29 U.S.C. § 796f: Program authorization

§796f Program Authorization

Title 29 › CHAPTER 16 — VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION AND OTHER REHABILITATION SERVICES › SUBCHAPTER VII — INDEPENDENT LIVING SERVICES AND CENTERS FOR INDEPENDENT LIVING › Part A — Individuals With Significant Disabilities › subpart 3 — centers for independent living › § 796f

Last updated Sep 23, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Administrator must use the money Congress approves each year starting in fiscal year 2015 to fund States, centers for independent living, and other groups under this program. Each year the Administrator must set aside between 1.8% and 2% of the program money for training and technical help for centers and eligible agencies. That money is for grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements with groups experienced in running centers for independent living. The training covers money management, planning, development, operation, administration, and evaluation. The Administrator must survey centers to set priorities, require applications, use peer review panels that include non-government people with center experience, and keep the training funds separate from money from other laws unless the program’s share is clearly identified and used only for this program. After the training set-aside, the remaining funds are split among States with a State plan approved under section 796d–1, based on each State’s share of the U.S. population. No State’s share can be less than what its centers got in fiscal year 1992 under part B as of the day before October 29, 1992. If overall funding is higher than the 1992 level, minimums apply: if the excess is at least $8,000,000, each State must get at least $450,000 or 1/3 of 1% of the total, whichever is larger; if the excess is at least $4,000,000 but under $8,000,000, the minimum is $400,000 or 1/3 of 1%; if the excess is under $4,000,000, allotments should try to meet the second set of minimums as closely as possible. Guam, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands are not treated as States for those minimums, but each gets at least 1/8 of 1% of the remaining funds. Starting in fiscal year 1999, if total funding grows from one year to the next, the minimum allotments may be increased by up to the same percentage increase. If a State will not spend its allotment, the Administrator must reassign that money to other States that can use it; the reassigned amount counts as an increase for those States.

Title 29, §796f

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(a)In general

From the funds appropriated for fiscal year 2015 and for each subsequent fiscal year to carry out this subpart, the Administrator shall make available such sums as may be necessary to States, centers for independent living, and other entities in accordance with subsections (b) through (d).

(b)Training

(1)Grants; contracts; cooperative agreements

From the funds appropriated to carry out this subpart for any fiscal year, beginning with fiscal year 2015, the Administrator shall first reserve not less than 1.8 percent and not more than 2 percent of the funds, to provide training and technical assistance to centers for independent living and eligible agencies for such fiscal year.

(2)Allocation

From the funds reserved under paragraph (1), the Administrator shall make grants to, or enter into contracts or cooperative agreements with, entities that have experience in the operation of centers for independent living to provide such training and technical assistance with respect to fiscal management of, planning, developing, conducting, administering, and evaluating centers for independent living.

(3)Funding priorities

The Administrator shall conduct a survey of centers for independent living regarding training and technical assistance needs in order to determine funding priorities for such grants, contracts, and other arrangements.

(4)Review

To be eligible to receive a grant or enter into a contract or cooperative agreement under this subsection, such an entity shall submit an application to the Administrator at such time, in such manner, and containing a proposal to provide such training and technical assistance, and containing such additional information as the Administrator may require. The Administrator shall provide for peer review of grant applications by panels that include persons who are not government employees and who have experience in the operation of centers for independent living.

(5)Prohibition on combined funds

No funds reserved by the Administrator under this subsection may be combined with funds appropriated under any other Act or part of this chapter if the purpose of combining funds is to make a single discretionary grant or a single discretionary payment, unless such funds appropriated under this part are separately identified in such grant or payment and are used for the purposes of this part.

(c)In general

(1)States

(A)Population basis

After the reservation required by subsection (b) has been made, and except as provided in subparagraphs (B) and (C), from the remainder of the amounts appropriated for each such fiscal year to carry out this subpart, the Administrator shall make an allotment to each State whose State plan has been approved under section 796d–1 of this title of an amount bearing the same ratio to such remainder as the population of the State bears to the population of all States.

(B)Maintenance of 1992 amounts

Subject to the availability of appropriations to carry out this subpart, the amount of any allotment made under subparagraph (A) to a State for a fiscal year shall not be less than the amount of financial assistance received by centers for independent living in the State for fiscal year 1992 under part B of this subchapter, as in effect on the day before October 29, 1992.

(C)Minimums

Subject to the availability of appropriations to carry out this subpart and except as provided in subparagraph (B), for a fiscal year in which the amounts appropriated to carry out this subpart exceed the amounts appropriated for fiscal year 1992 to carry out part B of this subchapter, as in effect on the day before October 29, 1992—

(i)if such excess is not less than $8,000,000, the allotment to any State under subparagraph (A) shall be not less than $450,000 or ⅓ of 1 percent of the sums made available for the fiscal year for which the allotment is made, whichever is greater, and the allotment of any State under this section for any fiscal year that is less than $450,000 or ⅓ of 1 percent of such sums shall be increased to the greater of the 2 amounts;

(ii)if such excess is not less than $4,000,000 and is less than $8,000,000, the allotment to any State under subparagraph (A) shall be not less than $400,000 or ⅓ of 1 percent of the sums made available for the fiscal year for which the allotment is made, whichever is greater, and the allotment of any State under this section for any fiscal year that is less than $400,000 or ⅓ of 1 percent of such sums shall be increased to the greater of the 2 amounts; and

(iii)if such excess is less than $4,000,000, the allotment to any State under subparagraph (A) shall approach, as nearly as possible, the greater of the 2 amounts described in clause (ii).

(2)Certain territories

(A)In general

For the purposes of paragraph (1)(C), Guam, American Samoa, the United States Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands shall not be considered to be States.

(B)Allotment

Each jurisdiction described in subparagraph (A) shall be allotted under paragraph (1)(A) not less than ⅛ of 1 percent of the remainder for the fiscal year for which the allotment is made.

(3)Adjustment for inflation

For any fiscal year, beginning in fiscal year 1999, in which the total amount appropriated to carry out this subpart exceeds the total amount appropriated to carry out this subpart for the preceding fiscal year, the Administrator shall increase the minimum allotment under paragraph (1)(C) by a percentage that shall not exceed the percentage increase in the total amount appropriated to carry out this subpart between the preceding fiscal year and the fiscal year involved.

(4)Proportional reduction

To provide allotments to States in accordance with paragraph (1)(B), to provide minimum allotments to States (as increased under paragraph (3)) under paragraph (1)(C), or to provide minimum allotments to States under paragraph (2)(B), the Administrator shall proportionately reduce the allotments of the remaining States under paragraph (1)(A), with such adjustments as may be necessary to prevent the allotment of any such remaining State from being reduced to less than the amount required by paragraph (1)(B).

(d)Reallotment

Whenever the Administrator determines that any amount of an allotment to a State for any fiscal year will not be expended by such State for carrying out the provisions of this subpart, the Administrator shall make such amount available for carrying out the provisions of this subpart to one or more of the States that the Administrator determines will be able to use additional amounts during such year for carrying out such provisions. Any amount made available to a State for any fiscal year pursuant to the preceding sentence shall, for the purposes of this section, be regarded as an increase in the allotment of the State (as determined under the preceding provisions of this section) for such year.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

Part B of this subchapter, as in effect on the day before October 29, 1992, referred to in subsec. (c)(1)(B), (C), means former part B (§ 796e) which was included in the repeal of subchapter VII of this chapter by Pub. L. 102–569, title VII, § 701(1), Oct. 29, 1992, 106 Stat. 4443.

Prior Provisions

A prior section 796f, Pub. L. 93–112, title VII, § 721, as added Pub. L. 102–569, title VII, § 701(2), Oct. 29, 1992, 106 Stat. 4452; amended Pub. L. 103–73, title I, § 114(h), Aug. 11, 1993, 107 Stat. 730, authorized program to assist centers for independent living, prior to the general amendment of this subchapter by Pub. L. 105–220. Another prior section 796f, Pub. L. 93–112, title VII, § 721, as added Pub. L. 95–602, title III, § 301, Nov. 6, 1978, 92 Stat. 2999; amended Pub. L. 99–506, title X, § 1001(g)(4), Oct. 21, 1986, 100 Stat. 1843; Pub. L. 100–630, title II, § 208(g), Nov. 7, 1988, 102 Stat. 3314, related to establishment of independent living service programs for older blind individuals, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 102–569, § 701(1).

Amendments

2014—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 113–128, § 481(1), substituted “2015” for “1999” and “Administrator shall make available” for “Commissioner shall allot” and inserted “, centers for independent living,” after “States”. Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 113–128, § 481(2)(A), in heading, substituted “cooperative agreements” for “other arrangements”, and in text, substituted “From the funds appropriated to carry out this subpart for any fiscal year, beginning with fiscal year 2015, the Administrator” for “For any fiscal year in which the funds appropriated to carry out this subpart exceed the funds appropriated to carry out this subpart for fiscal year 1993, the Commissioner”, “reserve not less than 1.8 percent and not more than 2 percent of the funds” for “reserve from such excess”, and “centers for independent living and eligible agencies for such fiscal year.” for “eligible agencies, centers for independent living, and Statewide Independent Living Councils for such fiscal year, not less than 1.8 percent, and not more than 2 percent, of the funds appropriated to carry out this subpart for the fiscal year involved.” Subsec. (b)(2). Pub. L. 113–128, § 481(2)(B), substituted “Administrator shall make grants to, or enter into contracts or cooperative agreements with,” for “Commissioner shall make grants to, and enter into contracts and other arrangements with,” and inserted “fiscal management of,” before “planning,”. Subsec. (b)(3). Pub. L. 113–128, § 481(2)(C), (D), substituted “Administrator” for “Commissioner” and struck out “Statewide Independent Living Councils and” before “centers”. Subsec. (b)(4). Pub. L. 113–128, § 481(3), which directed substitution of “cooperative agreement” for “other arrangement” in par. (4), was executed by making the substitution in par. (4) of subsec. (b) to reflect the probable intent of Congress. Pub. L. 113–128, § 481(2)(C), substituted “Administrator” for “Commissioner” wherever appearing. Subsec. (b)(5). Pub. L. 113–128, § 481(2)(C), substituted “Administrator” for “Commissioner”. Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 113–128, § 481(4), substituted “Administrator” for “Commissioner” wherever appearing. Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 113–128, § 481(5), substituted “Administrator” for “Commissioner” wherever appearing.