AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT
The federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, administered by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), was established in 1974 to provide states and local units of government federal assistance to address a wide array of community development needs.
In Texas, the state’s share of federal CDBG funds that assist non-entitlement communities (i.e., towns, cities, and counties that are too small to receive direct assistance from HUD) is primarily administered by the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA). TDA uses the state’s allocation of non-entitlement CDBG funds to provide local governments the necessary resources to address a wide variety of community needs (e.g., basic infrastructure projects, capacity planning and improvement initiatives, economic development endeavors, et cetera) which would be difficult to address if the non-entitlement CDBG funds were not available.
Over the last 10 years, the state’s allocation of non-entitlement federal CDBG funds has decreased by over 30 percent. The Legislative Budget Board (LBB) reports that in fiscal year (FY) 2003, the state received $85.26 million from the federal CDBG program. In early 2013, LBB estimated that the state would receive $59.29 million for FY 2013, which is a 30.5 percent decrease over the last 10 years. LBB subsequently reported in February 2013, that because of the federal sequestration’s across-the-board automatic reductions to certain federal programs, the state’s allocation of CDBG funding would be further reduced by approximately $3.2 million in FY 2013.
This reduction of federal resources is of serious concern to non-entitlement local governments which may not have the local resources to appropriately meet the needs of their communities. To address this concern, C.S.S.B. 1554 establishes a state funded matching grant program to provide needed resources for non-entitlement local governments to assist them with critical community needs.
C.S.S.B. 1554 amends current law relating to the establishment of a matching grant program for community development in certain municipalities and counties.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
Rulemaking authority is expressly granted to the Department of Agriculture in SECTION 1 (Section 23.006, Agriculture Code) of this bill.
SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS
SECTION 1. Amends Title 2, Agriculture Code, by adding Chapter 23, as follows:
CHAPTER 23. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT MATCHING GRANT PROGRAM FOR RURAL AND SMALL COMMUNITIES
Sec. 23.001. DEFINITION. Defines "program" in this chapter.
Sec. 23.002. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT MATCHING GRANT PROGRAM. (a) Requires the Department of Agriculture (TDA) to create a community development matching grant program (program) to foster community and economic development in certain municipalities and counties.
(b) Requires TDA to award matching grants under the program to assist in the financing of:
(1) community development projects, including basic infrastructure projects such as water or wastewater facilities and planning, street improvements, and drainage;
(2) capacity-building projects relating to local public facility and housing planning activities;
(3) renewable energy projects to help participating rural communities reduce energy costs for water and wastewater treatment facilities;
(4) restoration projects for water or wastewater infrastructure based on urgent need, if the infrastructure poses an imminent threat to life or health;
(5) economic development projects to create or retain permanent employment opportunities;
(6) economic development projects to support economic and management development activities at the county level;
(7) environmental projects that provide assistance to small communities for solving water or wastewater problems using self-help methods; and
(8) other community development projects as determined by TDA with the assistance of the Texas Rural Health and Economic Development Advisory Council.
Sec. 23.003. ELIGIBLE ENTITIES. Provides that a municipality or county is eligible for a matching grant under this chapter if the municipality or county is:
(1) a nonentitlement area, as defined by 42 U.S.C. Section 5302(a)(7), under the federal community development block grant nonentitlement program; and
(2) in good standing with TDA and with the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Sec. 23.004. APPLICATIONS. Authorizes eligible municipalities or counties to submit a single jurisdiction application or a multi-jurisdiction application for a matching grant under the program for a community development project. Requires that an application include a description of the project proposal.
Sec. 23.005. PREFERENCE FOR MULTI-JURISDICTION APPLICATIONS. (a) Requires TDA, in awarding a matching grant under the program, to give preference to an application submitted under the program by two or more eligible municipalities or counties if the application shows that the proposed community development project will mutually benefit the residents of the communities applying for the funds.
(b) Prohibits a multi-jurisdiction application solely for administrative convenience from being accepted by TDA.
(c) Prohibits a municipality or county that has submitted a multi-jurisdiction application from submitting a single-jurisdiction application for a matching grant for the same project for which the multi-jurisdiction application was submitted.
(d) Requires one of the municipalities or counties participating under a multi-jurisdiction application, if a matching grant is awarded under this program, to be primarily accountable to TDA for financial compliance and performance requirements under the program. Requires all municipalities and counties applying under a multi-jurisdiction application to meet application threshold requirements.
Sec. 23.006. RULES. (a) Requires TDA by rule to set criteria for matching grant requirements and participation under the program.
(b) Requires TDA to adopt rules necessary to implement this chapter.
SECTION 2. Effective date: upon passage or September 1, 2013.