[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 23 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]
H.R.23
One Hundred Eighth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE FIRST SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,
the seventh day of January, two thousand and three
An Act
To amend the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to authorize
communities to use community development block grant funds for
construction of tornado-safe shelters in manufactured home parks.
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 ``Tornado Shelters Act''.
SEC. 2. CDBG ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.
Section 105(a) of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974
(42 U.S.C. 5305(a)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (22), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(2) in paragraph (23), by striking the period at the end and
inserting a semicolon; and
(3) by inserting after paragraph (23) the following new
paragraph:
``(24) the construction or improvement of tornado-safe shelters
for residents of manufactured housing, and the provision of
assistance (including loans and grants) to nonprofit and for-profit
entities (including owners of manufactured housing parks) for such
construction or improvement, except that--
``(A) a shelter assisted with amounts provided pursuant to
this paragraph may be located only in a neighborhood (including
a manufactured housing park) that--
``(i) contains not less than 20 manufactured housing
units that are within such proximity to the shelter that
the shelter is available to the residents of such units in
the event of a tornado;
``(ii) consists predominantly of persons of low and
moderate income; and
``(iii) is located within a State in which a tornado
has occurred during the fiscal year for which the amounts
to be used under this paragraph were made available or any
of the 3 preceding fiscal years, as determined by the
Secretary after consultation with the Director of the
Federal Emergency Management Agency;
``(B) such a shelter shall comply with standards for
construction and safety as the Secretary, after consultation
with the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency,
shall provide to ensure protection from tornadoes;
``(C) such a shelter shall be of a size sufficient to
accommodate, at a single time, all occupants of manufactured
housing units located within the neighborhood in which the
shelter is located; and
``(D) amounts may not be used for a shelter as provided
under this paragraph unless there is located, within the
neighborhood in which the shelter is located (or, in the case
of a shelter located in a manufactured housing park, within
1,500 feet of such park), a warning siren that is operated in
accordance with such local, regional, or national disaster
warning programs or systems as the Secretary, after
consultation with the Director of the Federal Emergency
Management Agency, considers appropriate to ensure adequate
notice of occupants of manufactured housing located in such
neighborhood or park of a tornado; and''.
SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
In addition to any amounts otherwise made available for grants
under title I of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (42
U.S.C. 5301 et seq.), there is authorized to be appropriated for
assistance only for activities pursuant to section 105(a)(24) of such
Act $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2004.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.