Title: Small Cities and Towns Investment Act
Policy area: Transportation and Public Works

Summary:

Small Cities and Towns Investment Act
This bill establishes a program through which the Rural Development Innovation Center shall make grants to local governments to address major community development and public infrastructure challenges.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6459 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6459

   To provide funds to enable counties to make competitive grants to 
    qualified local units of government to address major community 
    development and public infrastructure challenges, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 7, 2020

  Ms. Craig introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                        Committee on Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To provide funds to enable counties to make competitive grants to 
    qualified local units of government to address major community 
    development and public infrastructure challenges, 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 ``Small Cities and Towns Investment 
Act''.

SEC. 2. GRANTS FOR COUNTIES.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Agriculture, through the Rural 
Development Innovation Center, shall make a block grant in accordance 
with this Act to a county with a submission approved by the Secretary 
under section 3, for each year in the 5-year period during which the 
plan included in the submission is to be in effect.
    (b) Definitions.--In this Act:
            (1) Qualified local unit of government.--The term 
        ``qualified local unit of government'' means a town, city, 
        village, township, or similar entity that has a population of 
        no greater than 30,000 individuals.
            (2) Regional planning entity.--The term ``regional planning 
        entity'' means a regional planning commission, regional 
        council, or council of governments.
            (3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Agriculture.

SEC. 3. SUBMISSION; CONSOLIDATED PLAN.

    (a) Submission.--A county that desires grants under this Act shall 
submit to the Secretary a consolidated plan that--
            (1) provides a broad overview of the projects for which the 
        grants are to be used;
            (2) identifies ways to engage residents of the county 
        (including by holding public hearings, publishing information 
        on available funds, or providing technical assistance for 
        persons interested in applying for grant funds) throughout the 
        process of applying for, and using grants provided under this 
        Act;
            (3) identifies specific areas in need of improvement in the 
        county;
            (4) describes the short- and long-term community and 
        economic development objectives of the county;
            (5) identifies the private, public, and nonprofit 
        institutions that are willing and able to assist in carrying 
        out the plan;
            (6) has been developed in coordination with the regional 
        planning entity for the area in which the county is located 
        (or, if there is no such entity for the area, the Secretary), 
        and using the Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy 
        developed by the Economic Development Administration in 
        coordination with the regional planning entity (or, if there is 
        no such entity, the Secretary);
            (7) specifies the 5-year period during which the plan is to 
        be in effect;
            (8) is submitted to the Secretary and the office of 
        economic development of the State in which the county is 
        located, not later than 45 days before the beginning of the 5-
        year period referred to in paragraph (7); and
            (9) includes--
                    (A) a binding commitment from the State in which 
                the county is located to provide the county with $10 
                (from funds not provided by the Federal Government) to 
                carry out the plan for each $85 in funds provided to 
                the county under this Act to carry out the plan; and
                    (B) a binding commitment from the county that the 
                county will, alone or in combination with one or more 
                local units of government in the county, expend a total 
                of $5 (from funds not provided by the Federal 
                Government) for each $85 in funds provided to the 
                county under this Act to carry out the plan.
    (b) Approval; Disapproval.--
            (1) Approval.--The Secretary shall approve a submission 
        that meets the requirements of subsection (a) if--
                    (A) not less than 80 percent of the grants to be 
                provided to the submitter under this Act would be 
                distributed to one or more qualified local units of 
                government through a competitive grant program, and the 
                submitter would retain not more than 20 percent of the 
                grants;
                    (B) the grants would be used, in accordance with 
                the consolidated plan contained in the submission, to 
                purchase, construct, improve, or operate essential 
                community facilities (including health care facilities; 
                public facilities, such as town halls, courthouses, 
                airport hangers, or public transportation; community 
                support services, such as workforce housing, child care 
                centers, community centers, or transitional housing; 
                public safety services; educational services, including 
                classroom technological modernization; utility 
                services, including environmental protection services 
                such as sewage disposal, sanitation, and pollution 
                abatement; local food systems; and local amenities), 
                purchase equipment, and pay related project expenses, 
                consistent with section 5; and
                    (C) each qualified local unit of government that 
                would be receiving such a grant would ensure that each 
                laborer and mechanic employed by a contractor or 
                subcontractor in performance of construction work 
                financed, in whole or in part, by the grant would be 
                paid wages at rates not less than the rates prevailing 
                on similar construction in the locality as determined 
                by the Secretary of Labor in accordance with subchapter 
                IV of chapter 31 of title 40, United States Code 
                (commonly known as the Davis-Bacon Act); and
                    (D) the submitter demonstrates that there is 
                substantial community support for the plan.
            (2) Disapproval.--The Secretary shall make available to the 
        general public the reasons for the disapproval of a submission 
        made pursuant to this section.

SEC. 4. ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary shall allocate the amounts made 
available by this Act among counties with submissions approved under 
section 3, in accordance a formula prescribed by the Secretary in 
regulations, that the Secretary determines would best allow counties to 
address major community development and public infrastructure 
challenges. In developing the formula, the Secretary shall consider the 
following criteria:
            (1) Per capita income levels.
            (2) Population growth rates.
    (b) Evaluation.--Every 2 years, the Secretary shall evaluate the 
effectiveness of the formula prescribed under subsection (a), and 
revise the formula, as necessary, to best enable counties to address 
major community development and public infrastructure challenges.
    (c) Report to Congress.--The Secretary shall submit to the Congress 
a report on each formula used under this section, which sets forth the 
formula and explains how allocating the amounts made available by this 
Act best achieves the purposes of this Act.

SEC. 5. LIMITATIONS; USE OF FUNDS.

    (a) Limitations.--A local unit of government to which a grant is 
made under this Act may not use the grant--
            (1) to discriminate against any person on the basis of 
        race, color, sex, age, sexual orientation, or national origin;
            (2) as matching funds to receive Federal funds under any 
        other law; or
            (3) in contravention of the requirements under sections 
        3141 through 3144, 3146, and 3147 of title 40, United States 
        Code.
    (b) Use of Funds.--A county to which funds are provided under this 
Act for a fiscal year shall reserve 1 percent of the funds for 
administration of the funds.

SEC. 6. ANNUAL ACTION REPORTS; AUDITS BY THE INSPECTOR GENERAL.

    (a) Annual Action Reports.--By the end of each year for which a 
grant is made under this Act to a county, the county shall submit to 
the Secretary a report that--
            (1) identifies the development goals of the county for the 
        succeeding year;
            (2) contains a brief summary of the actions and activities 
        to be undertaken with funds provided under this Act, and 
        identifies specific, measurable goals that match the priorities 
        identified in the plan to be carried out using the funds;
            (3) outlines the Federal and non-Federal resources that 
        will be used in doing so;
            (4) details the progress made by the county in achieving 
        the goals identified as described in this subsection for the 
        preceding year; and
            (5) includes information on the amount of the grant 
        provided to the county for the year covered by the report, and 
        details on how the money was distributed for each project under 
        the plan referred to in section 3.
    (b) Audits by the Inspector General.--The Inspector General of the 
Department of Agriculture shall conduct periodic and random audits of 
the projects to which funds are provided under this Act.

SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There is authorized to be appropriated $10,000,000,000 for fiscal 
year 2021 and each succeeding fiscal year to make grants under this 
Act.
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