TITLE 42 - US CODE - CHAPTER 90 - NEIGHBORHOOD AND CITY REINVESTMENT, SELF-HELP AND REVITALIZATION

TITLE 42 - US CODE - SUBCHAPTER I - NEIGHBORHOOD REINVESTMENT CORPORATION

42 USC 8101 - Congressional findings and declaration of purpose

(a) The Congress finds that

(1) the neighborhood housing services demonstration of the Urban Reinvestment Task Force has proven its worth as a successful program to revitalize older urban neighborhoods by mobilizing public, private, and community resources at the neighborhood level; and

(2) the demand for neighborhood housing services programs in cities throughout the United States warrants the creation of a public corporation to institutionalize and expand the neighborhood housing services program and other programs of the present Urban Reinvestment Task Force.

(b) The purpose of this subchapter is to establish a public corporation which will continue the joint efforts of the Federal financial supervisory agencies and the Department of Housing and Urban Development to promote reinvestment in older neighborhoods by local financial institutions working cooperatively with community people and local government, and which will continue the nonbureaucratic approach of the Urban Reinvestment Task Force, relying largely on local initiative for the specific design of local programs.

42 USC 8102 - Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation

(a) Establishment
There is established a Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation (hereinafter referred to as the corporation) which shall be a body corporate and shall possess the powers, and shall be subject to the direction and limitations specified herein.

(b) Implementation and expansion of demonstration activities
The corporation shall implement and expand the demonstration activities carried out by the Urban Reinvestment Task Force.

(c) Principal office
The corporation shall maintain its principal office in the District of Columbia or at such other place the corporation may from time to time prescribe.

(d) Exemption from taxation
The corporation, including its franchise, activities, assets, and income, shall be exempt from all taxation now or hereafter imposed by the United States, by any territory, dependency, or possession thereof, or by any State, county, municipality, or local taxing authority, except that any real property of the corporation shall be subject to State, territorial, county, municipal, or local taxation to the same extent according to its value as other real property is taxed.

42 USC 8103 - Board of Directors

(a) Membership
The corporation shall be under the direction of a board of directors made up of the following members:

(1) the Chairman of the Federal Home Loan Bank Board or a member of the Federal Home Loan Bank Board to be designated by the Chairman;

(2) the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development;

(3) the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, or a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System to be designated by the Chairman;

(4) the Chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or the appointive member of the Board of Directors of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation if so designated by the Chairman;

(5) the Comptroller of the Currency; and

(6) the Chairman of the National Credit Union Administration or a member of the Board of the National Credit Union Administration to be designated by the Chairman.

(b) Election of chairman
The Board shall elect from among its members a chairman who shall serve for a term of two years, except that the Chairman of the Federal Home Loan Bank Board shall serve as Chairman of the Board of Directors for the first such two-year term.

(c) Terms of office
Each director of the corporation shall serve ex officio during the period he holds the office to which he is appointed by the President.

(d) Compensation and expenses
The directors of the corporation, as full-time officers of the United States, shall serve without additional compensation but shall be reimbursed for travel, subsistence, and other necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties as directors of the corporation.

(e) Bylaws, policies and administrative provisions
The directors of the corporation shall adopt such bylaws, policies, and administrative provisions as are necessary to the functioning of the corporation and consistent with the provisions of this subchapter.

(f) Director absences; designated representatives
A director who is necessarily absent from a meeting of the board, or of a committee of the board, may participate in such meeting through a duly designated representative who is serving, pursuant to appointment by the President of the United States, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, in the same department, agency, corporation, or instrumentality as the absent director, or in the case of the Comptroller of the Currency, through a duly designated Deputy Comptroller.

(g) Quorum
The presence of a majority of the board members, or their representatives as provided in subsection (f) of this section, shall constitute a quorum.

(h) Application of other laws
The corporation shall be subject to the provisions of section 552 of title 5.

(i) Meetings of board
All meetings of the board of directors will be conducted in accordance with the provisions of section 552b of title 5.

42 USC 8104 - Officers and employees

(a) Employment, compensation and benefits
The board shall have power to select, employ, and fix the salary and benefits of such officers, employees, attorneys, and agents as shall be necessary for the performance of its duties under this subchapter, without regard to the provisions of title 5 governing appointments in the competitive service, classification, and General Schedule pay rates, except that no officer, employee, attorney, or agent of the corporation may be paid salary at a rate in excess of the rate for level IV of the Executive Schedule. The Corporation shall also apply the provisions of section 5307 (a)(1), (b)(1) and (b)(2) of title 5 governing limitations on certain pay as if its employees were Federal employees receiving payments under title 5.

(b) Appointment of executive director
The directors of the corporation shall appoint an executive director who shall serve as chief executive officer of the corporation.

(c) Appointment and removal of employees by executive director
The executive director of the corporation, subject to approval by the board, may appoint and remove such employees of the corporation as he determines necessary to carry out the purposes of the corporation.

(d) Prohibition of political tests and qualifications in selection, etc., of personnel
No political test or political qualification shall be used in selecting, appointing, promoting, or taking any other personnel action with respect to any officer, agent, or employee of the corporation or of any recipient, or in selecting or monitoring any grantee, contractor, or person or entity receiving financial assistance under this subchapter.

(e) Employee status; applicability of administrative and cost standards of Office of Management and Budget
Officers and employees of the corporation shall not be considered officers or employees of the United States, and the corporation shall not be considered a department, agency, or instrumentality of the Federal Government. The corporation shall be subject to administrative and cost standards issued by the Office of Management and Budget similar to standards applicable to non-profit grantees and educational institutions.

42 USC 8105 - Powers and duties of corporation

(a) Continuance of work of Urban Reinvestment Task Force regarding neighborhood housing services programs and preservation projects

(1) The corporation shall continue the work of the Urban Reinvestment Task Force in establishing neighborhood housing services programs in neighborhoods throughout the United States, monitoring their progress, and providing them with grants and technical assistance. For the purpose of this paragraph, a neighborhood housing services program may involve a partnership of neighborhood residents and representatives of local governmental and financial institutions, organized as a State-chartered non-profit corporation, working to bring about reinvestment in one or more neighborhoods through a program of systematic housing inspections, increased public investment, increased private lending, increased resident investment, and a revolving loan fund to make loans available at flexible rates and terms to homeowners not meeting private lending criteria.

(2) The corporation shall continue the work of the Urban Reinvestment Task Force in identifying, monitoring, evaluating, and providing grants and technical assistance to selected neighborhood preservation projects which show promise as mechanisms for reversing neighborhood decline and improving the quality of neighborhood life.

(3) The corporation shall experimentally replicate neighborhood preservation projects which have demonstrated success, and after creating reliable developmental processes, bring the new programs to neighborhoods throughout the United States which in the judgment of the corporation can benefit therefrom, by providing assistance in organizing programs, providing grants in partial support of program costs, and providing technical assistance to ongoing programs.

(4) The corporation shall continue the work of the Urban Reinvestment Task Force in supporting Neighborhood Housing Services of America, a nonprofit">nonprofit corporation established to provide services to local neighborhood housing services programs, with support which may include technical assistance and grants to expand its national loan purchase pool and may contract with it for services which it can perform more efficiently or effectively than the corporation.

(5) The corporation shall, in making and providing the foregoing grants and technical and other assistance, determine the reporting and management restrictions or requirements with which the recipients of such grants or other assistance must comply. In making such determinations, the corporation shall assure that recipients of grants and other assistance make available to the corporation such information as may be necessary to determine compliance with applicable Federal laws.

(b) General administrative powers
To carry out the foregoing purposes and engage in the foregoing activities, the corporation is authorized

(1) to adopt, alter, and use a corporate seal;

(2) to have succession until dissolved by Act of Congress;

(3) to make and perform contracts, agreements, and commitments;

(4) to sue and be sued, complain and defend, in any State, Federal, or other court;

(5) to determine its necessary expenditures and the manner in which the same shall be incurred, allowed, and paid, and appoint, employ, and fix and provide for the compensation of consultants, without regard to any other law, except as provided in section 8107 (d) of this title;

(6) to settle, adjust, and compromise, and with or without compensation or benefit to the corporation to release or waive in whole or in part, in advance or otherwise, any claim, demand, or right of, by, or against the corporation;

(7) to invest such funds of the corporation in such investments as the board of directors may prescribe;

(8) to acquire, take, hold, and own, and to deal with and dispose of any property; and

(9) to exercise all other powers that are necessary and proper to carry out the purposes of this subchapter.

(1) The corporation may contract with the Office of Neighborhood Reinvestment of the Federal home loan banks for all staff, services, facilities, and equipment now or in the future furnished by the Office of Neighborhood Reinvestment to the Urban Reinvestment Task Force, including receiving the services of the Director of the Office of Neighborhood Reinvestment as the corporations executive director.

(2) The corporation shall have the power to award contracts and grants to

(A) neighborhood housing services corporations and other nonprofit">nonprofit corporations engaged in neighborhood preservation activities; and

(B) local governmental bodies.

(3) The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, the Federal Home Loan Bank Board and the Federal home loan banks, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Federal Reserve banks, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the Comptroller of the Currency, the National Credit Union Administration or any other department, agency, or other instrumentality of the Federal Government are authorized to provide funds, services and facilities, with or without reimbursement, necessary to achieve the objectives and to carry out the purposes of this subchapter.

(d) Non-profit nature of corporation

(1) The corporation shall have no power to issue any shares of stocks, or to declare or pay any dividends.

(2) No part of the income or assets of the corporation shall inure to the benefit of any director, officer, or employee, except as reasonable compensation for services or reimbursement for expenses.

(3) The corporation may not contribute to or otherwise support any political party or candidate for elective public office.

42 USC 8106 - Reports and audits

(a) Annual report to President and Congress
The corporation shall publish an annual report which shall be transmitted by the corporation to the President and the Congress.

(b) Annual audit of accounts
The accounts of the corporation shall be audited annually. Such audits shall be conducted in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards by independent certified public accountants who are certified by a regulatory authority of the jurisdiction in which the audit is undertaken.

(c) Additional audits by Government Accountability Office
In addition to the annual audit, the financial transactions of the corporation for any fiscal year during which Federal funds are available to finance any portion of its operations may be audited by the Government Accountability Office in accordance with such rules and regulations as may be prescribed by the Comptroller General of the United States.

(d) Audit of grantees and contractors of corporation
For any fiscal year during which Federal funds are available to finance any portion of the corporations grants or contracts, the Government Accountability Office, in accordance with such rules and regulations as may be prescribed by the Comptroller General of the United States, may audit the grantees or contractors of the corporation.

(e) Annual financial audit
The corporation shall conduct or require each grantee or contractor to provide for an annual financial audit. The report of each such audit shall be maintained for a period of at least five years at the principal office of the corporation.

42 USC 8107 - Appropriations

(a) Authorization

(1) There are authorized to be appropriated to the corporation to carry out this subchapter $29,476,000 for fiscal year 1993 and $30,713,992 for fiscal year 1994. Not more than 15 percent of any amount appropriated under this paragraph for any fiscal year may be used for administrative expenses.

(2) Of the amount appropriated pursuant to this subsection for any fiscal year, amounts appropriated in excess of the amount necessary to continue existing services of the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation in revitalizing declining neighborhoods shall be available

(A) to expand the national neighborhood housing services network and to assist network capacity development, including expansion of rental housing resources;

(B) to expand the loan purchase capacity of the national neighborhood housing services secondary market operated by Neighborhood Housing Services of America;

(C) to make grants to provide incentives to extend low-income housing use in connection with properties subject to prepayment pursuant to the Low-Income Housing Preservation and Resident Ownership Act of 1990 [12 U.S.C. 4101 et seq.];

(D) to increase the resources available to the national neighborhood housing services network programs for the purchase of multifamily and single-family properties owned by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development for rehabilitation (if necessary) and sale to low- and moderate-income families; and

(E) to provide matching capital grants, operating subsidies, and technical services to mutual housing associations for the development, acquisition, and rehabilitation of multifamily and single-family properties (including properties owned by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development) to ensure affordability by low- and moderate-income families.

(b) Availability of funds until expended
Funds appropriated pursuant to this section shall remain available until expended.

(c) Accounting and reporting of non-Federal funds
Non-Federal funds received by the corporation, and funds received by any recipient from a source other than the corporation, shall be accounted for and reported as receipts and disbursements separate and distinct from Federal funds.

(d) Preparation of business-type budget
The corporation shall prepare annually a business-type budget which shall be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget, under such rules and regulations as the President may establish as to the date of submission, the form and content, the classifications of data, and the manner in which such budget program shall be prepared and presented. The budget of the corporation as modified, amended, or revised by the President shall be transmitted to the Congress as a part of the annual budget required by chapter 11 of title 31. Amendments to the annual budget program may be submitted from time to time.

TITLE 42 - US CODE - SUBCHAPTER II - NEIGHBORHOOD SELF-HELP DEVELOPMENT

8121 to 8124. Repealed. Pub. L. 9735, title III, 313(a), Aug. 13, 1981, 95 Stat. 398

Section 8121, Pub. L. 95–557, title VII, § 702, Oct. 31, 1978, 92 Stat. 2119, set forth congressional findings and statement of purposes for neighborhood self-help development programs. Section 8122, Pub. L. 95–557, title VII, § 703, Oct. 31, 1978, 92 Stat. 2120, defined terms applicable to subchapter. Section 8123, Pub. L. 95–557, title VII, § 704, Oct. 31, 1978, 92 Stat. 2120; Pub. L. 96–153, title I, § 107(b), Dec. 21, 1979, 93 Stat. 1104, set forth provisions respecting grants and other forms of assistance. Section 8124, Pub. L. 95–557, title VII, § 705, Oct. 31, 1978, 92 Stat. 2121; Pub. L. 96–153, title I, § 107(a), Dec. 21, 1979, 93 Stat. 1104; Pub. L. 96–399, title I, § 115, Oct. 8, 1980, 94 Stat. 1623, related to authorization of appropriations for grants.

TITLE 42 - US CODE - SUBCHAPTER III - LIVABLE CITIES

42 USC 8141 - Congressional findings

The Congress finds and declares

(1) that artistic, cultural, and historic resources, including urban design, constitute an integral part of a suitable living environment for the residents of the Nations urban areas, and should be available to all residents of such areas, regardless of income;

(2) that the development or preservation of such resources is a significant and necessary factor in restoring and maintaining the vitality of the urban environment, and can serve as a catalyst for improving decaying or deteriorated urban communities and expanding economic opportunities, and for creating a sense of community identity, spirit, and pride; and

(3) that the encouragement and support of local initiatives to develop or preserve such resources, particularly in connection with federally assisted housing or community development activities or in communities with a high proportion of low-income residents, is an appropriate function of the Federal Government.

42 USC 8142 - Statement of purpose

The primary purpose of this subchapter is to assist the efforts of States, local governments, neighborhood and other organizations to provide a more suitable living environment, expand cultural opportunities, and to the extent practicable, stimulate economic opportunities, primarily for the low and moderate income residents of communities and neighborhoods in need of conservation and revitalization, through the utilization, design or development of artistic, cultural, or historic resources.

42 USC 8143 - Definitions

For the purpose of this subchapter

(1) the terms art and arts include, but are not limited to, architecture (including preservation, restoration, or adaptive use of existing structures), landscape architecture, urban design, interior design, graphic arts, fine arts (including painting and sculpture), performing arts (including music, drama, and dance), literature, crafts, photography, communications media and film, as well as other similar activities which reflect the cultural heritage of the Nations communities and their citizens;

(2) the term nonprofit">nonprofit organization means an organization in which no part of its net earnings inures to the benefit of any private stockholder or stockholders, individual or individuals and, if a private entity, which is not disqualified for tax exemption under section 501 (c)(3) of title 26 by reason of attempting to influence legislation and does not participate in or intervene in (including the publishing or distribution of statements) any political campaign on behalf of any candidate for public office; such organizations may include States and units of local government (including public agencies or special authorities thereof), regional organizations of local governments and nonprofit">nonprofit societies, neighborhood groups, institutions, organizations, associations or museums;

(3) the term project means a program or activity intended to carry out the purposes of this subchapter, including programs for neighborhood and community-based arts programs, urban design, user needs design, and the encouragement of the preservation of historic or other structures which have neighborhood or community significance;

(4) the term Secretary means the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development;

(5) the term Chairman means the Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts;

(6) the term Department means the Department of Housing and Urban Development; and

(7) the term Endowment means the National Endowment for the Arts.

42 USC 8144 - Grants to or contracts with organizations

(a) Authorization; purposes
The Secretary is authorized to make grants to, or enter into contracts with, nonprofit">nonprofit organizations for the purpose of enabling such organizations to undertake or support in cities, urban communities, or neighborhoods, projects which the Secretary, in consultation with the Chairman, determines will carry out the purposes of this subchapter and which

(1) have substantial artistic, cultural, historical, or design merit,

(2) represent community or neighborhood initiatives which have a significant potential for conserving or revitalizing communities or neighborhoods, and for enhancing community or neighborhood identity and pride, and

(3) meet the criteria established jointly by the Secretary and the Chairman pursuant to this section.

(b) Establishment of criteria and procedures for evaluation and selection of projects; scope of criteria
The Secretary and the Chairman shall establish jointly criteria and procedures for evaluating and selecting projects to be assisted under this subchapter. Such criteria shall address, but need not be limited to

(1) artistic, cultural, historical, or design quality;

(2) the degree of broadly based, active involvement of neighborhood residents, community groups, local officials, and persons with expertise in the arts with the proposed project;

(3) the degree of or the potential for utilization or stimulation of assistance or cooperation from other Federal, State, and local public and private sources, including arts organizations;

(4) the feasibility of project implementation, including the capability of the sponsor organization;

(5) the potential contribution to neighborhood revitalization and the creation of a sense of community identity and pride;

(6) the potential for stimulating neighborhood economic and community development, particularly for the benefit of persons of low and moderate income; and

(7) the potential of utilization of the project by neighborhood residents, particularly residents of low and moderate income, senior citizens, and handicapped persons.

(c) Application requirements
No assistance shall be made under this subchapter except upon application therefor submitted to the Secretary in accordance with regulations and procedures established jointly by the Secretary and the Chairman.

(d) Consultation requirements
Prior to the approval of any application for assistance under this subchapter, the Secretary shall consult with the Chairman and, in accordance with regulations and procedures established jointly by the Secretary and the Chairman, seek the recommendations of State and local officials and private citizens who have broad knowledge of, or experience or expertise in, community and economic development and revitalization, and of such officials and citizens who have broad knowledge of, or expertise in, the arts.

(e) Regulations respecting matching requirements; waiver, etc.
The Secretary, in cooperation with the Chairman, shall prescribe regulations which require that specific portions of the cost of any projects assisted under this subchapter shall be provided from sources other than funds made available under this subchapter. Such matching requirements may vary depending on the type of applicant, and the Secretary may reduce or waive such requirements solely in order to take account of the financial capacity of the applicant.

(f) Certification of application
Grants and other assistance may be made available under this subchapter only if the application contains a certification by the unit of general local government in which the project will be located that the project is consistent with and supportive of the objectives of that government for the area in which the project is located.

(g) Available funds not to supplant other public or private funds
Funds made available under this subchapter shall not be used to supplant other public or private funds.

(h) Availability of funds for administrative expenses
No more than 10 per centum of the funds appropriated for any fiscal year under section 8146 of this title shall be available for administrative expenses.

42 USC 8145 - Coordination and development of program with other Federal and non-Federal programs

The Secretary shall coordinate the administration of the provisions of this subchapter in cooperation with other Federal agencies and assure that projects assisted under this subchapter are coordinated with efforts undertaken by State and local public and private entities, including arts organizations.

42 USC 8146 - Authorization of appropriations

There are authorized to be appropriated for carrying out the purposes of this subchapter not to exceed $5,000,000 for fiscal year 1979, and not to exceed $5,000,000 for fiscal year 1980. Any amounts appropriated under this section shall remain available until expended.