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tion, the reservation governing body (as determined
by the Secretary of the Interior) shall be treated as
being both the State and local governments with re-
spect to such area.
‘‘(b) PERIOD FOR WHICH DESIGNATION IS IN EF-
FECT.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any designation of an area
as a renewal community shall remain in effect dur-
ing the period beginning on the date of the designa-
tion and ending on the earliest of—
‘‘(A) December 31, 2006,
‘‘(B) the termination date designated by
the State and local governments in their nomi-
nation, or
‘‘(C) the date the Secretary of Housing
and Urban Development revokes such designa-
tion.
‘‘(2) REVOCATION OF DESIGNATION.—The Sec-
retary of Housing and Urban Development may re-
voke the designation under this section of an area if
such Secretary determines that the local government
or the State in which the area is located—
‘‘(A) has modified the boundaries of the
area, or
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‘‘(B) is not complying substantially with,
or fails to make progress in achieving, the State
or local commitments, respectively, described in
subsection (d).
‘‘(c) AREA AND ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Housing
and Urban Development may designate a nominated
area as a renewal community under subsection (a)
only if the area meets the requirements of para-
graphs (2) and (3) of this subsection.
‘‘(2) AREA REQUIREMENTS.—A nominated area
meets the requirements of this paragraph if—
‘‘(A) the area is within the jurisdiction of
one or more local governments;
‘‘(B) the boundary of the area is continu-
ous; and
‘‘(C) the area—
‘‘(i) has a population, of at least—
‘‘(I) 4,000 if any portion of such
area (other than a rural area de-
scribed in subsection (a)(2)(B)(i)) is
located within a metropolitan statis-
tical area (within the meaning of sec-
tion 143(k)(2)(B)) which has a popu-
lation of 50,000 or greater; or
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‘‘(II) 1,000 in any other case; or
‘‘(ii) is entirely within an Indian res-
ervation (as determined by the Secretary of
the Interior).
‘‘(3) ELIGIBILITY
REQUIREMENTS.—A nomi-
nated area meets the requirements of this paragraph
if the State and the local governments in which it
is located certify (and the Secretary of Housing and
Urban Development, after such review of supporting
data as he deems appropriate, accepts such certifi-
cation) that—
‘‘(A) the area is one of pervasive poverty,
unemployment, and general distress;
‘‘(B) the unemployment rate in the area,
as determined by the most recent available
data, was at least 11⁄2 times the national unem-
ployment rate for the period to which such data
relate;
‘‘(C) the poverty rate for each population
census tract within the nominated area is at
least 20 percent; and
‘‘(D) in the case of an urban area, at least
70 percent of the households living in the area
have incomes below 80 percent of the median
income of households within the jurisdiction of
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the local government (determined in the same
manner as under section 119(b)(2) of the
Housing and Community Development Act of
1974).
‘‘(4) CONSIDERATION OF HIGH INCIDENCE OF
CRIME.—The Secretary of Housing and Urban De-
velopment shall take into account, in selecting nomi-
nated areas for designation as renewal communities
under this section, the extent to which such areas
have a high incidence of crime.
‘‘(5) CONSIDERATION OF COMMUNITIES IDENTI-
FIED
IN
GAO
STUDY.—The Secretary of Housing
and Urban Development shall take into account, in
selecting nominated areas for designation as renewal
communities under this section, if the area has cen-
sus tracts identified in the May 12, 1998, report of
the Government Accounting Office regarding the
identification of economically distressed areas.
‘‘(d) REQUIRED
STATE
AND
LOCAL
COMMIT-
MENTS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Housing
and Urban Development may designate any nomi-
nated area as a renewal community under subsection
(a) only if—
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‘‘(A) the local government and the State in
which the area is located agree in writing that,
during any period during which the area is a
renewal community, such governments will fol-
low a specified course of action which meets the
requirements of paragraph (2) and is designed
to reduce the various burdens borne by employ-
ers or employees in such area; and
‘‘(B) the economic growth promotion re-
quirements of paragraph (3) are met.
‘‘(2) COURSE OF ACTION.—
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—A course of action
meets the requirements of this paragraph if
such course of action is a written document,
signed by a State (or local government) and
neighborhood organizations, which evidences a
partnership between such State or government
and community-based organizations and which
commits each signatory to specific and measur-
able goals, actions, and timetables. Such course
of action shall include at least five of the follow-
ing:
‘‘(i) A reduction of tax rates or fees
applying within the renewal community.