754 
istering the Federal law that authorizes the Federal 
grant program certifies that the project— 
‘‘(A) meets (except as provided in sub-
section (b)) the applicable requirements of the 
applicable Federal grant program; and 
‘‘(B) could be approved for Federal con-
tribution under the Federal grant program if 
funds were available under the law for the 
project. 
‘‘(2) CERTIFICATION BY AUTHORITY.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The certifications and 
determinations required to be made by the Au-
thority for approval of projects under this Act 
in accordance with section 3809 shall be— 
‘‘(i) controlling; and 
‘‘(ii) accepted by the Federal agencies. 
‘‘(B) ACCEPTANCE BY FEDERAL COCHAIR-
PERSON.—In the case of any project described 
in paragraph (1), any finding, report, certifi-
cation, or documentation required to be sub-
mitted with respect to the project to the head 
of the department, agency, or instrumentality of 
the Federal Government responsible for the ad-
ministration of the Federal grant program 
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under which the project is carried out shall be 
accepted by the Federal cochairperson. 
‘‘SEC. 3805. LOCAL DEVELOPMENT DISTRICTS; CERTIFI-
CATION AND ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES. 
‘‘(a) DEFINITION
OF LOCAL DEVELOPMENT DIS-
TRICT.—In this section, the term ‘local development dis-
trict’ means an entity that— 
‘‘(1) is— 
‘‘(A) a planning district in existence on the 
date of enactment of the Agriculture Reform, 
Food, and Jobs Act of 2013 that is recognized 
by the Secretary; or 
‘‘(B) if an entity described in subpara-
graph (A) does not exist— 
‘‘(i) organized and operated in a man-
ner that ensures broad-based community 
participation and an effective opportunity 
for other nonprofit groups to contribute to 
the development and implementation of 
programs in the region; 
‘‘(ii) governed by a policy board with 
at least a simple majority of members con-
sisting of elected officials or employees of 
a general purpose unit of local government 
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who have been appointed to represent the 
government; 
‘‘(iii) certified to the Authority as hav-
ing a charter or authority that includes the 
economic development of counties or parts 
of counties or other political subdivisions 
within the region— 
‘‘(I) by the Governor of each 
State in which the entity is located; or 
‘‘(II) by the State officer des-
ignated by the appropriate State law 
to make the certification; and 
‘‘(iv)(I) a nonprofit incorporated body 
organized or chartered under the law of 
the State in which the entity is located; 
‘‘(II) a nonprofit agency or instru-
mentality of a State or local government; 
‘‘(III) a public organization estab-
lished before December 21, 2000, under 
State law for creation of multi-jurisdic-
tional, area-wide planning organizations; or 
‘‘(IV) a nonprofit association or com-
bination of bodies, agencies, and instru-
mentalities described in subclauses (I) 
through (III); and 
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‘‘(2) has not, as certified by the Federal co-
chairperson— 
‘‘(A) inappropriately used Federal grant 
funds from any Federal source; or 
‘‘(B) appointed an officer who, during the 
period in which another entity inappropriately 
used Federal grant funds from any Federal 
source, was an officer of the other entity. 
‘‘(b) GRANTS
TO
LOCAL
DEVELOPMENT
DIS-
TRICTS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Authority shall make 
grants for administrative expenses under this sec-
tion. 
‘‘(2) CONDITIONS FOR GRANTS.— 
‘‘(A) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—The amount of 
any grant awarded under paragraph (1) shall 
not exceed 80 percent of the administrative ex-
penses of the local development district receiv-
ing the grant. 
‘‘(B) MAXIMUM
PERIOD.—No grant de-
scribed in paragraph (1) shall be awarded to a 
State agency certified as a local development 
district for a period greater than 3 years. 
‘‘(C) LOCAL SHARE.—The contributions of 
a local development district for administrative 
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expenses may be in cash or in-kind, fairly evalu-
ated, including space, equipment, and services. 
‘‘(c) DUTIES
OF
LOCAL
DEVELOPMENT
DIS-
TRICTS.—A local development district shall— 
‘‘(1) operate as a lead organization serving 
multicounty areas in the region at the local level; 
and 
‘‘(2) serve as a liaison between State and local 
governments, 
nonprofit 
organizations 
(including 
community-based groups and educational institu-
tions), the business community, and citizens that— 
‘‘(A) are involved in multijurisdictional 
planning; 
‘‘(B) provide technical assistance to local 
jurisdictions and potential grantees; and 
‘‘(C) provide leadership and civic develop-
ment assistance. 
‘‘SEC. 3806. DISTRESSED COUNTIES AND AREAS AND NON-
DISTRESSED COUNTIES. 
‘‘(a) DESIGNATIONS.—Each year, the Authority, in 
accordance with such criteria as the Authority may estab-
lish, shall designate— 
‘‘(1) as distressed counties, counties in the re-
gion that are the most severely and persistently dis-
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