Sunday, April 5, 2020

community development fund - Cares Act

community development fund

For an additional amount for “Community Development Fund”, $5,000,000,000, to remain available until September 30, 2022, to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus: Provided, That up to $2,000,000,000 of the amount made available under this heading in this Act shall be distributed pursuant to section 106 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5306) to grantees that received allocations pursuant to that same formula in fiscal year 2020, and that such allocations shall be made within 30 days of enactment of this Act: Provided further, That, in addition to amounts allocated pursuant to the preceding proviso, an additional $1,000,000,000 shall be allocated directly to States and insular areas, as defined by 42 U.S.C. 5302(a), to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus within the State or insular area, including activities within entitlement and nonentitlement communities, based on public health needs, risk of transmission of coronavirus, number of coronavirus cases compared to the national average, and economic and housing market disruptions, and other factors, as determined by the Secretary, using best available data and that such allocations shall be made within 45 days of enactment of this Act: Provided further, That remaining amounts shall be distributed directly to the State or unit of general local government, at the discretion of the Secretary, according to a formula based on factors to be determined by the Secretary, prioritizing risk of transmission of coronavirus, number of coronavirus cases compared to the national average, and economic and housing market disruptions resulting from coronavirus: Provided further, That such allocations may be made on a rolling basis based on the best available data at the time of allocation: Provided further, That amounts made available in the preceding provisos may be used to cover or reimburse allowable costs consistent with the purposes of this heading in this Act incurred by a State or locality regardless of the date on which such costs were incurred: Provided further, That section 116(b) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 5316(b)) and any implementing regulations, which requires grantees to submit their final statements of activities no later than August 16 of a given fiscal year, shall not apply to final statements submitted in accordance with sections 104(a)(2) and (a)(3) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 5304(a)(2) and (a)(3)) and comprehensive housing affordability strategies submitted in accordance with section 105 of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 12705) for fiscal years 2019 and 2020: Provided further, That such final statements and comprehensive housing affordability strategies shall instead be submitted no later than August 16, 2021: Provided further, That the Secretary may waive, or specify alternative requirements for, any provision of any statute or regulation that the Secretary administers in connection with the use of amounts made available under this heading in this Act and under the same heading in Public Law 116–94 and Public Law 116–6 (except for requirements related to fair housing, nondiscrimination, labor standards, and the environment), upon a finding by the Secretary that any such waivers or alternative requirements are necessary to expedite or facilitate the use of such amounts to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus: Provided further, That up to $10,000,000 of amounts made available under this heading in this Act may be used to make new awards or increase prior awards to existing technical assistance providers, without competition, to provide an immediate increase in capacity building and technical assistance to support the use of amounts made available under this heading in this Act and under the same heading in prior Acts to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus: Provided further, That, notwithstanding sections 104(a)(2), (a)(3), and (c) of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5304(a)(2), (a)(3), and (c)) and section 105 of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 12705), a grantee may adopt and utilize expedited procedures to prepare, propose, modify, or amend its statement of activities for grants from amounts made available under this heading in this Act and under the same heading in Public Law 116–94 and Public Law 116–6Provided further, That under such expedited procedures, the grantee need not hold in-person public hearings, but shall provide citizens with notice and a reasonable opportunity to comment of no less than 5 days: Provided further, That, for as long as national or local health authorities recommend social distancing and limiting public gatherings for public health reasons, a grantee may create virtual public hearings to fulfill applicable public hearing requirements for all grants from funds made available under this heading in this Act and under the same heading in Public Law 116–94 and Public Law 116–6Provided further, That any such virtual hearings shall provide reasonable notification and access for citizens in accordance with the grantee’s certifications, timely responses from local officials to all citizen questions and issues, and public access to all questions and responses: Provided further, That, notwithstanding section 105(a)(8) of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5305(a)(8)), there shall be no per centum limitation for the use of funds for public services activities to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus: Provided further, That the previous proviso shall apply to all such activities for grants of funds made available under this heading in this Act and under the same heading in Public Law 116–94 and Public Law 116–6Provided further, That the Secretary shall ensure there are adequate procedures in place to prevent any duplication of benefits as required by section 312 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5155) and in accordance with section 1210 of the Disaster Recovery Reform Act of 2018 (division D of Public Law 115–254; 132 Stat. 3442), which amended section 312 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5155): Provided further, That such amount is designated by the Congress as being for an emergency requirement pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.