Sec. 5457. Community development block grant disaster recovery program

6,860 words·~31 min read·/bill/117/hr/7900/eh/section-5457

A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.

Title I of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 is amended— in section 101(c) ( 42 U.S.C. 5301(c) )— in paragraph (8), by striking and at the end; in paragraph (9), by striking the period at the end and inserting ; and ; and by inserting after paragraph

(9)and before the undesignated matter at the end the following: in the case of grants awarded under section 123, the recovery from disasters and efforts to mitigate the effects of future disasters. ; in section 102(a) ( 42 U.S.C. 5302(a) )— in paragraph (20)(A), by inserting before the last sentence the following: The term ‘persons of middle income’ means families and individuals whose incomes exceed 80 percent, but do not exceed 120 percent, of the median income of the area involved, as determined by the Secretary with adjustments for smaller and larger families. ; and by adding at the end the following new paragraph: The term ‘major disaster’ has the meaning given such term in section 102 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act ( 42 U.S.C. 5122 ). ; in section 106(c)(4) ( 42 U.S.C. 5306(c)(4) )— in subparagraph (A)— by striking declared by the President under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act ; and by inserting major before disaster, any amounts ; in subparagraph (C), by inserting major before disaster ; and in subparagraph (F), by inserting major before disaster ; in section 122 ( 42 U.S.C. 5321 )), by striking disaster under title IV of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act and inserting major disaster ; and by adding at the end the following new sections: The Secretary may provide assistance under this section to States, including Puerto Rico, units of general local government, and Indian tribes for necessary expenses for activities authorized under this title related to disaster relief, resiliency, long-term recovery, restoration of infrastructure and housing, mitigation, and economic revitalization in the most impacted and distressed areas (as such term shall be defined by the Secretary by regulation) resulting from a major disaster declared pursuant to the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act ( 42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq. ). For purposes of assistance under this section, there are authorized to be appropriated and made available in the Community Development Block Grant Declared Disaster Recovery Fund established under section 124, such sums as are necessary to respond to current or future disasters, which shall remain available until expended. The Secretary shall annually establish and publish on its website an unmet needs threshold for most impacted and distressed areas resulting from a major disaster that shall result in a grant under this section. In determining the amount allocated under this section for any grantee, the Secretary shall make allocations based on the best available data on unmet recover needs and include an additional amount, as determined by the Secretary, for mitigation, based on the best available research, the type of disaster, and such amounts awarded for mitigation for similar types of disasters in prior years. Such data may include information from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Small business Administration, and any other relevant Federal, State, or local agency, and data from the Bureau of the Census to assess the unmet needs of both homeowners and renters. Except as provided in paragraph (3), for any major disaster meeting the most impacted and distressed unmet need threshold requirements in paragraph (1), the Secretary shall allocate funds available to a grantee for assistance under this section within 60 days of the date of a major disaster declaration or 60 days from when sufficient funds become available to make the allocation. The deadlines under paragraph

(2)for allocation of funds shall not apply in the case of funds made available for assistance under this section if Federal Emergency Management Agency has not made sufficient information available to the Secretary regarding relevant unmet recovery needs to make allocations in accordance with such deadlines. The Secretary shall notify the Congress of progress on or delay in receiving the necessary information within 60 days following declaration of such a major disaster and monthly thereafter until all necessary information is received. Subject to subsection (c)(1), the Secretary shall provide for the disbursement of the amounts allocated for a grantee, but shall require the grantee to be in substantial compliance with the requirements of this section before each such disbursement. The Secretary shall coordinate with other agencies to obtain data on recovery needs, including the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Administrator of the Small Business Administration, and other agencies when necessary regarding disaster benefits. The Secretary shall share with the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and make publicly available (with such redactions necessary to protect personally identifiable information), all data collected, possessed, or analyzed during the course of a disaster recovery for which assistance is provided under this section. Notwithstanding section 552a of title 5, U.S.C., or any other law, the Secretary may make data transfers pertaining to grants under this section with the FEMA Administrator, grantees, and academic and research institutions described in section 123(l)(3), which transfers may disclose information about an individual without the individual’s written consent, including the use and retention of this data for computer matching programs to assess disaster recovery needs and to prevent the duplication of benefits and other waste, fraud, and abuse; provided, that the Secretary shall enter a data sharing agreement before sharing or receiving any information under transfers authorized by this section. The data sharing agreements must, in the determination of the Secretary, include measures adequate to safeguard the privacy and personally identifying information of individuals. The data the Secretary shares with the Administrator shall include— all data on damage caused by the disaster; information on how any Federal assistance provided in connection with the disaster is expended; and information regarding the effect of the disaster on education, transportation capabilities and dependence, housing needs, health care capacity, and displacement of persons. Funds made available under this subsection shall be used in accordance with section 312 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act ( 42 U.S.C. 5155 ), as amended by section 1210 of the Disaster Recovery Reform Act of 2018 (division D, Public Law 115–254 ), and such rules as may be prescribed under such section. Households having the lowest incomes shall be prioritized for direct assistance under this subsection until all unmet needs are satisfied for families having an income up to 120 percent of the median for the area. In any case in which a grantee provides assistance that duplicates benefits available to a person for the same purpose from another source, the grantee itself shall either

(i)be subject to remedies for noncompliance under section 111, or

(ii)bear responsibility for absorbing such cost of duplicative benefits and returning an amount equal to any duplicative benefits paid to the grantee’s funds available for use under this section or to the Community Development Block Grant Declared Disaster Recovery Fund under section 124, unless the Secretary issues a public determination by publication in the Federal Register that it is not in the best interest of the Federal Government to pursue such remedies based on hardships identified in subparagraph

(E)or other reasons. A grantee of assistance from funds made available for use under this section may request a waiver from the Secretary of any recoupment by the Secretary of such funds for amounts owed by persons who have received such assistance from such funds and who have been defrauded, or after receiving assistance, have filed for bankruptcy, gone through a foreclosure procedure on property that received such assistance, or are deceased. If the grantee self-certifies to the Secretary in such request that it has verified that the individual conditions of each person it is requesting a waiver for meets one of the conditions specified in the preceding sentence, the Secretary may grant such waivers on the basis of grantee self-certification, issue a public determination by publication in the Federal Register that it is not in the best interest of the Federal Government to pursue such recoupment, and may conduct oversight to verify grantee self-certification and subject the grantee to remedies for noncompliance for any amounts that have not met such requirements. In carrying out this paragraph, the Secretary and the grantee shall take such actions as may be necessary to ensure that personally identifiable information regarding recipients of assistance provided from funds made available under this section is not made publicly available by the Department of Housing and Urban Development or any agency with which information is shared pursuant to this paragraph. Not later than 90 days after the allocation pursuant to subsection (b)(1) of all of the funds made available by an appropriations Act for assistance under this section and before the Secretary obligates any of such funds for a grantee, the grantee shall submit a plan to the Secretary for approval detailing the proposed use of all funds, which shall include, at a minimum— criteria for eligibility for each proposed use of funds, including eligibility limits on income and geography, and a description of how each proposed use of such funds will comply with all civil rights and fair housing laws and will address disaster relief, resiliency, long-term recovery, restoration of infrastructure and housing, hazard mitigation, and economic revitalization in the most impacted and distressed areas, including, as appropriate, assistance for the benefit of impacted households experiencing homelessness as defined by section 103 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act ( 42 U.S.C. 11302 ) or at risk of homelessness as defined by section 401 of such Act ( 42 U.S.C. 11360 ); an agreement to share data, disaggregated by the smallest census tract, block group, or block possible for the data set, with Federal agencies and other providers of disaster relief, which shall include information the grantee has regarding the matters described in subsection (b)(4)(B); identification of officials and offices responsible for administering such funds and processes and procedures for identifying and recovering duplicate benefits; for grantees other than Indian tribes, a plan for compliance with the Fair Housing Act, which may include, at the election of the grantee, providing for partnerships with local fair housing organizations and funding set-aside for local fair housing organizations to handle complaints relating to assistance with amounts made available for use under this section; and a plan to provide for the funding and delivery of— case management services to assist disaster-impacted residents in identifying, understanding, and accessing available assistance; and housing counseling services through housing counseling agencies approved by the Secretary to assist disaster-impacted residents with mortgage assistance, housing affordability, homeownership, tenancy, avoiding foreclosure and eviction, and other housing counseling topics; a plan for addressing displacement or relocation caused by activities performed pursuant to this section, such a plan shall set forth how housing counseling services will be delivered in coordination with case management services; and a plan for addressing displacement or relocation caused by activities performed pursuant to this section. To speed recovery, the Secretary may award a portion of a grant for implementation purposes under this section at the time the Secretary announces the allocation of funds and before the Secretary has issued pre-grant certifications and the grantee has made required submissions to the Secretary, and with the following conditions: Implementation funding under this paragraph shall not exceed 10 percent of the grant awarded under subsection (a). Implementation funding shall be limited to eligible activities that, in the determination of the Secretary, will support faster recovery, improve the grantee’s ability to assess unmet recovery needs, plan for the prevention of improper payments, and reduce fraud, waste, and abuse. Awards under this subsection shall not be subject to the substantial compliance determination under subsection (b)(4). The Secretary shall, by regulation, specify criteria for approval of plans under paragraph (1), including approval of substantial amendments to such plans. The Secretary may approve a plan addressing the use of funds for unmet recovery needs under paragraph

(1)before approving a plan addressing the use of funds for mitigation. The Secretary shall disapprove a plan or substantial amendment to a plan if— the plan or substantial amendment does not meet the approval criteria; based on damage and unmet needs assessments of the Secretary and the Federal Emergency Management Administration or such other information as may be available, the plan or substantial amendment describing activities to address unmet recovery needs does not provide an allocation of resources that is reasonably proportional to unmet need— between infrastructure and housing activities; and between homeowners, renters, and persons experiencing homelessness; unless the plan is submitted by an Indian tribe, the plan or amendment does not provide an adequate plan for ensuring that funding provided under this section is used in compliance with the Fair Housing Act; the plan or substantial amendment does not adequately address, as determined by the Secretary in regulation, the unmet needs for replacement or rehabilitation of certain disaster-damaged housing units, with cost adjustment where appropriate, including damaged dwelling units in public housing, as such term is defined in section 3(b) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 ( 42 U.S.C. 1437a(b) ), projects receiving tax credits pursuant to section 42 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or for projects assisted under section 8 of the Housing Act of 1937 ( 42 U.S.C. 1437f ), under section 202 of the Housing Act of 1959 ( 12 U.S.C. 1701q ), under section 811 of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act ( 42 U.S.C. 8013 ), under the HOME Investment Partnerships Act ( 42 U.S.C. 12721 et seq. ), under the community development block grant program under this title, or by the Housing Trust Fund under section 1338 of the Federal Housing Enterprises Financial Safety and Soundness Act of 1992 ( 12 U.S.C. 4568 ) or any low and moderate income dwelling units demolished or converted to a use other than for housing for low and moderate income persons, as defined in section 104(d) of this Act ( 42 U.S.C. 5304(d) ); the plan or substantial amendment does not use a percentage of the grant, as determined by the Secretary in regulation, for acquisition, rehabilitation, reconstruction, or other activities permitted by the Secretary to provide affordable rental housing to benefit persons of low and moderate income, which rental housing will, upon completion, be occupied by such persons; or the plan or substantial amendment does not provide a process to provide applicants— notice by grantee of applicant’s right to administrative appeal of any adverse action on the applicant’s application; and right to full discovery of applicant’s entire application file. In developing the plan required under paragraph (1), a grantee shall, at a minimum— consult with affected residents, stakeholders, local governments, and public housing authorities to assess needs; publish the plan in accordance with the requirements set forth by the Secretary, including a requirement to prominently post the plan on the website of the grantee for not less than 14 days; ensure equal access for individuals with disabilities and individuals with limited English proficiency; and publish the plan in a manner that affords citizens, affected local governments, and other interested parties a reasonable opportunity to examine the contents of the plan and provide feedback. The Secretary shall permit a grantee to revise and resubmit a disapproved plan or plan amendment. The Secretary shall approve or disapprove a plan not later than 60 days after submission of the plan to the Secretary. The Secretary shall immediately notify the State, unit of general local government, or Indian tribe that submitted the plan or substantial amendment of the Secretary’s decision. If the Secretary disapproves a plan or a substantial amendment, not later than 15 days after such disapproval the Secretary shall inform the State, unit of general local government, or Indian tribe in writing of

(i)the reasons for disapproval, and

(ii)actions that the State, unit of general local government, or Indian tribe could take to meet the criteria for approval. The Secretary shall, for a period of not less than 45 days following the date of disapproval, permit the revision and resubmission of any plan or substantial amendment that is disapproved. The Secretary shall approve or disapprove a resubmission of any plan or substantial amendment not less than 30 days after receipt of such substantial amendments or resubmission. Subject to subsection (b)(3), the Secretary shall ensure that all grant agreements necessary for prompt disbursement of funds allocated to a grantee are signed by the Secretary within 60 days of approval of grantee’s plan describing the use of such funds. The Secretary shall develop and maintain a system to ensure that each grantee has and will maintain for the life of the grant— proficient financial controls and procurement processes; adequate procedures to ensure that eligible applicants are approved for assistance with amounts made available for use under this section and that recipients are provided the full amount of assistance for which they are eligible, subject to funding availability; adequate procedures to prevent any duplication of benefits, as defined by section 312 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act ( 42 U.S.C. 5155 ), to ensure timely expenditure of funds, and to detect and prevent waste, fraud, and abuse of funds; and adequate procedures to ensure the grantee will maintain comprehensive and publicly accessible websites that make available information regarding all disaster recovery activities assisted with such funds, which information shall include common reporting criteria established by the Secretary that permits individuals and entities awaiting assistance and the general public to see how all grant funds are used, including copies of all relevant, unredacted procurement documents, grantee administrative contracts and details of ongoing procurement processes, as determined by the Secretary. The Secretary shall provide, by regulation or guideline, a method for qualitatively and quantitatively evaluating compliance with the requirements under paragraph (1). Before making a grant, the Secretary shall certify in advance that the grantee has in place the processes and procedures required under subparagraphs

(A)through

(D)of paragraph (1), as determined by the Secretary. No additional certification is necessary if the Secretary has recently certified that the grantee has the required processes and procedures. The Secretary may permit a State, unit of general local government, or Indian tribe to demonstrate compliance with requirements for adequate financial controls before disasters occur and before receiving an allocation for a grant under this section. The Secretary shall establish by regulation the maximum grant amounts a State, unit of general local government, or Indian tribe may use for administrative costs, and for technical assistance and planning activities, taking into consideration size of grant, complexity of recovery, and other factors as determined by the Secretary. Amounts available for administrative costs for a grant under this section shall be available for eligible administrative costs of the grantee for any grant made under this section, without regard to a particular disaster. The Secretary may establish a series of percentage limitations on the amount of grant funds received that may be used by a grantee for administrative costs, but only if— such percentage limitations are based on the amount of grant funds received by a grantee; such series provides that the percentage that may be so used is lower for grantees receiving a greater amount of grant funds and such percentage that may be so used is higher for grantees receiving a lesser amount of grant funds; and in no case may a grantee so use more than 10 percent of grant funds received. Amounts from a grant under this section may not be used for activities— that are reimbursable, or for which funds are made available, by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, including under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act or the National Flood Insurance Program; or for which funds are made available by the Army Corps of Engineers. Of any funds made available to the Community Development Block Grant Declared Disaster Recovery Fund established under section 124 or otherwise made available for use under this section by any single appropriations Act, the Secretary may use 1 percent of any such amount for necessary costs, including information technology costs, of administering and overseeing the obligation and expenditure of amounts made available for use under this section. Any amounts made available for use in accordance with subparagraph (A)— shall be transferred to the appropriate salaries and expenses account in the Community Development Block Grant Declared Disaster Recovery Fund established under section 124 for use by the Office of Disaster Recovery and Resilient Communities; shall remain available until expended; and may be used for administering any funds appropriated for the same purposes described in section 123(a) to the Community Development fund or Community Development Block Grant Declared Disaster Recovery Fund established under section 124 in any prior or future Act, notwithstanding the disaster for which such funds were appropriated. Of any funds made available for use in accordance with paragraph (3)(A), 15 percent shall be transferred to the Office of the Inspector General for necessary costs of audits, reviews, oversight, evaluation, and investigations relating to amounts made available for use under this section. Of any funds made available for use under this section, not more than 0.1 percent or $15,000,000, whichever is less, shall be made available to the Secretary for capacity building and technical assistance, including assistance regarding contracting and procurement processes, to support grantees and subgrantees receiving funds under this section. The Secretary shall require each grantee to use a fixed percentage of any allocation for mitigation for comprehensive mitigation planning, subject to the limitations on funds in paragraph (2). The Secretary may establish such fixed percentage by regulation and may establish a lower percentage for grantees receiving a grant exceeding $1,000,000,000. Each grantee shall ensure that such comprehensive mitigation planning is coordinated and aligned with existing comprehensive, land use, transportation, and economic development plans, and specifically analyze multiple types of hazard exposures and risks. Each grantee shall coordinate and align such mitigation planning with other mitigation projects funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Army Corps of Engineers, the Forest Service, and other agencies as appropriate. Such funds may be used for the purchase of data and development or updating of risk mapping for all relevant hazards. Grantees shall prioritize the expenditure of grant funds to support hazard mitigation and resiliency funds for activities primarily benefitting persons of low and moderate income with the greatest risk of harm from natural hazards. In consultation with the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Secretary shall provide that no funds made available under this section shall be used for installation, substantial rehabilitation, reconstruction, or new construction of infrastructure or residential, commercial, or public buildings in hazard-prone areas, unless construction complies with paragraph

(8)and with the latest published editions of relevant national consensus-based codes, and specifications and standards referenced therein, except that nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit a grantee from requiring higher standards. Nothing in subparagraph

(A)shall be construed as a requirement for a grantee to adopt the latest published editions of relevant national consensus-based codes, specifications, and standards. Compliance with this paragraph may be certified by a suitable design professional. For purposes of this paragraph, the following definitions shall apply: The term hazard-prone areas means areas identified by the Secretary, in consultation with the Administrator, at risk from natural hazards that threaten property damage or health, safety, and welfare, such as floods (including special flood hazard areas), wildfires (including Wildland-Urban Interface areas), earthquakes, tornados, and high winds. The Secretary may consider future risks and the likelihood such risks may pose to protecting property and health, safety, and general welfare when making the determination of or modification to hazard-prone areas. The term latest published editions means, with respect to relevant national consensus-based codes, and specifications and standards referenced therein, the two most recent published editions, including, if any, amendments made by States, units of general local government, or Indian tribes during the adoption process, that incorporate the latest natural hazard-resistant designs and establish criteria for the design, construction, and maintenance of structures and facilities that may be eligible for assistance under this section for the purposes of protecting the health, safety, and general welfare of a structure’s or facility’s users against disasters. Subject to subparagraph (B), the Secretary shall require that any structure that is located in an area having special flood hazards and that is newly constructed, for which substantial damage is repaired, or that is substantially improved, using amounts made available under this section, shall be elevated with the lowest floor, including the basement, at least two feet above the base flood level, or to a future flood protection standard that provides equivalent protection and is developed in conjunction with the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, except that critical facilities, including hospitals, nursing homes, and other public facilities providing social and economic lifelines, as defined by the Secretary, shall be elevated at least 3 feet above the base flood elevation (or higher if required under paragraph (7)). In the case of existing structures consisting of multifamily housing and row houses, and other structures, as determined by the Secretary, the Secretary shall seek consultation with the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, shall provide for alternative forms of mitigation (apart from elevation), and shall exempt from the requirement under subparagraph

(A)any such structure that meets the standards for such an alternative form of mitigation. For purposes of subparagraph (A), the terms area having special flood hazards , newly constructed , substantial damage , substantial improvement , and base flood level have the same meanings as under the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973 and the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 ( 42 U.S.C. 4001 et seq. ). In administering any amounts made available for assistance under this section, the Secretary— may not allow a grantee to use any such amounts for any purpose other than the purpose approved by the Secretary in the plan or amended plan submitted under subsection

(c)to the Secretary for use of such amounts; and shall prohibit a grantee from delegating, by contract or otherwise, the responsibility for inherent government functions. The Secretary shall require each grantee to provide ongoing training to all staff and subgrantees. In procuring property or services to be paid for in whole or in part with amounts from a grant under this section, a grantee shall— follow its own procurement processes and procedures, but only if the Secretary makes a determination that such processes and procedures comply with the requirements under paragraph (2); or comply with such processes and procedures as the Secretary shall, by regulation, establish for purposes of this section. The requirements under this paragraph with respect to such processes and procedures shall— provide for full and open competition and compliance with applicable statutory requirements on the use of Federal funds, and require cost or price analysis; include requirements for procurement policies and procedures for subgrantees; specify methods of procurement and their applicability, but not allow cost-plus-a-percentage-of cost or percentage-of-construction-cost methods of procurement; include standards of conduct governing employees engaged in the award or administration of contracts; and ensure that all purchase orders and contracts include any clauses required by Federal statute, Executive order, or implementing regulation. Amounts made available for use under this section shall not be considered relevant to the non-disaster formula allocations made pursuant to section 106 of this title ( 42 U.S.C. 5306 ). Subject to the other provisions of this section, in administering amounts made available for use under this section, the Secretary may waive, or specify alternative requirements for, any provision of any statute or regulation that the Secretary administers in connection with the obligation by the Secretary or the use by the recipient of such funds (except for requirements related to fair housing, nondiscrimination, labor standards, and the environment and except for the requirements of this section), if the Secretary makes a public finding that good cause exists for the waiver or alternative requirement and such waiver or alternative requirement would not be inconsistent with the overall purposes of this title. Any waiver of or alternative requirement pursuant to paragraph

(1)shall not take effect before the expiration of the 5-day period beginning upon the publication of notice in the Federal Register of such waiver or alternative requirement. The requirements in this Act that apply to grants made under section 106 of this title (except those related to the allocation) apply equally to grants under this section unless modified by a waiver or alternative requirement pursuant to paragraph (1). Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), the Secretary may not grant a waiver or alternative requirement to reduce the percentage of funds that must be used for activities that benefit persons of low and moderate income to less than 70 percent, unless the Secretary specifically finds that there is compelling need to further reduce the percentage requirement and that funds are not necessary to address the housing needs of low- and moderate-income residents. The Secretary may not use the authority under paragraph

(1)to waive any provision of this section. Notwithstanding subsection (j)(1), recipients of funds provided under this section that use such funds to supplement Federal assistance provided under section 402, 403, 404, 406, 407, 408(c)(4), 428, or 502 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act ( 42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq. ) may adopt, without review or public comment, any environmental review, approval, or permit performed by a Federal agency, and such adoption shall satisfy the responsibilities of the recipient with respect to such environmental review, approval, or permit under section 104(g)(1) of this title ( 42 U.S.C. 5304(g)(1) ). Notwithstanding section 104(g)(2) of this title ( 42 U.S.C. 5304(g)(2) ), the Secretary may, upon receipt of a request for release of funds and certification, immediately approve the release of funds for an activity or project assisted with amounts made available for use under this section if the recipient has adopted an environmental review, approval or permit under paragraph

(1)or the activity or project is categorically excluded from review under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 ( 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq. ). The requirements of section 104(g)(4) shall apply to assistance under this section that a State distributes to a unit of general local government. For each major disaster for which assistance is made available under this section, the Secretary shall collect information from grantees regarding all recovery activities so assisted, including information on applicants and recipients of assistance, and shall make such information available to the public and to the Inspector General for the Department of Housing and Urban Development on a monthly basis using uniform data collection practices, and shall provide a quarterly update to the Congress regarding compliance with this section. Information collected and reported by grantees and the Secretary shall be disaggregated by program, race, income, geography, and all protected classes of individuals under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the Fair Housing Act, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and other civil rights and nondiscrimination protections, with respect to the smallest census tract, block group, or block possible for the data set. In carrying out this paragraph, the Secretary may make full and unredacted information available to academic and research institutions for the purpose of research into the equitable distribution of recovery funds, adherence to civil rights protections, and other areas. The Secretary shall take such actions and make such redactions as may be necessary to ensure that personally identifiable information regarding recipients of assistance provided from funds made available under this section shall not made publicly available. In conducting audits, reviews, oversight, evaluation, and investigations, in addition to activities designed to prevent and detect waste, fraud, and abuse, the Inspector General shall review activities carried out by grantees under this section to ensure such programs fulfill their authorized purposes, as identified in the grantee’s action plan. The Secretary shall carry out a program under this subsection to provide for States and units of general local government to pre-certify as eligible grantees for assistance under this section. The objective of such program shall be to— allow grantees that have consistently demonstrated the ability to administer funds responsibly and equitably in similar disasters to utilize in subsequent years plans which are substantially similar to those the Department has previously approved; and facilitate the re-use of a plan or its substantially similar equivalent by a pre-certified grantee for whom the plan has previously been approved and executed upon. To be eligible for pre-certification under the program under this subsection a State or unit of general local government shall— demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Secretary compliance with the requirements of this section; and have previously submitted a plan or its substantially similar equivalent and received assistance thereunder as a grantee or subgrantee under this section, or with amounts made available for the Community Development Block Grant—Disaster Recovery account, in connection with two or more major disasters declared pursuant to the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act ( 42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq. ). The Secretary shall establish and maintain processes for expediting approval of plans for States and units of general local government that are pre-certified under this subsection. Pre-certification pursuant to this subsection shall not— establish any entitlement to, or priority or preference for, allocation of funds made available under this section; or exempt any grantee from complying with any of the requirements under, or established pursuant to, subsection

(c)or (d). Pre-certification under this subsection shall be effective for a term of 5 years. If any amounts made available for assistance for unmet needs under this section to grantees remain unexpended upon the earlier of— the date that the grantee of such amounts notifies the Secretary that the grantee has completed all activities identified in the grantee’s plan for use of such amounts that was approved by the Secretary in connection with such grant; or the expiration of the 6-year period beginning upon the Secretary obligating such amounts to the grantee, as such period may be extended pursuant to paragraph (3); the Secretary may, subject to authority provided in advance by appropriations Acts, transfer such unexpended amounts to the Secretary of the Treasury for deposit into the Community Development Block Grant Declared Disaster Recovery Fund established under section 124, except that the Secretary may, by regulation, permit the grantee to retain amounts needed to close out the grant. If any amounts made available for assistance for mitigation under this section to grantees remain unexpended upon the earlier of— the date that the grantee of such amounts notifies the Secretary that the grantee has completed all activities identified in the grantee’s plan for use of such amounts that was approved by the Secretary in connection with such grant; or the expiration of the 12-year period beginning upon the Secretary obligating such amounts to the grantee, as such period may be extended pursuant to paragraph (3); the Secretary may, subject to authority provided in advance by appropriations Acts, transfer such unexpended amounts to the Secretary of the Treasury for deposit into the Community Development Block Grant Declared Disaster Recovery Fund established under section 124, except that the Secretary may, by regulation, permit the grantee to retain amounts needed to close out the grant. The period of performance under paragraph (1)(B) shall be extended by not more than 4 years if, before the expiration of such 6-year period, the Secretary waives this requirement and submits a written justification for such waiver to the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate that specifies the amended period of performance under the waiver. For any amounts made available for unmet needs under this section to a grantee that is an insular area as defined in section 102, the Secretary may extend the period of performance under clause

(i)by not more than an additional 4 years, and shall provide additional technical assistance to help increase capacity within the insular area receiving such extension. If the Secretary extends the period of performance pursuant to this subparagraph, the Secretary shall submit a written justification for such extension to the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate that specifies the period of such extension. The period under paragraph (2)(B) shall be extended to a date determined by the Secretary if, before the expiration of such 12-year period, the Secretary issues a waiver to amend the period of performance and submits a written justification for such waiver to the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate that specifies the amended period of performance under the waiver. The Secretary, in consultation with the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, shall identify best practices for grantees on issues including developing the action plan and substantial amendments under subsection

(c)and substantive amendments, establishing financial controls, building grantee technical and administrative capacity, procurement, compliance with Fair Housing Act statute and regulations, and use of grant funds as local match for other sources of Federal funding. The Secretary shall publish a compilation of such identified best practices and share with all relevant grantees, including States, units of general local government, and Indian tribes to facilitate a more efficient and effective disaster recovery process. The compilation shall include— guidelines for housing and economic revitalization programs, including mitigation, with sufficient model language on program design for grantees to incorporate into action plans; and standards for at least form of application, determining unmet need, and income eligibility. After publication of the final compilation required by paragraph (1), the Secretary shall issue either Federal regulations, as part of the final rule required under section 5403(b) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 or as a separate rule, or a Federal Register notice soliciting public comment for at least 60 days, that establishes grant requirements, including the requirements that grantees must follow in order to qualify for expedited review and approval of a plan or substantial amendment required by subsection

(c)of this section. The Secretary shall approve or disapprove plans or substantial amendments of grantees that comply with the requirements for such expedited review within 45 days. —The requirements for expedited review shall establish standard language for inclusion in action plans and substantial amendments under subsection

(c)of this section and for establishing standardized programs and activities recognized by the Secretary. Compliance with the requirements for expedited review shall not exempt grantees from complying with grant requirements, including requirements for public comment, community citizen participation, and establishing and maintaining a public website. The Secretary may revise the requirements for expedited review at any time after a public comment period of at least 60 days. For purposes of this section: The term grantee means a recipient of funds made available under this section after its enactment. The term substantially similar means, with respect to a plan, a plan previously approved by the Department, administered successfully by the grantee, and relating to disasters of the same type. There is established in the Treasury of the United States an account to be known as the Community Development Block Grant Declared Disaster Recovery Fund (in this section referred to as the Fund ). The Fund shall consist of any amounts appropriated to or deposited into the Fund, including amounts deposited into the Fund pursuant to section 123. Amounts in the Fund shall be available, pursuant to the occurrence of a major disaster declared under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, only for providing technical assistance and capacity building in connection with section 123 for grantees under such section that have been allocated assistance under such section in connection with such disaster to facilitate planning required under such section and increase capacity to administer assistance provided under such section, including for technical assistance and training building and fire officials, builders, contractors and subcontractors, architects, and other design and construction professionals regarding the latest published editions of national consensus-based codes, specifications, and standards (as such term is defined in section 123(e)(7)). . Not later than the expiration of the 12-month period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall issue proposed rules to carry out sections 123 and 124 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, as added by the amendment made by subsection

(a)of this section, and shall provide a 60-day period for submission of public comments on such proposed rule. Not later than the expiration of the 24-month period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, in consultation with the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, shall issue final regulations to carry out sections 123 and 124 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, as added by the amendment made by subsection

(a)of this section.

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U.S. Code