I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2786 To amend the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978 to prioritize urban and community forestry assistance for areas with low tree equity scores, to establish a grant program to enhance public elementary and secondary school rooftop gardens, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 20, 2023 Mr. SCHIFF (for himself, Ms. BARRAGA´N, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, Ms. BROWN, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. EVANS, Mr. GOMEZ, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE, Ms. MENG, Ms. SALINAS, Ms. SA´NCHEZ, Ms. SCANLON, Mr. TAKANO, and Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN) in- troduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agri- culture, and in addition to the Committee on Education and the Work- force, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To amend the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978 to prioritize urban and community forestry assistance for areas with low tree equity scores, to establish a grant program to enhance public elementary and sec- ondary school rooftop gardens, 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 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:33 Apr 26, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2786.IH H2786 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2786 IH SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Climate Change Relief 2 for Urban Areas Act of 2023’’. 3 SEC. 2. PRIORITIZATION OF URBAN AND COMMUNITY FOR- 4 ESTRY ASSISTANCE TO AREAS WITH LOW 5 TREE EQUITY SCORES. 6 Section 9 of the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act 7 of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2105) is amended— 8 (1) in subsection (c), by adding at the end the 9 following: ‘‘In carrying out this section, the Sec- 10 retary shall give priority to providing assistance to 11 State foresters or equivalent State officials serving 12 areas with the lowest tree equity scores, as deter- 13 mined by the Secretary’’; 14 (2) in subsection (h)— 15 (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 16 the end; 17 (B) in paragraph (3), by striking the pe- 18 riod and adding ‘‘; and’’; and 19 (C) by adding at the end the following: 20 ‘‘(4) the term ‘tree equity score’ means a tree 21 equity score, as determined by the Secretary, that 22 is— 23 ‘‘(A) either— 24 ‘‘(i) substantially similar to the tree 25 equity score established by American For- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:33 Apr 26, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2786.IH H2786 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2786 IH ests (or a successor tree equity score devel- 1 oped by such conservation organization or 2 other similar organization); or 3 ‘‘(ii) a tree equity tool that the Sec- 4 retary determines is most appropriate for 5 the communities served by such tool; and 6 ‘‘(B) based on how the tree canopy and 7 surface temperature of an area align with in- 8 come, employment, race, age, and health factors 9 of that area as determined by consulting with 10 community representatives or community-based 11 organizations.’’; and 12 (3) in subsection (i), by striking ‘‘fiscal years 13 1991 through 1995’’ and inserting ‘‘fiscal years 14 2023 through 2028’’. 15 SEC. 3. PILOT GRANT PROGRAM TO PUBLIC ELEMENTARY 16 AND SECONDARY SCHOOL ROOFTOP GAR- 17 DENS. 18 (a) PILOT PROGRAM ESTABLISHED.—The Secretary 19 shall establish a competitive grant program under which 20 the Secretary shall make grants to eligible entities to es- 21 tablish or expand rooftop gardens. 22 (b) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a grant 23 under this section, an eligible entity shall submit to the 24 Secretary an application at such time, in such manner, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:33 Apr 26, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2786.IH H2786 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2786 IH and containing such information as the Secretary may re- 1 quire, including the square feet of the proposed rooftop 2 garden (or expansion of such rooftop garden). 3 (c) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this sec- 4 tion, the Secretary shall give priority to the eligible entities 5 that have the lowest garden equity score, as determined 6 by the Secretary based on, with respect to the area in 7 which the eligible entity is located, the population density, 8 racial composition, incidence of respiratory illness, number 9 of urban gardens, food sovereignty, and average surface 10 temperature. 11 (d) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity that receives 12 a grant under this section shall use the grant funds to 13 carry out each of the following: 14 (1) Assessing (including through architectural 15 analysis) if the area identified for purposes of estab- 16 lishing or expanding a rooftop garden can support 17 such garden or expansion and the construction 18 thereof. 19 (2) Applying for permits with respect to such 20 rooftop garden. 21 (3) Establishing a financial plan with respect to 22 the establishment or expansion of such rooftop gar- 23 den. 24 (4) Designing a rooftop garden— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:33 Apr 26, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2786.IH H2786 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2786 IH (A) of which at least 20 percent is com- 1 prised of native plants, fruits, or vegetables; 2 (B) that does not include plants identified 3 by the State in which such garden is located as 4 invasive species; 5 (C) using best practices to reduce risk of 6 contaminants (such as using cleaning soil in 7 raised garden beds); and 8 (D) either— 9 (i) a strategy for increasing energy ef- 10 ficiency and increasing the surface ability 11 of a building to reflect sunlight and absorb 12 less solar energy; or 13 (ii) if the strategy in clause (i) is not 14 feasible, a strategy to increase habitat and 15 food availability for pollinators, manage 16 rainwater, or provide other benefits to the 17 community. 18 (5) Incorporating into the science curriculum of 19 the entity— 20 (A) an urban agriculture lesson plan; or 21 (B) a lesson plan on pollinator habitat, 22 green infrastructure for heat or stormwater 23 management, or remediation of soil and water 24 contaminants by plants. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:33 Apr 26, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2786.IH H2786 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2786 IH (e) ORGANIC REQUIREMENT.—An eligible entity that 1 receives a grant under this section may only use organic 2 farming methods with respect to a rooftop garden estab- 3 lished or expanded by such grant. 4 (f) ROUTINE INSPECTIONS.— 5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall inspect 6 each rooftop garden for which a grant is awarded 7 under this section once each year. 8 (2) CONTRACT AUTHORITY.—The Secretary 9 may enter into contracts with appropriate entities to 10 carry out the inspections required under paragraph 11 (1). 12 (g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 13 (1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti- 14 ty’’ means a public elementary school or secondary 15 school. 16 (2) ESEA TERMS.—The terms ‘‘elementary 17 school’’ and ‘‘secondary school’’ have the meanings 18 given the terms in section 8101 of the Elementary 19 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 20 7801). 21 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 22 the Secretary of Agriculture. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:33 Apr 26, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2786.IH H2786 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 2786 IH (h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 1 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 2 $30,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2023 through 2028. 3 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:33 Apr 26, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2786.IH H2786 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS