Washington : Government Printing Office
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| Public Law 87-27 | Area Redevelopment Act. |
| Sec. 2 | 48 |
| Sec. 4 | National Public Advisory Committee on Area Redevelopment. |
| Sec. 5 | Standards. |
| Sec. 5 | 49 |
| Sec. 5 | Studies. |
| Sec. 5 | 50 |
| Sec. 5 | "Redevelopment area." |
| Sec. 6 | Limitations. |
| Sec. 6 | 51 |
| Sec. 6 | Maximum loan period. |
| Sec. 6 | 52 |
| Sec. 7 | Conditions for loans. |
| Sec. 7 | Limitation. |
| Sec. 7 | 53 |
| Sec. 8 | Conditions for grants. |
| Sec. 8 | Supervision. |
| Sec. 8 | Appropriation. |
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That this Act may be cited as the "Area Redevelopment Act".
The Congress declares that the maintenance of the national economy at a high level is vital to the best interests of the United States, but that some of our communities are suffering substantial and persistent unemployment and underemployment; that such unemployment and underemployment cause hardship to many individuals and their families and detract from the national welfare by wasting vital human resources; that to overcome this problem the Federal Government, in cooperation with the States, should help areas of substantial and persistent unemployment and underemployment to take effective steps in planning and financing their economic redevelopment; that Federal assistance to communities, industries, enterprises, and individuals in areas needing redevelopment should enable such areas to achieve lasting improvement and enhance the domestic prosperity by the establishment of stable and diversified local economies and improved local living conditions; and that under the provisions of this Act new employment opportunities should be created by developing and expanding new and existing facilities and resources rather than be merely transferring jobs from one area of the United States to another.
There shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, an Area Redevelopment Administrator in the Department of Commerce who shall receive compensation at a rate equal to that received by Assistant Secretaries of Commerce. The Administrator shall perform such duties in the execution of this Act as the Secretary of Commerce (hereinafter referred to as the "Secretary") may assign.
(a) To advise the Secretary in the performance of functions authorized by this Act, there is created an Area Redevelopment Advisory Policy Board (hereinafter referred to as the "Board"), which shall consist of the following members, all ex officio: the Secretary as Chairman; the Secretaries of Agriculture; Health, Education, and Welfare; Interior; Labor; and Treasury; and the Administrators of the Housing and Home Finance Agency and the Small Business Administration. The Chairman may from time to time invite the participation of officials of other agencies of the executive branch interested in the functions herein authorized. Each member of the Board may designate
an officer of his agency to act for him as a member of the Board with respect to any matter there considered.
(b) The Secretary shall appoint a National Public Advisory Committee on Area Redevelopment which shall consist of twenty-five members and shall be composed of representatives of labor, management, agriculture, State and local governments, and the public in general. From the members appointed to such Committee the Secretary shall designate a Chairman. Such Committee, or any duly established subcommittee thereof, shall from time to time make recommendations to the Secretary relative to the carrying out of his duties under this Act. Such Committee shall hold not less than two meetings during each calendar year.
(c) The Secretary is authorized from time to time to call together and confer with any persons, including representatives of labor, management, agriculture, and government, who can assist in meeting the problems of unemployment or underemployment in the several areas designated by the Secretary as redevelopment areas.
(a) The Secretary shall designate as "redevelopment areas" those areas within the United States in which he determines, upon the basis of standards generally comparable with those set forth in paragraphs (1) and (2), that there has existed substantial and persistent unemployment for an extended period of time. There shall be included among the areas so designated any area—
(1) where the Secretary of Labor finds that the rate of unemployment, excluding unemployment due primarily to temporary or seasonal factors, is currently 6 per centum or more and has averaged at least 6 per centum for the qualifying time periods specified in paragraph (2); and
(2) where the Secretary of Labor finds that the annual average rate of unemployment has been at least—
(A) 50 per centum above the national average for three of the preceding
four calendar years, or
(B) 75 per centum above the national average for two of the preceding
three calendar years, or
(C) 100 per centum above the national average for one of the preceding
two calendar years.
The Secretary of Labor shall find the facts and provide the data to be used by the Secretary in making the determinations required by this subsection.
(b) The Secretary shall also designate as "redevelopment areas" those areas (including Indian reservations) within the United States which do not meet the requirements set forth in subsection (a) but which he determines are among the highest in numbers and percentages of low-income families, and in which there exists a condition of substantial and persistent unemployment or underemployment. In making the designations under this subsection and before extending any financial assistance as the result of designations under this subsection, the Secretary shall, by regulation, prescribe detailed standards upon which the designations under this subsection shall be based. In the formulation of such standards the Secretary shall consider, among other relevant factors, the number of low-income farm families in the various rural areas of the United States, the proportion that such low-income families are of the total farm families of each of such areas, the relationship of the income levels of the families in each such area to the general levels of income in the United States, the extent to which "rural development" projects have previously been located in any such area under programs administered by the Department of Agriculture, the current and prospective
employment opportunities in each such area, the availability of manpower in each such area for supplemental employment, the extent of migration out of the area, and the proportion of the population of each such area which has been receiving public assistance from the Federal Government or from the State or States in which such area is located or from any municipality therein. In making the designations under this subsection, the Secretary shall endeavor to distribute the projects widely among the several States, so far as is feasible and proper, in order that actual experience with this program may be had in as many States and in as many areas and under as many different circumstances as possible. In making these determinations the Secretary shall be guided, but not conclusively governed, by pertinent studies made, and information and data collected or compiled, by (1) departments, agencies, and instrumentalities of the Federal Government, (2) State and local governments, (3) universities and land-grant colleges, and (4) private organizations.
(c) Upon the request of the Secretary, the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of the Interior, and such other heads of agencies as may be appropriate are authorized to conduct such special studies, obtain such information, and compile and furnish to the Secretary such data as the Secretary may deem necessary or proper to enable him to make the determinations provided for in subsection (b) of this section. The Secretary shall reimburse when appropriate, out of any funds appropriated to carry out the purposes of this Act, the foregoing officers for any expenditures incurred by them under this section.
(d) As used in this Act, the term "redevelopment area" refers to any area within the United States which has been designated by the Secretary as a redevelopment area.
(a) The Secretary is authorized to purchase evidences of indebtedness and to make loans (which for purposes of this section shall include participations in loans) to aid in financing any project within a redevelopment area for the purchase or development of land and facilities (including, in cases of demonstrated need, machinery and equipment) for industrial or commercial usage, including the construction of new buildings, the rehabilitation of abandoned or unoccupied buildings, and the alteration, conversion, or enlargement of existing buildings. Such financial assistance shall not be extended (1) for working capital, or (2) to assist establishments relocating from one area to another. The limitation set forth in clause (2) shall not be construed to prohibit assistance for the expansion of an existing business entity through the establishment of a new branch, affiliate, or subsidiary of such entity if the Secretary finds that the establishment of such branch, affiliate, or subsidiary will not result in an increase in unemployment in the area of original location or in any other area where such entity conducts business operations, unless the Secretary has reason to believe that such branch, affiliate, or subsidiary is being established with the intention of closing down the operations of the existing business entity in the area of its original location or in any other area where it conducts such operations.
(b) Financial assistance under this section shall be on such terms and conditions as the Secretary determines, subject, however, to the following restrictions and limitations:
(1) The total amount of loans (including purchased evidences of indebtedness) outstanding at any one time under this section (A) with respect to projects in redevelopment areas designated under section 5 (a) shall not exceed $100,000,000 and (B) with respect to projects in redevelopment areas designated under section 5 (b) shall not exceed $100,000,000.
(2) Such assistance shall be extended only to applicants, both private and public (including Indian tribes), which have been approved for such assistance by an agency or instrumentality of the State or political subdivision thereof in which the project to be financed is located, and which agency or instrumentality is directly concerned with problems of economic development in such State or subdivision.
(3) The project for which financial assistance is sought must be reasonably calculated to provide more than a temporary alleviation of unemployment or underemployment within the redevelopment area wherein it is, or will be, located.
(4) No such assistance shall be extended hereunder unless the financial assistance applied for is not otherwise available from private lenders or other Federal agencies on reasonable terms.
(5) The Secretary shall not make any loan without a participation unless he determines that the loan cannot be made on a participation basis.
(6) No evidences of indebtedness shall be purchased and no loans shall be made unless it is determined that there is a reasonable assurance of repayment.
(7) Subject to section 12 (5) of this Act, no loan, including renewals or extension thereof, may be made hereunder for a period exceeding twenty-five years and no evidences of indebtedness maturing more than twenty-five years from date of purchase may be purchased hereunder: Provided, That the foregoing restrictions on maturities shall not apply to securities or obligations received by the Secretary as a claimant in bankruptcy or equitable reorganization or as a creditor in other proceedings attendant upon insolvency of the obligor.
(8) Loans made and evidences of indebtedness purchased under this section shall bear interest at a rate equal to the rate of interest paid by the Secretary on funds obtained from the Secretary of the Treasury as provided in section 9 (a) of this Act, plus one-half of 1 per centum per annum to cover administrative expenses and to provide for losses on loans made and evidences of indebtedness purchased under this section.
(9) Such assistance shall not exceed 65 per centum of the aggregate cost to the applicant (excluding all other Federal aid in connection with the undertaking) of acquiring or developing land and facilities (including, in cases of demonstrated need, machinery and equipment), and of constructing, altering, converting, rehabilitating, or enlarging the building or buildings of the particular project, and shall, among others, be on the condition that—
(A) other funds are available in the amount which, together with the assistance provided hereunder, shall be sufficient to pay such aggregate cost;
(B) not less than 10 per centum of such aggregate cost be supplied by the State or any agency, instrumentality, or political subdivision thereof, or by an Indian tribe or a community or area organization which is nongovernmental in character, as equity capital or as a loan repayable only after the Federal financial assistance extended under this section has been repaid in full according to the terms thereof and, if such a loan is secured, its security shall be subordinate and inferior to the lien or liens securing such Federal financial assistance;
(C) in extending financial assistance under this section with respect to a redevelopment area, the Secretary shall require that not less than 5 per centum of the aggregate cost of the project for which such assistance is extended shall be
supplied by nongovernmental sources as equity capital or as a loan repayable only after the Federal financial assistance extended under this section has been repaid in full according to the terms thereof and, if such a loan is secured, its security shall be subordinate and inferior to the lien or liens securing such Federal financial assistance; and
(D) to the extent the Secretary finds such action necessary to encourage financial participation in a particular project by other lenders and investors, and except as otherwise provided in subparagraphs (B) and (C), any Federal financial assistance extended under this section may be repayable only after other loans made in connection with such project have been repaid in full, and the security, if any, for such Federal financial assistance may be subordinate and inferior to the lien or liens securing other loans made in connection with the same project.
(10) No such assistance shall be extended unless there shall be submitted to and approved by the Secretary an overall program for the economic development of the area and a finding by the State, or any agency, instrumentality, or local political subdivision thereof, that the project for which financial assistance is sought is consistent with such program: Provided, That nothing in this Act shall authorize financial assistance for any project prohibited by laws of the State or local political subdivision in which the project would be located.
(a) Upon the application of any State, or political subdivision thereof, Indian tribe, or private or public nonprofit organization or association representing any redevelopment area or part thereof, the Secretary is authorized to make loans to assist in financing the purchase or development of land for public facility usage, and the construction, rehabilitation, alteration, expansion, or improvement of public facilities, within a redevelopment area, if he finds that—
(1) the project for which financial assistance is sought will tend to improve the opportunities, in the redevelopment area where such project is or will be located, for the successful establishment or expansion of industrial or commercial plants or facilities which will provide more than a temporary alleviation of unemployment or underemployment in such area;
(2) the funds requested for such project are not otherwise available on reasonable terms;
(3) the amount of the loan plus the amount of other available funds for such project are adequate to insure the completion thereof;
(4) there is a reasonable expectation of repayment; and
(5) such area has an approved economic development program as provided in section 6 (b) (10) and the project for which financial assistance is sought is consistent with such program.
(b) Subject to section 12 (5), the maturity date of any such loan shall be not later than forty years after the date such loan is made. Any such loan shall bear interest at a rate equal to the rate of interest paid by the Secretary on funds obtained from the Secretary of the Treasury as provided in section 9 (a) of this Act, plus one-quarter of 1 per centum per annum.
(c) The total amount of loans outstanding at any one time under this section shall not exceed $100,000,000.
(d) No financial assistance shall be extended under this section with respect to any public facility which would compete with an existing privately owned public utility rendering a service to the
public at rates or charges subject to regulation by a State regulatory body, unless the State regulatory body determines that in the area to be served by the public facility for which the financial assistance is to be extended there is a need for an increase in such service (taking into consideration reasonably foreseeable future needs) which the existing public utility is not able to meet through its existing facilities or through an expansion which it agrees to undertake.
(a) Upon the application of any State, or political subdivision thereof, Indian tribe, or private or public nonprofit organization or association representing any redevelopment area or part thereof, the Secretary is authorized to make grants for land acquisition or development for public facility usage, and the construction, rehabilitation, alteration expansion, or improvement of public facilities, within a redevelopment area, if he finds that—
(1) the project for which financial assistance is sought will tend to improve the opportunities, in the redevelopment area where such project is or will be located, for the successful establishment or expansion of industrial or commercial plants or facilities which will provide more than a temporary alleviation of unemployment or underemployment in such area;
(2) the entity requesting the grant proposes to contribute to the cost of the project for which such grant is requested in proportion to its ability so to contribute;
(3) the project for which a grant is requested will fulfill a pressing need of the area, or part thereof, in which it is, or will be, located, and there is little probability that such project can be undertaken without the assistance of a grant under this section; and
(4) the area for which a project is to be undertaken has an approved economic development program as provided in section 6 (b) (10) and such project is consistent with such program. The amount of any grant under this section for any such project shall not exceed the difference between the funds which can be practicably obtained from other sources (including a loan under section 7 of this Act) for such project, and the amount which is necessary to insure the completion thereof.
(b) The Secretary shall by regulation provide for the supervision of projects with respect to which grants are made under this section so as to insure that Federal funds are not wasted or dissipated.
(c) No financial assistance shall be extended under this section with respect to any public facility which would compete with an existing privately owned public utility rendering a service to the public at rates or charges subject to regulation by a State regulatory body, unless the State regulatory body determines that in the area to be served by the public facility for which the financial assistance is to be extended there is a need for an increase in such service (taking into consideration reasonably foreseeable future needs) which the existing public utility is not able to meet through its existing facilities or through an expansion which it agrees to undertake.
(d) There is hereby authorized to be appropriated not to exceed $75,000,000 for the purpose of making grants under this section.
Approved, May 1, 1961.
