CLEAR Act of 2022

Bill: 117-hr-7178
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Crow, Jason [D-CO-6]
Introduced: 2022-03-21
Policy area: Housing and Community Development
Latest action: action_date: 2022-03-21
text: Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.

Summaries:
action_date: 2022-03-21
action_desc: Introduced in House
text: <p><b>Championing Local Efforts to Advance Resilience Act of 2022 or the CLEAR Act of 2022</b></p> <p>This bill directs the Department of Housing and Urban Development to award grants to states, Indian tribes, and territories for establishing or maintaining (or both) an office responsible for planning, program implementation, technical assistance, and related efforts to address community resilience (i.e., the ability to rebound, positively adapt to, or thrive amidst changing conditions or challenges, including natural disasters, and maintain quality of life, healthy growth, and economic vitality for present and future generations).</p>

tv_txt: I 117th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 7178 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES March 21, 2022 Mr. Crow (for himself and Mr. Rouzer ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services A BILL To authorize the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to make grants to States and Indian tribes to support local resiliency offices, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Championing Local Efforts to Advance Resilience Act of 2022 or the CLEAR Act of 2022 . 2. Resiliency office grants (a) Authority The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, in consultation with the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Secretary of Commerce, and the Secretary of the Interior, may make grants under this section to States and Indian tribes that are eligible for such grants pursuant to subsection (b) for use in accordance with subsection (c). (b) Eligibility To be eligible for a grant under this section, a State or Indian tribe shall establish and maintain, or maintain, an office specifically responsible for issues relating to resilience and that has among its duties the following: (1) To develop and update, not less frequently than every 5 years, a resiliency framework, in consultation with vulnerable and impacted communities, that identifies current and projected risks and vulnerabilities due to climate change and other challenges, in each of the areas of— (A) environmental and natural hazards; (B) the economy and workforce; (C) infrastructure; (D) health and social services; and (E) housing. (2) To implement programming to address risks and vulnerabilities identified in the resiliency framework, including— (A) providing technical assistance to local governments for the implementation of resilience planning; (B) assisting State or tribal agencies in the implementation of resilience policies and procedures; (C) integrating resilience criteria into existing competitive grant funding administered by such office or State agencies; and (D) supporting long-term community pre-disaster mitigation and recovery efforts and facilitating access to resources before and after a disaster. (3) To improve coordination among State or tribal agencies and regional and local jurisdictions to support community and economic recovery efforts and address risk and vulnerability reduction. (c) Use Amounts from a grant under this section may be used by the grantee, or any unit of local government that is a subgrantee of such grantee, only for— (1) costs of establishing or maintaining, or both, a resiliency office and implementing resiliency programming, developing resilience planning and analytic tools, enhancing community planning and capacity, and providing technical assistance, in accordance with the requirements of subsection (b); and (2) payment of any non-Federal share required in connection with a Federal program undertaken to carry out any of the purposes of subsection (b)(2). (d) Applications To apply for a grant under this section, a State or Indian tribe shall submit an application at such time, in such form, and containing such information as the Secretary may prescribe. (e) Priority In awarding grants under this section to States, the Secretary shall give priority to applications that— (1) demonstrate the greatest need for assistance under this section; (2) identify vulnerabilities and risks in disadvantaged communities and prioritize projects to benefit such communities and promote equity in resilience; (3) demonstrate a broad approach to resilience, as such term is defined in subsection (j)(3); (4) provide for the grantee to work collaboratively with multiple stakeholders impacted by the identified risks and vulnerabilities, including the formation of a permanent climate resilience advisory task force that includes individuals— (A) representing each of the areas identified in subsection (b)(1); (B) representing disadvantaged communities; (C) representing labor, worker, and workforce development; (D) representing tribal nations or tribal communities; (E) representing local governments; (F) having experience in climate-related disaster preparedness, response, and recovery; and (G) having public health expertise; and (5) provide for subgrants to entities that adhere to prevailing wage provisions as published by the Department of Labor. (f) Amount The Secretary shall award grants in an amount sufficient to provide funding to a grantee to cover a minimum of 24 months of grant activities. (g) Technical assistance The Secretary shall, in consultation with the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of the Interior, and such other heads of Federal agencies as the Secretary considers appropriate, provide technical assistance to grantees regarding developing resiliency frameworks and implementing resiliency strategies. (h) Administrative costs Of any amounts made available for grants under this section, the Secretary may use 1.0 percent for costs of administering the program under this section for such grants and for providing technical assistance under subsection (g). (i) Reports to HUD Not later than 90 days after the end of each fiscal year for which a grantee receives a grant under this section, the grantee shall submit a report to the Secretary regarding the use of such grant amounts, which shall include— (1) a description of the activities undertaken by the grantee using such grant amounts; (2) identification of the costs of each of the services provided using such grant amounts; and (3) assessments of the effectiveness of the grant program under this section and the programs carried out by the resiliency office of the grantee and recommendations for improving such programs. (j) Definitions (1) Disadvantaged community The term disadvantaged community means a community that is determined by the Secretary to meet the interim definition of a disadvantaged community using the indicators and guidelines set forth in the Memorandum for the Heads of Departments and Agencies relating to Interim Implementation Guidance for the Justice40 Initiative, issued by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality, and the National Climate Advisor on July 20, 2021 (M–21–28). (2) Grantee The term grantee means a State or Indian tribe to which a grant under this section is made. (3) Indian tribe The term Indian tribe has the meaning given such term in section 4 of the Native American Housing and Self-Determination Act of 1996 ( 25 U.S.C. 4103 ). (4) Resilience The term resilience means, with respect to a community, the ability to rebound, positively adapt to, or thrive amidst changing conditions or challenges, including human-caused and natural disasters, and to maintain quality of life, healthy growth, durable systems, economic vitality, and conservation of resources for present and future generations. (5) Secretary The term Secretary means the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. (6) State The term State means a State of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, the Virgin Islands, and American Samoa. (k) Funding (1) Authorization of appropriations There is authorized to be appropriated for grants under this section $200,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2027. (2) Set-aside for Indian tribes Of any amounts appropriated for a fiscal year for grants under this section, the Secretary shall reserve 10 percent for grants to Indian tribes. The Secretary shall allocate such amounts reserved, among Indian tribes having applications for grants under this section for such fiscal year approved by the Secretary, on the basis of a competition conducted pursuant to specific criteria for the selection of Indian tribes to receive such amounts. The criteria shall be contained in a regulation promulgated by the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of the Interior, after notice and opportunity for public comment.