Special District Grant Accessibility Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. LaTURNER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 7525) to require the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to issue guidance to agencies requiring special districts to be recognized as local government for the purpose of Federal financial assistance determinations.

The Clerk read the title of the bill.

The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 7525

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 ``Special District Grant Accessibility Act''. SEC. 2. AGENCY FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE GUIDANCE ON SPECIAL DISTRICTS.

(a) Requirements for Agency Acknowledgment of Special Districts as Grant Recipients.--

(1) OMB guidance.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director shall issue guidance that clarifies how an agency recognizes a special district as a unit of local government for the purpose of being eligible to receive Federal financial assistance.

(2) Agency requirements.--Not later than 1 year after the date on which the guidance is issued pursuant to paragraph (1), the head of each agency shall implement the requirements of such guidance and conform any policy, principle, practice, procedure, or guideline relating to the administration of the Federal financial assistance programs of the agency.

(3) Reporting requirement.--Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director shall submit to the Committee on Oversight and Accountability of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate a report that evaluates agency implementation of and conformity to the guidance issued pursuant to paragraph (1).

(b) Definitions.--In this section:

(1) Agency.--The term ``agency'' has the meaning given the term in section 552 of title 5, United States Code.

(2) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of the Office of Management and Budget.

(3) Federal financial assistance.--The term ``Federal financial assistance''--

(A) means assistance that a non-Federal entity receives or administers in the form of a grant, loan, loan guarantee, property, cooperative agreement, interest subsidy, insurance, food commodity, direct appropriation, or other assistance; and

(B) does not include an amount received as reimbursement for services rendered to an individual in accordance with guidance issued by the Director.

(4) Special district.--The term ``special district'' means a political subdivision of a State, with specified boundaries and significant budgetary autonomy or control, created by or pursuant to the laws of the State, for the purpose of performing limited and specific governmental or proprietary functions that distinguish it as a significantly separate entity from the administrative governance structure of any other form of local government unit within a State.

(5) State.--The term ``State'' means each of the several States, the District of Columbia, each commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United States, and each federally recognized Indian Tribe.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 7525, which establishes a definition in law for special districts and clarifies that special districts are eligible to receive Federal financial assistance.

Many Americans receive essential services through special districts, units of local government authorized under State law to deliver specific services to communities. There are approximately 35,000 special districts across the country in every single State.

Some examples of special districts are ambulance service districts, drainage districts, emergency service boards, and flood control districts, to name a few. These special districts provide critical services to mostly rural communities across the Nation.

The Office of Management and Budget already recognizes special districts as units of local government, similar to townships or villages, yet special districts often struggle to compete for or access Federal funding.

The Special District Grant Accessibility Act works to solve this problem and ensures that special districts are on equal footing with other units of local government. This bill requires the Office of Management and Budget to issue guidance to Federal agencies, emphasizing how special districts should be recognized as a unit of local government.

This legislation is supported by the National Special Districts Coalition.

I thank Representative Fallon and Representative Pettersen for their work on this important bipartisan bill, which impacts nearly every congressional district in our Nation.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan bill and reserve the balance of my time.
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Mr. LaTURNER. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. LaTURNER. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I am prepared to close.

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Mr. LaTURNER. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan bill to emphasize that special districts are eligible for Federal financial assistance.

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Mr. LaTURNER. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

The yeas and nays were ordered.

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