Parks, Jobs, and Equity Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1678 To direct the Secretary of the Interior to establish a Parks, Jobs, and Equity Program to support job creation, economic revitalization, and park development for communities impacted by COVID–19. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 9, 2021 Ms. BARRAGA´N (for herself, Mr. TURNER, and Mr. NEGUSE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources A BILL To direct the Secretary of the Interior to establish a Parks, Jobs, and Equity Program to support job creation, eco- nomic revitalization, and park development for commu- nities impacted by COVID–19. 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 ‘‘Parks, Jobs, and Eq- 4 uity Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 In this Act: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:02 May 01, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1678.IH H1678 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1678 IH (1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti- 1 ty’’ means— 2 (A) a city or town of a State or territory 3 of the United States, or an Indian Tribe, 4 that— 5 (i) represents or otherwise serves a 6 qualifying urban area; or 7 (ii) has a population of 30,000 or 8 more in the most recent census; 9 (B) a special purpose district serving— 10 (i) a qualifying urban area; or 11 (ii) a city or town with a population 12 of 30,000 or more in the most recent cen- 13 sus and managing open space for public 14 recreation; and 15 (C) the District of Columbia. 16 (2) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 17 has the meaning given that term in section 4 of the 18 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 19 Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 20 (3) LOW-INCOME COMMUNITY.—The term ‘‘low- 21 income community’’ means any census block group 22 in which 51 percent or more households have an an- 23 nual income equal at or below 80 percent of the me- 24 dian income of the area in which the household is 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:04 May 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1678.IH H1678 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1678 IH located, as reported by the Department of Housing 1 and Urban Development. 2 (4) PARKS, JOBS AND EQUITY PROGRAM.—The 3 term ‘‘Parks, Jobs, and Equity Program’’ means the 4 program established under section 3(a). 5 (5) POVERTY LEVEL.—The term ‘‘poverty 6 level’’ means the income poverty guidelines for the 7 nonfarm population of the United States, as pre- 8 scribed by the Office of Management and Budget. 9 (6) QUALIFYING URBAN AREA.—The term 10 ‘‘qualifying urban area’’ means an area identified by 11 the Census Bureau as an area with a population of 12 30,000 or more in the most recent census. 13 (7) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 14 the Secretary of the Interior. 15 SEC. 3. GRANTS AUTHORIZED. 16 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish the 17 Parks, Jobs, and Equity Program to support park devel- 18 opment and delivery of recreation services, and in so 19 doing, help create or preserve jobs, and provide economic 20 stimulus in communities impacted by COVID–19. 21 (b) FUNDING.—The Secretary, acting through the 22 Parks, Jobs, and Equity Program, shall provide funding 23 to States, territories, the District of Columbia, and Indian 24 Tribes according to the following formula: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:02 May 01, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1678.IH H1678 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1678 IH (1) 49 percent divided equally among the 1 States. For the purposes of this paragraph, the Dis- 2 trict of Columbia and the territories of the United 3 States shall collectively be treated as a single State 4 and shall receive shares of apportionment in propor- 5 tion to qualifying urban areas. 6 (2) 49 percent divided proportionally among 7 States based on each State’s share of urban popu- 8 lation, as defined by the Census Bureau, to the total 9 urban population of the United States, based on the 10 most recent census. 11 (3) 2 percent for competitive grants to be 12 awarded by the Secretary to Indian Tribes that 13 qualify as an eligible entity. 14 SEC. 4. ALLOCATION. 15 (a) AMOUNTS TO STATES, TERRITORIES, AND THE 16 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.—The Governor of a State or ter- 17 ritory (or a designated liaison officer) or the Mayor of the 18 District of Columbia shall distribute funds provided to the 19 State, territory, or District of Columbia under this Act 20 as follows: 21 (1) Not less than 50 percent of funds shall be 22 provided to eligible entities for eligible uses that ben- 23 efit a low-income community. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:04 May 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1678.IH H1678 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 1678 IH (2) Funds to eligible entities shall be not less 1 than $50,000 and not more than $1,000,000. 2 (3) Not more than 2.5 percent of funds may be 3 used for administrative expenses of the State, terri- 4 tory, or the District of Columbia. 5 (4) Not more than 10 percent of funds provided 6 to an eligible entity may be used for administrative 7 expenses. 8 (b) AMOUNTS TO INDIAN TRIBES.— 9 (1) AMOUNT.—Grant amounts under this Act 10 to an eligible Indian Tribe shall be not less than 11 $50,000 and not more than $1,000,000. 12 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—An Indian 13 Tribe may not retain more than 10 percent of each 14 grant received under this Act for administrative ex- 15 penses. 16 (c) TIMING.— 17 (1) DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.—The Secretary 18 shall distribute funds made available to carry out 19 this Act not more than 45 days after such funds are 20 made available to the Secretary. 21 (2) APPLICATION PROCEDURES.—The Gov- 22 ernors or Executive Officers of States and territories 23 and the governing body of each Indian Tribe shall— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:04 May 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1678.IH H1678 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 1678 IH (A) devise accelerated application proce- 1 dures by which eligible entities may apply for 2 funds under this Act; 3 (B) inform eligible entities and low-income 4 communities about the opportunity to apply for 5 funds under this Act, the application proce- 6 dures by which eligible entities may apply for 7 funds, and the eligible uses for funding; 8 (C) distribute funds to eligible entities not 9 later than 180 days after distribution from the 10 Secretary; and 11 (D) direct each eligible entity that receives 12 funds under this Act to spend such funds not 13 later than 2 years after the funds are made 14 available to that eligible entity. 15 (3) EXTENSION.—Governors and Executive Of- 16 ficers of a State or territory and the governing body 17 of an Indian Tribe may grant extensions of the 18 deadlines in this subsection for not more than 180 19 additional days for good cause shown. 20 SEC. 5. ELIGIBLE USES. 21 (a) IN GENERAL.—A grant recipient may use a grant 22 awarded under this Act— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:02 May 01, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1678.IH H1678 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 1678 IH (1) to acquire land or water that will be used 1 to provide outdoor recreation opportunities to the 2 public; 3 (2) to develop or renovate outdoor recreational 4 facilities that provide outdoor recreation opportuni- 5 ties to the public; 6 (3) to improve delivery of recreation services to 7 the public (including supporting park personnel, 8 training, recreation programming, and purchase of 9 recreation equipment and supplies); and 10 (4) to develop native event sites and cultural 11 gathering spaces. 12 (b) PRIORITIES.—Priority shall be given to projects 13 that— 14 (1) create or significantly enhance park and 15 recreational opportunities for a community in a 16 qualifying urban area that lacks parks and/or out- 17 door recreation areas within one-half mile or a 10- 18 minute walk; 19 (2) improve outdoor recreation opportunities for 20 high-need populations based on income, age, or other 21 measures of vulnerability and need; 22 (3) provide opportunities for employment or job 23 training either in park construction or rehabilitation 24 or delivery of recreation services; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:04 May 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1678.IH H1678 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 1678 IH (4) engage and empower underserved commu- 1 nities and youth; and 2 (5) take advantage of coordination among var- 3 ious levels of government. 4 (c) LIMITATIONS ON USE.—A grant recipient may 5 not use grant funds for— 6 (1) maintenance activities; 7 (2) facilities that support semiprofessional or 8 professional athletics; 9 (3) indoor facilities such as recreation centers 10 or facilities that support primarily nonoutdoor pur- 11 poses; 12 (4) activities that are not in accordance with 13 Comprehensive State Plans under section 200305 of 14 title 54, United States Code; or 15 (5) acquisition of land or interests in land that 16 restrict access to specific persons. 17 SEC. 6. REPORTING. 18 (a) REQUIREMENT.—Each year that a State or Ter- 19 ritory that receives a grant under this Act shall submit 20 to the Secretary performance and financial reports that— 21 (1) summarize the status of and activities con- 22 ducted under each subgrant during the report pe- 23 riod; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:02 May 01, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1678.IH H1678 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 1678 IH (2) provide a description of each subgrant 1 project’s accomplishments and impact during the re- 2 port period, such as new park access opportunities, 3 new recreation opportunities (facilities and services), 4 jobs created, and other community benefits. 5 (b) AVAILABILITY TO CONGRESS.—The Secretary 6 shall make such reports submitted under subsection (a) 7 available to the House Committee on Natural Resources 8 and Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. 9 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 10 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec- 11 retary for the purposes of this Act, $500,000,000, to re- 12 main available until expended. 13 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:02 May 01, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H1678.IH H1678 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS