Congress·In Committee·H.R. 2766

New Bill Aims to Give Fire and Water Districts Better Access to Federal Grants and Loans

Special District Fairness and Accessibility Act

12 months ago·View on Congress.gov

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Stalled

No legislative action in over 90 days.

Legislative Progress

House

Senate

President

Law

Key Points

This bill, introduced by Mr. Fallon, would require the federal government to treat "special districts" as local governments. Special districts are local groups that handle specific jobs like fire protection, water services, or libraries.
Currently, some federal agencies do not recognize these districts as official local governments. This makes it harder for them to get federal grants, loans, or other financial help compared to cities or counties.
If passed, the Office of Management and Budget would have 180 days to create new rules. These rules would make sure every federal agency knows how to include special districts in their funding programs.
This change matters because special districts often provide essential services in rural or suburban areas. Better access to federal money could help them improve local infrastructure or emergency services without needing to raise local taxes as much.
The bill requires all federal agencies to update their policies within one year of the new rules being issued. This ensures that the change happens across the entire government rather than just in a few departments.

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Impact Analysis

Personal Impact

Who is affectedScoreImpactCertaintyScopeDurationSentiment

Scores: 1 = low, 5 = highSentiment: -5 to +5 (net benefit)

State Impacts

StateScoreImpactCertaintyScopeDurationSentiment

Scores: 1 = low, 5 = highSentiment: -5 to +5 (net benefit)

Milestones

2 milestones2 actions

Apr 9, 2025House

Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

Apr 9, 2025

Introduced in House

Related News

2 articles

The Hill·almost 2 years ago

Look Ahead to the Week of May 6: FAA Deadline Nears

H.R. 7525 – Special District Grant Accessibility Act (Rep. Fallon – Oversight and Accountability). The legislation would require the OMB to issue guidance to federal agencies to clarify how an agency recognizes a special district as a unit of local government for federal grant eligibility.

Bloomberg Government·almost 2 years ago

House Passes Rep. Fallon’s Special District Grant Accessibility Act

The U.S. House of Representatives passed Rep. Pat Fallon's Special District Grant Accessibility Act (H.R. 7525), a bill that would codify a first-ever definition of 'special district' in federal law and ensure that districts are eligible for all appropriate forms of federal financial assistance.

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