[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6246 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6246

   To provide for loans to rural energy-producing communities in the 
                 United States, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 29, 2010

 Mr. Pomeroy introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on Financial 
Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 
   each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the 
                jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To provide for loans to rural energy-producing communities in the 
                 United States, and for other purposes.

    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 ``Rural Energy Communities Development 
Act of 2010''.

SEC. 2. RURAL ENERGY COMMUNITIES LOAN PROGRAM.

    (a) Authority.--The Secretary of Agriculture may make loans 
pursuant to section 306(a)(1) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural 
Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1926), to eligible communities for essential 
community facilities (as such term is defined in section 3570.53 of 
title 7, Code of Federal Regulations or any successor regulation to 
such section), for any purpose described in subsection (c).
    (b) Eligible Communities.--For purposes of this section, an 
eligible community--
            (1) is a city, town, or incorporated area that has a 
        population of less than 20,000 individuals; and
            (2) has, during the period from January 1999 through 
        December 2009, experienced net job growth in the energy sector 
        of not less than 20 percent, as determined by the Bureau of the 
        Census or a State agency that collects information on such 
        growth.
    (c) Use of Loan Funds.--An eligible community may use funds 
provided from a loan under this section for any of the following 
purposes:
            (1) Essential community facilities, including--
                    (A) the conservation, development, use, and control 
                of water;
                    (B) the installation or improvement of drainage or 
                waste disposal facilities;
                    (C) transportation facilities; and
                    (D) affordable housing (as determined by the 
                Secretary).
            (2) Land acquisition for such facilities.
            (3) Municipal staff necessary to carry out projects for 
        such facilities.
            (4) Updates to comprehensive plans or housing plans of the 
        community.
    (d) Application.--To be eligible to receive a loan under this 
section, an eligible community shall submit to the Secretary an 
application at such time and in such manner as the Secretary shall 
require that contains, in addition to any other information the 
Secretary may require, the following information:
            (1) The identification of projects for which loan funds 
        will be used.
            (2) A certification that loan funds will be used only for 
        the purposes described in subsection (c).
            (3) Documentation demonstrating the legal capacity and 
        financial ability of the community to repay the loan. Such 
        documentation shall include--
                    (A) evidence that the community has a dedicated 
                source of revenue from any energy tax revenue it 
                receives from the State;
                    (B) an estimate of any energy tax revenue the 
                community expects to receive during the 10-year period 
                beginning on the first day of the first fiscal year 
                that begins after the date funds from the loan are made 
                available to the eligible community from the State 
                office, if any, that distributes energy tax revenue to 
                energy-producing communities; and
                    (C) documentation of any non-Federal supplemental 
                funds to be made available for essential community 
                facilities to be funded with loan amounts received 
                under this section.
    (e) Priority Treatment.--In approving applications for loans under 
this section, the Secretary shall give priority to any applicant acting 
on behalf of an eligible community, that--
            (1) has submitted to the Secretary completed plans or 
        studies that identify specific infrastructure or capacity needs 
        that will be addressed by projects funded with the loan amounts 
        received under this section; or
            (2) demonstrates that projects funded with loan amounts 
        received under this section will be carried out with regional 
        cooperation with adjacent jurisdictions.
    (f) Loan Terms.--
            (1) Amount.--The principal amount of any loan under this 
        section may not exceed the lesser of--
                    (A) $20,000,000; or
                    (B) 80 percent of the energy tax revenue that the 
                applicant expects to receive during the period 
                described in subsection (d)(2)(B).
            (2) Interest rate.--Interest rates on loans under this 
        section shall be subject to the provisions of section 307(a)(4) 
        of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 
        1927(a)(4)) applicable to loans under sections 306(a)(1) and 
        310B of such Act (7 U.S.C. 1926(a) and 1932).
            (3) Term to maturity.--The period for repayment of loans 
        under this section shall not be longer than 15 years.
    (g) Forgiveness.--If an applicant is unable to repay the full 
balance of the loan it receives under this section because 
circumstances beyond the control of the applicant prevented the 
applicant from collecting the amount of expected energy tax revenue 
specified in the application submitted under subsection (c), the 
Secretary may forgive an amount that equals not more than 50 percent of 
the remaining balance of such loan.
    (h) Report.--Each year, until the loan an eligible community 
receives under this section is repaid, such community shall submit to 
the Secretary of Agriculture a report. Each report shall contain a 
description of the progress made on each project or investment financed 
with funds received from a loan under this section.
    (i) Appropriations.--For costs (as such term is defined under 
section 502 of the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990 (2 U.S.C. 661a)) 
of loans under this section, there are authorized to be appropriated an 
aggregate of $75,000,000 for fiscal year 2011 and 2012.
    (j) Maximum Amount of Commitments.--The Secretary may not make 
loans under this section or enter into commitments to make such loans, 
the total amount of which, exceeds $400,000,000.
    (k) Sunset.--The Secretary may not make or enter into a commitment 
to make a loan under this section after September 30, 2012.

SEC. 3. WAIVER OF INCOME MAXIMUMS FOR SELECTED USDA RURAL DEVELOPMENT 
              PROGRAMS.

    (a) Section 502 Loans.--For each of fiscal years 2011 through 2016, 
with respect to an applicant for a direct loan or a guaranteed loan 
under section 502 of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1472), who 
resides in an eligible community described in section 2(b)--
            (1) the Secretary shall waive any income limitations 
        related to obtaining a loan under section 502 of such Act (42 
        U.S.C. 1472); and
            (2) the requirement related to eligibility of borrowers 
        under section 502(h)(3) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1472(h)(3)) 
        shall not apply.
    (b) Site Loans; Multi-Family Housing Loans.--For each of fiscal 
years 2011 through 2016, the following shall apply:
            (1) Section 524.--Any organization or tribe receiving a 
        loan under section 524 of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 
        1490d) shall waive any income limitations related to the 
        occupancy of any housing built on any building site that is 
        located in an eligible community described in section 2(b) of 
        this Act and that is financed by such loan.
            (2) Section 538.--Any organization, State agency, 
        subdivision thereof, Indian tribe, or private entity that 
        receives a loan under section 538 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1490p-
        2) shall waive any income limitations related to the occupancy 
        of any housing that is located in an eligible community 
        described in section 2(b) of this Act and for which the 
        development costs were funded by such a loan.
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