Volume 97 · 1309
Public Law 98–185
To extend and amend the provisions of title 31, United States Code, relating to the general revenue sharing program.
Approved November 30, 1983
Statutory text
An Act
To extend and amend the provisions of title 31, United States Code, relating to the general revenue sharing program.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
Section 1. short title
This Act may be cited as
the “Local Government Fiscal Assistance Amendments of 1983”.
Sec. 2. extension of program
“Entitlement period.”
Section 6701(a)(1) of title 31, United States Code, is amended to read as follows:
“(1) ‘entitlement period’ means each one-year period beginning on October 1 of 1982, 1983, 1984, and 1985.”.
Sec. 3. termination of state share
Section 6703(b)(1) of title 31, United States Code, is amended by inserting after “each entitlement period” the following: “beginning before October 1, 1983,”.
Sec. 4. state variations of local government allocations
Subsection (a) of section 6711 of title 31, United States Code, is amended—
by adding “and” at the end of clause (1);
by striking out “; and” at the end of clause (2) and inserting in lieu thereof a period; and
by striking out clause (3).
Sec. 5. modification of intrastate allocation formula in certain cases
Subsection (c) of section 6713 of title 31, United States Code, is amended—
by striking out “and” at the end of clause (1);
by striking out the period at the end of clause (2) and inserting in lieu thereof “; and”; and
by adding at the end thereof the following new clause:
“(3) for purposes of intrastate allocations under sections 6708, 6709, and 6712, consider any reduction in the amount of adjusted taxes of any unit of general local government if such reduction—
“(A) results from a specific economic dislocation which causes—
“(i) the closing of places of employment,
“(ii) declines in assessed values of, or receipt of taxes from, real property, or
“(iii) declines in sales or income tax collections of such government, and
“(B) would reduce the allocation of the unit of local government for an entitlement period by an amount equal to or greater than 20 percent of such allocation for the preceding entitlement period.”.
Sec. 6. public hearings
Section 6714 of title 31, United States Code, is amended—
by striking out paragraph (1) of subsection (a);
by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) of subsection (a) as paragraphs (1) and (2), respectively;
by striking out “subsection (a)(2)” in subsection (b)(1) and inserting in lieu thereof “subsection (a)(1)”;
by striking out clause (1) of subsection (c);
by striking out “subsection (a)(2)” in subsection (c)(2) and inserting in lieu thereof “subsection (a)(1)”; and
by redesignating clauses (2) and (3) of subsection (c) as clauses (1) and (2), respectively.
Sec. 7. discrimination proceedings
Section 6717 of title 31, United States Code, is amended—
by striking out “the Secretary submits a notice of noncompliance to the government” in subsection (b) and inserting in lieu thereof “the government receives a notice of noncompliance from the Secretary of the Treasury”; and
by striking out “shall suspend payments to the government under this chapter unless by the 10th day after the decision” in the second sentence of subsection (c) and inserting in lieu thereof “shall notify the government of the decision and shall suspend payments to the government under this chapter unless, within 10 days after the government receives notice of the decision,”.
Sec. 8. audit requirements
Section 6723(a)(1) of title 31, United States Code is amended—
by striking out “expecting to receive” and “which receives”;
by striking out “at least once every 3 years” and inserting in lieu thereof “at least as often as is required by paragraph (2)”; and
by striking out “auditing standards” and inserting in lieu thereof “government auditing standards issued by the Comptroller General of the United States”.
Section 6723(a)(2) of such title is amended to read as follows:
“(2) Paragraph (1) of this subsection does not apply to a government for a fiscal year in which the government receives less than $25,000 under this chapter. A government which receives at least $25,000 but not more than $100,000 under this chapter for a fiscal year shall have an audit made in accordance with paragraph (1) at least once every 3 years. A government which receives more than $100,000 under this chapter for a fiscal year shall have an audit made in accordance with paragraph (1) for such fiscal year, except that, if the government operates on a biennial fiscal period, such audit may be made biennially but shall cover the financial statement or statements for, and compliance with the requirements of this chapter during, both years within such period.”.
Section 6723(b)(1) of such title is amended—
by striking out “at least once every 3 years” in clause (A) and inserting in lieu thereof “at least as often as would be required by subsection (a)(2)”; and
by striking out “auditing standards” and inserting in lieu thereof “government auditing standards issued by the Comptroller General of the United States”.
Section 6723(c)(2) of such title is amended—
by striking out “generally accepted auditing standards” the first place it appears and inserting in lieu thereof “generally accepted government auditing standards issued by the Comptroller General of the United States”; and
by striking out “generally accepted auditing standards” the second place it appears and inserting in lieu thereof “such auditing standards”.
Section 6723(e) of such title is amended by adding at
Report, public inspection.
the end thereof the following: “No later than 30 days following completion of the audit, the audit report shall be made available for public inspection by the State government or unit of local government.”.
Sec. 9. technical amendments
Subsection (a) of section 6701
Definitions.
of title 31, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end thereof the following new clauses:
“(8) ‘adjusted taxes of a unit of general local government’ means the taxes imposed by the unit of general local government for public purposes (except employee and employer assessments and contributions to finance retirement and social insurance systems and other special assessments for capital outlay) determined by the Secretary of Commerce for general statistical purposes and adjusted (under regulations of the Secretary of the Treasury) to exclude amounts properly allocated to education expenses.
“(9) ‘urbanized population’ has the meaning given to such term by the Secretary of Commerce for general statistical purposes.”.
Section 6701(c) of such title is amended by striking out
Data computations.
the last sentence and inserting in lieu thereof the following: “Except as provided in regulations prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary shall make all data computations based on the ratio of the estimated population of the part to the population of the entire unit of general local government.”.
Section 6701(d) of such title is amended by inserting “annexation,” after “constitutional change,”.
Section 6701(e)(2) of such title is amended by striking out “having one unit of general local government” and inserting in lieu thereof “and the sole unit of general local government in the area”.
Section 6704(a) of such title is amended—
by inserting “under this chapter” before the semicolon at the end of clause (1);
by striking out “received under” in clause (3) and inserting in lieu thereof “so received in accordance with”;
by striking out “consistent” in clause (5) and inserting in lieu thereof “in accordance”;
by striking out “section 6723(b)” in clause (7) and inserting in lieu thereof “section 6723(g)”;
by striking out “and” at the end of such clause (7);
by striking out the period at the end of clause (8) and inserting in lieu thereof “; and”; and
by inserting after such clause the following new clause: “(9) the government will comply with the requirements of sections 6714 and 6723.”.
Section 6707(c)(5) of such title is amended by striking out the last sentence.
Clause (A) of section 6709(a)(2) of such title is amended to read as follows:
“(A) the adjusted taxes of the unit of general local government, divided by”.
Section 6713(a) of such title is amended by inserting “before the beginning of the entitlement period” immediately after “Secretary of Commerce”.
Section 6716 of such title is amended by striking out “when” in subsections (a) and (b) and inserting in lieu thereof “if”.
Section 6716(c)(1) of such title is amended by inserting before the period at the end the following: “with respect to which the allegation of discrimination is made”.
Section 6717 of such title is amended—
by striking out “a part” in subsection (b)(3) and inserting in lieu thereof “any part”;
by striking out “except when” in subsection (c) and inserting in lieu thereof “unless”;
by striking out “When” in such subsection and inserting in lieu thereof “If”; and
by inserting “of discrimination” after “The holding” in subsection (e).
Section 6718(b) of such title is amended by striking out “about” and inserting in lieu thereof “based on”.
Sec. 10. study of federal/state/local fiscal relationships
The Secretary of the Treasury shall undertake a study of the following issues:
The various factors used in the current allocation formulas under chapter 67 of title 31, United States Code, and possible alternatives to such formulas and factors (such as State gross domestic product, the representative tax system, and the inclusion of user fees in factors based on tax collections), including an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of such formulas and factors.
The long-term outlook for the fiscal condition and fiscal capacity of Federal, State, and local governments.
The concept of returning revenue sources to State and local governments along with responsibility for programs and activities for which financial assistance is now provided by the Federal Government.
The impacts of the cyclical nature of the economy and other factors, such as unemployment, on the expenditures, needs, and fiscal capacities of Federal, State, and local governments, and the responsiveness of the distribution of Federal financial assistance to the cyclical nature of the economy and such other factors.
The responsiveness of the distribution of Federal assistance to the fiscal capacities of State and local governments, and the responsiveness of the distribution of Federal assistance to the need for services of State and local governments and to cost-of-living and cost-of-government differentials.
The mathematical forms, data, and administration of Federal grant formulas, including the formulas examined under paragraph (1).
The impact on State and local governments of—
modification of the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 with respect to—
the deductibility of State and local government taxes, and
the tax exempt status of State and local securities used for purposes other than the financing of public facilities and cash management, and
increases in allocations under chapter 67 of title 31,
Plan development.
United States Code, made to compensate for the modifications described in clause (A).
The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of Commerce, the Comptroller General of the United States, the Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations, and recognized organizations of elected officials of State and local governments, including regional organizations of such officials and officials of States that may receive substantially reduced funding under alternative methods of allocating Federal grants-in-aid, shall develop a plan for the completion of the study required by subsection (a). Such plan may provide for the participation of such individuals and organizations in the conduct of the study.
Upon completion of the study required by subsection (a),
Report to President and Congress.
the Secretary shall solicit the views of the persons and organizations with whom he was required to consult by subsection (b) and shall append such views to a final report to the President and the Congress. Such report shall be submitted no later than June 30, 1985.
There are authorized to be appropriated for each of the
Appropriation authorization.
fiscal years 1984 and 1985 such sums as may be necessary to carry out this section, not to exceed for each such fiscal year an amount equal to 3 percent of the cost of administering chapter 67 of title 31, United States Code, for the preceding fiscal year.
Sec. 11. adjusting definition of massachusetts tax effort
For the purposes of allocating amounts under sections 6708 and 6709 of title 31, United States Code, among units of general local government within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for the entitlement period beginning October 1, 1983, the adjusted taxes of those governments shall include property taxes levied for the Commonwealth’s 1982 fiscal year and recognized as fiscal year 1982 receipts pursuant to Massachusetts General Laws, chapter 59, sections 21 and 23, and chapter 44, sections 35 through 46.
No tax collections credited to any unit of general local government under subsection (a) for the Commonwealth’s 1982 fiscal year shall be credited to that unit of general local government for any other fiscal year.
Sec. 12. effective date
Except as provided in subsection (b), the amendments made by this Act shall apply to entitlement
Ante, p. 1309.
periods (as such term is defined in section 6701(a)(1) of title 31, United States Code) beginning on or after October 1, 1983.
Ante, p. 1310.
The amendments made by section 8 shall apply with respect to any fiscal year (or period) of any State government or unit of general local government beginning on or after October 1, 1983.
Approved November 30, 1983.