I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 554 
To suspend the authority of a State to administer funds under Federal 
block grant programs if the State does not enact certain conflict of 
interest protections, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 13, 2017 
Mr. KILDEE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on 
Education and the Workforce, Financial Services, Homeland Security, the 
Judiciary, Transportation and Infrastructure, and Ways and Means, 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 com-
mittee concerned 
A BILL 
To suspend the authority of a State to administer funds 
under Federal block grant programs if the State does 
not enact certain conflict of interest protections, and 
for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Make State Govern-
ments More Open, Honest, and Transparent Act of 
2017’’. 
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SEC. 2. NATIONAL STANDARDS RELATING TO STATE CON-
FLICT OF INTEREST PROTECTIONS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The head of a Federal agency 
that administers a Federal block grant program in a fiscal 
year shall take the following actions with respect to a 
State that is in noncompliance as described in subsection 
(b) on the first day of the fiscal year: 
(1) Suspend the authority of the State or any 
political subdivision of the State to administer funds 
made available to the State or subdivision under the 
Federal block grant program in that fiscal year. 
(2) Exercise the authority of the State de-
scribed in paragraph (1) in that fiscal year, includ-
ing the selection of the projects to be carried out in 
the State or subdivision under the Federal block 
grant program. 
(b) REQUIREMENT.—A State shall be treated as 
being in noncompliance as described in this subsection 
with respect to a fiscal year if the Director of the Office 
of Government Ethics determines that the State has not 
enacted or is not enforcing one or more of the following 
laws on the first day of the fiscal year: 
(1) A law that requires an individual serving as 
a member of the legislature of the State to prepare 
and make available to the public an annual report 
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disclosing the financial interests of the individual 
during the preceding year. 
(2) A law that prohibits an individual serving 
as a member of the legislature of the State to solicit 
or require, either directly or indirectly, an employee 
of the individual to make a financial or in-kind con-
tribution to a political party or a political campaign. 
(3) A law that makes it unlawful for any per-
son— 
(A) who enters into any contract with the 
State (including any department or agency of 
the State) either for the rendition of personal 
services or furnishing any material, supplies, or 
equipment to the State or for selling any land 
or building to the State, if payment for the per-
formance of such contract or payment for such 
material, supplies, equipment, land, or building 
is to be made in whole or in part from funds 
appropriated by the State, at any time between 
the commencement of negotiations for and the 
later of (i) the completion of performance 
under, or (ii) the termination of negotiations 
for, such contract or furnishing of material, 
supplies, equipment, land, or buildings, directly 
or indirectly to make any contribution of money 
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or other things of value, or to promise expressly 
or impliedly to make any such contribution to 
any political party, committee, or candidate for 
State public office or to any person for any po-
litical purpose or use; or 
(B) knowingly to solicit any such contribu-
tion from any such person for any such purpose 
during any such period. 
(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following defi-
nitions apply: 
(1) FEDERAL
BLOCK
GRANT
PROGRAM.—The 
term ‘‘Federal block grant program’’ means each of 
the following: 
(A) The Innovative Education Program 
Strategies Block Grant program of the Depart-
ment of Education. 
(B) The Energy Efficiency and Conserva-
tion Block Grant program of the Department of 
Energy. 
(C) The following programs of the Depart-
ment of Health and Human Services: 
(i) The Child Care and Development 
Block Grant program. 
(ii) The Community Mental Health 
Services Block Grant program. 
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(iii) The Community Services Block 
Grant program. 
(iv) The Low Income Home Energy 
Assistance Block Grant program. 
(v) The Maternal and Child Health 
Services Block Grant program. 
(vi) 
The 
Preventive 
Health 
and 
Health Services Block Grant program. 
(vii) The Social Services Block Grant 
program. 
(viii) The Substance Abuse Prevention 
and Treatment Block Grant program. 
(ix) The Temporary Assistance to 
Needy Families program. 
(x) The Title V Abstinence Education 
Block Grant program. 
(D) The Homeland Security Grant Pro-
grams (State Homeland Security Programs, 
Urban Area Security Initiative Grant, and Op-
eration Stonegarden) of the Department of 
Homeland Security. 
(E) The following programs of the Depart-
ment of Housing and Urban Development: 
(i) 
The 
Community 
Development 
Block Grant program. 
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(ii) The Indian Community Develop-
ment Block Grant program. 
(iii) The Emergency Solutions Grant 
Program. 
(iv) The HOME Investment Partner-
ships Program. 
(v) The Indian Housing Block Grant 
program. 
(vi) The Native Hawaiian Housing 
Block Grant program. 
(F) The Edward Byrne Memorial Justice 
Assistance Grant program of the Department of 
Justice. 
(G) The Workforce Investment Act (Youth, 
Adult, and Dislocated Workers) program of the 
Department of Labor. 
(H) The following programs of the Depart-
ment of Transportation: 
(i) The Federal Aviation Administra-
tion Airport Improvement State Block 
Grant Program. 
(ii) The Surface Transportation Block 
Grant Program. 
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(2) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means any of 
the 50 States, the District of Columbia, or Puerto 
Rico. 
Æ 
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