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HR8389119th CongressWALLET

Rural Area Population Act

Sponsored By: Representative Ruiz, Raul [D-CA-25]

Introduced

Summary

Creates a single, uniform federal definition of "rural area." It also lets USDA designate small, high-need pockets inside urban regions as rural when they meet specific poverty, farmworker, or infrastructure tests.

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  • Residents in small communities that are inside or next to cities can become eligible for USDA rural development and related programs if the area is a census tract, a census-designated place, or an unincorporated area recognized by a local or tribal government with fewer than 35,000 people and meets the bill's hardship tests.
  • Farmworker communities and tribal lands can qualify as "High-Need Rural Pockets" using census-tract indicators like Rural-Urban Commuting Area codes and a poverty rate threshold of at least 20 percent. A "farmworker settlement" is defined where more than 50 percent of households rely primarily on agricultural labor.
  • Rural utilities and housing programs get aligned definitions through changes to the Rural Electrification Act and the Housing Act of 1949 so program rules use the same "rural area" term across agencies.
  • The Secretary of Agriculture gets rulemaking authority to implement the changes. The amendments take effect 180 days after enactment and existing designations are protected until 2030 census data are available.

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

3 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 0 costs, 1 mixed.

Delay and protection for rural status

The bill would take effect 180 days after enactment. It would require the Agriculture Secretary to write rules to implement the changes. It would also protect any rural-area designation made before the law's effective date from being changed because of this bill until data from the 2030 census are available.

New rural designations for high-need pockets

If enacted, the Secretary of Agriculture could call small census tracts, census-designated places, or unincorporated areas rural even if they lie inside urban regions. Areas must have under 35,000 people and meet at least one test: persistent poverty (20%+ in poverty in the 1990, 2000, and 2010 censuses), a high concentration of farmworker households, or a major infrastructure gap in water, wastewater, or reliable electricity. The bill would also let the Secretary prioritize and keep eligibility for small settlements surrounded by cities that lack services and have at least 20% poverty, and it defines "farmworker settlements" as places where over 50% of households get primary income from agricultural labor.

New uniform rural-area definition

This bill would change the legal wording that defines a "rural area" for USDA rural development programs. It would make the Housing Act and parts of the Rural Electrification Act use the same revised definition. If enacted, some places could gain rural status while others could lose it, so eligibility for loans, grants, housing, and utility programs could change depending on the new wording.

Sponsors & CoSponsors

Sponsor

Ruiz, Raul [D-CA-25]

CA • D

Cosponsors

There are no cosponsors for this bill.

Roll Call Votes

No roll call votes available for this bill.

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