Providing for grants to eligible political subdivisions for rehabilitation and remediation of buildings that are public nuisances or are abandoned for community use, and making appropriations

“Political subdivision” is defined in the bill as a city, county, township, or school district. “Public nuisance”, “abandoned”, and “building” are also defined in the bill.106A(1)(o). The bill specifies that all repayments or recaptures of financial assistance provided to cities or political subdivisions accrue to the authority and must be used for purposes of providing loans and forgivable loans to cities, and grants to political subdivisions. The bill establishes a $2 million standing appropriation from the general fund of the state to the authority for deposit in the fund commencing with the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2020. The authority is required to use the standing appropriation to provide grants to political subdivisions using a competitive scoring process and eligibility criteria established pursuant to rules adopted by the authority. Upon approval of a political subdivision’s application, the political subdivision must enter into an agreement with the authority. The agreement must contain a provision allowing for all or a portion of the grant received to be subject to disallowance, recapture, or immediate repayment in certain circumstances as outlined in the bill. The authority is required to coordinate with the political subdivision to develop a plan for the use of an awarded grant that is consistent with the community development goals of the political subdivision. The terms of the agreement the political subdivision and the authority enter into, and the use of the awarded grant, must reflect the developed plan. A grant awarded to an eligible political subdivision cannot exceed $100,000 and an eligible political subdivision cannot receive more than one grant. The bill requires the authority to submit an annual report to the general assembly that includes information related to grants awarded to political subdivisions as outlined in the bill. The authority is required to adopt rules pursuant to Code chapter 17A as necessary to administer the provisions of the bill.338.