GRACE Act

Bill: 117-s-1223
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Cornyn, John [R-TX]
Introduced: 2021-04-20
Policy area: Transportation and Public Works
Subjects: Census and government statistics

Disaster relief and insurance

Public transit

State and local government operations

Transportation programs funding

Urban and suburban affairs and development
Latest action: action_date: 2021-04-20
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.

Summaries:
action_date: 2021-04-20
action_desc: Introduced in Senate
text: <p><b>Giving Relief to American Communities in Emergencies Act or the</b> <b>GRACE Act </b></p> <p>This bill extends authority through FY2022 for the Department of Transportation (DOT) to distribute formula funding for certain programs using the 2000 Census for areas that lost their urbanized area designation because their population fell below 50,000 after the 2000 census as a result of a major disaster. </p> <p>Upon request by a state in which an urbanized area that experiences a disaster-related population decrease is located, DOT may elect for purposes of the public transportation emergency relief program to (1) use the population of such area, as determined in the decennial census before the most recent decennial census; and (2) continue to treat the area as an urbanized area.</p>

tv_txt: II 117th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 1223 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES April 20, 2021 Mr. Cornyn (for himself, Mr. Kaine , and Mr. Warner ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs A BILL To revise the treatment of urbanized areas experiencing population changes following a major disaster.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Giving Relief to American Communities in Emergencies Act or the GRACE Act . 2. Urbanized areas (a) Extension of treatment of urbanized areas Section 21101 of division B of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 ( Public Law 115–123 ; 132 Stat. 103) is amended by striking and 2020 and inserting 2020, 2021, and 2022 . (b) Census discretion Section 5324 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: (f) Census discretion (1) Definitions In this subsection: (A) Disaster-related population decrease The term disaster-related population decrease , with respect to an urbanized area, means that— (i) the population of the urbanized area decreases to be less than 50,000 individuals, as determined in a decennial census after the decennial census in which the area was designated as an urbanized area; and (ii) the decrease described in clause (i) is a result of a major disaster declared by the President under section 401 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act ( 42 U.S.C. 5170 ). (B) Urbanized area The term urbanized area means an area designated in a decennial census as an urbanized area by the Secretary of Commerce. (2) Election On request by the Governor of a State in which an urbanized area that experiences a disaster-related population decrease is located, the Secretary may elect for the purposes of this chapter, including for purposes of making apportionments under this chapter— (A) to use the population of the urbanized area, as determined in the decennial census before the most recent decennial census; and (B) to continue to treat the area as an urbanized area. .