12 2 STA T . 1 95 2 PUBLIC LA W 11 0– 2 46—J U NE 1 8, 2008 ‘ ‘ (2)TIM I NG.—AfterOc t ob er 1, 2 0 0 8 ,t h e S ecret a r ys ha l l p ro vid ea w ards un der this section on a q uarterly fundin g cycle. ‘‘(b) EL IGI B ILI TY .—To be eligible to receive a regional innovation grant, a R egional B oard shall de m onstrate to the Secretary that— ‘‘(1) the regional rural investment strategy of a Regional Board has been reviewed by the N ational Board prior to approval by the Secretary
‘‘(2) the management and organi z ational structure of the Regional Board is sufficient to oversee grant pro j ects, including management of F ederal funds; and ‘‘( 3 ) the Regional Board has a plan to achieve, to the ma x imum extent practicable, the performance - based bench- mar k s of the project in the regional rural investment strategy. ‘‘(c) L IMIT A TI O N S .— ‘‘(1) AMO U NT REC EI V E D .—A Regional Board may not receive more than $6 ,000,000 in regional innovation grants under this section during any 5 -year period. ‘‘(2) D ETERMINATION O F AMOUNT.—The Secretary shall determine the amount of a regional innovation grant based on— ‘‘(A) the needs of the region being addressed by the applicable regional rural investment strategy consistent with the purposes described in subsection (f)(2); and ‘‘(B) the size of the geographical area of the region. ‘‘(3) G EOGRA PH IC DIVERSITY.—The Secretary shall ensure that not more than 10 percent of funding made available under this section is provided to Regional Boards in any State. ‘‘(d) C OST-SHARING.— ‘‘(1) LIMITATION.—Subject to paragraph (2), the amount of a grant made under this section shall not exceed 50 percent of the cost of the project. ‘‘(2) W AIVER OF GRANTEE SHARE.—The Secretary may waive the limitation in paragraph (1) under special circumstances, as determined by the Secretary, including— ‘‘(A) a sudden or severe economic dislocation; ‘‘(B) significant chronic unemployment or poverty; ‘‘(C) a natural disaster; or ‘‘(D) other severe economic, social, or cultural duress. ‘‘(3) OTHER FEDERAL ASSISTANCE.—For the purpose of deter- mining cost-share limitations for any other Federal program, funds provided under this section shall be considered to be non-Federal funds. ‘‘(e) P REFERENCES.— I n providing regional innovation grants under this section, the Secretary shall give— ‘‘(1) a high priority to strategies that demonstrate signifi- cant leverage of capital and quality job creation; and ‘‘(2) a preference to an application proposing projects and initiatives that would— ‘‘(A) advance the overall regional competitiveness of a region; ‘‘(B) address the priorities of a regional rural invest- ment strategy, including priorities that— ‘‘(i) promote cross-sector collaboration, public-pri- vate partnerships, or the provision of interim financing or seed capital for program implementation;
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