I 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 20

To establish the SouthEast Crescent Authority, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 4, 2005

Mr. MCINTYRE (for himself, Mr. HAYES, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, Mr. 

ETHERIDGE, Mr. BUTTERFIELD, Mr. SCOTT of Georgia, and Mr. DAVIS

of Tennessee) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the 

Committee on Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 

as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL

To establish the SouthEast Crescent Authority, and for other 

purposes.

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘SouthEast Crescent 

5 Authority Act of 2005’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act, the following definitions apply: 
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1 (1) AUTHORITY.—The term ‘‘Authority’’ means 

2 the SouthEast Crescent Authority established by 

3 section 3. 

4 (2) FEDERAL GRANT PROGRAM.—The term 

5 ‘‘Federal grant program’’ means a Federal grant 

6 program to provide assistance in carrying out eco7 nomic and community development activities. 

8 (3) NON-PROFIT ENTITY.—The term ‘‘non-prof9 it entity’’ means any entity with tax-exempt or non10 profit status, as defined by the Internal Revenue 

11 Service, that has been formed for the purpose of eco12 nomic development or has a proven record of eco13 nomic development experience. 

14 (4) REGION.—The term ‘‘region’’ means the 

15 area covered by the Authority (as described in sec16 tion 16). 

17 SEC. 3. SOUTHEAST CRESCENT AUTHORITY. 

18 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is established the 

20 SouthEast Crescent Authority. 

21 (2) COMPOSITION.—The Authority shall be 

22 composed of—

23 (A) a Federal member, to be appointed by 

24 the President, with the advice and consent of 

25 the Senate; and 
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1 (B) the Governor of each State in the re2 gion that elects to participate in the Authority. 

3 (3) COCHAIRPERSONS.—The Authority shall be 

4 headed by—

5 (A) the Federal member, who shall serve—

6 (i) as the Federal cochairperson; and 

7 (ii) as a liaison between the Federal 

8 Government and the Authority; and 

9 (B) a State cochairperson, who—

10 (i) shall be a Governor of a partici11 pating State in the region; and 

12 (ii) shall be elected by the State mem13 bers for a term of not less than 1 year. 

14 (b) ALTERNATE MEMBERS.—

15 (1) STATE ALTERNATES.—

16 (A) APPOINTMENT.—The State member of 

17 a participating State may have a single alter18 nate, who shall be appointed by the Governor of 

19 the State from among the Governor’s cabinet or 

20 personal staff. 

21 (B) VOTING.—An alternate shall vote in 

22 the event of the absence, death, disability, re23 moval, or resignation of the member for whom 

24 the individual is an alternate. 
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1 (2) ALTERNATE FEDERAL COCHAIRPERSON.—

2 The President shall appoint an alternate Federal co3 chairperson. 

4 (3) QUORUM.—

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the require6 ments of this paragraph, the Authority shall de7 termine what constitutes a quorum of the Au8 thority. 

9 (B) FEDERAL COCHAIRPERSON.—The 

10 Federal cochairperson or the Federal cochair11 person’s designee must be present for the estab12 lishment of a quorum of the Authority. 

13 (C) STATE ALTERNATES.—A State alter14 nate shall not be counted toward the establish15 ment of a quorum of the Authority. 

16 (4) DELEGATION OF POWER.—No power or re17 sponsibility of the Authority specified in paragraphs 

18 (3) and (4) of subsection (c), and no voting right of 

19 any Authority member, shall be delegated to any 

20 person—

21 (A) who is not a Authority member; or 

22 (B) who is not entitled to vote in Authority 

23 meetings. 

24 (c) DECISIONS.—
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1 (1) REQUIREMENTS FOR APPROVAL.—Except 

2 as provided in subsection (g), decisions by the Au3 thority shall require the affirmative vote of the Fed4 eral cochairperson and of a majority of the State 

5 members, exclusive of members representing States 

6 delinquent under subsection (g)(2)(C). 

7 (2) CONSULTATION.—In matters coming before 

8 the Authority, the Federal cochairperson, to the ex9 tent practicable, shall consult with the Federal de10 partments and agencies having an interest in the 

11 subject matter. 

12 (3) DECISIONS REQUIRING QUORUM OF STATE

13 MEMBERS.—The following decisions may not be 

14 made without a quorum of State members: 

15 (A) A decision involving Authority policy. 

16 (B) Approval of State, regional, or sub17 regional development plans or strategy state18 ments. 

19 (C) Modification or revision of the 

20 Authority’s code. 

21 (D) Allocation of amounts among the 

22 States. 

23 (E) Designation of a distressed county. 

24 (4) PROJECT AND GRANT PROPOSALS.—The ap25 proval of project and grant proposals is a responsi-
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1 bility of the Authority and shall be carried out in ac2 cordance with section 10. 

3 (d) DUTIES.—The Authority shall—

4 (1) develop, on a continuing basis, comprehen5 sive and coordinated plans and programs to establish 

6 priorities and approve grants for the economic devel7 opment of the region, giving due consideration to 

8 other Federal, State, and local planning and devel9 opment activities in the region; 

10 (2) not later than 365 days after the date of 

11 enactment of this Act, establish priorities in a devel12 opment plan for the region (including 5-year re13 gional outcome targets); 

14 (3) assess the needs and capital assets of the 

15 region based on available research, demonstration 

16 projects, assessments, and evaluations of the region 

17 prepared by Federal, State, or local agencies, local 

18 development districts, and any other relevant source; 

19 (4)(A) enhance the capacity of, and provide 

20 support for, local development districts in the region; 

21 or 

22 (B) if no local development district exists in an 

23 area in a participating State in the region, foster the 

24 creation of a local development district; and 
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1 (5) encourage private investment in industrial, 

2 commercial, and other economic development 

3 projects in the region. 

4 (e) ADMINISTRATION.—In carrying out subsection 

5 (d), the Authority may—

6 (1) hold such hearings, sit and act at such 

7 times and places, take such testimony, receive such 

8 evidence, and print or otherwise reproduce and dis9 tribute a description of the proceedings and reports 

10 on actions by the Authority as the Authority con11 siders appropriate; 

12 (2) authorize, through the Federal or State co13 chairperson or any other member of the Authority 

14 designated by the Authority, the administration of 

15 oaths if the Authority determines that testimony 

16 should be taken or evidence received under oath; 

17 (3) request from any Federal, State, or local 

18 department or agency such information as may be 

19 available to or procurable by the department or 

20 agency that may be of use to the Authority in car21 rying out duties of the Authority; 

22 (4) adopt, amend, and repeal bylaws and rules 

23 governing the conduct of Authority business and the 

24 performance of Authority duties; 
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1 (5) request the head of any Federal department 

2 or agency to detail to the Authority such personnel 

3 as the Authority requires to carry out duties of the 

4 Authority, each such detail to be without loss of se5 niority, pay, or other employee status; 

6 (6) request the head of any State department 

7 or agency or local government to detail to the Au8 thority such personnel as the Authority requires to 

9 carry out duties of the Authority, each such detail 

10 to be without loss of seniority, pay, or other em11 ployee status; 

12 (7) provide for coverage of Authority employees 

13 in a suitable retirement and employee benefit system 

14 by—

15 (A) making arrangements or entering into 

16 contracts with any participating State govern17 ment; or 

18 (B) otherwise providing retirement and 

19 other employee benefit coverage; 

20 (8) accept, use, and dispose of gifts or dona21 tions of services or real, personal, tangible, or intan22 gible property; 

23 (9) enter into and perform such contracts or 

24 other transactions as are necessary to carry out Au25 thority duties; 
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1 (10) establish and maintain a central office lo2 cated within the Southeast Crescent Authority re3 gion and field offices at such locations as the Au4 thority may select; and 

5 (11) provide for an appropriate level of rep6 resentation in Washington, D.C. 

7 (f) FEDERAL AGENCY COOPERATION.—A Federal 

8 agency shall—

9 (1) cooperate with the Authority; and 

10 (2) provide, on request of the Federal cochair11 person, appropriate assistance in carrying out this 

12 Act, in accordance with applicable Federal laws (in13 cluding regulations). 

14 (g) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Administrative expenses of 

16 the Authority (except for the expenses of the Fed17 eral cochairperson, including expenses of the alter18 nate and staff of the Federal cochairperson, which 

19 shall be paid solely by the Federal Government) 

20 shall be paid—

21 (A) by the Federal Government, in an 

22 amount equal to 50 percent of the administra23 tive expenses; and 
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1 (B) by the States in the region partici2 pating in the Authority, in an amount equal to 

3 50 percent of the administrative expenses. 

4 (2) STATE SHARE.—

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—The share of adminis6 trative expenses of the Authority to be paid by 

7 each State shall be determined by the Author8 ity. 

9 (B) NO FEDERAL PARTICIPATION.—The 

10 Federal cochairperson shall not participate or 

11 vote in any decision under subparagraph (A). 

12 (C) DELINQUENT STATES.—If a State is 

13 delinquent in payment of the State’s share of 

14 administrative expenses of the Authority under 

15 this subsection—

16 (i) no assistance under this Act shall 

17 be furnished to the State (including assist18 ance to a political subdivision or a resident 

19 of the State); and 

20 (ii) no member of the Authority from 

21 the State shall participate or vote in any 

22 action by the Authority. 

23 (h) COMPENSATION.—

24 (1) FEDERAL COCHAIRPERSON.—The Federal 

25 cochairperson shall be compensated by the Federal 
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1 Government at level III of the Executive Schedule in 

2 subchapter II of chapter 53 of title V, United States 

3 Code. 

4 (2) ALTERNATE FEDERAL COCHAIRPERSON.—

5 The alternate Federal cochairperson—

6 (A) shall be compensated by the Federal 

7 Government at level V of the Executive Sched8 ule described in paragraph (1); and 

9 (B) when not actively serving as an alter10 nate for the Federal cochairperson, shall per11 form such functions and duties as are delegated 

12 by the Federal cochairperson. 

13 (3) STATE MEMBERS AND ALTERNATES.—

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—A State shall com15 pensate each member and alternate rep16 resenting the State on the Authority at the rate 

17 established by law of the State. 

18 (B) NO ADDITIONAL COMPENSATION.—No 

19 State member or alternate member shall receive 

20 any salary, or any contribution to or sup21 plementation of salary from any source other 

22 than the State for services provided by the 

23 member or alternate to the Authority. 

24 (4) DETAILED EMPLOYEES.—
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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—No person detailed to 

2 serve the Authority under subsection (e)(6) 

3 shall receive any salary or any contribution to 

4 or supplementation of salary for services pro5 vided to the Authority from—

6 (i) any source other than the State, 

7 local, or intergovernmental department or 

8 agency from which the person was detailed; 

9 or 

10 (ii) the Authority. 

11 (B) VIOLATION.—Any person that violates 

12 this paragraph shall be fined not more than 

13 $5,000, imprisoned not more than 1 year, or 

14 both. 

15 (C) APPLICABLE LAW.—The Federal co16 chairperson, the alternate Federal cochair17 person, and any Federal officer or employee de18 tailed to duty on the Authority under sub19 section (e)(5) shall not be subject to subpara20 graph (A), but shall remain subject to sections 

21 202 through 209 of title 18, United States 

22 Code. 

23 (5) ADDITIONAL PERSONNEL.—

24 (A) COMPENSATION.—
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1 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Authority may 

2 appoint and fix the compensation of an ex3 ecutive director and such other personnel 

4 as are necessary to enable the Authority to 

5 carry out the duties of the Authority. 

6 (ii) EXCEPTION.—Compensation 

7 under clause (i) shall not exceed the max8 imum rate for the Senior Executive Service 

9 under section 5382 of title 5, United 

10 States Code, including any applicable local11 ity-based comparability payment that may 

12 be authorized under section 5304(h)(2)(C) 

13 of that title. 

14 (B) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.—The executive 

15 director shall be responsible for—

16 (i) the carrying out of the administra17 tive duties of the Authority; 

18 (ii) direction of the Authority staff; 

19 and 

20 (iii) such other duties as the Author21 ity may assign. 

22 (C) NO FEDERAL EMPLOYEE STATUS.—No 

23 member, alternate, officer, or employee of the 

24 Authority (except the Federal cochairperson of 

25 the Authority, the alternate and staff for the 
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1 Federal cochairperson, and any Federal em2 ployee detailed to the Authority under sub3 section (e)(5)) shall be considered to be a Fed4 eral employee for any purpose. 

5 (i) CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.—

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided under 

7 paragraph (2), no State member, alternate, officer, 

8 or employee of the Authority shall participate per9 sonally and substantially as a member, alternate, of10 ficer, or employee of the Authority, through decision, 

11 approval, disapproval, recommendation, the ren12 dering of advice, investigation, or otherwise, in any 

13 proceeding, application, request for a ruling or other 

14 determination, contract, claim, controversy, or other 

15 matter in which, to knowledge of the member, alter16 nate, officer, or employee any of the following per17 sons has a financial interest: 

18 (A) The member, alternate, officer, or em19 ployee. 

20 (B) The spouse, minor child, or partner of 

21 the member, alternate, officer, or employee. 

22 (C) Any organization (other than a State 

23 or political subdivision of the State) in which 

24 the member, alternate, officer, or employee is 
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1 serving as an officer, director, trustee, partner, 

2 or employee. 

3 (D) Any person or organization with whom 

4 the member, alternate, officer, or employee is 

5 negotiating or has any arrangement concerning 

6 prospective employment. 

7 (2) DISCLOSURE.—Paragraph (1) shall not 

8 apply if the State member, alternate, officer, or em9 ployee—

10 (A) immediately advises the Authority of 

11 the nature and circumstances of the proceeding, 

12 application, request for a ruling or other deter13 mination, contract, claim, controversy, or other 

14 particular matter presenting a potential conflict 

15 of interest; 

16 (B) makes full disclosure of the financial 

17 interest; and 

18 (C) before the proceeding concerning the 

19 matter presenting the conflict of interest, re20 ceives a written determination by the Authority 

21 that the interest is not so substantial as to be 

22 likely to affect the integrity of the services that 

23 the Authority may expect from the State mem24 ber, alternate, officer, or employee. 
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1 (3) VIOLATION.—Any person that violates this 

2 subsection shall be fined not more than $10,000, im3 prisoned not more than 2 years, or both. 

4 (j) VALIDITY OF CONTRACTS, LOANS, AND

5 GRANTS.—The Authority may declare void any contract, 

6 loan, or grant of or by the Authority in relation to which 

7 the Authority determines that there has been a violation 

8 of any provision under subsection (h)(4), subsection (i), 

9 or sections 202 through 209 of title 18, United States 

10 Code. 

11 SEC. 4. ECONOMIC AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT 

12 GRANTS. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Authority may approve 

14 grants to States and public and nonprofit entities for 

15 projects, approved in accordance with section 10—

16 (1) to develop the infrastructure of the region 

17 for the purpose of facilitating economic development 

18 in the region (except that grants for this purpose 

19 may only be made to a State or local government); 

20 (2) to assist the region in obtaining job train21 ing, employment-related education, and business de22 velopment; 

23 (3) to provide assistance to severely distressed 

24 and underdeveloped areas; and 
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1 (4) to otherwise achieve the purposes of this 

2 Act. 

3 (b) FUNDING.—

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Funds for grants under sub5 section (a) may be provided—

6 (A) entirely from appropriations to carry 

7 out this section; 

8 (B) in combination with funds available 

9 under another State or Federal grant program; 

10 or 

11 (C) from any other source. 

12 (2) FUNDING PRIORITY.—Not less than 50 per13 cent of the amount of expenditures approved by the 

14 Authority shall support activities or projects that 

15 benefit severely and persistently distressed counties 

16 and areas. 

17 (3) ELIGIBLE PROJECTS.—The Authority may 

18 provide assistance, make grants, enter into con19 tracts, or otherwise provide funds to eligible entities 

20 in the region for projects that promote—

21 (A) business development; 

22 (B) job training or employment-related 

23 education; 

24 (C) local planning and leadership develop25 ment; 
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1 (D) basic public infrastructure, including 

2 high-tech infrastructure, in distressed counties 

3 and isolated areas of distress; and 

4 (E) any other project facilitating economic 

5 development in the region. 

6 (4) FEDERAL SHARE.—Notwithstanding any 

7 provision of law limiting the Federal share in any 

8 grant program, funds appropriated to carry out this 

9 section may be used to increase a Federal share in 

10 a grant program, as the Authority determines appro11 priate. 

12 SEC. 5. SUPPLEMENTS TO FEDERAL GRANT PROGRAMS. 

13 (a) FEDERAL GRANT PROGRAM FUNDING.—In ac14 cordance with subsection (b), the Federal cochairperson 

15 may use amounts made available to carry out this Act, 

16 without regard to any limitations on areas eligible for as17 sistance or authorizations for appropriation under any 

18 other Act, to fund all or any portion of the basic Federal 

19 contribution to a project or activity under a Federal grant 

20 program in the region in an amount that is above the fixed 

21 maximum portion of the cost of the project otherwise au22 thorized by applicable law, but not to exceed 80 percent 

23 of the costs of the project. 

24 (b) CERTIFICATION.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of any program 

2 or project for which all or any portion of the basic 

3 Federal contribution to the project under a Federal 

4 grant program is proposed to be made under this 

5 section, no Federal contribution shall be made until 

6 the Federal official administering the Federal law 

7 authorizing the contribution certifies that the pro8 gram or project—

9 (A) meets the applicable requirements of 

10 the applicable Federal grant law; and 

11 (B) could be approved for Federal con12 tribution under the law if funds were available 

13 under the law for the program or project. 

14 (2) CERTIFICATION BY AUTHORITY.—

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—The certifications and 

16 determinations required to be made by the Au17 thority for approval of projects under this Act 

18 in accordance with section 10—

19 (i) shall be controlling; and 

20 (ii) shall be accepted by the Federal 

21 agencies. 

22 (B) ACCEPTANCE BY FEDERAL COCHAIR23 PERSON.—Any finding, report, certification, or 

24 documentation required to be submitted to the 

25 head of the department, agency, or instrumen-
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1 tality of the Federal Government responsible for 

2 the administration of any Federal grant pro3 gram shall be accepted by the Federal cochair4 person with respect to a supplemental grant for 

5 any project under the program. 

6 SEC. 6. LOCAL DEVELOPMENT DISTRICTS; CERTIFICATION 

7 AND ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES. 

8 (a) DEFINITION OF LOCAL DEVELOPMENT DIS9 TRICT.—In this section, the term ‘‘local development dis10 trict’’ means an entity designated by the State that—

11 (1) is—

12 (A)(i) a planning district in existence on 

13 the date of enactment of this Act that is recog14 nized by the Economic Development Adminis15 tration of the Department of Commerce; or 

16 (ii) a development district recognized by 

17 the State; or 

18 (B) if an entity described in subparagraph 

19 (A)(i) or (A)(ii) does not exist, an entity des20 ignated by the Authority that satisfies the cri21 teria developed by the Economic Development 

22 Administration for a local development district; 

23 and 

24 (2) has not, as certified by the Federal cochair25 person—
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1 (A) inappropriately used Federal grant 

2 funds from any Federal source; or 

3 (B) appointed an officer who, during the 

4 period in which another entity inappropriately 

5 used Federal grant funds from any Federal 

6 source, was an officer of the other entity. 

7 (b) GRANTS TO LOCAL DEVELOPMENT DISTRICTS.—

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Authority may make 

9 grants for administrative expenses under this sec10 tion. 

11 (2) CONDITIONS FOR GRANTS.—

12 (A) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—The amount of 

13 any grant awarded under paragraph (1) shall 

14 not exceed 80 percent of the administrative ex15 penses of the local development district receiv16 ing the grant. 

17 (B) LOCAL SHARE.—The contributions of 

18 a local development district for administrative 

19 expenses may be in cash or in kind, fairly evalu20 ated, including space, equipment, and services. 

21 (c) DUTIES OF LOCAL DEVELOPMENT DISTRICTS.—

22 A local development district shall—

23 (1) operate as a lead organization serving 

24 multicounty areas in the region at the local level; 

25 and 
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1 (2) serve as a liaison between State and local 

2 governments, nonprofit organizations (including 

3 community-based groups and educational institu4 tions), the business community, and citizens that—

5 (A) are involved in multijurisdictional plan6 ning; 

7 (B) provide technical assistance to local ju8 risdictions and potential grantees; and 

9 (C) provide leadership and civic develop10 ment assistance. 

11 SEC. 7. DISTRESSED COUNTIES AND AREAS AND NONDIS12 TRESSED COUNTIES. 

13 Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment 

14 of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Authority, in ac15 cordance with such criteria as the Authority establishes, 

16 may designate—

17 (1) as distressed counties, counties in the re18 gion that are the most severely and persistently dis19 tressed and underdeveloped and have high rates of 

20 poverty, low per capita income, or high rates of un21 employment; and 

22 (2) as isolated areas of distress, areas located 

23 in nondistressed counties in the region that are se24 verely and persistently distressed as documented by 

25 comparable statistical measures. 
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1 SEC. 8. DEVELOPMENT PLANNING PROCESS. 

2 (a) STATE DEVELOPMENT PLAN.—In accordance 

3 with policies established by the Authority, each State 

4 member shall submit a development plan for the area of 

5 the region represented by the State member. 

6 (b) CONTENT OF PLAN.—A State development plan 

7 submitted under subsection (a) shall reflect the goals, ob8 jectives, and priorities identified in the regional develop9 ment plan developed under section 3(d)(2). 

10 (c) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out the develop11 ment planning process, a State shall—

12 (1) consult with—

13 (A) local development districts; 

14 (B) local units of government; and 

15 (C) institutions of higher learning; and 

16 (2) take into consideration the goals, objectives, 

17 priorities, and recommendations of the entities de18 scribed in paragraph (1). 

19 (d) PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.—The Authority and ap20 plicable State and local development districts shall encour21 age and assist, to the maximum extent practicable, public 

22 participation in the development, revision, and implemen23 tation of all plans and programs under this Act. 

24 SEC. 9. PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT CRITERIA. 

25 (a) IN GENERAL.—In considering programs and 

26 projects to be provided assistance under this Act, and in 
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1 establishing a priority ranking of the requests for assist2 ance provided by the Authority, the Authority shall follow 

3 procedures that ensure, to the maximum extent prac4 ticable, consideration of—

5 (1) the relationship of the project to overall re6 gional development; 

7 (2) the per capita income and poverty and un8 employment rates and other socioeconomic indicators 

9 in an area; 

10 (3) the financial resources available to the ap11 plicants for assistance seeking to carry out the 

12 project, with emphasis on ensuring that projects are 

13 adequately financed to maximize the probability of 

14 successful economic development; 

15 (4) the importance of the project in relation to 

16 other projects that may be in competition for the 

17 same funds; 

18 (5) the prospects that the project for which as19 sistance is sought will improve, on a continuing rath20 er than a temporary basis, the opportunities for em21 ployment, the average level of income, or the eco22 nomic development of the area served by the project; 

23 and 

24 (6) the extent to which the project design pro25 vides for detailed outcome measurements by which 
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1 grant expenditures and the results of the expendi2 tures may be evaluated. 

3 (b) NO RELOCATION ASSISTANCE.—No financial as4 sistance authorized by this Act shall be used to assist an 

5 establishment in relocating from 1 area to another. 

6 (c) REDUCTION OF FUNDS.—Funds may be provided 

7 for a program or project in a State under this Act only 

8 if the Authority determines that the level of Federal or 

9 State financial assistance provided under a law other than 

10 this Act, for the same type of program or project in the 

11 same area of the State within the region, will not be re12 duced as a result of funds made available by this Act. 

13 SEC. 10. APPROVAL OF DEVELOPMENT PLANS AND 

14 PROJECTS. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—A State or regional development 

16 plan or any multistate subregional plan that is proposed 

17 for development under this Act shall be reviewed by the 

18 Authority. 

19 (b) EVALUATION BY STATE MEMBER.—An applica20 tion for a grant or any other assistance for a project under 

21 this Act shall be made through and evaluated for approval 

22 by the State member of the Authority representing the 

23 applicant. 

24 (c) CERTIFICATION.—An application for a grant or 

25 other assistance for a project shall be approved only on 
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1 certification by the State member and Federal cochair2 person that the application for the project—

3 (1) describes ways in which the project complies 

4 with any applicable State development plan; 

5 (2) meets applicable criteria under section 9; 

6 (3) provides adequate assurance that the pro7 posed project will be properly administered, oper8 ated, and maintained; and 

9 (4) otherwise meets the requirements of this 

10 Act. 

11 (d) VOTES FOR DECISIONS.—Upon certification of an 

12 application for a grant or other assistance for a specific 

13 project under this section, an affirmative vote of the Au14 thority under section 3(c) shall be required for approval 

15 of the application. 

16 SEC. 11. CONSENT OF STATES. 

17 Nothing in this Act requires any State to engage in 

18 or accept any program under this Act without the consent 

19 of the State. 

20 SEC. 12. RECORDS. 

21 (a) RECORDS OF THE AUTHORITY.—

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Authority shall main23 tain accurate and complete records of all trans24 actions and activities of the Authority. 
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1 (2) AVAILABILITY.—All records of the Author2 ity shall be available for audit and examination by 

3 the Comptroller General of the United States (in4 cluding authorized representatives of the Comp5 troller General). 

6 (b) RECORDS OF RECIPIENTS OF FEDERAL ASSIST7 ANCE.—

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—A recipient of Federal funds 

9 under this Act shall, as required by the Authority, 

10 maintain accurate and complete records of trans11 actions and activities financed with Federal funds 

12 and report on the transactions and activities to the 

13 Authority. 

14 (2) AVAILABILITY.—All records required under 

15 paragraph (1) shall be available for audit by the 

16 Comptroller General of the United States and the 

17 Authority (including authorized representatives of 

18 the Comptroller General and the Authority). 

19 SEC. 13. ANNUAL REPORT. 

20 Not later than 180 days after the end of each fiscal 

21 year, the Authority shall submit to the President and to 

22 Congress a report describing the activities carried out 

23 under this Act. 
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1 SEC. 14. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro3 priated to the Authority to carry out this Act $40,000,000 

4 for each of fiscal years 2006 through 2010, to remain 

5 available until expended. 

6 (b) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Not more than 5 

7 percent of the amount appropriated under subsection (a) 

8 for a fiscal year shall be used for administrative expenses 

9 of the Authority. 

10 SEC. 15. TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY. 

11 This Act shall have no force or effect on or after Oc12 tober 1, 2010. 

13 SEC. 16. AREA COVERED BY SOUTHEAST CRESCENT AU14 THORITY. 

15 SouthEast Crescent Authority region shall include all 

16 parts of the States of Virginia, North Carolina, South 

17 Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida that 

18 are not eligible for assistance from the Appalachian Re19 gional Commission or the Delta Regional Authority.

Æ