Pennsylvania § 17122 - Use of Regional Growth Fund.

§ 17122. Use of Regional Growth Fund.

(a) General rule.--Subject to the limitations in subsections (b) and (c), money in the Regional Growth Fund shall be used by the authority to fund the capital costs of new or improved economic development projects of the following types:

(1) Industrial site development, including site acquisition, preparation and clearance, construction of necessary infrastructure such as water and sewer facilities and construction of buildings for use by businesses.

(2) Cultural, recreational, historical and entertainment facilities, including, without limitation, African-American cultural facilities, regional destination facilities and projects in heritage areas.

(3) Transportation facilities that will assist in the attraction and retention of jobs in the region, including construction of highways, bridges, transit facilities, airports, ports, rail lines and related facilities.

(4) Revolving loan money to assist in the establishment, location and expansion of businesses, including, without limitation, small or minority-owned businesses, in the region.

(5) New or improved water or sewer facilities serving residential customers.

(b) Limitations.--Expenditures from the Regional Growth Fund for an eligible project shall be subject to the following limitations:

(1) The funding provided from the Regional Growth Fund for an eligible project may not exceed 50% of the total cost of the project.

(2) No money may be expended from the Regional Growth Fund for operating costs of any project or facility.

(3) No more than 20% of the money in a county account may be used for the purpose described in subsection (a)(4).

(4) No more than 40% of the money in a county account may be used for the purpose described in subsection (a)(5).

(c) Notification.--

(1) No later than March 31, 1998, each participating county shall initially notify the board if the county intends to develop and submit a county growth plan, which of the optional methods described in paragraph (2) will be used and what portion of the money in the county account shall be reserved for implementation of the plan. In establishing the long-term budget and capital budget under sections 17135 (relating to initial financial plan) and 17136 (relating to capital budgets), the board shall reserve money in each county account in accordance with the notification and shall not approve projects using reserved money unless they are contained in the county growth plan.

(2) If a participating county chooses to develop and submit a county growth plan to the authority, the governing body of a participating county shall select one of the following three methods for developing the plan:

(i) The redevelopment authority of the county created under the act of May 24, 1945 (P.L.991, No.385), known as the Urban Redevelopment Law, may adopt a county growth plan by resolution and submit it to the authority. The redevelopment authority must hold at least one public hearing regarding the plan or any revision to the plan prior to adopting the plan or revision and submitting it to the authority.

(ii) The governing body may create a county growth board or designate an existing public or nonprofit agency to serve as the county growth board. The county growth board must hold at least one public hearing regarding the plan or any revision to the plan prior to adopting the plan or revision and submitting it to the authority.

(iii) The governing body may directly adopt a county growth plan by resolution and submit it to the authority. The governing body must hold at least one public hearing regarding the plan or any revision to the plan prior to adopting the plan or revision and submitting it to the authority.

(3) The governing body of a participating county that has not previously submitted a county growth plan may elect to submit one at any time by giving the authority notice to that effect. The governing body of a participating county that has submitted a county growth plan may at any time change the method of developing its county growth plan by giving the authority notice to that effect.

(4) All expenditures from the Regional Growth Fund for projects contained in a county growth plan must meet the criteria and limitations contained in subsections (a) and (b). The total expenditures that the county growth plan requests from the county account may not exceed the total amount projected to be deposited into the account.

(d) Automatic approval.--The authority shall automatically approve funding from a county account for any project in the participating county that meets the eligibility criteria of this section and is contained in a county growth plan, up to the amount of money available in the county account.

Cross References. Section 17122 is referred to in sections 17113, 17136 of this title.