Us Code § 6720 - Definitions, application, and administration

Full text of Us Code United States Code § 6720 — Definitions, application, and administration, with citation guidance and answers to common questions.

§ 6720. Definitions, application, and administration

(a) Definitions.—In this chapter—

(1) "unit of general local government" means—

(A) a county, township, city, or political subdivision of a county, township, or city, that is a unit of general local government as determined by the Secretary of Commerce for general statistical purposes; and

(B) the District of Columbia and the recognized governing body of an Indian tribe or Alaskan Native village that carries out substantial governmental duties and powers;


(2) "payment period" means each 1-year period beginning on October 1 of the years 1994 through 2000;

(3) "State and local taxes" means taxes imposed by a State government or unit of general local government or other political subdivision of a State 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) as determined by the Secretary of Commerce for general statistical purposes;

(4) "State" means any of the several States and the District of Columbia;

(5) "income" means the total money income received from all sources as determined by the Secretary of Commerce for general statistical purposes, which for units of general local government is reported by the Bureau of the Census for 1990 in the publication Summary Social, Economic, and Housing Characteristics;

(6) "per capita income" means—

(A) in the case of the United States, the income of the United States divided by the population of the United States;

(B) in the case of a State, the income of that State, divided by the population of that State; and

(C) in the case of a unit of general local government, the income of that unit of general local government divided by the population of the unit of general local government;


(7) "finding of discrimination" means a decision by the Secretary about a complaint described in section 6716(b), a decision by a State or local administrative agency, or other information (under regulations prescribed by the Secretary) that it is more likely than not that a unit of general local government has not complied with section 6711(a) or (b);

(8) "holding of discrimination" means a holding by a United States court, a State court, or an administrative law judge appointed under section 3105 of title 5, United States Code, that a unit of general local government expending amounts received under this chapter has—

(A) excluded a person in the United States from participating in, denied the person the benefits of, or subjected the person to discrimination under, a program or activity because of race, color, national origin, or sex; or

(B) violated a prohibition against discrimination described in section 6711(b); and


(9) "Secretary" means the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.


(b) Delegation of Administration.—The Secretary may enter into agreements with other executive branch departments and agencies to delegate to that department or agency all or part of the Secretary's responsibility for administering this chapter.

(c) Treatment of Subsumed Areas.—If the entire geographic area of a unit of general local government is located in a larger entity, the unit of general local government is deemed to be located in the larger entity. If only part of the geographic area of a unit is located in a larger entity, each part is deemed to be located in the larger entity and to be a separate unit of general local government in determining allocations under this chapter. Except as provided in regulations prescribed by the Secretary, 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.

(d) Boundary and Other Changes.—If a boundary line change, a State statutory or constitutional change, annexation, a governmental reorganization, or other circumstance results in the application of sections 6704 through 6708 in a way that does not carry out the purposes of sections 6701 through 6708, the Secretary shall apply sections 6701 through 6708 under regulations of the Secretary in a way that is consistent with those purposes.

(Added Pub. L. 103–322, title III, §31001(a), Sept. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 1880.)


Editorial Notes

Prior Provisions

Prior sections 6720 to 6724 were repealed by Pub. L. 99–272, title XIV, §14001(a)(1), (e), Apr. 7, 1986, 100 Stat. 327, 329, eff. Oct. 18, 1986.

Section 6720, Pub. L. 97–258, Sept. 13, 1982, 96 Stat. 1027, related to enforcement by Attorney General of prohibitions on discrimination.

Section 6721, Pub. L. 97–258, Sept. 13, 1982, 96 Stat. 1028, related to civil action by person adversely affected.

Section 6722, Pub. L. 97–258, Sept. 13, 1982, 96 Stat. 1028, related to judicial review.

Section 6723, Pub. L. 97–258, Sept. 13, 1982, 96 Stat. 1029; Pub. L. 98–185, §8, Nov. 30, 1983, 97 Stat. 1310, related to audits, investigations, and reviews.

Section 6724, Pub. L. 97–258, Sept. 13, 1982, 96 Stat. 1030, related to reports to Congress.

CHAPTER 69—PAYMENT FOR ENTITLEMENT LAND

Sec.
6901.
Definitions.
6902.
Authority and eligibility.
6903.
Payments.
6904.
Additional payments.
6905.
Redwood National Park and the Lake Tahoe Basin.
6906.
Funding.
6907.
State legislation requiring reallocation or redistribution of payments to smaller units of general purpose government.

        

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2008—Pub. L. 110–343, div. C, title VI, §601(c)(2), Oct. 3, 2008, 122 Stat. 3911, added item 6906 and struck out former item 6906 "Authorization of appropriations".

1994—Pub. L. 103–272, §4(f)(1)(U)(i), July 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 1362, added item 6907.

About This Section

31 U.S.C. § 6720 is part of Title 31 of the United States Code. The United States Code is the official codification of federal statutes maintained by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel of the U.S. House of Representatives. Congress amends the Code through new public laws, which are eventually incorporated into the relevant title.

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Source: official Us Code text · Last verified 2026-08-27

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