Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Rural Development Modernization Act”.
Rural Development Modernization Act
A BILL
To harmonize the population threshold for rural communities under programs carried out by the Department of Agriculture, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 Harmonization of the population threshold for rural communities under Department of Agriculture programs
Increase in population thresholds under certain programs—
Broadband, telemedicine, and distance learning—
In general— Section 601(b)(3)(A)(ii) of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 (7 U.S.C. 950bb(b)(3)(A)(ii)) is amended by striking “20,000 inhabitants” and inserting “25,000 inhabitants (excluding populations described in subparagraphs (F) and (G) of such section)”.
Ratio for allocation— Section 601(j)(2)(B) of such Act (7 U.S.C. 950bb(j)(2)(B)) is amended by striking “2,500” each place it appears and inserting “25,000”.
Telephone service loans— Section 203(b) of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 (7 U.S.C. 924(b)) is amended by striking “5,000 inhabitants” and inserting “25,000 inhabitants (excluding populations described in subparagraphs (F) and (G) of section 343(a)(13) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act)”.
Reservation applicable to loan guarantees for water, wastewater, and essential community facilities loans— Section 306(a)(24)(D)(ii) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1926(a)(24)(D)(ii)) is amended by striking “20,000” and inserting “25,000”.
Emergency and imminent community water assistance grants— Section 306A(e) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1926A(e)) is amended—
in paragraph (1)(A), by striking “10,000” and inserting “25,000”; and
in paragraph (2), by striking “3,000” and inserting “25,000”.
Rural housing— Title V of the Housing Act of 1949 is amended—
in section 520 (42 U.S.C. 1490)—
in the first sentence—
in clause (1), by striking “2,500” and inserting “25,000”;
in clause (2)—
by striking “2,500” and inserting “25,000”; and
by striking “10,000” and inserting “25,000”; and
in clause (3)—
by striking “10,000” and inserting “25,000”; and
by striking “20,000” and inserting “25,000”; and
by striking the last sentence and inserting the following: “In determining whether an area is “rural” or a “rural area”, the Secretary shall disregard the populations described in subparagraphs (F) and (G) of section 343(a)(13) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1991(a)(13)).”; and
in section 533(d)(3)(C) (42 U.S.C. 1490m(d)(3)(C)), by striking “10,000” and inserting “25,000”.
Elimination of cap on military base population exclusion— Section 343(a)(13)(I) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1991(a)(13)(I)) is amended—
in the subparagraph heading, by striking “Limited exclusion” and inserting “Exclusion”; and
by striking “The first 1,500” and inserting “Populations of”.
Elimination of lower population thresholds under water and waste, and community facilities programs—
In general— Section 343(a)(13) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1991(a)(13)) is amended by striking subparagraphs (B) and (C) and redesignating subparagraphs (D) through (I) as subparagraphs (B) through (G), respectively.
in subparagraph (A), by striking “(I)” and inserting “(G)”;
in subparagraph (D)(i), by striking “(F)” each place it appears and inserting “(D)”; and
in subparagraph (F), by striking clause (ii) and inserting the following:
“(ii) Adjustments—The Secretary may, by regulation only, consider an area described in clause (i)(I) of this subparagraph not to be a rural area for purposes of subparagraph (A).”
Exclusion of incarcerated and military base populations in determining whether part of an area is rural in character—
In general— Section 343(a)(13)(D)(iii) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1991(a)(13)(D)(iii)) is amended by redesignating subclauses (III) through (VII) as subclauses (IV) through (VIII), respectively, and inserting after subclause (II) the following:
“(III) disregard the populations described in subparagraphs (F) and (G) in determining whether part of an area is rural in character;”
Conforming amendment— Section 343(a)(13)(D)(iii)(V) of such Act (7 U.S.C. 1991(a)(13)(D)(iii)(V)) is amended by striking “(IV)” and inserting “(V)”.
Sec. 3 Harmonization of the population threshold for rural communities under Department of Energy program
Section 609(a)(5) of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (7 U.S.C. 918c(a)(5)) is amended by striking “10,000 inhabitants” and inserting “25,000 inhabitants (excluding populations described in subparagraphs (F) and (G) of section 343(a)(13) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1991(a)(13))”.
Sec. 4 Harmonization of the population threshold for rural water supply projects
The Reclamation Rural Water Supply Act of 2006 (43 U.S.C. 2401 et seq.) is amended—
in section 102(9)(C)—
in clause (i) by striking “or”;
in clause (ii), by striking “structures.” and inserting “structures; or”; and
by adding at the end the following:
“(iii) a project that is designed to serve an area described in subparagraph (F) or (G) of section 343(a)(13) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1991(a)(13)).”
in section 202(6)—
by redesignating subparagraphs (B) and (C) as subparagraphs (D) and (E) respectively; and
by inserting after subparagraph (A) the following:
“(B) a rural water project, or rural water supply project that does not otherwise meet the definition of a rural water supply project under section 102(9), authorized under—
“(i) section 1110 of division FF of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Public Law 116–260); or
“(ii) any other Federal statute;
“(C) any project authorized for an Indian Tribe under part III of subtitle A of title X of the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 (Public Law 111–11);”
Sec. 5 Clarifications regarding United States territories and freely associated states
Broadband, telemedicine, and distance learning—
Section 601(c)(3)(D)(ii) of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 (7 U.S.C. 950bb(c)(3)(D)(ii)) is amended by inserting “, including any such communities in a territory or possession of the United States” before the period.
Section 601(d)(4) of such Act (7 U.S.C. 950bb(d)(4)) is amended—
in the subsection heading, by inserting “, territorial,” before “and local”; and
in the text, by inserting “, territorial,” before “or local”.
Community connect grants— Section 604(a)(3)(A)(i)(III) of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 (7 U.S.C. 950bb–3(a)(3)(A)(i)(III)) is amended by inserting “or territory of the United States” before the semicolon.
Rural cooperative development grants— Section 310B(e)(1)(B) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1932(e)(1)(B)) is amended by inserting “the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands,” before “and the”.
Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act— Each of sections 343(a)(6) and 381A(1) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1991(a)(6) and 2009(1)) is amended by striking “Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands” and inserting “the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, or the Republic of Palau, pursuant to the terms of the applicable Compact of Free Association with the United States”.
in section 501 (42 U.S.C. 1471)—
in subsection (a), by striking “and in the Territories of Alaska and Hawaii and in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, the territories and possessions of the United States, and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands” and inserting “, including any territory or other possession of the United States”; and
in subsection (b)(4), by striking “the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands” and inserting “and the Northern Mariana Islands”;
in section 502(h)(16)(D) (42 U.S.C. 1472(h)(16)(D)), by striking “the Trust Territories of the Pacific,”;
in section 520, by striking “but not in excess of 20,000”; and
in section 533(d)(3)(C), by striking “below 10,000” and inserting “below 25,000”.
Sec. 6 Technical and conforming amendments
Section 748 of the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2002 (7 U.S.C. 918b) is amended by inserting a comma after “Service”.
The Rural Electrification Act of 1936 is amended—
in section 305(d)(3)(C) (7 U.S.C. 935(d)(3)(C)), by striking “(2)(A)(iii)” and inserting “(2)(A)(ii)”;
in section 306A(e) (7 U.S.C. 936a(e)), by striking “transfered” and inserting “transferred”;
in section 601(e)(4)(C)(i) (7 U.S.C. 950bb(e)(4)(C)(i)), by adding “and” at the end;
in section 603(c)(1)(A) (7 U.S.C. 950bb–2(c)(1)(A)), by striking “maximum” and inserting “minimum”; and
in section 701(a) (7 U.S.C. 950cc(a)), by striking the first comma.
The Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act is amended—
in section 306(a)(20)(E) (7 U.S.C. 1926(a)(20)(E)), by striking “states” and inserting “States”;
in section 307(a)(6)(B)(i) (7 U.S.C. 1927(a)(6)(B)(i)), by striking the comma and inserting a semicolon;
in section 310B(e)(4)(C)(vi) (7 U.S.C. 1932(e)(4)(C)(vi)), by striking “center” and inserting “centers”;
in section 310B(i)(1)(A) (7 U.S.C. 1932(i)(1)(A)), by inserting “section” before “501(a)”;
in section 310E(d)(4)(C) (7 U.S.C. 1935(d)(4)(C)), by striking “; and” the second place it appears;
in section 310F (7 U.S.C. 1936(e)(2)), in the paragraph heading, by striking “Eligiblity” and inserting “Eligibility”;
in section 343(a)(11)(C) (7 U.S.C. 1991(a)(11)(C)), by striking “operator” and inserting “operators”;
in section 373(b)(2)(A)(ii) (7 U.S.C. 2008h(b)(2)(A)(ii)), by striking “chapters 11, 12, or 13, of Title” and inserting “chapter 11, 12, or 13 of title”; and
in section 381F (7 U.S.C. 2009e(a)), by striking “Director” and inserting “director”.
The Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1471 et seq.) is amended—
in section 501 (42 U.S.C. 1471), by transferring paragraph (5) of subsection (a) to subsection (b), adding such paragraph at the end of subsection (b), and redesignating such paragraph as paragraph (9);
in section 515 (42 U.S.C. 1485)—
in subsection (h)(2)(B), by inserting “for” after “approval requirements”; and
in subsection (r)(1), by striking “the Secretary—” and inserting “The Secretary—”;
in section 520 (42 U.S.C. 1490), in the first sentence, by striking “(except in the cases of Pajaro, in the State of California, and Guadalupe, in the State of Arizona)”;
in section 536(e) (42 U.S.C. 1490p)—
in paragraph (1), in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by inserting “of” after “or (d)”; and
in paragraph (2), by striking “any section” and inserting “any subsection”; and
in section 538 (42 U.S.C. 1490r)—
in subsection (d)(2), by striking “low or moderate income” and inserting “low- or moderate-income”; and
in subsection (t), by striking “chapter I” and inserting “chapter 1”.
The Reclamation Rural Water Supply Act of 2006 (43 U.S.C. 2401 et seq.) is amended—
in section 106(e), by striking “(1) In general” and all that follows through “After completion” and inserting “After completion”;
in section 107(e), by striking “or a grant is made, to an organization” and inserting “or a grant is made to, an organization”; and
in section 202(2)(A), by striking “of title 17, Code of Federal Regulation” and inserting “of title 17, Code of Federal Regulations”.
Sec. 7 Annual reassessment of population threshold for rural areas
The Secretary of Agriculture shall annually reassess and, if necessary, adjust the numerical threshold used in determining whether an area is a rural area for purposes of the provisions of law amended by this Act, taking into account population level and density trends identified by the Bureau of the Census, the classification of areas as metropolitan or non-metropolitan by the Office of Management and Budget, and, as appropriate, Rural-Urban Commuting Area codes of the Economic Research Service, and in doing so, may take account of regional differences.