Northern Border Regional Commission Reauthorization Act of 2023

II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 292 To amend title 40, United States Code, to modify certain requirements for Regional Commissions, to reauthorize the Northern Border Regional Commission, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES FEBRUARY 7, 2023 Mrs. SHAHEEN (for herself, Ms. COLLINS, Mr. SCHUMER, Mr. KING, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mr. WELCH, Ms. HASSAN, and Mr. SANDERS) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works A BILL To amend title 40, United States Code, to modify certain requirements for Regional Commissions, to reauthorize the Northern Border Regional Commission, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Northern Border Re- 4 gional Commission Reauthorization Act of 2023’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:06 Feb 17, 2023 Jkt 047007 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S292.IS S292 pbinns on DSKBC47HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 292 IS SEC. 2. REGIONAL COMMISSIONS MODIFICATIONS. 1 (a) MEMBERSHIP OF COMMISSIONS.—Section 15301 2 of title 40, United States Code, is amended— 3 (1) in subsection (b)(2)(C)— 4 (A) by striking ‘‘An alternate member’’ 5 and inserting the following: 6 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—An alternate 7 member’’; and 8 (B) by adding at the end the following: 9 ‘‘(ii) STATE ALTERNATES.—If the al- 10 ternate State member is unable to vote in 11 accordance with clause (i), the alternate 12 State member may delegate voting author- 13 ity to a designee, subject to the condition 14 that the executive director shall be notified, 15 in writing, of the designation not less than 16 1 week before the applicable vote is to take 17 place.’’; and 18 (2) in subsection (f), by striking ‘‘a Federal em- 19 ployee’’ and inserting ‘‘an employee’’. 20 (b) DECISIONS OF COMMISSIONS.—Section 15302 of 21 title 40, United States Code, is amended— 22 (1) in subsection (a), by inserting ‘‘or State al- 23 ternate members, including designees’’ after ‘‘State 24 members’’; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:06 Feb 17, 2023 Jkt 047007 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S292.IS S292 pbinns on DSKBC47HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 292 IS (2) by striking subsection (c) and inserting the 1 following: 2 ‘‘(c) QUORUMS.— 3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), a 4 Commission shall determine what constitutes a 5 quorum for meetings of the Commission. 6 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—Any quorum for meet- 7 ings of a Commission shall include— 8 ‘‘(A) the Federal Cochairperson or the al- 9 ternate Federal Cochairperson; and 10 ‘‘(B) a majority of State members or alter- 11 nate State members, including designees (exclu- 12 sive of members representing States delinquent 13 under section 15304(c)(3)(C)).’’. 14 (c) ADMINISTRATIVE POWERS AND EXPENSES OF 15 COMMISSIONS.—Section 15304(a)(9) of title 40, United 16 States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘maintain a govern- 17 ment relations office in the District of Columbia and’’. 18 (d) MEETINGS OF COMMISSIONS.—Section 15305(b) 19 of title 40, United States Code, is amended by striking 20 ‘‘with the Federal Cochairperson’’ and all that follows 21 through the period at the end and inserting the following: 22 ‘‘with— 23 ‘‘(1) the Federal Cochairperson; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:06 Feb 17, 2023 Jkt 047007 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S292.IS S292 pbinns on DSKBC47HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 292 IS ‘‘(2) at least a majority of the State members 1 or alternate State members (including designees) 2 present in-person or via electronic means.’’. 3 SEC. 3. TRANSFER OF FUNDS FROM OTHER FEDERAL 4 AGENCIES. 5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 153 of subtitle V of title 6 40, United States Code, is amended— 7 (1) by redesignating section 15308 as section 8 15309; and 9 (2) by inserting after section 15307 the fol- 10 lowing: 11 ‘‘§ 15308. Transfer of funds from other Federal agen- 12 cies 13 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (c), for 14 purposes of this subtitle, each Commission may accept 15 transfers of funds from other Federal agencies. 16 ‘‘(b) TRANSFERS.—Any Federal agency authorized to 17 carry out an activity that is within the authority of a Com- 18 mission may transfer to the Commission any appropriated 19 funds for the activity. 20 ‘‘(c) TREATMENT.—Any funds transferred to a Com- 21 mission under this section— 22 ‘‘(1) shall remain available until expended; and 23 ‘‘(2) may, to the extent necessary to carry out 24 this subtitle, be transferred to, and merged with, the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:06 Feb 17, 2023 Jkt 047007 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S292.IS S292 pbinns on DSKBC47HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 292 IS amounts made available by appropriations Acts for 1 the Commission by the Federal Cochairperson.’’. 2 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chap- 3 ter 153 of subtitle V of title 40, United States Code, is 4 amended by striking the item relating to section 15308 5 and inserting the following: 6 ‘‘15308. Transfer of funds from other Federal agencies. ‘‘15309. Annual reports.’’. SEC. 4. ECONOMIC AND INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT 7 GRANTS. 8 Section 15501 of title 40, United States Code, is 9 amended— 10 (1) in subsection (a)— 11 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (4) 12 through (9) as paragraphs (6) through (11), re- 13 spectively; and 14 (B) by inserting after paragraph (3) the 15 following: 16 ‘‘(4) to design, build, implement, or upgrade 17 transportation or basic public infrastructure or 18 workforce capacity to support the adaption to and 19 mitigation of climate challenges; 20 ‘‘(5) to promote the production of housing to 21 meet economic development and workforce needs;’’; 22 and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:06 Feb 17, 2023 Jkt 047007 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S292.IS S292 pbinns on DSKBC47HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 292 IS (2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘paragraph 1 (1), (2), (3), or (7)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph (1), 2 (2), (3), (4), (5), (7), or (9)’’. 3 SEC. 5. FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE. 4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 155 of subtitle V of title 5 40, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end 6 the following: 7 ‘‘§ 15507. Discretionary grants 8 ‘‘(a) GRANTS TO WHICH PERCENTAGE LIMITATION 9 DOESN’T APPLY.—Discretionary grants made by a Com- 10 mission to implement significant regional initiatives, to 11 take advantage of special development opportunities, or to 12 respond to emergency economic distress in the region of 13 the Commission may be made without regard to the per- 14 centage limitations described in section 15501(d). 15 ‘‘(b) LIMITATION ON AGGREGATE AMOUNT.—For 16 each fiscal year, the aggregate amount of discretionary 17 grants referred to in subsection (a) shall not be more than 18 10 percent of the amount made available to carry out this 19 subtitle for the fiscal year. 20 ‘‘§ 15508. Payment of non-Federal share for certain 21 Federal grant programs 22 ‘‘Notwithstanding any other provision of law relating 23 to payment of a non-Federal share of a project carried 24 out under a Federal grant program, amounts made avail- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:06 Feb 17, 2023 Jkt 047007 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S292.IS S292 pbinns on DSKBC47HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 292 IS able to carry out this subtitle shall be available for the 1 payment of such a non-Federal share for any project for 2 which a Commission is not the sole or primary funding 3 source, subject to the condition that the project is con- 4 sistent with the purposes of the Commission.’’. 5 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chap- 6 ter 155 of subtitle V of title 40, United States Code, is 7 amended by adding at the end the following: 8 ‘‘15507. Discretionary grants. ‘‘15508. Payment of non-Federal share for certain Federal grant programs.’’. SEC. 6. NORTHERN BORDER REGIONAL COMMISSION. 9 (a) COUNTIES IN MAINE AND NEW HAMPSHIRE.— 10 Section 15733 of title 40, United States Code, is amend- 11 ed— 12 (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘Lincoln,’’ 13 after ‘‘Knox,’’; and 14 (2) in paragraph (2), by inserting 15 ‘‘Merrimack,’’ after ‘‘Grafton,’’. 16 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 17 15751 of title 40, United States Code, is amended by 18 striking subsection (a) and inserting the following: 19 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be ap- 20 propriated to each Commission to carry out this subtitle— 21 ‘‘(1) $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2023 22 through 2027; and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:06 Feb 17, 2023 Jkt 047007 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S292.IS S292 pbinns on DSKBC47HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 292 IS ‘‘(2) $60,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2028 1 through 2032.’’. 2 SEC. 7. NORTHERN FOREST REGION PROGRAMS. 3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle V of title 40, United 4 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol- 5 lowing: 6 ‘‘CHAPTER 159—NORTHERN FOREST 7 REGION PROGRAMS 8 ‘‘§ 15901. Definitions 9 ‘‘In this chapter: 10 ‘‘(1) NBRC.—The term ‘NBRC’ means the 11 Northern Border Regional Commission established 12 by section 15301(a)(3). 13 ‘‘(2) NORTHERN FOREST REGION.—The term 14 ‘Northern Forest region’ means the counties in- 15 cluded in the NBRC under section 15733. 16 ‘‘§ 15902. State capacity building grant program 17 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 18 ‘‘(1) COMMISSION STATE.—The term ‘Commis- 19 sion State’ means each of the States of Maine, New 20 Hampshire, New York, and Vermont. 21 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE COUNTY.—The term ‘eligible 22 county’ means a county described in section 15733. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:06 Feb 17, 2023 Jkt 047007 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S292.IS S292 pbinns on DSKBC47HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 292 IS ‘‘(3) PROGRAM.—The term ‘program’ means 1 the State capacity building grant program estab- 2 lished under subsection (b). 3 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT.—The NBRC shall establish a 4 State capacity building grant program to provide grants 5 to Commission States to carry out the purpose under sub- 6 section (c). 7 ‘‘(c) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the program is to 8 support the efforts of the NBRC— 9 ‘‘(1) to better support business retention and 10 expansion in eligible counties; 11 ‘‘(2) to create programs to encourage job cre- 12 ation and workforce development in eligible counties; 13 ‘‘(3) to prepare economic and infrastructure 14 plans for eligible counties; 15 ‘‘(4) to expand access to high-speed broadband 16 in eligible counties; 17 ‘‘(5) to provide technical assistance that results 18 in NBRC investments in transportation, water, 19 wastewater, and other critical infrastructure; 20 ‘‘(6) to create initiatives to increase the effec- 21 tiveness of local development districts in eligible 22 counties; and 23 ‘‘(7) to implement new or innovative economic 24 development practices that will better position the el- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:06 Feb 17, 2023 Jkt 047007 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S292.IS S292 pbinns on DSKBC47HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 292 IS igible counties of Commission States to compete in 1 the global economy. 2 ‘‘(d) USE OF FUNDS.— 3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Funds from a grant under 4 the program may be used to support a project, pro- 5 gram, or related expense of the Commission State in 6 an eligible county. 7 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—Funds from a grant under 8 the program shall not be used for— 9 ‘‘(A) the purchase of furniture, fixtures, or 10 equipment; 11 ‘‘(B) the compensation of— 12 ‘‘(i) any State member of the Com- 13 mission (as described in section 14 15301(b)(1)(B)); or 15 ‘‘(ii) any State alternate member of 16 the Commission (as described in section 17 15301(b)(2)(B)); or 18 ‘‘(C) the cost of supplanting existing State 19 programs. 20 ‘‘(e) ANNUAL WORK PLAN.— 21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For each fiscal year, before 22 providing a grant under the program, each Commis- 23 sion State shall provide to the NBRC an annual 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:06 Feb 17, 2023 Jkt 047007 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S292.IS S292 pbinns on DSKBC47HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 292 IS work plan that includes the proposed use of the 1 grant. 2 ‘‘(2) APPROVAL.—No grant under the program 3 shall be provided to a Commission State unless the 4 NBRC has approved the annual work plan of the 5 State. 6 ‘‘(f) AMOUNT OF GRANT.— 7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The amount of a grant 8 provided to a Commission State under the program 9 for a fiscal year shall be based on the proportion 10 that— 11 ‘‘(A) the amount paid by the Commission 12 State (including any amounts paid on behalf of 13 the Commission State by a nonprofit organiza- 14 tion) for administrative expenses for the appli- 15 cable fiscal year (as determined under section 16 15304(c)); bears to 17 ‘‘(B) the amount paid by all Commission 18 States (including any amounts paid on behalf of 19 a Commission State by a nonprofit organiza- 20 tion) for administrative expenses for that fiscal 21 year (as determined under that section). 22 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENT.—To be eligible to receive 23 a grant under the program for a fiscal year, a Com- 24 mission State (or a nonprofit organization on behalf 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:06 Feb 17, 2023 Jkt 047007 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S292.IS S292 pbinns on DSKBC47HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 292 IS of the Commission State) shall pay the amount of 1 administrative expenses of the Commission State for 2 the applicable fiscal year (as determined under sec- 3 tion 15304(c)). 4 ‘‘(3) APPROVAL.—For each fiscal year, a grant 5 provided under the program shall be approved and 6 made available as part of the approval of the annual 7 budget of the NBRC. 8 ‘‘(g) GRANT AVAILABILITY.—Funds from a grant 9 under the program shall be available only during the fiscal 10 year for which the grant is provided. 11 ‘‘(h) REPORT.—Each fiscal year, each Commission 12 State shall submit to the NBRC and make publicly avail- 13 able a report that describes the use of the grant funds 14 and the impact of the program in the Commission State. 15 ‘‘(i) CONTINUATION OF PROGRAM.—The program 16 under this section shall be a continuation of the program 17 under section 6304(c) of the Agriculture Improvement Act 18 of 2018 (40 U.S.C. 15501 note; Public Law 115–334) (as 19 in effect on the day before the date of enactment of this 20 section). 21 ‘‘(j) FUNDING.— 22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be 23 appropriated to carry out this section $5,000,000 for 24 each of fiscal years 2023 through 2032. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:06 Feb 17, 2023 Jkt 047007 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S292.IS S292 pbinns on DSKBC47HB2PROD with BILLS 13 •S 292 IS ‘‘(2) SUPPLEMENT, NOT SUPPLANT.—Funds 1 made availab [Text truncated for display. 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