I
107TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 4847
To establish the Southwest Regional Border Authority.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MAY 23, 2002
Mr. REYES (for himself, Mr. HINOJOSA, Mr. ORTIZ, Mr. FILNER, Mr.
RODRIGUEZ, and Mr. PASTOR) 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 subse-
quently 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 Southwest Regional Border Authority.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the
‘‘Southwest Regional Border Authority Act’’.
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of
this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Findings and purposes.
Sec. 3. Definitions.
TITLE I—SOUTHWEST REGIONAL BORDER AUTHORITY
Sec. 101. Membership and voting.
Sec. 102. Duties and powers.
Sec. 103. Authority personnel matters.
TITLE II—GRANTS AND DEVELOPMENT PLANNING
Sec. 201. Infrastructure development and improvement.
Sec. 202. Technology development.
Sec. 203. Community development and entrepreneurship.
Sec. 204. Education and workforce development.
Sec. 205. Funding.
Sec. 206. Supplements to Federal grant programs.
Sec. 207. Demonstration projects.
Sec. 208. Local development districts; certification and administrative expenses.
Sec. 209. Distressed counties and areas and economically strong counties.
Sec. 210. Development planning process.
TITLE III—ADMINISTRATION
Sec. 301. Program development criteria.
Sec. 302. Approval of development plans and projects.
Sec. 303. Consent of States.
Sec. 304. Records.
Sec. 305. Annual report.
Sec. 306. Authorization of appropriations.
Sec. 307. Termination of authority.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—
(1) a rapid increase in population in the South-
west border region is placing a significant strain on
the infrastructure of the region, including transpor-
tation, water and wastewater, public health, and
telecommunications;
(2) 20 percent of the residents of the region
have incomes below the poverty level;
(3) unemployment rates in counties in the re-
gion are up to 5 times the national unemployment
rate;
(4) per capita personal income in the region is
significantly below the national average and much of
the income in the region is distributed through wel-
fare programs, retirement programs, and unemploy-
ment payments;
(5) a lack of adequate access to capital in the
region—
(A) has created economic disparities in the
region; and
(B) has made it difficult for businesses to
start up in the region;
(6) many residents of the region live in commu-
nities referred to as ‘‘colonias’’ that lack basic neces-
sities, including running water, sewers, storm drain-
age, and electricity;
(7) many of the problems that exist in the re-
gion could be solved or ameliorated by technology
that would contribute to economic development in
the region;
(8) while numerous Federal, State, and local
programs target financial resources to the region,
those programs are often uncoordinated, duplicative,
and, in some cases, unavailable to eligible border
communities because those communities cannot af-
ford the required funding match;
(9) Congress has established several regional
economic development commissions, including the
Appalachian Regional Commission, the Delta Re-
gional Authority, and the Denali Commission, to im-
prove the economies of those areas of the United
States that experience the greatest economic dis-
tress; and
(10) many of the counties in the region are
among the most economically distressed in the
United States and would benefit from a regional eco-
nomic development commission.
(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are—
(1) to establish a regional economic develop-
ment authority for the Southwest Border region to
address critical issues relating to the economic
health and well-being of the residents of the region;
(2) to provide funding to communities in the re-
gion to stimulate and foster infrastructure develop-
ment, technology development, community develop-
ment and entrepreneurship, and education and
workforce development in the region;
(3) to increase the total amount of Federal
funding available for border economic development
projects by coordinating with and reducing duplica-
tion of other Federal, State, and local programs; and
(4) to empower the people of the region through
the use of local development districts and State and
regional development plans that reflect State and
local priorities.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act, the following definitions apply:
(1) ATTAINMENT COUNTY.—The term ‘‘attain-
ment county’’ means an economically strong county
that is not a distressed county or a competitive
county.
(2) AUTHORITY.—The term ‘‘Authority’’ means
the Southwest Regional Border Authority estab-
lished by section 101(a)(1).
(3) BINATIONAL
REGION.—The term ‘‘bina-
tional region’’ means the 150 miles on either side of
the United States-Mexico border.
(4) BUSINESS INCUBATOR SERVICE.—The term
‘‘business incubator service’’ means—
(A) a legal service, including aid in pre-
paring a corporate charter, partnership agree-
ment, or contract;
(B) a service in support of the protection
of intellectual property through a patent, a
trademark, or any other means;
(C) a service in support of the acquisition
or use of advanced technology, including the
use of Internet services and Web-based services;
and
(D) consultation on strategic planning,
marketing, or advertising.
(5) COMPETITIVE
COUNTY.—The term ‘‘com-
petitive county’’ means an economically strong coun-
ty that meets at least 1, but not all, of the criteria
for a distressed county specified in paragraph (5).
(6) DISTRESSED
COUNTY.—The term ‘‘dis-
tressed county’’ means a county in the region that—
(A)(i) has a poverty rate that is at least
150 percent of the poverty rate of the United
States;
(ii) has a per capita market income that is
not more than 67 percent of the per capita
market income of the United States; and
(iii) has a 3-year unemployment rate that
is at least 150 percent of the unemployment
rate of the United States; or
(B)(i) has a poverty rate that is at least
200 percent of the poverty rate of the United
States; and
(ii)(I) has a per capita market income that
is not more than 67 percent of the per capita
market income of the United States; or
(II) has a 3-year unemployment rate that
is at least 150 percent of the unemployment
rate of the United States.
(7) ECONOMICALLY
STRONG
COUNTY.—The
term ‘‘economically strong county’’ means a county
in the region that is not a distressed county.
(8) FEDERAL
GRANT
PROGRAM.—The term
‘‘Federal grant program’’ means a Federal grant
program to provide assistance in—
(A) acquiring or developing land;
(B) constructing or equipping a highway,
road, bridge, or facility; or
(C) carrying out other economic develop-
ment activities.
(9) ISOLATED AREA OF DISTRESS.—The term
‘‘isolated area of distress’’ means an area located in
an economically strong county that has a high rate
of poverty, unemployment, or outmigration, as deter-
mined by the Authority.
(10) LOCAL
DEVELOPMENT
DISTRICT.—The
term ‘‘local development district’’ means an entity
that—
(A)(i) is a planning district in existence on
the date of enactment of this Act that is recog-
nized by the Economic Development Adminis-
tration of the Department of Commerce; or
(ii) in the case of an area for which an en-
tity described in clause (i) does not exist, is—
(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
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—
(aa) by the Governor of each
State in which the entity is located; or
(bb) by the State officer des-
ignated by the appropriate State law
to make the certification; and
(IV)(aa) a nonprofit incorporated
body organized or chartered under the law
of the State in which the entity is located;
(bb) a nonprofit agency or instrumen-
tality of a State or local government;
(cc) a public organization established
before the date of enactment of this Act
under State law for creation of multijuris-
dictional, area-wide planning organizations;
(dd) a nonprofit association or com-
bination of bodies, agencies, and instru-
mentalities described in subclauses (I)
through (III); or
(ee) a nonprofit, binational organiza-
tion; and
(B) has not, as certified by the Federal
cochairperson—
(i) inappropriately used Federal grant
funds from any Federal source; or
(ii) appointed an officer who, during
the period in which another entity inappro-
priately used Federal grant funds from any
Federal source, was an officer of the other
entity.
(11) REGION.—The term ‘‘region’’ means—
(A) the counties of Cochise, Gila, Graham,
Greenlee, La Paz, Maricopa, Pima, Pinal,
Santa Cruz, and Yuma in the State of Arizona;
(B) the counties of Imperial, Los Angeles,
Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego,
and Ventura in the State of California;
(C) the counties of Catron, Chaves, Don˜a
Ana, Eddy, Grant, Hidalgo, Lincoln, Luna,
Otero, Sierra, and Socorro in the State of New
Mexico; and
(D) the counties of Atascosa, Bandera,
Bee, Bexar, Brewster, Brooks, Cameron, Coke,
Concho, Crane, Crockett, Culberson, Dimmit,
Duval, Ector, Edwards, El Paso, Frio, Gil-
lespie, Glasscock, Hidalgo, Hudspeth, Irion,
Jeff Davis, Jim Hogg, Jim Wells, Karnes, Ken-
dall, Kenedy, Kerr, Kimble, Kinney, Kleberg,
La Salle, Live Oak, Loving, Mason, Maverick,
McMullen, Medina, Menard, Midland, Nueces,
Pecos, Presidio, Reagan, Real, Reeves, San
Patricio, Shleicher, Sutton, Starr, Sterling,
Terrell, Tom Green, Upton, Uvalde, Val Verde,
Ward, Webb, Willacy, Wilson, Winkler, Zapata,
and Zavala in the State of Texas.
(12) SMALL BUSINESS.—The term ‘‘small busi-
ness’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘small busi-
ness concern’’ in section 3(a) of the Small Business
Act (15 U.S.C. 632(a)).
TITLE I—SOUTHWEST REGIONAL
BORDER AUTHORITY
SEC. 101. MEMBERSHIP AND VOTING.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—
(1) IN
GENERAL.—There is established the
Southwest Regional Border Authority.
(2) COMPOSITION.—The Authority shall be
composed of—
(A) a Federal member, to be appointed by
the President, by and with the advice and con-
sent of the Senate; and
(B) State members who shall consist of the
Governor (or a designee of the Governor) of
each State in the region that elects to partici-
pate in the Authority.
(3) COCHAIRPERSONS.—The Authority shall be
headed by—
(A) the Federal member, who shall serve—
(i) as the Federal cochairperson; and
(ii) as a liaison between the Federal
Government and the Authority; and
(B) a State cochairperson, who shall—
(i) be a Governor of a State described
in paragraph (2)(B);
(ii) be elected by the State members
for a term of not more than 2 years; and
(iii) serve only 1 term during any 4
year period.
(b) ALTERNATE MEMBERS.—
(1) STATE ALTERNATES.—The State member
of a State described in paragraph (2)(B) may have
a single alternate, who shall be—
(A) a resident of that State; and
(B) appointed by the Governor of the
State, from among the members of the cabinet
or personal staff of the Governor.
(2) ALTERNATE FEDERAL COCHAIRPERSON.—
The President shall appoint an alternate Federal co-
chairperson.
(3) QUORUM.—Subject to subsection (d)(4), a
State alternate member shall not be counted toward
the establishment of a quorum of the members of
the Authority in any case in which a quorum of the
State members is required to be present.
(4) DELEGATION OF POWER.—No power or re-
sponsibility of the Authority specified in paragraph
(2) or (3) of subsection (d), and no voting right of
any member of the Authority, shall be delegated to
any person who is not—
(A) a member of the Authority; or
(B) entitled to vote at meetings of the Au-
thority.
(c) MEETINGS.—
(1) INITIAL MEETING.—The initial meeting of
the Authority shall be conducted not later than the
date that is the earlier of—
(A) 180 days after the date of enactment
of this Act; or
(B) 60 days after the date on which the
Federal cochairperson is appointed.
(2) OTHER
MEETINGS.—The Authority shall
hold meetings at such times as the Authority deter-
mines, but not less often than semiannually.
(3) LOCATION.—Meetings of the Authority shall
be conducted, on a rotating basis, at a site in the
region in each of the States of Arizona, California,
New Mexico, and Texas.
(d) VOTING.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—To be effective, a decision by
the Authority shall require the approval of the Fed-
eral cochairperson and not less than 60 percent of
the State members of the Authority (not including
any member representing a State that is delinquent
under section 102(d)(2)(D)).
(2) QUORUM.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—A majority of the State
members shall constitute a quorum.
(B) REQUIRED FOR POLICY DECISION.—A
quorum of State members shall be required to
be present for the Authority to make any policy
decision, including—
(i) a modification or revision of a pol-
icy decision of the Authority;
(ii) approval of a State or regional de-
velopment plan; and
(iii) any allocation of funds among the
States.
(3) PROJECT AND GRANT PROPOSALS.—The ap-
proval of project and grant proposals shall be—
(A) a responsibility of the Authority; and
(B) conducted in accordance with section
302.
(4) VOTING BY ALTERNATE MEMBERS.—An al-
ternate member shall vote in the case of the absence,
death, disability, removal, or resignation of the Fed-
eral or State member for which the alternate mem-
ber is an alternate.
SEC. 102. DUTIES AND POWERS.
(a) DUTIES.—The Authority shall—
(1) develop comprehensive and coordinated
plans and programs to establish priorities and ap-
prove grants for the economic development of the re-
gion, giving due consideration to other Federal,
State, and local planning and development activities
in the region;
(2) conduct and sponsor investigations, re-
search, and studies, including an inventory and anal-
ysis of the resources of the region, using, in part,
the materials compiled by the Interagency Task
Force on the Economic Development of the South-
west Border established by Executive Order No.
13122 (64 Fed. Reg. 29201);
(3) sponsor demonstration projects under sec-
tion 207;
(4) review and study Federal, State, and local
public and private programs and, as appropriate,
recommend modifications or additions to increase
the effectiveness of the programs;
(5) formulate and recommend, as appropriate,
interstate and international compacts and other
forms of interstate and international cooperation;
(6) encourage private investment in industrial,
commercial, and recreational projects in the region;
(7) provide a forum for consideration of the
problems of the region and any proposed solutions to
those problems;
(8) establish and use, as appropriate, citizens,
special advisory counsels, and public conferences;
and
(9) provide a coordinating mechanism to avoid
duplication of efforts among the border programs of
the Federal agencies and the programs established
under the North American Free Trade Agreement
entered into by the United States, Mexico, and Can-
ada on December 17, 1992.
(b) POWERS.—In carrying out subsection (a), the Au-
thority may—
(1) hold such hearings, sit and act at such
times and places, take such testimony, receive such
evidence, and print or otherwise reproduce and dis-
tribute a description of the proceedings of, and re-
ports on actions by, the Authority as the Authority
considers appropriate;
(2) request from any Federal, State, or local
agency such information as may be available to or
procurable by the agency that may be of use to the
Authority in carrying out the duties of the Author-
ity;
(3) maintain an accurate and complete record
of all transactions and activities of the Authority, to
be available for audit and examination by the Comp-
troller General of the United States;
(4) adopt, amend, and repeal bylaws and rules
governing the conduct of business and the perform-
ance of duties of the Authority;
(5) request the head of any Federal agency to
detail to the Authority, for a specified period of
time, such personnel as the Authority requires to
carry out duties of the Authority, each such detail
to be without loss of seniority, pay, or other em-
ployee status;
(6) request the head of any State department
or agency or local government to detail to the Au-
thority, for a specified period of time, such personnel
as the Authority requires to carry out the duties of
the Authority, each such detail to be without loss
of seniority, pay, or other employee status;
(7) make recommendations to the President
regarding—
(A) the expenditure of funds at the Fed-
eral, State, and local levels under this Act; and
(B) additional Federal, State, and local
legislation that may be necessary to further the
purposes of this Act;
(8) provide for coverage of Authority employees
in a suitable retirement and employee benefit system
by—
(A) making arrangements or entering into
contracts with any participating State govern-
ment; or
(B) otherwise providing retirement and
other employee benefit coverage;
(9) accept, use, and dispose of gifts or dona-
tions of services or real, personal, tangible, or intan-
gible property;
(10) enter into and perform such contracts,
leases, cooperative agreements, or other transactions
as are necessary to carry out the duties of the Au-
thority; and
(11) establish and maintain—
(A) a central office, to be located at a site
that is not more than 100 miles from the
United States-Mexico border; and
(B) at least 1 field office in each of the
States of Arizona, California, New Mexico, and
Texas, to be located at sites in the region that
the Authority determines to be appropriate.
(c) FEDERAL AGENCY COOPERATION.—A Federal
agency shall—
(1) cooperate with the Authority; and
(2) provide, on request of the Federal cochair-
person, appropriate assistance in carrying out this
Act, in accordance with applicable Federal laws (in-
cluding regulations).
(d) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—
(A) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Subject
to paragraph (2), administrative expenses of the
Authority shall be paid—
(i) by the Federal Government, in an
amount equal to 60 percent of the admin-
istrative expenses; and
(ii) by the States in the region that
elect to participate in the Authority, in an
amount equal to 40 percent of the admin-
istrative expenses.
(B) 
EXPENSES
OF
FEDERAL
CHAIR-
PERSON.—All expenses of the Federal cochair-
person, including expenses of the alternate and
staff of the Federal cochairperson, shall be paid
by the Federal Government.
(2) STATE SHARE.—
(A) IN
GENERAL.—Subject to subpara-
graph (C), the share of administrative expenses
of the Authority to be paid by each State shall
be determined by a unanimous vote of the State
members of the Authority.
(B) NO
FEDERAL
PARTICIPATION.—The
Federal cochairperson shall not participate or
vote in any decision under subparagraph (A).
(C) LIMITATION.—A State shall not pay
less than 10 nor more than 40 percent of the
share of administrative expenses of the Author-
ity determined under paragraph (1)(A)(ii).
(D) DELINQUENT
STATES.—During any
period in which a State is more than 1 year de-
linquent in payment of the State’s share of ad-
ministrative expenses of the Authority under
this subsection (as determined by the Sec-
retary)—
(i) no assistance under this Act shall
be provided to the State (including assist-
ance to a political subdivision or a resident
of the State) for any project not approved
as of the date of the commencement of the
delinquency; and
(ii) no member of the Authority from
the State shall participate or vote in any
action by the Authority.
(E) EFFECT ON ASSISTANCE.—A State’s
share of administrative expenses of the Author-
ity under this subsection shall not be taken into
consideration in determining the amount of as-
sistance provided to the State under title II.
SEC. 103. AUTHORITY PERSONNEL MATTERS.
(a) COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS.—
(1) FEDERAL
COCHAIRPERSON.—The Federal
cochairperson shall be compensated by the Federal
Government at the annual rate of basic pay pre-
scribed for level III of the Executive Schedule in
subchapter II of chapter 53 of title 5, United States
Code.
(B) increasing and expanding international
trade to other countries;
(2) to foster entrepreneurship by—
(A) supporting the advancement of, and
providing entrepreneurial training and edu-
cation 
for, 
youths, 
students, 
and
businesspersons;
(B) improving access to debt and equity
capital by facilitating the establishment of de-
velopment venture capital funds and other ap-
propriate means;
(C) providing aid to communities in identi-
fying, developing, and implementing develop-
ment strategies for various sectors of the econ-
omy; and
(D)(i) developing a working network of
business incubators; and
(ii) supporting entities that provide busi-
ness incubator services.
(3) to promote civic responsibility and leader-
ship through activities that include—
(A) the identification and training of
emerging leaders;
(B) the encouragement of citizen participa-
tion; and