TITLE III - US CODE - ADMINISTRATION

40 USC Appendix 301 - Local development districts; certification

For the purposes of this Act, a local development district shall be an entity certified to the Commission either by the Governor of the State or States in which such entity is located, or by the State officer designated by the appropriate State law to make such certification, as having a charter or authority that includes the economic development of counties or parts of counties or other political subdivisions within the region. No entity shall be certified as a local development district for the purposes of this Act unless it is one of the following:
(1) a nonprofit">nonprofit incorporated body organized or chartered under the law of the State in which it is located;
(2) a nonprofit">nonprofit agency or instrumentality of a State or local government;
(3) a nonprofit">nonprofit agency or instrumentality created through an interstate compact; or
(4) a nonprofit">nonprofit association or combination of such bodies, agencies, and instrumentalities.

40 USC Appendix 302 - Administrative expenses and research and demonstration projects

(a) Authorization To Make Grants.— 

(1) In general.— 
The Commission is authorized
(A) to make grants for administrative expenses, including the development of areawide plans or action programs and technical assistance activities, of local development districts, but
(i)  the amount of any such grant shall not exceed 50 percent of such expenses,
(ii)  no grants for administrative expenses shall be made for a State agency certified as a local development district for a period in excess of three years beginning on the date the initial grant is made for such development district, and
(iii)  the local development district contributions for administrative expenses may be in cash or in kind, fairly evaluated, including but not limited to space, equipment, and services;
(B) to make grants for assistance to States for a period not in excess of two years to strengthen the State development planning process for the region and the coordination of State planning under this Act, the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965, as amended, and other Federal and State programs; and
(C) to make grants for investigation, research, studies, evaluations, and assessments of needs, potentials, or attainments of the people of the region, technical assistance, training programs, demonstrations, and the construction of necessary facilities incident to such activities, which will further the purposes of this Act. Grant funds may be provided entirely from appropriations to carry out this section or in combination with funds available under other Federal or Federal grant-in-aid programs or from any other source. Notwithstanding any provision of law limiting the Federal share in any such other program, funds appropriated to carry out this section may be used to increase such Federal share, as the Commission determines appropriate.
(2) Cost sharing after september 30, 1998.— 

(A) In general.— 
Except as provided in subparagraph (B), after September 30, 1998, not more than 50 percent (or 80 percent in the case of a project to be carried out in a county for which a distressed county designation is in effect under section 226) of the costs of any activity eligible for financial assistance under this section may be provided from funds appropriated to carry out this Act.
(B) Discretionary grants.— 

(i) In general.— 
Discretionary grants made by the Commission to implement significant regional initiatives, to take advantage of special development opportunities, or to respond to emergency economic distress in the region may be made without regard to the percentage limitations specified in subparagraph (A).
(ii) Limitation on aggregate amount.— 
For each fiscal year, the aggregate amount of discretionary grants referred to in clause (i) shall not exceed 10 percent of the amounts appropriated under section 401 for the fiscal year.
(b) 
(1) The Commission may provide assistance under this section for demonstrations of enterprise development, including site acquisition or development where necessary for the feasibility of the project, in connection with the development of the regions energy resources and the development and stimulation of indigenous arts and crafts of the region. No more than $3,000,000 shall be obligated for such energy resource related demonstrations in any fiscal year, and no more than $2,500,000 shall be obligated for such indigenous arts and crafts demonstrations.
(2) In carrying out the purposes of this Act, including section 2 (b), and in implementing this section, the Secretary of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency, and other Federal agencies shall cooperate with the Commission and shall provide such assistance as the Federal Cochairman may request.
(c) 
(1) The Commission shall, as required by the President, maintain accurate and complete records of transactions and activities financed with Federal funds and report thereon to the President. The records of the Commission shall be available for audit with respect to such grants by the President and the Comptroller General or their duly authorized representatives.
(2) Recipients of Federal assistance under the provisions of this section shall, as required by the Commission, maintain accurate and complete records of transactions and activities financed with Federal funds and report thereon to the Commission. Such records shall be available for audit by the President, the Comptroller General, and the Commission or their duly authorized representatives.

40 USC Appendix 303 - Approval of development plans, investment programs, and projects

State and Regional Development Plans and implementing investment programs, and any multistate subregional plans which may be developed, shall be annually reviewed and approved by the Commission in accordance with section 101(b) of this Act. An application for a grant or for any other assistance for a specific project under this Act shall be made through the State member of the Commission representing such applicant, and such State member shall evaluate the application for approval. Only applications for grants or other assistance for specific projects shall be approved which are certified by the State member and determined by the Federal Cochairman to implement the Commission-approved State development plan; to be included in the Commission-approved implementing investment program; to have adequate assurance that the project will be properly administered, operated, and maintained; and to otherwise meet the requirements for assistance under this Act. After the approval of the appropriate State development plan and implementing investment program, certification by a State member of an application for a grant or other assistance for a specific project pursuant to this section shall, when joined by an affirmative vote of the Federal Cochairman for such project, be deemed to satisfy the requirements for affirmative votes for decisions under section 101(b) of this Act.

40 USC Appendix 304 - Annual report

Not later than six months after the close of each fiscal year, the Commission shall prepare and submit to the Governor of each State in the region and to the President, for transmittal to the Congress, a report on the activities carried out under this Act during such year.