Title 40Public Buildings, Property, and WorksRelease 119-73not60

§14321 Grants and Other Assistance

Title 40 › Subtitle SUBTITLE IV— APPALACHIAN REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT › Chapter 143— APPALACHIAN REGIONAL COMMISSION › Subchapter II— FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE › § 14321

Last updated Apr 5, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Appalachian Regional Commission can give grants and other help to local development districts, states, and projects that boost the region. It can pay part of local districts’ administrative costs (normally up to 50% of those costs). If a local district covers a county labeled “distressed,” the Commission may pay up to 75%; if it covers an “at‑risk” county, up to 70%. A state agency acting as a local district can get such grants for no more than three years from the first grant. The Commission can also help states for up to two years to improve planning, and it can fund research, training, technical help, demonstrations, and related construction. For most projects, the Commission normally pays no more than 50% of the cost. For projects in distressed counties it may pay up to 80%, and in at‑risk counties up to 70%. The Commission can make special discretionary grants that ignore these limits for big regional efforts or emergencies. Each year those discretionary grants can total no more than 10% of the yearly appropriation under section 14703, but COVID‑19 emergency grants do not count toward that 10%. Grants can come from Appalachian appropriations, other federal funds, or other sources. The Commission may ask federal agencies to help, and it must keep records and report to the President. Records of the Commission and of grant recipients are open to audit by the President, the Comptroller General, and the Commission as stated.

Full Legal Text

Title 40, §14321

Public Buildings, Property, and Works — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)(1)The Appalachian Regional Commission may make grants—
(A)for administrative expenses, including the development of areawide plans or action programs and technical assistance activities, of local development districts, but—
(i)the amount of the grant shall not exceed—
(I)50 percent of administrative expenses;
(II)at the discretion of the Commission, if the grant is to a local development district that has a charter or authority that includes the economic development of a county or a part of a county for which a distressed county designation is in effect under section 14526, 75 percent of administrative expenses; or
(III)at the discretion of the Commission, if the grant is to a local development district that has a charter or authority that includes the economic development of a county or a part of a county for which an at-risk county designation is in effect under section 14526, 70 percent of administrative expenses;
(ii)grants for administrative expenses shall not be made for a state agency certified as a local development district for a period of more than three years beginning on the date the initial grant is made for the development district; and
(iii)the local development district contributions for administrative expenses may be in cash or in kind, fairly evaluated, including space, equipment, and services;
(B)for assistance to States for a period of not more than two years to strengthen the state development planning process for the Appalachian region and the coordination of state planning under this subtitle, the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3121 et seq.), and other federal and state programs; and
(C)for investigation, research, studies, evaluations, and assessments of needs, potentials, or attainments of the people of the region, technical assistance, training programs, demonstrations, and the construction of necessary facilities incident to those activities, which will further the purposes of this subtitle.
(2)(A)Except as provided in subparagraph (B), of the cost of any activity eligible for financial assistance under this section, not more than—
(i)50 percent may be provided from amounts appropriated to carry out this subtitle;
(ii)in the case of a project to be carried out in a county for which a distressed county designation is in effect under section 14526, 80 percent may be provided from amounts appropriated to carry out this subtitle; or
(iii)in the case of a project to be carried out in a county for which an at-risk county designation is in effect under section 14526, 70 percent may be provided from amounts appropriated to carry out this subtitle.
(B)(i)Discretionary grants made by the Commission to implement significant regional initiatives, to take advantage of special development opportunities, or to respond to emergency economic distress in the region may be made without regard to the percentage limitations specified in subparagraph (A).
(ii)For each fiscal year, the aggregate amount of discretionary grants referred to in clause (i) shall not be more than 10 percent of the amount appropriated under section 14703 of this title for the fiscal year, except that a discretionary grant to respond to economic distress directly related to the impacts of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID–19) shall not be included in such aggregate amount.
(3)Grant amounts may be provided entirely from appropriations to carry out this section, in combination with amounts available under other federal or federal grant programs, or from any other source.
(4)Notwithstanding any law limiting the federal share in any other federal or federal grant program, amounts appropriated to carry out this section may be used to increase that federal share, as the Commission decides is appropriate.
(b)(1)The Commission may provide assistance under this section for demonstrations of enterprise development, including site acquisition or development where necessary for the feasibility of the project, in connection with the development of the region’s energy resources and the development and stimulation of indigenous arts and crafts of the region.
(2)In carrying out the purposes of this subtitle and in implementing this section, the Secretary of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency, and other federal agencies shall cooperate with the Commission and shall provide assistance that the Federal Cochairman may request.
(3)In any fiscal year, not more than—
(A)$3,000,000 shall be obligated for energy resource related demonstrations; and
(B)$2,500,000 shall be obligated for indigenous arts and crafts demonstrations.
(c)(1)The Commission, as required by the President, shall maintain accurate and complete records of transactions and activities financed with federal amounts and report to the President on the transactions and activities. The records of the Commission with respect to grants are available for audit by the President and the Comptroller General.
(2)Recipients of federal assistance under this section, as required by the Commission, shall maintain accurate and complete records of transactions and activities financed with federal amounts and report to the Commission on the transactions and activities. The records are be 11 So in original. Probably should be preceded by “to”. available for audit by the President, the Comptroller General, and the Commission.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised SectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 14321(a)(1)40 App.:302(a)(1)(A)– (C) (1st sentence).Pub. L. 89–4, title III, § 302, Mar. 9, 1965, 79 Stat. 19; Pub. L. 90–103, title I, § 120, Oct. 11, 1967, 81 Stat. 264; Pub. L. 91–123, title I, § 108, Nov. 25, 1969, 83 Stat. 215; Pub. L. 92–65, title II, § 211, Aug. 5, 1971, 85 Stat. 172; Pub. L. 94–188, title I, § 119, Dec. 31, 1975, 89 Stat. 1085; Pub. L. 105–393, title II, §§ 218(d), 220(a)–(c)(1), Nov. 13, 1998, 112 Stat. 3623, 3624; Pub. L. 107–149, §§ 9, 13(c), Mar. 12, 2002, 116 Stat. 70, 71. 14321(a)(2)40 App.:302(a)(2). 14321(a)(3)40 App.:302(a)(1)(C) (2d sentence). 14321(a)(4)40 App.:302(a)(1)(C) (last sentence). 14321(b)40 App.:302(b). 14321(c)40 App.:302(c). In subsection (a)(2)(A), the words “after September 30, 1998” are omitted as obsolete. In subsection (b)(2), the words “including section 2(b)” are omitted as unnecessary. In subsection (c)(1), the words “or their duly authorized representatives” are omitted because of 3:301 and 31:711(2). In subsection (c)(2), the words “or their duly authorized representatives” are omitted because of 3:301 and 31:711(2) and because of the inferred authority of the Commission to delegate in the absence of a prohibition. See section 14301(d) of the revised title.

Editorial Notes

References in Text

The Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965, referred to in subsec. (a)(1)(B), is Pub. L. 89–136, Aug. 26, 1965, 79 Stat. 552, which is classified generally to chapter 38 (§ 3121 et seq.) of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see

Short Title

note set out under section 3121 of Title 42 and Tables.

Amendments

2020—Subsec. (a)(2)(B)(ii). Pub. L. 116–136 inserted before period at end “, except that a discretionary grant to respond to economic distress directly related to the impacts of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID–19) shall not be included in such aggregate amount”. 2008—Subsec. (a)(1)(A)(i). Pub. L. 110–371, § 2(a)(1), added cl. (i) and struck out former cl. (i) which read as follows: “the amount of a grant shall not exceed 50 percent of administrative expenses or, at the discretion of the Commission, 75 percent of administrative expenses if the grant is to a local development district that has a charter or authority that includes the economic development of a county or part of a county for which a distressed county designation is in effect under section 14526 of this title;”. Subsec. (a)(2)(A). Pub. L. 110–371, § 2(a)(2), added subpar. (A) and struck out heading and text of former subpar. (A). Text read as follows: “Except as provided in subparagraph (B), not more than 50 percent (or 80 percent in the case of a project to be carried out in a county for which a distressed county designation is in effect under section 14526 of this title) of the cost of any activity eligible for financial assistance under this section may be provided from amounts appropriated to carry out this subtitle.”

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

40 U.S.C. § 14321

Title 40Public Buildings, Property, and Works

Last Updated

Apr 5, 2026

Release point: 119-73not60