PRINTER'S NO. 3239
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No.
2672
Session of
2022
INTRODUCED BY MILLARD, BOBACK, NEILSON, ISAACSON, N. NELSON,
CIRESI AND RADER, JUNE 14, 2022
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT, JUNE 14, 2022
AN ACT
Establishing the Rebuild Pennsylvania Board, the Rebuild
Pennsylvania Program and the Rebuild Pennsylvania Fund;
providing for powers and duties of the board and for use of
program funds; and making an appropriation.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Short title.
This act shall be known and may be cited as the Rebuild
Pennsylvania Act.
Section 2. Definitions.
The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Board." The Rebuild Pennsylvania Board established under
section 3.
"Commonwealth agency." A department, board, commission,
authority or other officer or agency of the Commonwealth. The
term does not include any court or other officer or agency of
the unified judicial system or the General Assembly or an
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officer or agency of the General Assembly.
"Fund." The Rebuild Pennsylvania Fund established under
section 6.
"Program." The Rebuild Pennsylvania Program established
under section 4.
Section 3. Rebuild Pennsylvania Board.
(a) Establishment.--The Rebuild Pennsylvania Board is
established as an independent administrative board. The
Department of Community and Economic Development shall provide
administrative assistance to the board.
(b) Composition.--The board shall be composed of the
following members:
(1) One individual appointed by the Governor.
(2) One individual appointed by the President pro
tempore of the Senate.
(3) One individual appointed by the Minority Leader of
the Senate.
(4) One individual appointed by the Speaker of the House
of Representatives.
(5) One individual appointed by the Minority Leader of
the House of Representatives.
(c) Chairperson.--The Governor shall select a member of the
board to serve as chairperson. The members of the board shall
select from among themselves any other officers as they shall
determine.
(d) Meetings.--The board shall meet at the call of the
chairperson.
(e) Quorum.--All members of the board shall be necessary to
constitute a quorum. The consent of all members of the board
shall be necessary to take an action of the board.
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(f) Bylaws.--The board shall adopt bylaws as the board deems
necessary governing the conduct of the board.
(g) Participation and voting.--The following apply:
(1) Members of the board may participate in a meeting by
telephone conference or other electronic technology by means
in which all individuals participating in the meeting can
hear each other.
(2) Members of the board may delegate votes to designees
acting on their behalf only after informing the chairperson
in writing.
(h) Compensation.--The members of the board shall receive no
compensation for their services as members of the board, but
shall be reimbursed for all necessary and reasonable expenses
incurred in connection with the performance of their duties as
members of the board.
(i) Appointments.--Appointing authorities shall appoint
initial members to the board within 30 days of the effective
date of this subsection. Any appointee to the board may be
removed with or without cause by the appointing authority. When
a vacancy occurs in the board, the appointing authority shall
appoint a successor member within 30 days of the vacancy.
(j) Dissolution.--The board shall dissolve when all funds
available for the purposes of this act have been exhausted and
all applicable duties and responsibilities under law have been
completed. Prior to dissolution, the board shall transmit notice
of the dissolution to the Legislative Reference Bureau for
publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
Section 4. Establishment of program.
The Rebuild Pennsylvania Program is established within the
board. The program shall provide financial assistance in the
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form of grants, loans or other forms of financing or funding for
the eligible uses specified under section 5.
Section 5. Use of program funds.
(a) Allocation of program funds.--The following apply:
(1) The board shall allocate program funds among all of
the following categories:
(i) Flood control infrastructure.
(ii) Disaster response.
(iii) Green infrastructure.
(iv) Redevelopment, repairs and blight demolition.
(v) Storm water infrastructure.
(vi) Brownfield cleanup.
(vii) Contaminant remediation in schools and child-
care centers.
(viii) Business development and site selection.
(ix) Energy efficiency.
(x) Transportation infrastructure.
(2) Within 15 days of the determination of the
allocations under paragraph (1), the board shall provide the
Secretary of the Budget with a written notification of the
allocations of program funds.
(b) Financial assistance.--After the board provides the
written notification required under subsection (a)(2), program
funds shall be used to provide financial assistance in the form
of grants, loans or other forms of financing or funding as
provided under subsection (c).
(c) Use.--The following apply:
(1) For flood control infrastructure, program funds may
be used as follows:
(i) For the Stream Improvement Program administered
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by the Department of Environmental Protection, to provide
grants to municipalities and county conservation
districts for stream restoration and maintenance
projects.
(ii) For grants from the Pennsylvania Infrastructure
Investment Authority, to Commonwealth agencies and
political subdivisions for the acquisition, construction,
improvement, including the installation of security
measures, expansion, repair or rehabilitation of all or
part of a flood control system. As used in this
subparagraph, the term "flood control system" includes
levees, dikes, walls, culverts, revetment and dams,
including high-hazard unsafe dams, lakes, reservoirs and
other works and improvements deemed necessary to prevent
floods or control, preserve, restore and regulate the
flow of rivers and streams.
(2) For disaster response measures, program funds may be
used by the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency as
follows:
(i) To establish the Disaster Assistance Program for
the purpose of providing grants, limited to expenses or
needs that are not covered by private insurance or do not
qualify for Federal assistance, to:
(A) Meet disaster-related necessary expenses or
serious needs of individuals or families directly
affected by a declared disaster emergency under 35
Pa.C.S. Ch. 73 Subch. A (relating to the Governor and
disaster emergencies), regardless of whether a
presidential disaster declaration was issued for the
area or the disaster emergency declaration remains in
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effect at the time of the grant award.
(B) Address landslide damage where damages to
private property collectively exceed $500,000,
regardless of whether a disaster emergency was
declared.
(ii) To establish the Pipeline Preparedness and
Response Fund for the following purposes:
(A) Funding State-administered emergency
response training, planning and coordination for
county or municipal employees, volunteer firefighters
or volunteer emergency medical technicians.
(B) Providing grants to counties, municipalities
and school districts where a natural gas or hazardous
liquid pipeline is located in a high-consequence area
as determined by the Pennsylvania Emergency
Management Agency. Grants under this clause shall be
awarded for emergency planning, coordination,
communication and implementation, training and
equipment acquisition.
(iii) To provide reimbursement for the costs
incurred by a county or municipality during a response to
an emergency relating to pipelines within the county or
municipality. The costs eligible for reimbursement may
include police and fire protection costs for the county
or municipality during the response.
(3) For green infrastructure, program funds may be used
as follows:
(i) By the Department of Environmental Protection
for existing programs for watershed protection.
(ii) By the Department of Conservation and Natural
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Resources for existing programs to improve State parks
and State forests, watershed restoration and open space
preservation and to provide community park and recreation
grants.
(iii) By the Department of Agriculture for existing
programs for county-based farmland preservation and for
transfer to the State Conservation Commission to provide
financial and technical assistance grants to conservation
districts for the implementation of best management
practices on farms within this Commonwealth.
(iv) By the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission
for capital improvement projects for existing lands and
facilities.
(v) By the Pennsylvania Game Commission for capital
improvement projects to existing lands and facilities.
(vi) By the Department of Transportation and the
Department of Conservation and Natural Resources for the
purpose of funding the development of new all-terrain
vehicle trails, connectors and feasibility studies.
(4) For redevelopment, repairs and blight demolition,
program funds may be used by the Department of Community and
Economic Development for:
(i) Main Street and downtown redevelopment.
(ii) A program to develop and maintain affordable
housing.
(iii) The Keystone Communities program.
(iv) Establishing a whole home repair program.
(v) Establishing the Blight Demolition and
Redevelopment Fund for the purpose of providing grants,
loans or other forms of financing to local entities,
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including land banks, counties, cities, municipalities,
redevelopment authorities, economic development groups,
community development agencies and others for the
planning, demolition, remediation and redevelopment of
blighted areas.
(5) For storm water infrastructure, program funds may be
used by the Department of Environmental Protection for the
establishment of the Storm Water Control Grant Program for
the purpose of providing grants to authorities and
municipalities with separate storm sewers as defined by 40
CFR 122.26(b)(8) (relating to storm water discharges) to
implement pollution reduction plans and for compliance with
the act of October 4, 1978 (P.L.864, No.167), known as the
Storm Water Management Act. Priority for participation in the
Storm Water Control Grant Program shall be given to eligible
applicants that are currently subject to a Federal or State
court or agency order, consent decree or new permit discharge
requirements and eligible applicants that propose to work to
achieve cost-effective compliance as part of a regional
collaborative approach.
(6) For brownfield cleanup, program funds may be
deposited into the Hazardous Sites Cleanup Fund established
under section 1761-A of the act of April 9, 1929 (P.L.343,
No.176), known as The Fiscal Code, and for uses consistent
with the act of October 18, 1988 (P.L.756, No.108), known as
the Hazardous Sites Cleanup Act.
(7) For contaminant remediation in schools and child-
care centers, defined as the premises where care is provided
at any one time for seven or more children unrelated to the
operator, program funds may be used as follows:
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(i) By the Department of Health to provide grants to
abate lead contaminated paint found in schools, child-
care centers and residences in this Commonwealth.
(ii) By the Department of Education and the
Department of Human Services to provide grants to
remediate lead contamination in the drinking water of
schools and child-care centers in this Commonwealth.
(iii) By the Department of Education to provide
grants for asbestos abatement in schools.
(8) For business development and site selection, program
funds may be used for the Business in Our Sites Program
established under 64 Pa.C.S. § 1551 (relating to Business in
Our Sites Program) to provide financial assistance.
(9) For energy efficiency, program funds may be used as
follows:
(i) By the Department of Community and Economic
Development for the Alternative and Clean Energy Program
to provide grants or loans for the utilization,
development and construction of alternative and clean
energy projects in this Commonwealth.
(ii) To provide money to the Natural Gas
Infrastructure Development Fund established under section
1742-A.1 of The Fiscal Code.
(10) For transportation infrastructure, program funds
may be used as follows:
(i) By the Department of Transportation to provide
money to the Multimodal Transportation Fund for all of
the following purposes:
(A) The construction, reconstruction or
maintenance of any roads and bridges owned or
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maintained by a county, municipality, person,
association or corporation, other than a highway or
bridge owned, controlled or maintained by the
Department of Transportation or any tolling
authority.
(B) To increase bike and pedestrian paths and
access.
(ii) By the Department of Transportation to fund the
maintenance of State-owned four-digit roads in counties
with a population of less than 150,000 based on the 2020
Federal decennial census.
(iii) By the Department of Conservation and Natural
Resources and the State Conservation Commission to
provide grants for dirt, gravel and low-volume road
maintenance as provided under 75 Pa.C.S. § 9106 (relating
to dirt, gravel and low-volume road maintenance).
(iv) To provide money to the Public Transportation
Trust Fund to provide financial assistance for programs
of Statewide significance under 74 Pa.C.S. § 1516
(relating to programs of Statewide significance).
(d) Diversity.--
(1) In providing financial assistance in the form of
grants, loans or other forms of financing or funding under
subsection (b), a Commonwealth agency shall consider regional
and socioeconomic diversity. The board shall develop regional
and socioeconomic diversity guidelines for each Commonwealth
agency to consider when providing financial assistance.
(2) When a Commonwealth agency uses a competitive grant
process as the method for providing financial assistance, the
Commonwealth agency shall provide outreach and educational
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programming to encourage and support the submission of
applications from varying types of communities.
(e) Matching funds.--Except as otherwise provided by the
laws of this Commonwealth, the following apply:
(1) A Commonwealth agency may require that financial
assistance provided under this section be matched with other
funds. When matching is required, the Commonwealth agency
shall establish criteria for the amount and type of matching
funds.
(2) An applicant or recipient of funding received as a
result of this act, or a Commonwealth agency, may use funding
resulting from this act as matching funds for other Federal
or State grant opportunities and may use other Federal or
State funds as matching funds for the funding resulting from
this section.
(f) Applications.--To the extent feasible, Commonwealth
agencies may permit an applicant to apply to more than one grant
program in one application.
Section 6. Rebuild Pennsylvania Fund.
(a) Establishment.--The Rebuild Pennsylvania Fund is
established in the State Treasury for the purpose of
implementing the program. All money deposited into the fund
shall not lapse. The amount of loans repaid under section 5
shall be deposited into the fund.
(b) Appropriation.--All money deposited into the fund are
appropriated to the departments, and for the purposes, specified
in section 5. The sum of $3,000,000,000 is transfered from the
General Fund to the Rebuild Pennsylvania Fund for fiscal year
2022-2023.
Section 7. Effective date.
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This act shall take effect immediately.
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