HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2164        FILED ON: 1/14/2009

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 2279

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the Year Two Thousand Nine

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An Act Establishing a Permanent Disaster Relief Fund..

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1. There shall be a disaster relief fund established under the control of the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency which shall have the authority to expend such funds to certain municipalities and eligible private non-profit organizations in areas declared federal disaster areas for the purpose of providing emergency disaster relief; to expend such funds for the purpose of providing emergency disaster relief to victims of the disaster for whom disaster relief provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Small Business Administration, or in any other provision of this item is inadequate; provided further, that such funds may be expended for grants to charitable organizations engaged in assisting victims; provided further, that these funds may be made available to the Massachusetts Development Finance Agency, established in chapter 23G of the General Laws, for the purpose of providing grants to individuals and businesses located in any county in which a state of emergency has been declared; provided further, that these funds may be made to individuals and businesses to pay a percentage of the total interest portion on loans, calculated over the life of the loans, received from the Small Business Administration due to the emergency disaster relief; provided further, that the percentage shall be determined by the Massachusetts Development Finance Agency; and provided further, that the percentage shall be uniform  for all grant recipients.

SECTION 2:   The fund shall be not less than the average of disaster relief funds expended by the Commonwealth over the previous three fiscal years.