SB176 Summary

• Authorizes the Department of Environmental Quality to grant funds to state beneficiary public trusts for assisting residents in communities affected by historic lead and zinc mining within federal Superfund sites.

• Provides relocation assistance to eligible families with children six years or younger, including rental assistance equal to 12 months of comparable housing rent, home purchase assistance, and up to $1,000 for moving expenses; assistance becomes available June 6, 2006 for areas facing subsidence risk from mine caverns.

• Requires recipients to agree not to reside within one-half mile of affected areas until the State Commissioner of Health declares the area safe for young children.

• Permits trust funds to assist landlords whose tenants relocate and to provide grants to municipalities and school districts to offset debt from population loss.

• Grants the Office of Management and Enterprise Services authority to dispose of properties acquired by the trust, exempt from standard procurement requirements but subject to land use restrictions recorded under state and federal law.