FL S0494

Revises legislative intent to include economic need alongside community decline and distress as grounds for community and economic development programs.

Requires Department of Economic Opportunity to adopt rules for distributing block grant funds and defining community development objectives in accordance with federal law (42 U.S.C. § 5304 and 24 C.F.R. § 570.483).

Reduces maximum Section 108 loan guarantee commitments from $7 million to $5 million per local government and from five times to two times the most recent grant amount statewide.

Requires Section 108 loan applicants to pledge half the guarantee amount, mandates site visits before grant awards, limits non-economic development applications to one per funding cycle, and allows economic development applications up to three times per cycle.

Eliminates requirements for evaluating applicants' past performance and written service area descriptions; removes requirement to establish an advisory committee; adds provisions that local government future grants be reduced if they default on Section 108 loans.