Economic Development Promotion and Resiliency Act
Bill: H.R.7590 | Sponsor: Rep. Titus, Dina (D-NV)
Policy area: Commerce

Summary:
Economic Development Promotion and Resiliency Act
This bill modifies the Economic Development Administration's (EDA) public works and economic development programs. For example, the bill establishes grants (1) for predevelopment activities (e.g., community asset mapping); (2) for economic development capacity building; and (3) to support outdoor recreation, tourism, hospitality.

To reauthorize and improve the programs authorized by the Public Works 
     and Economic Development Act of 1965, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Economic Development Promotion and 
Resiliency Act''.

SEC. 2. PREDEVELOPMENT GRANTS.

    (a) Predevelopment Grants.--Title II of the Public Works and 
Economic Development Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3141 et seq.) is amended by 
inserting after section 207 the following:

``SEC. 208. PREDEVELOPMENT GRANTS.

    ``(a) Predevelopment Grants.--On the application of an eligible 
recipient, the Secretary may make grants or cooperative agreements 
for--
            ``(1) community asset mapping;
            ``(2) training;
            ``(3) technical assistance and organizational development;
            ``(4) feasibility, environmental, and market studies;
            ``(5) demonstration projects;
            ``(6) organizational capacity building;
            ``(7) organizing and facilitating convenings;
            ``(8) site preparation and infrastructure;
            ``(9) permitting, including professional services; and
            ``(10) other predevelopment activities determined by the 
        Secretary to be appropriate.
    ``(b) Application Assistance.--In the case of a project carried out 
with a grant under this section that provides assistance to one or more 
eligible entities with low organizational capacity, the Secretary may 
waive section 213.''.
    (b) Grant Rate for Predevelopment Grants.--Section 204(c)(3) of the 
Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3144) is 
amended--
            (1) in the paragraph heading, by striking ``and technical 
        assistance'' and inserting ``technical assistance, and 
        predevelopment''; and
            (2) by striking ``section 207'' and inserting ``sections 
        207 or 208''.
    (c) Conforming Amendments.--
            (1) Direct expenditure or redistribution by recipient.--
        Section 217(a) of the Public Works and Economic Development Act 
        of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3154c(a)) is amended by striking ``or 207'' 
        and inserting ``207, or 208''.
            (2) Powers of secretary.--Section 601(a)(12) of the Public 
        Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 
        3211(a)(12)) is amended by striking ``section 207'' and 
        inserting ``sections 207 and 208''.
    (d) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents in section 1(b) of 
the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3121 
note) is amended by inserting after the item related to section 207 the 
following:

``Sec. 208. Predevelopment grants.''.

SEC. 3. CAPACITY BUILDING PILOT PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--Section 218 of the Public Works and Economic 
Development Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3154d) is amended to read as 
follows:

``SEC. 218. STRONG COMMUNITIES ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CAPACITY BUILDING 
              PILOT PROGRAM.

    ``(a) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish a program, to 
be known as the `Strong Communities Economic Development Capacity 
Building Pilot Program', under which the Secretary shall provide 
grants, on a competitive basis, to an eligible recipient to hire 1 or 
more qualified economic development professionals to assist the 
eligible recipient in implementing certain projects and priorities.
    ``(b) Applications.--
            ``(1) In general.--To be eligible to receive a grant under 
        this section, an eligible recipient shall submit to the 
        Secretary an application at such time, in such manner, and 
        containing such information as the Secretary may require.
            ``(2) Inclusions.--Each application under this subsection 
        shall include--
                    ``(A) a demonstration of need for economic 
                development staffing, support, and technical 
                assistance; and
                    ``(B) an explanation of the means for which the 
                eligible recipient would use the services of each 
                qualified economic development professional hired using 
                a grant under this section.
    ``(c) Use of Funds.--An eligible recipient shall use a grant 
provided under this section to hire 1 or more qualified economic 
development professionals to assist the eligible recipient in--
            ``(1) implementing projects and priorities, including--
                    ``(A) a comprehensive economic development 
                strategy;
                    ``(B) a locally-derived economic development 
                strategic plan other than a comprehensive economic 
                development strategy;
                    ``(C) projects carried out with grants awarded 
                under this Act;
                    ``(D) a predevelopment project;
                    ``(E) a public-private partnership initiative;
                    ``(F) business retention and expansion efforts;
                    ``(G) entrepreneur and small business development 
                activities;
                    ``(H) real estate development and reuse projects;
                    ``(I) financial and credit analysis resources;
                    ``(J) a workforce and economic development program; 
                and
                    ``(K) other projects and priorities related to core 
                economic development practices;
            ``(2) identifying and using other Federal and State 
        economic development programs;
            ``(3) leveraging private and philanthropic investment; and
            ``(4) carrying out economic development activities in 
        accordance with professional economic development best 
        practices.
    ``(d) Requirements.--A grant provided under this section shall be--
            ``(1) in an amount equal to not more than $500,000; and
            ``(2) provided for a term of--
                    ``(A) not less than 3 years; and
                    ``(B) not more than 5 years.
    ``(e) Limitation.--
            ``(1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2)--
                    ``(A) a grant recipient may use a grant provided 
                under this section to pay an amount equal to 80 percent 
                of the salary of a qualified economic development 
                professional hired using the grant; and
                    ``(B) the Secretary may permit such grant recipient 
                to pay an amount equal to 100 percent of the salary of 
                such professional if the Secretary determines that the 
                extent of distress in the community receiving such 
                grant warrants the payment in such amount.
            ``(2) Maximum amount.--A grant provided under this section 
        may not be used to pay more than $100,000 of the salary of a 
        qualified economic development professional hired using the 
        grant.
    ``(f) Definition.--In this section, the term `qualified economic 
development professional' means an individual--
            ``(1) with not less than 4 consecutive years of economic 
        development experience; and
            ``(2) with relevant professional training obtained from an 
        accrediting organization, or who is committed to obtaining such 
        training from an accrediting organization.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents in section 1(b) of 
the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3121 
note) is further amended by striking the item relating to section 218 
and inserting the following:

``218. Strong communities economic development capacity building pilot 
                            program.''.

SEC. 4. COVID-ERA FUNDING AVAILABILITY.

    Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any amounts made 
available to carry out the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 
1965 (42 U.S.C. 3121 et seq.) during the period for which the public 
health emergency declared by the Secretary of Health and Human Services 
under section 319 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d) on 
January 31, 2020, with respect to COVID-19 is in effect shall be 
available until September 30, 2030.

SEC. 5. TRAVEL, TOURISM, AND OUTDOOR RECREATION STABILIZATION GRANTS.

    (a) In General.--Title II of the Public Works and Economic 
Development Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3141 et seq.) is further amended by 
adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 219. TRAVEL, TOURISM, AND OUTDOOR RECREATION STABILIZATION 
              GRANTS.

    ``(a) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish a program to 
provide grants to eligible recipients to support outdoor recreation, 
tourism, hospitality, or special event activities to spur economic 
development.
    ``(b) Eligible Uses.--
            ``(1) In general.--A grant under this section may be used 
        to--
                    ``(A) pay costs associated with obtaining State, 
                county, city, community, or regional tourism marketing 
                and promotion campaigns, including through nonprofit or 
                quasi-governmental destination marketing organizations;
                    ``(B) carry out workforce training programs that 
                support the travel, tourism, hospitality, and outdoor 
                recreation industries to improve the skills of, and job 
                opportunities for, employees in such industries;
                    ``(C) carry out projects to improve regional 
                economies in developing travel, tourism, hospitality, 
                and outdoor recreation industries, including projects 
                to assist small businesses, entrepreneurs, and small 
                and rural communities;
                    ``(D) pay costs associated with upgrades and 
                retrofits to existing travel, tourism, hospitality, and 
                outdoor recreation infrastructure, such as convention 
                centers, to increase travel and tourism activity or to 
                make such infrastructure more functional under social 
                distancing conditions due to a public health emergency;
                    ``(E) carry out construction activities at a 
                facility or property that is related to tourism and 
                owned by the eligible recipient;
                    ``(F) pay costs associated with providing 
                information to visitors about the health and safety 
                protections, guidance, or requirements of Federal, 
                State, or local governments and businesses to reduce 
                the spread of a public health emergency;
                    ``(G) pay the increased costs of filtration and 
                sanitation, including physical modifications to a 
                convention center, large event space, or community 
                attraction associated with precautions to provide for 
                safe work, travel, or event environments; and
                    ``(H) establish local programs to provide 
                assistance to a small business operating in the travel, 
                tourism, hospitality, outdoor recreation, or special 
                events industries--
                            ``(i) for development or expansion of such 
                        small business; or
                            ``(ii) to recover from the impacts of a 
                        public health emergency.
            ``(2) Prohibition.--A grant provided under this section may 
        not be used--
                    ``(A) for recruitment efforts to bring in or host a 
                particular event, such as a sporting competition; or
                    ``(B) to pay costs associated with obtaining a 
                marketing and promotion campaign described in paragraph 
                (1)(A) if such campaign is carried out for the benefit 
                of a private company.
    ``(c) Priority.--In providing grants under this section, the 
Secretary shall give priority to eligible recipients that seek to carry 
out an activity that--
            ``(1) is based on long-term, regionally oriented, 
        coordinated, and collaborative economic development or 
        redevelopment strategies that foster economic growth and 
        resilience;
            ``(2) promotes workforce development;
            ``(3) involves a minority-owned, rural, or otherwise 
        underserved small business; or
            ``(4) implements strong labor standards, including project 
        labor agreements and community benefit agreements that include 
        local hire provisions to promote effective and efficient 
        delivery of high-quality infrastructure projects.
    ``(d) Regional Distribution.--
            ``(1) In general.--In providing grants under this section, 
        the Secretary shall select eligible recipients in each region 
        served by the Economic Development Administration.
            ``(2) Regional amounts.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Of the amounts made available to 
                carry out this section, the Secretary shall allocate an 
                amount for each region served by the Economic 
                Development Administration in an amount equal to the 
                proportion that--
                            ``(i) the average employment in the leisure 
                        and hospitality sectors in a region for fiscal 
                        years 2015 through 2019; bears to
                            ``(ii) the total employment and gross 
                        domestic product in such region for such fiscal 
                        years.
                    ``(B) Special rule.--
                            ``(i) In general.--In cases in which the 
                        data described in subparagraph (A) is not 
                        available for a territory in a region, the 
                        Secretary shall establish an allocation amount 
                        for such region using any other data that the 
                        Secretary determines reliably measures the 
                        impact of tourism, hospitality, and special 
                        events on the economy of such region.
                            ``(ii) Limitation.--In establishing an 
                        allocation amount under clause (i) to account 
                        for unavailable data for a territory in a 
                        region, the Secretary may establish an 
                        allocation amount for such region that is not 
                        more than 10 percent higher than the amount 
                        that would be allocated for such region 
                        pursuant to the formula described in 
                        subparagraph (A).
            ``(3) Grant amount.--The Secretary shall determine the 
        amount of each grant provided to an eligible recipient in a 
        region served by the Economic Development Administration based 
        on the allocation for such region under paragraph (2).
    ``(e) Authorization of Appropriations.--Of the amounts made 
available pursuant to section 701(a) for each of fiscal years 2023 
through 2027, $100,000,000 shall be made available to carry out this 
section.
    ``(f) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Outdoor recreation.--The term `outdoor recreation' 
        means all recreational activities undertaken for pleasure 
        that--
                    ``(A) involve some level of intentional physical 
                exertion; and
                    ``(B) occur in outdoor nature-based environments.
            ``(2) Public health emergency.--The term `public health 
        emergency' means a public health emergency declared by the 
        Secretary of Health and Human Services pursuant to section 319 
        of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d).
            ``(3) Tourism, hospitality, or special event activity.--The 
        term `tourism, hospitality, or special event activity' means 
        any economic activity that primarily serves to encourage 
        recreational or business travel within the United States or 
        from another country, including--
                    ``(A) tourist attractions; and
                    ``(B) venues that support conventions or 
                entertainment events.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents in section 1(b) of 
the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3121 
note) is further amended by inserting after the item relating to 
section 218 (as amended by this Act) the following:

``Sec. 219. Travel, tourism, and outdoor recreation stabilization 
                            grants.''.
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