LEGAL SERVICES SEC. 412. Whenever the President determines that low-income individuals are unable to secure legal services adequate to meet their needs as a consequence of a major disaster, consistent with the goals of the programs authorized by this Act, the President shall assure that such programs are conducted with the advice and assistance of appropriate Federal agencies and State and local bar associations. CRISIS COUNSELING ASSISTANCE AND TRAINING SEC. 413. The President is authorized (through the National Institute of Mental Health) to provide professional counseling services including financial assistance to State or local agencies or private mental health organizations to provide such services or training of disaster workers, to victims of major disasters in order to relieve mental health problems caused or aggravated by such major disaster or its aftermath. COMMUNITY DISASTER LOANS SEC. 414. (a) The President is authorized to make loans to any local government which may suffer a substantial loss of tax and other revenues as a result of a major disaster, and has demonstrated a need for financial assistance in order to perform its governmental functions. The amount of any such loan shall be based on need, and shall not exceed 25 per centum of the annual operating budget of that local government for the fiscal year in which the major disaster occurs. Repayment of all or any part of such loan to the extent that revenues of the local government during the three full fiscal year period following the major disaster are insufficient to meet the operating budget of the local government, including additional disaster-related expenses of a municipal operation character shall be cancelled. (b) Any loans made under this section shall not reduce or otherwise affect any grants or other assistance under this Act. (c) (1) Subtitle C of title I of the State and Local Fiscal Assistance Act of 1972 (P.L. 92-512; 86 Stat. 919) is amended by adding at the end thereof the following new section: "Sec. 145 Entitlement Factors Affected by Major Disasters "In the administration of this title the Secretary shall disregard any change in data used in determining the entitlement of a State government or a unit of local government for a period of 60 months if that change "(1) results from a major disaster determined by the President under section 301 of the Disaster Relief Act of 1974, and "(2) reduces the amount of the entitlement of that State government or unit of local government.". (2) The amendment made by this section takes effect on April 1, 1974. EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS SEC. 415. The President is authorized during, or in anticipation of, an emergency or major disaster to establish temporary communications systems and to make such communications available to State and local government officials and other persons as he deems appropriate. EMERGENCY PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION SEC. 416. The President is authorized to provide temporary public transportation service in an area affected by a major disaster to meet emergency needs and to provide transportation to governmental offices, supply centers, stores, post offices, schools, major employment centers, and such other places as may be necessary in order to enable the community to resume its normal pattern of life as soon as possible. FIRE SUPPRESSION GRANTS SEC. 417. The President is authorized to provide assistance, including grants, equipment, supplies, and personnel, to any State for the suppression of any fire on publicly or privately owned forest or grassland which threatens such destruction as would constitute a major disaster. TIMBER SALE CONTRACTS SEC. 418. (a) Where an existing timber sale contract between the Secretary of Agriculture or the Secretary of the Interior and a timber purchaser does not provide relief from major physical change not due to negligence of the purchaser prior to approval of construction of any section of specified road or of any other specified development facility and, as a result of a major disaster, a major physical change results in additional construction work in connection with such road or facility by such purchaser with an estimated cost, as determined by the appropriate Secretary, (1) of more than $1,000 for sales under one million board feet, (2) of more than $1 per thousand board feet for sales of one to three million board feet, or (3) or more than $3,000 for sales over three million board feet, such increased construction cost shall be borne by the United States. (b) If the appropriate Secretary determines that damages are s great that restoration, reconstruction, or construction is not practical under the cost-sharing arrangement authorized by subsection (a) of this section, he may allow cancellation of a contract entered into by his Department notwithstanding contrary provisions therein. (c) The Secretary of Agriculture is authorized to reduce to seven days the minimum period of advance public notice required by the first section of the Act of June 4, 1897 (16 U.S.C. 476), in connection with the sale of timber from national forests, whenever the Secretary determines that (1) the sale of such timber will assist in the construction of any area of a State damaged by a major disaster, (2) the sale of such timber will assist in sustaining the economy of such area, or (3) the sale of such timber is necessary to salvage the value of timber damaged in such major disaster or to protect undamaged timber. (d) The President, when he determines it to be in the public interest, is authorized to make grants to any State or local government for the purpose of removing from privately owned lands timber damaged as a result of a major disaster, and such State or local government is authorized upon application, to make payments out of such grants to any person for reimbursement of expenses actually incurred by such person in the removal of damaged timber, not to exceed the amount that such expenses exceed the salvage value of such timber. IN-LIEU CONTRIBUTION SEC. 419. In any case in which the Federal estimate of the total cost of (1) repairing, restoring, reconstructing, or replacing, under section 402, all damaged or destroyed public facilities owned by a State or local government within its jurisdiction, and (2) emergency assistance under section 306 and debris removed under section 403, is less than $25,000, then on application of a State or local government, the President is authorized to make a contribution to such State or local government under the provisions of this section in lieu of any contribution to such State or local government under section 306, 402, or 403. Such contribution shall be based on 100 per centum of such total estimated cost, which may be expended either to repair, restore, reconstruct, or replace all such damaged or destroyed public facilities, to repair, restore, reconstruct, or replace certain selected damaged or destroyed public facilities, to construct new public facilities which the State or local government determines to be necessary to meet its needs for governmental services and functions in the disaster-affected area, or to undertake disaster work as authorized in section 306 or 403. The cost of repairing, restoring, reconstructing, or replacing damaged or destroyed public facilities shall be estimated on the basis of the design of each such facility as it existed immediately prior to such disaster and in conformity with current applicable codes, specifications and standards. TITLE V-ECONOMIC RECOVERY FOR DISASTER AREAS AMENDMENT TO PUBLIC WORKS AND ECONOMIC SEC. 501. The Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965, as amended, is amended by adding at the end thereof the following new title: "TITLE VIII-ECONOMIC RECOVERY FOR DISASTER AREAS "PURPOSE OF TITLE "SEC. 801. (a) It is the purpose of this title to provide assistance for the economic recovery, after the period of emergency aid and replacement of essential facilities and services, of any major disaster area which has suffered a dislocation of its economy of sufficient severity to require (1) assistance in planning for development to replace that lost in the major disaster; (2) continued coordination of assistance available under Federal-aid programs; and (3) continued assistance toward the restoration of the employment base. "(b) As used in this title, the term 'major disaster' means a major disaster declared by the President in accordance with the Disaster Relief Act of 1974. "DISASTER RECOVERY PLANNING "SEC. 802. (a) (1) In the case of any area affected by a major disaster the Governor may request the President for assistance under this title. The Governor, within thirty days after authorization of such assistance by the President, shall designate a Recovery Planning Council for such area or for each part thereof. "(2) Such Recovery Planning Council shall be composed of not less than five members, a majority of whom shall be local elected officials of political subdivisions within the affected areas, at least one representative of the State, and a representative of the Federal Government appointed by the President in accordance with paragraph (3) of this subsection. During the major disaster, the Federal coordinating officer shall also serve on the Recovery Planning Council. "(3) The Federal representative on such Recovery Planning Council may be the Chairman of the Federal Regional Council for the affected area, or a member of the Federal Regional Council desig nated by the Chairman of such Regional Council. The Federal repre sentative on such Recovery Planning Council may be the Federal Cochairman of the Regional Commission established pursuant to title V of this Act, or the Appalachian Regional Development Act of 1965, or his designee, where all of the area affected by a major disaster is within the boundaries of such Commission. "(4) The Governor may designate an existing multijurisdictional organization as the Recovery Planning Council where such organization complies with paragraph (2) of this subsection with the addition of State and Federal representatives except that if all or part of an area affected by a major disaster is within the jurisdiction of an exist ing multijurisdictional organization established under title IV of this Act or title III of the Appalachian Regional Development Act of 1965, such organization, with the addition of State and Federal representatives in accordance with paragraph (2) of this subsection, shall be designated by the Governor as the Recovery Planning Council. In any case in which such title III or IV organization is designated as the Recovery Planning Council under this paragraph, some local elected officials of political subdivisions within the affected areas must be appointed to serve on such Recovery Planning Council. Where pos sible the organization designated as the Recovery Planning Council shall be or shall be subsequently designated as the appropriate agency required by section 204 of the Demonstration Cities and Metropolitan Development Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 3334) and by the Intergovern mental Cooperation Act of 1968 (P.L. 90-577; 82 Stat. 1098). "(5) The Recovery Planning Council shall include private citizens as members to the extent feasible, and shall provide for and encourage public participation in its deliberations and decisions. "(b) The Recovery Planning Council (1) shall review existing plans for the affected area; and (2) may recommend to the Governor and responsible local governments such revisions as it determines necessary for the economic recovery of the area, including the development of new plans and the preparation of a recovery investment plan for the 5-year period following the declaration of the major disaster. The Recovery Planning Council shall accept as one element of the recovery investment plans determinations made under section 402(f) of the Disaster Relief Act of 1974. "(c)(1) A recovery investment plan prepared by a Recovery Planning Council may recommend the revision, deletion, reprograming, or additional approval of Federal-aid projects and programs within the area "(A) for which application has been made but approval not yet granted; 66 "(B) for which funds have been obligated or approval granted but construction not yet begun; "(C) for which funds have been or are scheduled to be apportioned within the five years after the declaration of the disaster; "(D) which may otherwise be available to the area under any State schedule or revised State schedule of priorities: or "(E) which may reasonably be anticipated as becoming available under existing programs. "(2) Upon the recommendation of the Recovery Planning Council and the request of the Governor, any funds for projects or programs identified pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection may, to any extent consistent with appropriation Acts, be placed in reserve by the responsible Federal agency for use in accordance with such recommendations. Upon the request of the Governor and with the concurrence of affected local governments, such funds may be transferred to the Recovery Planning Council to be expended in the implementation of the recovery investment plan, except that no such transfer may be made unless such expenditure is for a project or program for which such funds originally were made available by an appropriation Act. "PUBLIC WORKS AND DEVELOPMENT FACILITIES GRANTS AND LOANS "SEC. 803. (a) The President is authorized to provide funds to any Recovery Planning Council for the implementation of a recovery investment plan by public bodies. Such funds may be used "(1) to make loans for the acquisition or development of land and improvements for public works, public service, or development facility usage, including the acquisition or development of parks or open spaces, and the acquisition, construction, rehabilitation, alteration, expansion, or improvement of such facilities, including related machinery and equipment, and "(2) to make supplementary grants to increase the Federal share for projects for which funds are reserved pursuant to subsection (c) (2) of section 802 of this Act, or other Federalaid projects in the affected area. "(b) Grants and loans under this section may be made to any State, local government, or private or public nonprofit organization representing any area or part thereof affected by a major disaster. "(c) No supplementary grant shall increase the Federal share of the cost of any project to greater than 90 per centum, except in the case of a grant for the benefit of Indians or Alaska Natives, or in the case of any State or local government which the President determines has exhausted its effective taxing and borrowing capacity. "(d) Loans under this section shall bear interest at a rate determined by the Secretary of the Treasury taking into consideration the |