
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
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[Laws in effect as of January 23, 2000]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 23, 2000 and December 4, 2001]
[CITE: 42USC6707]

 
                 TITLE 42--THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE
 
                   CHAPTER 80--PUBLIC WORKS EMPLOYMENT
 
                    SUBCHAPTER I--LOCAL PUBLIC WORKS
 
Sec. 6707. Priority and amounts of projects


(a) Allocation of appropriated funds; Indian tribes and Alaska Native 
        villages; prior applications; unemployment ratio; limits on 
        grants for any one State; territories

    The Secretary shall allocate funds appropriated after May 13, 1977, 
under section 6710 of this title as follows:
        (1) 2\1/2\ per centum of such funds shall be set aside and shall 
    be expended only for grants for public works projects under this 
    chapter to Indian tribes and Alaska Native villages. None of the 
    remainder of such funds shall be expended for such grants to such 
    tribes and villages.
        (2) After the set aside required by paragraph (1) of this 
    subsection, $70,000,000 shall be set aside and expended only for 
    grants for any public works project the application for a grant for 
    which was made under this chapter after July 22, 1976, and before 
    December 24, 1976, and which application was not received, was not 
    considered, or was rejected solely because of an error by an officer 
    or employee of the United States. Any allocation made to an 
    applicant pursuant to regulation shall be reduced by the amount of 
    any grant made to such applicant under this paragraph.
        (3) After the set asides required by paragraphs (1) and (2) of 
    this subsection, 65 per centum of such funds shall be allocated 
    among the States on the basis of the ratio that the number of 
    unemployed persons in each State bears to the total number of 
    unemployed persons in all the States and 35 per centum of such funds 
    shall be allocated among those States with an average unemployment 
    rate for the preceding twelve-month period in excess of 6.5 per 
    centum on the basis of the relative severity of unemployment in each 
    such State, except that (A) no State shall be allocated less than 
    three-quarters of one per centum or more than 12\1/2\ per centum of 
    such funds for local public works projects within such State, except 
    that in the case of Guam, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and 
    the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, not less than one-half 
    of one per centum in the aggregate shall be granted for such 
    projects in all four of these jurisdictions, and (B) no State whose 
    unemployment data was converted for the first time in 1976 to the 
    benchmark data of the current population survey annual average 
    compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics shall receive a 
    percentage of such funds less than the percentage of funds allocated 
    to such State under this chapter from funds appropriated to carry 
    out this chapter prior to May 13, 1977.

(b) Local government projects; energy conservation; endorsement of 
        project by general purpose local government; projects requested 
        by school districts

    (1) In making grants under this chapter, the Secretary shall give 
priority and preference to public works projects of local governments.
    (2) In making grants for projects for construction, renovation, 
repair, or other improvement of buildings, the Secretary shall also give 
consideration as between such building projects to those projects which 
will result in conserving energy, including, but not limited to, 
projects to redesign and retrofit existing public facilities for energy 
conservation purposes, and projects using alternative energy systems.
    (3) In making grants under this chapter, the Secretary shall also 
give priority and preference to any public works project requested by a 
State or by a special purpose unit of local government which is endorsed 
by a general purpose local government within such State.
    (4) A project requested by a school district shall be accorded the 
full priority and preference to public works projects of local 
governments provided in paragraph (1).

(c) Unemployment rates; priority; States receiving minimum allocations

    In making grants under this chapter, if for the twelve most recent 
consecutive months, the national unemployment rate is equal to or 
exceeds 6\1/2\ per centum, the Secretary shall (1) expedite and give 
priority to applications submitted by States or local governments having 
unemployment rates for the twelve most recent consecutive months in 
excess of the national unemployment rate and (2) shall give priority 
thereafter to applications submitted by States or local governments 
having unemployment rates for the twelve most recent consecutive months 
in excess of 6\1/2\ per centum, but less than the national unemployment 
rate. Information regarding unemployment rates may be furnished either 
by the Federal Government, or by States or local governments, provided 
the Secretary determines that the unemployment rates furnished by States 
or local governments are accurate, and shall provide assistance to 
States or local governments in the calculation of such rates to insure 
validity and standardization. The Secretary may waive the application of 
the first sentence of this subsection to any State which receives a 
minimum allocation pursuant to paragraph (3) of subsection (a) of this 
section.

(d) Priorities for projects in State or localities with two or more 
        projects

    Whenever a State or local government submits applications for grants 
under this chapter for two or more projects, such State or local 
government shall submit as part of such applications its priority for 
each such project.

(e) Community or neighborhood basis of unemployment rates

    The unemployment rate of a local government shall, for the purposes 
of this chapter, and upon request of the applicant, be based upon the 
unemployment rate of any community or neighborhood (defined without 
regard to political or other subdivisions or boundaries) within the 
jurisdiction of such local government, except that any grant made to a 
local government based upon the unemployment rate of a community or 
neighborhood within its jurisdiction must be for a project to be 
constructed in such community or neighborhood.

(f) Repealed. Pub. L. 95-28, title I, Sec. 107(e), May 13, 1977, 91 
        Stat. 119

(g) Criteria for requests

    States and local governments making application under this chapter 
should (1) relate their specific requests to existing approved plans and 
programs of a local community development or regional development nature 
so as to avoid harmful or costly inconsistencies or contradictions; and 
(2) where feasible, make requests which, although capable of early 
initiation, will promote or advance longer range plans and programs.

(h) Applications not submitted on or before December 23, 1976; grants 
        prohibited; exceptions

    (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, the 
Secretary shall not consider or approve or make a grant for any project 
for which any application was not submitted for a grant under this 
chapter on or before December 23, 1976.
    (2) The Secretary may receive applications for grants for projects 
under this chapter--
        (A) from the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands;
        (B) from Indian tribes and Alaska Native villages;
        (C) from any applicant to use any allocation which may be made 
    pursuant to regulation, to the extent necessary to expend such 
    allocation, if a sufficient number of applications were not 
    submitted on or before December 23, 1976, to use such allocation.

(i) Substitution of projects to alleviate drought or other emergency or 
        disaster-related conditions or damage

    The Secretary may allow any applicant which has received a grant for 
a project under this chapter to substitute one or more projects for such 
project if in the judgment of the Secretary (1) the Federal cost in the 
aggregate of such substituted project or projects does not exceed such 
grant, (2) such substituted project or projects comply with section 
6705(d) of this title, and (3) such substituted project or projects will 
in fact aid in alleviating drought or other emergency or disaster-
related conditions or damage. Section 6705(a) of this title shall not 
apply to projects substituted under this subsection.

(j) Private nonprofit health care or rehabilitation facilities

    Notwithstanding subsection (h)(1) of this section, grants may be 
made from appropriations made under section 6710 of this title after 
September 30, 1977, to States or local governments for projects for the 
construction, renovation, repair, or other improvements of health care 
or rehabilitation facilities owned and operated by private nonprofit 
entities.

(Pub. L. 94-369, title I, Sec. 108, July 22, 1976, 90 Stat. 1000; Pub. 
L. 95-28, title I, Secs. 105-107, May 13, 1977, 91 Stat. 117, 118.)


                               Amendments

    1977--Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 95-28, Sec. 105, added par. (1) and 
introductory provisions preceding par. (1), par. (2), and, in par. (3), 
introductory provisions preceding cl. (A) and cl. (B), designated 
existing provisions as cl. (A) of par. (3) and, in such cl. (A) as so 
designated, inserted reference to Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands 
and substituted ``three-quarters of one percentum'' for ``one-half of 
one percentum'' and ``of such funds'' for ``of all amounts appropriated 
to carry out this subchapter''.
    Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 95-28, Sec. 106, designated existing provisions 
as par. (1) and added pars. (2) to (4).
    Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 95-28, Sec. 107(a), (b), substituted ``twelve 
most recent consecutive months'' for ``three most recent consecutive 
months'' and authorized the Secretary to waive the application of the 
first sentence of the subsection to any State which receives a minimum 
allocation pursuant to subsec. (a)(3) of this section.
    Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 95-28, Sec. 107(c), substituted provisions 
directing State or local governments that submit two or more projects to 
submit as part of their applications the priorities assigned to each 
project for provisions directing that seventy percentum of all amounts 
appropriated to carry out this chapter be granted for public works 
projects submitted by State or local governments given priority under 
clause (1) of the first sentence of subsec. (c) of this section, with 
the remaining thirty percentum available for public works projects 
submitted by State or local governments in other classifications of 
priority.
    Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 95-28, Sec. 107(d), substituted ``to be 
constructed in such community or neighborhood'' for ``of direct benefit 
to, or provide employment for, unemployed persons who are residents of 
that community or neighborhood''.
    Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 95-28, Sec. 107(e), struck out subsec. (f) 
which directed that, in determining the unemployment rate of a local 
government for purposes of this section, the unemployment in those 
adjoining areas from which the labor force for such project might be 
drawn were to be taken into consideration.
    Subsecs. (h) to (j). Pub. L. 95-28, Sec. 107(f), added subsecs. (h) 
to (j).

          Termination of Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands

    For termination of Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, see note 
set out preceding section 1681 of Title 48, Territories and Insular 
Possessions.
