1.This Act may be cited as the
Regional Economic Recovery
Coordination Act of 2009
.
2.The purpose of this Act is to assist
eligible regions affected by sudden and severe economic dislocation by—
(1)identifying and coordinating Federal,
State, and local economic development resources;
(2)providing technical assistance in support
of regional economic development strategies; and
(3)integrating public and private economic
development strategies for such regions.
3.In this Act:
(1)The
term Director means the Director of the Office of Regional
Economic Adjustment appointed under section 4(b).
(2)The term eligible region means a region
that—
(A)has been
certified by the Director under section 5(a); and
(B)has established a
Regional Economic and Workforce Development Coordinating Committee under
section 6(a).
(3)The term mass layoff has the meaning given
the term in section 2 of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act
(29 U.S.C. 2101).
(4)The
term Office means the Office of Regional Economic Adjustment
established under section 4(a).
(5)The term plant closing has the meaning given
the term in section 2 of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act
(29 U.S.C. 2101).
(6)The term rural community means a community
that has a rural-urban continuum code of 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9, as defined by the
Economic Research Service of the Department of Agriculture.
(7)The
term Secretary means the Secretary of Commerce.
(8)Sudden and
severe economic dislocationThe term sudden and severe
economic dislocation has the same meaning as such term when used in
section 209(a) of the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 (42
U.S.C. 3149).
(9)The term urban community means a community
that has a rural-urban continuum code of 1, 2, or 3, as defined by the Economic
Research Service of the Department of Agriculture.
4.Office of
Regional Economic Adjustment
(a)There
is established in the Department of Commerce an office to be known as the
Office of Regional Economic Adjustment
.
(b)The
Director of the Office of Regional Economic Adjustment shall be the head of the
Office. The Director shall be appointed by the Secretary from among individuals
qualified to perform the duties of the position.
(c)The
Office shall have such staff as may be necessary to carry out the functions
described in subsection (d).
(d)The
functions of the Office are as follows:
(1)To provide
leadership, support, and coordination for a comprehensive management program to
address economic dislocation in eligible regions.
(2)To assist the
Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development in making the central
information clearinghouse maintained under section 502(1) of the Public Works
and Economic Development Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3192(1)) readily accessible to
States and eligible regions so that such States and regions can easily obtain
information regarding economic adjustment assistance available to them under
Federal law.
(3)To coordinate the
Federal response to eligible regions undergoing sudden and severe economic
dislocation by—
(A)identifying all
Federal, State, and local resources that are available to assist such regions
in recovering from sudden and severe economic dislocation;
(B)ensuring that all
Federal agencies offering economic adjustment assistance to such regions do so
in a targeted, integrated manner that ensures that officials of such regions
are aware of all available Federal assistance for the economic adjustment of
such regions;
(C)ensuring timely
consultation and cooperation between Federal, State, and regional officials
concerning economic adjustment for such regions;
(D)identifying and
strengthening existing agency mechanisms designed to assist such regions in
economic adjustment and workforce redeployment;
(E)applying, to the
extent practicable, consistent policies, practices, and procedures in the
administration of Federal programs that are used to assist with the economic
adjustment of such regions;
(F)creating,
maintaining, and using a uniform economic database to analyze regional economic
adjustment activities; and
(G)upon request by
an eligible region, assigning a Federal economic recovery coordinator to work
with the region in accordance with section 7.
(4)To provide
comprehensive technical assistance to any eligible region seeking to—
(A)identify serious
economic problems in such region that result from a sudden and severe economic
dislocation;
(B)integrate the
major groups and organizations significantly affected by the economic
adjustment of such region;
(C)access Federal,
State, and local resources designed to assist in the economic adjustment and
workforce development of such region;
(D)explore layoff
aversion strategies, including employee ownership and alternate financing;
and
(E)diversify and
strengthen the economy of the region.
(5)To establish an
interagency regional economic adjustment working group, consisting of the
representatives of any Federal department or agency with responsibility for
economic adjustment or workforce development, including representatives of the
following:
(A)The Department of
Agriculture.
(B)The Department of
Defense.
(C)The Department of
Education.
(D)The Department of
Labor.
(E)The Department of
Housing and Urban Development.
(F)The Department of
Health and Human Services.
(G)The Small
Business Administration.
(H)The Department of
the Treasury.
(I)The Department of
Commerce.
(J)The National
Economic Council.
5.Notification and
certification
(a)Not
later than 15 days after the Secretary receives a notice under section 3(e) of
the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (29 U.S.C. 2102(e)) with
respect to a plant closing or mass layoff, the Director shall certify for
purposes of this Act the region in which the plant closing or mass layoff is
located if 1 or more of the following conditions apply:
(1)
(A)In the case that the region is comprised of an urban
community, not fewer than 500 individuals employed in such community have
received written notices under section 3 of the Worker Adjustment and
Retraining Notification Act (29 U.S.C. 2102) in the most recent 6-month period
for which data are available.
(B)In the case that the region is comprised of a rural
community, not fewer than 300 individuals employed in such community have
received such written notices in the most recent 6-month period for which data
are available.
(2)Percent of
workforce unemployedThe unemployment rate for the region is not
less than 1 percent greater than the national unemployment rate for the most
recent 12-month period for which data are available through the Bureau of Labor
Statistics.
(b)Notification to
certified regionsNot later than 15 days after the Director
certifies a region under subsection (a), the Director shall notify the Governor
of the State of such region and the officials of the region—
(1)of such
certification;
(2)of the provisions
of this Act;
(3)how to access the
central information clearinghouse maintained under section 502(1) of the Public
Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3192(1)); and
(4)how to obtain the
technical assistance described in section 4(d)(4).
6.Regional
Economic and Workforce Development Coordinating Committee
(a)A
region may establish a committee in accordance with the provisions of this
section to be known as a Regional Economic and Workforce Development
Coordinating Committee
(in this section referred to as a
Committee
).
(b)Composition of
a Committee
(1)A Committee established by a region under
subsection (a) shall be composed of representatives of the groups significantly
affected by sudden and severe economic dislocation in such region, such
as—
(A)State, tribal,
municipal, county, and regional governments;
(B)planning
boards;
(C)local
businesses;
(D)labor and health
organizations;
(E)2-year
institutions of higher education (as defined in section 101 of the Higher
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001));
(F)vocational
institutions; and
(G)religious and
other community-based groups that provide assistance to the workers of the
region and the families of such workers.
(2)A Committee of a region shall have as ex officio
members the following:
(A)A Federal
economic recovery coordinator assigned by the Director under section 7(a) to
such region.
(B)Such
representatives of Federal agencies as the coordinator described in
subparagraph (A) considers necessary.
(3)A region may designate an existing organization in
the region as a Committee for purposes of this Act if the organization meets
the requirements under paragraphs (1) and (2).
(c)The
duties of a Committee of a region are as follows:
(1)To ascertain the
severity of the economic dislocation of the region, including consideration of
measures of unemployment rates and employment opportunities.
(2)To assess the
capacity of the region to respond to such economic dislocation and the needs of
such region as such region undertakes economic adjustment, taking into
consideration such factors as the following:
(A)The number of
jobs lost as a result of the economic dislocation.
(B)The size of the
region.
(C)The diversity of
industries in the region.
(D)The skills of the
labor force in the region.
(E)The condition of
the labor market of the region.
(F)The availability
of financial resources in the region.
(G)The quality and
availability of educational facilities, including 2-year institutions of higher
education and vocational institutions, that serve the region.
(3)To facilitate a
dialogue between concerned interests in the region, represent the impacted
region, and ensure all interests in the region work collaboratively toward
collective goals without duplication of effort or resources.
(4)To create an
executive council with an equitable representation of regional interests to
ensure coordination and cooperation among all stakeholders of the
region.
7.Federal economic
recovery coordinators
(a)Upon
the request of an eligible region, the Director shall assign a Federal economic
recovery coordinator to such region to carry out the duties described in
subsection (b).
(b)The
duties of a Federal economic recovery coordinator assigned under subsection (a)
to an eligible region are as follows:
(1)To provide
technical assistance to the eligible region and assist in the development of a
comprehensive economic development strategy (as used in sections 203 and 302 of
the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3143 and
3162)) for such region, including applying for applicable grants to develop or
implement such plan.
(2)At the local or
regional level, to coordinate the response of all Federal agencies offering
economic adjustment assistance to the eligible region.
(3)Serve as an ex
officio member of the Regional Economic and Workforce Development Coordinating
Committee of such region established under section 6(a).
(4)To act as a
liaison between the Regional Economic and Workforce Development Coordinating
Committee established by the eligible region and all Federal agencies that
offer economic adjustment assistance to eligible regions, including the
following:
(A)The Department of
Agriculture.
(B)The Department of
Defense.
(C)The Department of
Education.
(D)The Department of
Labor.
(E)The Department of
Housing and Urban Development.
(F)The Department of
Health and Human Services.
(G)The Small
Business Administration.
(H)The Department of
the Treasury.
(I)The National
Economic Council.
(J)The Department of
Commerce.
(5)To report
regularly to the Director regarding the progress of economic adjustment in the
eligible region.
(6)To perform such
other duties as the Secretary or the Director consider appropriate.
8.Authorization of
appropriationsThere are
authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act such sums as may be
necessary for each of the fiscal years 2009 through 2011.
9.Section 3 of the
Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (29 U.S.C. 2102) is amended
by adding at the end the following:
(e)Not later than 60 days after a plant closing or mass
layoff, the employer involved shall submit to the Secretary of Labor and the
Secretary of Commerce separate notifications of the closing or layoff and the
number of employees affected by such closing or
layoff.
.