USC Subchapter I

in effect

40 U.S.C. § 15701 Consent of States

This subtitle does not require a State to engage in or accept a program under this subtitle without its consent.

40 U.S.C. § 15702 Distressed counties and areas

(a) Designations.—Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this section, and annually thereafter, each Commission shall make the following designations:(1) Distressed counties.—The Commission shall designate as distressed counties those counties in its region that are the most severely and persistently economically distressed and underdeveloped and have high rates of poverty, unemployment, or outmigration. (2) Transitional counties.—The Commission shall designate as transitional counties those counties in its region that are economically distressed and underdeveloped or have recently suffered high rates of poverty, unemployment, or outmigration. (3) Attainment counties.—The Commission shall designate as attainment counties, those counties in its region that are not designated as distressed or transitional counties under this subsection. (4) Isolated areas of distress.—The Commission shall designate as isolated areas of distress, areas located in counties designated as attainment counties under paragraph (3) that have high rates of poverty, unemployment, or outmigration. (b) Allocation.—A Commission shall allocate at least 50 percent of the appropriations made available to the Commission to carry out this subtitle for programs and projects designed to serve the needs of distressed counties and isolated areas of distress in the region. (c) Attainment Counties.—(1) In general.—Except as provided in paragraph (2), funds may not be provided under this subtitle for a project located in a county designated as an attainment county under subsection (a). (2) Exceptions.—(A) Administrative expenses of local development districts.—The funding prohibition under paragraph (1) shall not apply to grants to fund the administrative expenses of local development districts under section 15505. (B) Multicounty and other projects.—A Commission may waive the application of the funding prohibition under paragraph (1) with respect to—(i) a multicounty project that includes participation by an attainment county; and (ii) any other type of project, if a Commission determines that the project could bring significant benefits to areas of the region outside an attainment county. (3) Application.—Paragraph (2) shall not apply to—(A) a county described in paragraph (2) or (3) of section 15735; or (B) the Southern New England Regional Commission. (4) Isolated areas of distress.—For a designation of an isolated area of distress to be effective, the designation shall be supported—(A) by the most recent Federal data available; or (B) if no recent Federal data are available, by the most recent data available through the government of the State in which the isolated area of distress is located.

40 U.S.C. § 15703 Counties eligible for assistance in more than one region

(a) Limitation.—A political subdivision of a State may not receive assistance under this subtitle in a fiscal year from more than one Commission. (b) Selection of Commission.—A political subdivision included in the region of more than one Commission shall select the Commission with which it will participate by notifying, in writing, the Federal Cochairperson and the appropriate State member of that Commission. (c) Changes in Selections.—The selection of a Commission by a political subdivision shall apply in the fiscal year in which the selection is made, and shall apply in each subsequent fiscal year unless the political subdivision, at least 90 days before the first day of the fiscal year, notifies the Cochairpersons of another Commission in writing that the political subdivision will participate in that Commission and also transmits a copy of such notification to the Cochairpersons of the Commission in which the political subdivision is currently participating. (d) Inclusion of Appalachian Regional Commission.—In this section, the term “Commission” includes the Appalachian Regional Commission established under chapter 143.

40 U.S.C. § 15704 Inspector General; records

(a) Appointment of Inspector General.—There shall be an Inspector General for the Commissions appointed in accordance with section 403(a) of title 5. All of the Commissions shall be subject to a single Inspector General. (b) Records of a Commission.—(1) In general.—A Commission shall maintain accurate and complete records of all its transactions and activities. (2) Availability.—All records of a Commission shall be available for audit and examination by the Inspector General (including authorized representatives of the Inspector General). (c) Records of Recipients of Commission Assistance.—(1) In general.—A recipient of funds from a Commission under this subtitle shall maintain accurate and complete records of transactions and activities financed with the funds and report to the Commission on the transactions and activities. (2) Availability.—All records required under paragraph (1) shall be available for audit by the Commission and the Inspector General (including authorized representatives of the Commission and the Inspector General). (d) Annual Audit.—The Inspector General shall audit the activities, transactions, and records of each Commission on an annual basis.

40 U.S.C. § 15705 Biannual meetings of representatives of all Commissions

(a) In General.—Representatives of each Commission, the Appalachian Regional Commission, and the Denali Commission shall meet biannually to discuss issues confronting regions suffering from chronic and contiguous distress and successful strategies for promoting regional development. (b) Chair of Meetings.—The chair of each meeting shall rotate among the Commissions, with the Appalachian Regional Commission to host the first meeting.