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Community Character Act of 2001 (Introduced in the Senate)
S 975 IS
107th CONGRESS

1st Session
S. 975
To improve environmental policy by providing assistance for State and tribal land use planning, to promote improved quality of life, regionalism, and sustainable economic development, and for other purposes.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

May 25, 2001

Mr. CHAFEE (for himself, Mr. BENNETT, Mr. JEFFORDS, Mr. LEVIN, Mr. SPECTER, Mr. BINGAMAN, Mr. CLELAND, and Mr. LIEBERMAN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works

A BILL
To improve environmental policy by providing assistance for State and tribal land use planning, to promote improved quality of life, regionalism, and sustainable economic development, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Community Character Act of 2001'.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

Congress finds that--

(1) inadequate land use planning at the State and tribal levels contributes to--

(A) increased public and private capital costs for public works infrastructure development;

(B) environmental degradation;

(C) weakened regional economic development; and

(D) loss of community character;

(2) land use planning is rightfully within the jurisdiction of State, tribal, and local governments;

(3) comprehensive land use planning and community development should be supported by Federal, State, and tribal governments;

(4) States and tribal governments should provide a proper climate and context through legislation in order for comprehensive land use planning, community development, and environmental protection to occur;

(5)(A) many States and tribal governments have outmoded land use planning legislation; and

(B) many States and tribal governments are undertaking efforts to update and reform land use planning legislation;

(6) the Federal Government and States should support the efforts of tribal governments to develop and implement land use plans to improve environmental protection, housing opportunities, and socioeconomic conditions for Indian tribes; and

(7) the coordination of use of State and tribal resources with local land use plans requires additional planning at the State and tribal levels.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

In this Act:

(1) LAND USE PLAN- The term `land use plan' means a plan for development of an area that recognizes the physical, environmental, economic, social, political, aesthetic, and related factors of the area.

(2) LAND USE PLANNING LEGISLATION- The term `land use planning legislation' means a statute, regulation, executive order, or other action taken by a State or tribal government to guide, regulate, or assist in the planning, regulation, and management of--

(A) environmental resources;

(B) public works infrastructure;

(C) regional economic development;

(D) current and future development practices; and

(E) other activities related to the pattern and scope of future land use.

(3) SECRETARY- The term `Secretary' means the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development.

(4) STATE- The term `State' means a State, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

(5) TRIBAL GOVERNMENT- The term `tribal government' means the tribal government of an Indian tribe (as defined in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b)).

SEC. 4. GRANTS TO STATES AND TRIBAL GOVERNMENTS TO UPDATE LAND USE PLANNING LEGISLATION.

(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM-

(1) IN GENERAL- The Secretary shall establish a program to award grants to States and tribal governments eligible for funding under subsection (b) to promote comprehensive land use planning at the State, tribal, and local levels.

(2) GRANT APPLICATIONS-

(A) SUBMISSION- A State or tribal government may submit to the Secretary, in such form as the Secretary may require, an application for a grant under this section to be used for 1 or more of the types of projects authorized by subsection (c).

(B) APPROVAL- The Secretary shall--

(i) not less often than annually, complete a review of the applications for grants that are received under this section; and

(ii) award grants to States and tribal governments that the Secretary determines rank the highest using the ranking criteria specified in paragraph (3).

(3) RANKING CRITERIA- In evaluating applications for grants from eligible States and tribal governments under this section, the Secretary shall consider the following criteria:

(A) As a fundamental priority, the extent to which a State or tribal government has in effect inadequate or outmoded land use planning legislation.

(B) The extent to which a grant will facilitate development or revision of land use plans consistent with updated land use planning legislation.

(C) The extent to which development or revision of land use plans will facilitate multistate land use planning.

(D) The extent to which the area under the jurisdiction of a State or tribal government is experiencing significant growth.

(E) The extent to which the project to be funded using a grant will protect the environment and promote economic development.

(F) The extent to which a State or tribal government has committed financial resources to comprehensive land use planning.

(b) ELIGIBILITY- A State or tribal government shall be eligible to receive a grant under subsection (a) if the State or tribal government demonstrates that the project, or the goal of the project, to be funded by the grant promotes land use planning activities that--

(1) are comprehensive in nature and, to the maximum extent practicable--

(A) promote environmental protection (including air and water quality);

(B) take into consideration--

(i) public works infrastructure in existence at the time at which the grant is to be made; and

(ii) future infrastructure needs, such as needs identified in--

(I) the needs assessments required under sections 516(2) and 518(b) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1375(2), 1377(b)) and subsections (h) and (i)(4) of section 1452 of the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300j-12); and

(II) the State long-range transportation plan developed under section 135(e) of title 23, United States Code;

(C) promote sustainable economic development (including regional economic development) and social equity;

(D) enhance community character;

(E) conserve historic, scenic, natural, and cultural resources; and

(F) provide for a range of affordable housing options;

(2) promote land use plans that contain an implementation element that--

(A) includes a timetable for action and a definition of the respective roles and responsibilities of agencies, local governments, and other stakeholders;

(B) is consistent with the capital budget objectives of the State or tribal government; and

(C) provides a framework for decisions relating to the siting of infrastructure development, including development of utilities and utility distribution systems;

(3) result in multijurisdictional governmental cooperation, to the maximum extent practicable, particularly in the case of land use plans based on watershed boundaries;

(4) encourage the participation of the public in the development, adoption, and updating of land use plans;

(5) provide for the periodic updating of land use plans; and

(6) include approaches to land use planning that are consistent with established professional land use planning standards.

(c) USE OF GRANT FUNDS- Grant funds received by a State or tribal government under subsection (a) may be used for a project--

(1) to carry out, or obtain technical assistance with which to carry out--

(A) development or revision of land use planning legislation;

(B) research and development relating to land use plans, and other activities relating to the development of State, tribal, or local land use plans, that result in long-term policy guidelines for growth and development;

(C) workshops, education of and consultation with policymakers, and participation of the public in the land use planning process; and

(D) integration of State, regional, tribal, or local land use plans with Federal land use plans;

(2) to provide funding to units of general purpose local government to carry out land use planning activities consistent with land use planning legislation; or

(3) to acquire equipment or information technology to facilitate State, tribal, or local land use planning.

(d) PILOT PROJECTS FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENTS- A State may include in its application for a grant under this section a request for additional grant funds with which to assist units of general purpose local government in carrying out pilot projects to carry out land use planning activities consistent with land use planning legislation.

(e) AMOUNT OF GRANTS-

(1) IN GENERAL- Except as provided in paragraph (2), the amount of a grant to a State or tribal government under subsection (a) shall not exceed $1,000,000.

(2) ADDITIONAL AMOUNT- The Secretary may award a State up to an additional $100,000 to fund pilot projects under subsection (d).

(f) COST SHARING-

(1) IN GENERAL- The Federal share of the cost of a project funded with a grant under subsection (a) shall not exceed 90 percent.

(2) GRANTS TO TRIBAL GOVERNMENTS- The Secretary may increase the Federal share in the case of a grant to a tribal government if the Secretary determines that the tribal government does not have sufficient funds to pay the non-Federal share of the cost of the project.

(g) AUDITS-

(1) IN GENERAL- The Inspector General of the Department of Commerce may conduct an audit of a portion of the grants awarded under this section to ensure that the grant funds are used for the purposes specified in this section.

(2) USE OF AUDIT RESULTS- The results of an audit conducted under paragraph (1) and any recommendations made in connection with the audit shall be taken into consideration in awarding any future grant under this section to a State or tribal government.

(3) REPORT TO CONGRESS- Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Inspector General of the Department of Commerce shall submit to Congress a report that provides a description of the management of the program established under this section (including a description of the allocation of grant funds awarded under this section).

(h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS-

(1) IN GENERAL- There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $25,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2002 through 2006.

(2) AVAILABILITY FOR TRIBAL GOVERNMENTS- Of the amount made available under paragraph (1) for a fiscal year, not less than 5 percent shall be available to make grants to tribal governments to the extent that there are sufficient tribal governments that are eligible for funding under subsection (b) and that submit applications.

SEC. 5. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.

(a) IN GENERAL- The Secretary may develop voluntary educational and informational programs for the use of State, tribal, and local land use planning and zoning officials.

(b) TYPES OF PROGRAMS- Programs developed under subsection (a) may include--

(1) exchange of technical land use planning information;

(2) electronic databases containing data relevant to land use planning;

(3) other technical land use planning assistance to facilitate access to, and use of, techniques and principles of land use planning; and

(4) such other types of programs as the Secretary determines to be appropriate.

(c) CONSULTATION AND COOPERATION- The Secretary shall carry out subsection (a) in consultation and cooperation with--

(1) the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency;

(2) the Secretary of Transportation;

(3) the Secretary of Agriculture;

(4) the heads of other Federal agencies;

(5) State, tribal, and local governments; and

(6) nonprofit organizations that promote land use planning at the State, tribal, and local levels.

(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS- There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $1,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2002 through 2006.