of the enact8 ment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United

9 States shall submit to the Congress, a report that—

10 (1) describes the extent to which local govern11 ments have established and implemented approved

12 local flexibility plans;

13 (2) evaluates the effectiveness of covered Fed14 eral assistance programs included in approved local

15 flexibility plans; and

16 (3) includes recommendations with respect to

17 local flexibility.

18 SEC. 13. CONDITIONAL TERMINATION.

19 This Act is repealed on the date that is 5 years after

20 the date of the enactment of this Act unless extended by

21 the Congress through the enactment of the resolution de22 scribed under section 14.
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1 SEC. 14. JOINT RESOLUTION FOR THE CONTINUATION AND

2 EXPANSION OF LOCAL FLEXIBILITY PRO3 GRAMS.

4 (a) DESCRIPTION OF RESOLUTION.—A resolution re5 ferred to under section 13 is a joint resolution the matter

6 after the resolving clause is as follows: ‘‘That Congress

7 approves the application of local flexibility plans to all

8 local governments in the United States in accordance with

9 the Local Empowerment and Flexibility Act of 1995, and

10 that—

11 ‘‘(1) if the provisions of such Act have not been

12 repealed under section 13 of such Act, such provi13 sions shall remain in effect; and

14 ‘‘(2) if the repeal under section 13 of such Act

15 has taken effect, the provisions of such Act shall be

16 effective as though such provisions had not been re17 pealed.’’.

18 (b) INTRODUCTION.—No later than 30 days after the

19 transmittal by the Comptroller General of the United

20 States to the Congress of the report required in section

21 12, a resolution as described under subsection (a) shall

22 be introduced in the Senate by the chairman of the Com23 mittee on Governmental Affairs, or by a Member or Mem24 bers of the Senate designated by such chairman, and shall

25 be introduced in the House of Representatives by the

26 Chairman of the Committee on Government Operations,
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1 or by a Member or Members of the House of Representa2 tives designated by such chairman.

3 (c) REFERRAL.—A resolution as described under sub4 section (a) shall be referred to the Committee on Govern5 mental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Gov6 ernment Operations of the House of Representatives. The

7 committee shall make its recommendations to the Senate

8 or House of Representatives within 30 calendar days of

9 the date of such resolution’s introduction.

10 (d) DISCHARGE FROM COMMITTEE.—If the commit11 tee to which a resolution is referred has not reported such

12 resolution at the end of 30 calendar days after its intro13 duction, that committee shall be deemed to be discharged

14 from further consideration of such resolution and such

15 resolution shall be placed on the appropriate calendar of

16 the House involved.

17 (e) VOTE ON FINAL PASSAGE.—When the committee

18 has reported or has been deemed to be discharged from

19 further consideration of a resolution described under sub20 section (a), it is at any time thereafter in order for any

21 Member of the respective House to move to proceed to

22 the consideration of the resolution.

23 (f) RULES OF THE SENATE AND HOUSE.—This sec24 tion is enacted by Congress—
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1 (1) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of

2 the Senate and House of Representatives, respec3 tively, and as such it is deemed a part of the rules

4 of each House, respectively, but applicable only with

5 respect to the procedure to be followed in that

6 House in the case of a resolution described in sub7 section (a), and it supersedes other rules only to the

8 extent that it is inconsistent with such rules; and

9 (2) with full recognition of the constitutional

10 right of either House to change the rules (so far as

11 relating to the procedure of that House) at any time,

12 in the same manner, and to the same extent as in

13 the case of any other rule of that House.

14 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

15 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Local Empowerment

16 and Flexibility Act of 1996’’.

17 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

18 The Congress finds that—

19 (1) historically, Federal programs have ad20 dressed the Nation’s problems by providing categor21 ical financial assistance with detailed requirements

22 relating to the use of funds;

23 (2) while the assistance described in paragraph

24 (1) has been directed at critical problems, some pro-
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1 gram requirements may inadvertently impede the ef2 fective delivery of services;

3 (3) the Nation’s State, local, and tribal govern4 ments and private, nonprofit organizations are deal5 ing with increasingly complex problems which require

6 the delivery of many kinds of services;

7 (4) the Nation’s communities are diverse, and

8 different needs are present in different communities;

9 (5) it is more important than ever to provide

10 programs that—

11 (A) promote more effective and efficient de12 livery of services at all levels of government to

13 meet the full range of needs of individuals, fami14 lies, and society;

15 (B) respond flexibly to the diverse needs of

16 the Nation’s communities;

17 (C) reduce the barriers between programs

18 that impede the State, local, and tribal govern19 ments’ ability to effectively deliver services; and

20 (D) empower State, local, and tribal gov21 ernments and private, nonprofit organizations to

22 be innovative in creating programs that meet the

23 unique needs of their communities while continu24 ing to address national policy goals; and
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1 (6) many communities have innovative planning

2 and community involvement strategies for providing

3 services, but Federal, State, and local grant and other

4 requirements often hamper effective implementation of

5 such strategies.

6 SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

7 The purposes of this Act are to—

8 (1) enable more efficient and effective use of Fed9 eral, State, and local resources;

10 (2) place less emphasis in Federal service pro11 grams on complying with procedures and more em12 phasis on achieving Federal, State, local, and tribal

13 policy goals;

14 (3) enable State, local, and tribal governments

15 and private, nonprofit organizations to adapt pro16 grams of Federal financial assistance to the particu17 lar needs of their communities, by integrating pro18 grams and program funds across existing Federal fi19 nancial assistance programs that have similar pur20 poses;

21 (4) enable State, local, and tribal governments

22 and private, nonprofit organizations to work together

23 and build stronger cooperative partnerships to ad24 dress critical service problems;
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1 (5) facilitate State, local, and tribal government

2 efforts to develop regional or metropolitan solutions to

3 shared problems;

4 (6) improve the efficiency and effectiveness of

5 governmental operations at all levels of government;

6 and

7 (7) improve the delivery of services to the public.

8 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

9 For purposes of this Act:

10 (1) APPROVED FLEXIBILITY PLAN.—The term

11 ‘‘approved flexibility plan’’ means a flexibility plan

12 or that part of a flexibility plan, that is approved by

13 the Community Empowerment Board under section 8.

14 (2) BOARD.—The term ‘‘Board’’ means the Com15 munity Empowerment Board established under sec16 tion 5.

17 (3) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means the

18 Director of the Office of Management and Budget.

19 (4) ELIGIBLE APPLICANT.—The term ‘‘eligible

20 applicant’’ means a State, local, or tribal government,

21 qualified organization, or qualified consortium that is

22 eligible to receive financial assistance under 1 or

23 more eligible Federal financial assistance programs.
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1 (5) ELIGIBLE FEDERAL FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE

2 PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘eligible Federal financial as3 sistance program’’—

4 (A) except as provided in subparagraph

5 (B), means a domestic assistance program (as

6 defined under section 6101(4) of title 31, United

7 States Code) under which financial assistance is

8 available, directly or indirectly, to a State, local,

9 or tribal government or a qualified organization

10 to carry out activities consistent with national

11 policy goals; and

12 (B) does not include—

13 (i) a Federal program under which di14 rect financial assistance is provided by the

15 Federal Government directly to an individ16 ual beneficiary of that financial assistance,

17 or to a State to provide direct financial or

18 food voucher assistance directly to an indi19 vidual beneficiary;

20 (ii) a program carried out with direct

21 spending (as defined in section 250(c)(8) of

22 the Balanced Budget and Emergency Defi23 cit Control Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C.

24 900(c)(8)); or
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1 (iii) a program of assistance referred

2 to in section 6101(4)(A)(ix) of title 31,

3 United States Code.

4 (6) EMPOWERMENT ZONE-ELIGIBLE AREA.—The

5 term ‘‘empowerment zone-eligible area’’ means any

6 area nominated for designation under subchapter U

7 of chapter I of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 that

8 was ruled as meeting the technical eligibility stand9 ards established for that Federal policy.

10 (7) FLEXIBILITY PLAN.—The term ‘‘flexibility

11 plan’’ means a comprehensive plan or part of such

12 plan for the integration and administration by an el13 igible applicant of financial assistance provided by

14 the Federal Government under 2 or more eligible Fed15 eral financial assistance programs that combines

16 funds from Federal, State, local, or tribal government

17 or private sources to address the service needs of a

18 community.

19 (8) LOCAL GOVERNMENT.—The term ‘‘local gov20 ernment’’ means—

21 (A) a political subdivision of a State that

22 is a unit of general local government (as defined

23 under section 6501 of title 31, United States

24 Code);
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1 (B) any combination of political subdivi2 sions described in subparagraph (A) that sub3 mits an application to the Board; or

4 (C) a local educational agency as defined

5 under section 14101(18) of the Elementary and

6 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.

7 8801(18)).

8 (9) QUALIFIED CONSORTIUM.—The term ‘‘quali9 fied consortium’’ means a group that is composed of

10 2 or more qualified organizations, State, local, or

11 tribal agencies that receive federally appropriated

12 funds.

13 (10) QUALIFIED ORGANIZATION.—The term

14 ‘‘qualified organization’’ means a private, nonprofit

15 organization described in section 501(c)(3) of the In16 ternal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 501(c)(3))

17 that is exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of

18 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C.

19 501(a)).

20 (11) SMALL GOVERNMENT.—The term ‘‘small

21 government’’ means any small governmental jurisdic22 tion defined in section 601(5) of title 5, United States

23 Code, and a tribal government.
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1 (12) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of

2 the 50 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico,

3 American Samoa, Guam, and the Virgin Islands.

4 (13) STATE LEGISLATIVE OFFICIAL.—The term

5 ‘‘State legislative official’’ means—

6 (A) the majority leader of a chamber of a

7 State legislature; and

8 (B) the minority leader of a chamber of a

9 State legislature.

10 (14) TRIBAL GOVERNMENT.—The term ‘‘tribal

11 government’’ means the governing entity of an Indian

12 tribe, as that term is defined in the Federally Recog13 nized Tribe List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 479a).

14 SEC. 5. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT

15 BOARD.

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is established a Community

17 Empowerment Board, which shall consist of—

18 (1) the Secretary of Housing and Urban Devel19 opment;

20 (2) the Secretary of Health and Human Serv21 ices;

22 (3) the Secretary of Agriculture;

23 (4) the Secretary of Transportation;

24 (5) the Secretary of Education;

25 (6) the Secretary of Commerce;
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1 (7) the Secretary of Labor;

2 (8) the Secretary of the Treasury;

3 (9) the Attorney General;

4 (10) the Secretary of the Interior;

5 (11) the Secretary of Energy;

6 (12) the Secretary of Veterans Affairs;

7 (13) the Secretary of Defense;

8 (14) the Director of the Federal Emergency Man9 agement Agency;

10 (15) the Administrator of the Environmental

11 Protection Agency;

12 (16) the Director of National Drug Control Pol13 icy;

14 (17) the Administrator of the Small Business

15 Administration;

16 (18) the Director of the Office of Management

17 and Budget; and

18 (19) the Administrator of General Services.

19 (b) CHAIR.—The President shall designate the Chair

20 of the Board from among its members.

21 (c) FUNCTIONS.—The Board shall—

22 (1) receive, review, and approve or disapprove

23 flexibility plans in accordance with section 7;

24 (2) consider all requests for technical assistance

25 from eligible applicants and, when appropriate, di-
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1 rect the head of an agency that administers an eligi2 ble Federal financial assistance program under which

3 substantial Federal financial assistance would be pro4 vided under the plan to provide technical assistance

5 to the applicant;

6 (3) in consultation with the Director, monitor

7 the progress of development and implementation of

8 flexibility plans;

9 (4) in consultation with the Director, coordinate

10 and assist Federal agencies in eliminating, revising,

11 and coordinating regulations;

12 (5) evaluate performance standards and evalua13 tion criteria for eligible Federal financial assistance

14 programs, and make specific recommendations to

15 agencies regarding how to revise such standards and

16 criteria in order to establish specific performance and

17 outcome measures upon which the success of such pro18 grams and the success of the plan may be compared

19 and evaluated; and

20 (6) issue guidance to implement this Act within

21 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act.

22 (d) COORDINATION AND ASSISTANCE.—The Director,

23 in consultation with the Board, shall coordinate and as24 sist—
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1 (1) Federal agencies in creating a uniform ap2 plication to be used to apply for assistance from eligi3 ble Federal financial assistance programs;

4 (2) Federal agencies in creating a release form

5 to be used by a client to facilitate, where appropriate

6 and otherwise lawful, the sharing of information

7 across eligible Federal financial assistance programs;

8 and

9 (3) agencies in creating a system wherein an or10 ganization or consortium of organizations may use

11 one proposal to apply for funding from multiple eligi12 ble Federal financial assistance programs.

13 SEC. 6. APPLICATION FOR APPROVAL OF FLEXIBILITY

14 PLAN.

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—An eligible applicant may submit

16 to the Board in accordance with this section an application

17 for approval of a flexibility plan.

18 (b) CONTENTS OF APPLICATION.—An application sub19 mitted under this section shall include—

20 (1) a proposed flexibility plan that complies with

21 subsection (c);

22 (2) written certification by the chief executive of

23 the applicant, and such additional assurances as may

24 be required by the Board, that—
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1 (A) the applicant has the ability, authority,

2 and resources to implement the proposed plan,

3 throughout the geographic area in which the pro4 posed plan is intended to apply; and

5 (B) amounts are available from non-Federal

6 sources to pay the non-Federal share of all eligi7 ble Federal financial assistance programs in8 cluded in the proposed plan;

9 (3) all comments on the proposed plan submitted

10 under subsection (d) by a Governor, affected State

11 agency head, State legislative official of a State, or a

12 chief executive of a local or tribal government that

13 would be directly affected by implementation of the

14 proposed plan, and the applicant’s responses to those

15 comments;

16 (4) written documentation showing significant

17 public input into the development of the plan from

18 the range of interests directly affected by the plan, in19 cluding those who are intended beneficiaries of the

20 plan; and

21 (5) other relevant information the Board may re22 quire to approve the proposed plan.

23 (c) CONTENTS OF PLAN.—A flexibility plan submitted

24 by an eligible applicant under this section shall include—
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1 (1) the geographic area and timeframe to which

2 the plan applies and the rationale for selecting the

3 area and timeframe;

4 (2) the particular groups of individuals, by serv5 ice needs, economic circumstances, or other defining

6 factors, who would receive services and benefits under

7 the plan;

8 (3)(A) specific goals and measurable performance

9 criteria that demonstrate how the plan is expected to

10 improve the delivery of services to the public;

11 (B) a description of how performance shall be

12 measured; and

13 (C) a system for the comprehensive evaluation of

14 the impact of the plan on individuals who receive

15 services in the community, affected by the plan, that

16 shall include—

17 (i) a list of goals to improve the community

18 and the lives of its citizens in the geographic

19 area covered by the plan;

20 (ii) a list of goals identified by the State in

21 which the plan is to be implemented, if such

22 goals have been established by the State; and

23 (iii) a description of how the plan will—

24 (I) attain the goals listed in clause (ii);

25 (II) measure performance; and
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1 (III) collect and maintain data;

2 (4) the eligible Federal financial assistance pro3 grams included in the plan and the specific benefits

4 to be provided under the plan under such programs,

5 including—

6 (A) criteria for determining eligibility for

7 benefits under the plan;

8 (B) the services available;

9 (C) the amounts and form (such as cash, in10 kind contributions, or financial instruments) of

11 nonservice benefits; and

12 (D) any other descriptive information the

13 Board considers necessary to approve the plan;

14 (5) a description of the statutory goals and pur15 poses of each Federal financial assistance program in16 cluded in the plan;

17 (6) except for the requirements described under

18 section 7(f)(3), any Federal statutory or regulatory

19 requirement of an eligible Federal financial assistance

20 program included in the plan, the waiver of which is

21 necessary to implement the plan, and the detailed jus22 tification for the waiver request;

23 (7) any State, local, or tribal statutory, regu24 latory, or other requirement, the waiver of which is

25 necessary to implement the plan, and indicia of com-
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1 mitments by the relevant State, local, or tribal gov2 ernments to grant such waivers;

3 (8) fiscal control and related accountability pro4 cedures applicable under the plan;

5 (9) a description of the sources of all non-Federal

6 funds that are required to carry out eligible Federal

7 financial assistance programs included in the plan;

8 (10) written certification from each State, local,

9 or tribal government for which certification is re10 quired under subsection (b)(2); and

11 (11) other relevant information the Board may

12 require to approve the plan.

13 (d) PROCEDURE FOR APPLYING.—

14 (1) SUBMISSION TO AFFECTED STATE AND LOCAL

15 GOVERNMENTS.—An eligible applicant shall submit

16 an application for approval of a proposed flexibility

17 plan to each State government and each local govern18 ment that the applicant deems to be directly affected

19 by the plan, at least 60 days before submitting the

20 application to the Board.

21 (2) ACTION BY AFFECTED GOVERNMENT.—The

22 Governor, affected State agency head, State legislative

23 official, and the chief executive officer of a local gov24 ernment that receives an application submitted under
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1 paragraph (1) may each, by no later than 60 days

2 after the date of that receipt—

3 (A) prepare comments on the proposed flexi4 bility plan included in the application;

5 (B) describe and make commitments to

6 waive any State or local laws or other require7 ments which are necessary for successful imple8 mentation of the proposed plan; and

9 (C) submit the comments and commitments

10 to the eligible applicant.

11 (3) SUBMITTAL TO BOARD.—If the Governor, af12 fected State agency head, or a State legislative official

13 of a State or the chief executive officer of a local gov14 ernment—

15 (A) fails to act on or otherwise endorse a

16 plan application within 60 days after receiving

17 an application under paragraph (1);

18 (B) does not make and submit to the eligible

19 applicant the commitments described in para20 graph (2) (A) and (B); or

21 (C) disagrees with all or part of the pro22 posed flexibility plan;

23 the eligible applicant may submit the application to

24 the Board if the application is amended as necessary

25 for the successful implementation of the proposed plan
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1 without the commitment made under paragraph

2 (2)(B), including by adding a discussion regarding

3 the ability of the proposed flexibility plan to meet

4 plan goals and satisfy performance criteria in the ab5 sence of statutory and regulatory waivers and finan6 cial and technical support from the State or local gov7 ernment.

8 (e) TRIBAL SOVEREIGNTY.—Nothing under this Act

9 shall be construed to affect, or otherwise alter, the sovereign

10 relationship between tribal governments and the Federal

11 Government.

12 (f) ELIGIBILITY FOR OTHER ASSISTANCE.—Dis13 approval by the Board of a flexibility plan submitted by

14 an eligible applicant under this Act shall not affect the eli15 gibility of the applicant for assistance under any Federal

16 program.

17 (g) STATE, LOCAL, OR TRIBAL AUTHORITY.—Nothing

18 in this Act shall be construed to grant the Board, Federal

19 agency, or any eligible applicant authority to waive or oth20 erwise preempt—

21 (1) any State, local, or tribal law or regulation;

22 or

23 (2) any State or local administrative or imple24 mentation plan of an eligible Federal financial assist25 ance program unless such plan is requested to be
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1 waived by the entity with jurisdiction over the pro2 gram prior to submission of the plan.

3 SEC. 7. REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF FLEXIBILITY PLANS

4 AND WAIVER REQUESTS.

5 (a) FLEXIBILITY PLANS ACCEPTED FOR REVIEW.—

6 The Board shall review at least the first 50 flexibility plans

7 received each year. The Board—

8 (1) shall give priority consideration to proposed

9 flexibility plans that—

10 (A) are submitted from empowerment zone11 eligible areas; and

12 (B) contain State or local waivers or a

13 commitment to grant a State or local waiver;

14 and

15 (2) may develop additional criteria to govern the

16 factors to be applied in determining which additional

17 proposed flexibility plans it reviews after the first 50

18 each year.

19 (b) REVIEW OF APPLICATIONS.—Upon acceptance of

20 an application for approval of a proposed flexibility plan

21 under this Act, the Board shall—

22 (1) notify the applicant of the Board’s accept23 ance of the application for review and the procedures

24 for consultation with the applicant during the review

25 process;
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1 (2) review plans in accordance with this section;

2 (3) approve or disapprove the plan within 120

3 days after receipt of the plan, except that the Board

4 may extend this period by another 60 days if—

5 (A) the Board determines that additional

6 information or clarification is needed from the

7 applicant to make a decision regarding the ap8 plication; or

9 (B) the applicant requests additional time

10 to modify its application;

11 (4) notify the applicant in writing of that ap12 proval or disapproval by not later than 15 days after

13 the date of that approval or disapproval; and

14 (5) in the case of any disapproval of a plan, in15 clude a written justification of the reasons for dis16 approval in the notice of disapproval sent to the ap17 plicant.

18 (c) APPROVAL.—

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Board may approve a

20 flexibility plan for which an application is submitted

21 by an eligible applicant under this Act, if the Board

22 determines that—

23 (A) the plan will improve the effectiveness

24 and efficiency of providing benefits under eligible

25 Federal financial assistance programs included
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1 in the plan such as reducing administrative in2 flexibility, duplication, and unnecessary expend3 itures;

4 (B) the plan shall improve the delivery of

5 services to the community by improving the per6 formance of the eligible Federal financial assist7 ance programs included in the plan when com8 pared to existing program performance;

9 (C) the eligible applicant has adequately

10 considered, and the plan appropriately address11 es, any effect that administration of each eligible

12 Federal financial assistance program under the

13 plan will have on administration of any other

14 eligible Federal financial assistance programs

15 under the plan;

16 (D) the eligible applicant has or is develop17 ing data bases, planning, and evaluation proc18 esses for determining whether implementation of

19 the plan includes the specific goals, measurable

20 performance criteria, comprehensive evaluation

21 system, and other matters required under section

22 6(c)(3);

23 (E) the plan will more effectively achieve

24 the goals of each eligible Federal financial assist25 ance program included in the plan at the State,
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1 local, and tribal level and will better meet the

2 needs of State, local, and tribal citizens;

3 (F) implementation of the plan will ade4 quately achieve the purposes of this Act and of

5 each eligible Federal financial assistance pro6 gram included in the plan;

7 (G) the plan and the application for ap8 proval of the plan comply with the requirements

9 of this Act;

10 (H)(i) the State, local, or tribal govern11 ments have waived the corresponding State,

12 local, or tribal laws of the applicant necessary

13 for implementation of the plan; or

14 (ii) the eligible applicant has obtained com15 mitments for any additional necessary waivers

16 from other State, local, or tribal governments;

17 (I) Federal funds made available under the

18 plan will not supplant non-Federal funds for ex19 isting services and activities that promote the

20 goals of the plan; and

21 (J) none of the Federal or non-Federal

22 funds used under the plan would be used—

23 (i) to pay the non-Federal share of ac24 tivities under programs that are not eligible

25 Federal financial assistance programs; or
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1 (ii) to meet maintenance of effort re2 quirements of such an activity.

3 (2) LIMITATION ON AUTHORITY TO APPROVE

4 CERTAIN PLANS.—The Board may not approve a

5 flexibility plan—

6 (A) if implementation of the plan would re7 sult in any increase in the total amount of obli8 gations or outlays of discretionary appropria9 tions or direct spending under eligible Federal fi10 nancial assistance programs, over the amounts of

11 such obligations and outlays that would occur

12 under those programs without implementation of

13 the plan; or

14 (B) in the case of a plan that applies to as15 sistance to a qualified organization under an eli16 gible Federal financial assistance program, if the

17 qualified organization does not consent in writ18 ing to the receipt of that assistance in accord19 ance with the plan.

20 (3) REQUIREMENT TO DISAPPROVE PLAN.—The

21 Board shall disapprove a flexibility plan if the Board

22 determines that the plan fails to comply with para23 graph (1).

24 (4) SPECIFICATION OF PERIOD OF EFFECTIVE25 NESS.—
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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—In approving any flexi2 bility plan, the Board shall specify the period

3 during which the plan is effective, which in no

4 case shall be greater than 5 years from the date

5 of approval.

6 (B) EFFECTIVENESS AFTER TERMINATION

7 OF THIS ACT.—An approved flexibility plan

8 shall be effective for the period of time specified

9 by the Board, regardless of whether that time ex10 tends beyond the date of the termination of the

11 effectiveness of this Act under section 13.

12 (C) EFFECTIVE PERIOD SHORTER THAN

13 PROPOSED.—The Board may specify an effective

14 period for an approved flexibility plan that is

15 shorter than a period proposed by the eligible ap16 plicant for the plan.

17 (d) MEMORANDA OF UNDERSTANDING REQUIRED.—

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Board may not approve

19 a flexibility plan unless each approved applicant that

20 would receive Federal financial assistance adminis21 tered under the plan enters into a memorandum of

22 understanding under this subsection with the Board.

23 (2) CONTENTS.—A memorandum of understand24 ing under this subsection shall specify all understand25 ings that have been reached by the Board, Federal
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1 agencies administering eligible Federal financial as2 sistance programs under the flexibility plan, approved

3 applicants that are subject to the plan, regarding the

4 approval and implementation of the plan. The memo5 randum shall include understandings with respect

6 to—

7 (A) all requirements under eligible Federal

8 financial assistance programs that are to be

9 waived under section 8(f) by the Board;

10 (B) all State, local, or tribal statutory and

11 regulatory requirements that are to be waived;

12 (C)(i) the total amount of Federal funds

13 that will be provided as benefits under or used

14 to administer eligible Federal financial assist15 ance programs included in the plan; or

16 (ii) a mechanism for determining that

17 amount, including specification of the total

18 amount of Federal funds that will be provided or

19 used under each eligible Federal financial assist20 ance program included in the plan;

21 (D) the sources of all non-Federal funds and

22 technical support that shall be provided as bene23 fits under or used to administer the plan;

24 (E) measurable performance criteria that

25 will be used during the effective period of the
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1 plan to determine the extent to which the goals

2 and performance levels included in the plan are

3 achieved; and

4 (F) the data to be collected to make that de5 termination.

6 (e) LIMITATION ON CONFIDENTIALITY REQUIRE7 MENTS.—The Board may not, as a condition of approval

8 of a flexibility plan or with respect to the implementation

9 of an approved flexibility plan, establish any confidential10 ity requirement that would—

11 (1) impede the exchange of information needed

12 for the design or provision of benefits under the plan;

13 or

14 (2) conflict with law.

15 (f) WAIVERS OF FEDERAL REQUIREMENTS.—

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other

17 law and subject to paragraphs (2) and (3), affected

18 Federal agencies may waive for a period of time not

19 to exceed 5 years from the time of approval of the

20 plan any statutory or regulatory requirement of an

21 eligible Federal assistance program included in an

22 approved flexibility plan of an eligible applicant if

23 that waiver is—

24 (A) reasonably necessary for the implemen25 tation of the plan; and
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1 (B) not disapproved by the Board.

2 (2) EFFECTIVE PERIOD OF WAIVER.—A waiver

3 under this subsection shall—

4 (A) terminate no later than the end date of

5 the plan approved under this section; and

6 (B) terminate on the earlier of—

7 (i) the expiration of a period specified

8 by the Board, not to exceed 5 years from the

9 effective date of the waiver; or

10 (ii) any date on which the flexibility

11 plan for which the waiver is granted ceases

12 to be effective.

13 (3) REQUIREMENTS THAT MAY NOT BE

14 WAIVED.—Affected Federal agencies may not waive

15 under this subsection any requirement that enforces

16 any constitutional right or any right under—

17 (A) title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

18 (42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.);

19 (B) section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of

20 1973 (29 U.S.C. 701 et seq.);

21 (C) title IX of the Education Amendments

22 of 1972 (86 Stat. 373 et seq.);

23 (D) the Age Discrimination Act of 1975 (42

24 U.S.C. 6101 et seq.);
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1 (E) the Americans with Disabilities Act of

2 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.); or

3 (F) the Individuals with Disabilities Edu4 cation Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.).

5 SEC. 8. IMPLEMENTATION OF APPROVED FLEXIBILITY

6 PLANS.

7 (a) PAYMENTS AND ADMINISTRATION IN ACCORDANCE

8 WITH PLAN.—Notwithstanding any other law, any benefit

9 that is provided under an eligible Federal financial assist10 ance program included in an approved flexibility plan shall

11 be paid and administered in the manner specified in the

12 approved flexibility plan.

13 (b) SPECIAL ASSISTANCE.—To the extent permitted by

14 law, the head of each Federal agency shall seek to provide

15 special assistance to an eligible applicant to support imple16 mentation of an approved flexibility plan, including expe17 dited processing and technical assistance.

18 (c) EVALUATION AND TERMINATION.—

19 (1) REPORTS AND EVALUATIONS BY APPROVED

20 APPLICANTS, GENERALLY.—An approved applicant,

21 in accordance with guidance issued by the Board,

22 shall—

23 (A) submit any reports on and cooperate in

24 any audits of the implementation of its approved

25 flexibility plan; and
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1 (B) periodically evaluate the effect imple2 mentation of the plan has had on—

3 (i) individuals who receive benefits

4 under the plan;

5 (ii) communities in which those indi6 viduals live; and

7 (iii) costs of administering and provid8 ing assistance under eligible Federal finan9 cial assistance programs included in the

10 plan.

11 (2) INITIAL 1-YEAR REPORT.—No later than 90

12 days after the end of the 1-year period beginning on

13 the date of the approval by the Board of an approved

14 flexibility plan of a State, local, or tribal government,

15 and annually thereafter, the approved applicant, re16 spectively, shall submit to the Board a report on the

17 principal activities, achievements, and failures under

18 the plan during the period covered by the report, com19 paring those achievements and failures to the goals

20 and performance criteria included in the plan under

21 section 6(c)(3).

22 (3) TERMINATION OF PLAN BY BOARD.—

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall termi24 nate the effectiveness of an approved flexibility

25 plan, if, after consultation with the head of each
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1 Federal agency responsible for administering an

2 eligible Federal financial assistance program in3 cluded in the plan, the Board determines that—

4 (i) the goals and performance criteria

5 included in the plan under section 6(c)(3)

6 have not been met, and are not likely to be

7 met, and those goals and criteria are sound;

8 (ii) the goals and performance criteria

9 included in the plan under section 6(c)(3)

10 are not sound, and the plan would not meet

11 goals and criteria that are sound;

12 (iii) the approved applicant respon13 sible for the plan is unable to meet its com14 mitments under this Act; or

15 (iv) audit or oversight activities deter16 mine there has been fraud or abuse involv17 ing Federal funds under the plan.

18 (B) TRANSITION PERIOD.—In terminating

19 an approved flexibility plan under this para20 graph, the Board shall allow a reasonable period

21 of time for appropriate Federal agencies and eli22 gible applicants to resume administration of

23 Federal programs that are eligible Federal finan24 cial assistance programs included in the plan.
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1 (4) REVOCATION OF WAIVER AUTHORIZED.—The

2 Board may revoke a waiver under section 7(f) if the

3 State, local, or tribal government fails to—

4 (A) comply with the requirements of the

5 plan;

6 (B) make acceptable progress towards

7 achieving the goals and performance criteria set

8 forth in the plan; or

9 (C) use funds in accordance with the plan.

10 (5) REVOCATION OF WAIVER REQUIRED.—The af11 fected Federal agency shall revoke all waivers issued

12 under section 7(f) for a flexibility plan if the Board

13 terminates the plan.

14 (6) EXPLANATION OF REVOCATION REQUIRED.—

15 In the case of revocation of a plan or a waiver, the

16 Board shall provide for the former eligible applicant

17 a written justification of the reasons for revocation.

18 (d) FINAL REPORT.—No later than 45 days after the

19 end of the effective period of an approved flexibility plan,

20 the approved applicant shall submit to the Board a final

21 report on its implementation of the plan, including a full

22 evaluation of the successes and shortcomings of the plan and

23 the effects of that implementation on individuals who re24 ceive benefits under the eligible Federal financial assistance

25 programs under the plan.
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1 (e) AVAILABILITY OF WAIVER AUTHORITY WITH RE2 SPECT TO GRANT AGREEMENTS.—The authority provided

3 under this Act to waive provisions of grant agreements may

4 be exercised only as long as the funds provided for the grant

5 program in question are available for obligation by the Fed6 eral Government.

7 SEC. 9. TECHNICAL AND OTHER ASSISTANCE.

8 (a) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Board may pro9 vide, or direct that the head of a Federal agency provide,

10 technical assistance to an eligible applicant in developing

11 information necessary for the design or implementation of

12 a flexibility plan, if the eligible applicant submits a request

13 that includes, in accordance with requirements established

14 by the Board—

15 (1) a description of the flexibility plan the eligi16 ble applicant proposes to develop;

17 (2) a description of the groups of individuals to

18 whom benefits will be provided under eligible Federal

19 financial assistance programs included in the plan;

20 and

21 (3) such assurances as the Board may require

22 that—

23 (A) in the development of the application to

24 be submitted under this Act for approval of the
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1 plan, the eligible applicant will provide adequate

2 opportunities to participate to—

3 (i) individuals and families that will

4 receive benefits under eligible Federal finan5 cial assistance programs included in the

6 plan; and

7 (ii) governmental agencies that admin8 ister those programs; and

9 (B) the plan will be developed after consid10 ering fully—

11 (i) the needs expressed by those indi12 viduals and families;

13 (ii) community priorities; and

14 (iii) available governmental resources

15 in the geographic area to which the plan

16 shall apply.

17 (b) SPECIAL ASSISTANCE TO SMALL GOVERNMENTS.—

18 To the extent permitted by law, the Board may provide or

19 direct a Federal agency head to provide special assistance

20 to interested small governments to support development and

21 implementation of a flexibility plan which may include ex22 pedited processing, and technical assistance.

23 (c) DETAILS AND ASSIGNMENTS TO BOARD.—At the

24 request of the Board and with the approval of a Federal

25 agency head who is a member of the Board, staff of the
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1 agency may be detailed or assigned to the Board on a non2 reimbursable basis.

3 (d) INTERAGENCY FINANCING.—Notwithstanding any

4 other law, interagency financing is authorized to carry out

5 the purposes of this Act.

6 SEC. 10. REPORTS BY BOARD; DIRECTOR.

7 (a) REPORT BY BOARD.—No later than 18 months

8 after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually

9 thereafter, the Board shall submit a report to the President

10 and the Congress on the Federal laws or regulations that

11 are most frequently waived under section 7(f) with respect

12 to approved flexibility plans. The President shall review the

13 report and determine to amend or terminate such Federal

14 requirements.

15 (b) REPORT BY DIRECTOR.—No less than 60 days after

16 repeal of this Act, the Director shall report on its progress

17 in achieving the responsibilities of section 5(d).

18 (c) FINAL REPORT.—No later than 54 months after

19 the date of enactment of this Act, the Board, in consultation

20 with the Director and Federal agencies, shall submit a re21 port to Congress and the President that—

22 (1) describes the extent to which State, local, and

23 tribal governments have established and implemented

24 approved flexibility plans;
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1 (2) evaluates the effectiveness of eligible Federal

2 assistance programs included in approved flexibility

3 plans; and

4 (3) includes recommendations with respect to

5 flexibility.

6 SEC. 11. REPEAL.

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—This Act is repealed on September

8 30, 2001.

9 (b) CONTINUED APPLICATION WITH RESPECT TO

10 PLANS IN EFFECT.—Notwithstanding subsection (a), this

11 Act, as in effect immediately before the date specified in

12 subsection (a), shall continue to apply to any approved

13 flexibility plan in effect immediately before that date, and

14 any waivers granted under section 7(f) with respect to such

15 a plan shall continue in effect, until the end of the 6-month

16 period beginning on the date of termination of effectiveness

17 of the plan or waiver, respectively, in accordance with this

18 Act.

19 SEC. 12. DELIVERY DATE OF FEDERAL CONTRACT, GRANT,

20 AND ASSISTANCE APPLICATIONS.

21 (a) GENERAL RULE.—

22 (1) DATE OF DELIVERY.—The Director of the Of23 fice of Management and Budget shall direct all Fed24 eral agencies to develop a consistent policy relating to

25 Federal contract, grant, and other assistance applica-
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1 tions which stipulates that if any bid, grant applica2 tion, or other document required to be filed within a

3 prescribed period or on or before a prescribed date is,

4 after such period or such date, delivered by United

5 States mail to the agency, officer, or office with which

6 such bid, grant application, or other document is re7 quired to be made, the date of the United States post8 mark stamped on the cover in which such bid, grant

9 application, or other document is mailed shall be

10 deemed to be the date of delivery, as the case may be.

11 (2) MAILING REQUIREMENTS.—This subsection

12 applies only if—

13 (A) the postmark date falls within the pre14 scribed period or on or before the prescribed date

15 for the filing (including any extension granted

16 for such filing) of the bid, grant application, or

17 other document; and

18 (B) the bid, grant application, or other doc19 ument was, within the time prescribed in sub20 paragraph (A), deposited in the mail in the

21 United States in an envelope or other appro22 priate wrapper, postage prepaid, properly ad23 dressed to the agency, officer, or office with

24 which the bid, grant application, or other docu25 ment is required to be made.
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1 (b) POSTMARKS.—This section shall apply in the case

2 of postmarks not made by the United States Postal Service

3 only if and to the extent provided by the regulations pre4 scribed by Federal agencies.

5 (c) REGISTERED AND CERTIFIED MAILING.—

6 (1) REGISTERED MAIL.—For purposes of this

7 section, if any such bid, grant application, or other

8 document is sent by United States registered mail—

9 (A) such registration shall be prima facie

10 evidence that the bid, grant application, or other

11 document was delivered to the agency, officer, or

12 office to which addressed; and

13 (B) the date of registration shall be deemed

14 the postmark date.

15 (2) CERTIFIED MAIL.—Federal agencies are au16 thorized to provide by regulations the extent to which

17 the provisions of paragraph (1) of this subsection

18 with respect to prima facie evidence of delivery and

19 the postmark date shall apply to certified mail.

20 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall take effect

21 on the date of the enactment of this Act and shall remain

22 in effect notwithstanding section 11 of this Act.

23 Amend the title so as to read: ‘‘A bill to increase the

24 overall economy and efficiency of Government operations

25 and enable more efficient use of Federal funding, by ena-
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1 bling State, local, and tribal governments and private,

2 nonprofit organizations to use amounts available under

3 certain Federal assistance programs in accordance with

4 approved local flexibility plans.’’.