42 U.S.C. § 247b–21 — Mosquito-borne diseases; coordination grants to States; assessment and control grants to political subdivisions

(a) Coordination grants to States; assessment grants to political subdivisions The Secretary, acting through the CDC Director, may give grants to States for two purposes: coordinating the State's mosquito control programs, and helping the State give grants to its political subdivisions (like counties) so they can assess their need for mosquito control and make plans. When picking which States get grants, the Secretary favors States that have one or more subdivisions with a lot of mosquito-borne disease, or a large population of infected mosquitoes, compared to subdivisions in other States. To get a grant, a State must: - have (or agree to make) a plan for coordinating its control programs, which takes into account any assessments or plans its subdivisions have already made; - have talked with, or agree to talk with, the subdivisions that are carrying out or planning control programs while making that plan; - agree to check that its subdivisions' programs follow the plan, focusing first on coordinating neighboring high-risk subdivisions; - agree that it will give grants to subdivisions as described above, each no more than $10,000; and - agree to use the grant money in addition to State and local funds, not to replace them. After the grant year ends, the State must send the Secretary a report describing what it did and evaluating whether its subdivisions' control programs were effectively coordinated with each other, taking into account any reports the State got from those subdivisions under subsection (b)(5). A State may not get more than one grant under this part. (b) Prevention and control grants to political subdivisions The Secretary may also give grants directly to political subdivisions, or to groups (consortia) of subdivisions, for running or improving their own control programs. The Secretary favors a subdivision or consortium that: - has a history of high mosquito-borne disease, has infected mosquitoes, meets criteria the Secretary sets for a likely increased risk next fiscal year (including an emerging infectious mosquito-borne disease that is a serious public health threat), or currently has a public health emergency because of a serious mosquito-borne disease; - can show it will coordinate its control activities with neighboring subdivisions when that fits the mosquito situation; - can show, directly or through State officials, that its State has identified, or will identify, the geographic areas in the State most in need of control programs, and will coordinate programs there; and - is either located in a State that got a grant under subsection (a), or can show its program fits the State's existing mosquito control plans, policies, or other preparedness plans. To get a grant, the subdivision or consortium must have already assessed its immediate needs — including an entomological survey of possible mosquito breeding areas — and, based on that assessment, developed a plan for the program. Matching funds: the subdivision or consortium must agree to contribute non-federal money too, in an amount at least equal to one-third of the program's costs — that is, at least $1 of non-federal money for every $2 of federal grant money. This money can come directly from the subdivision or through donations, and can be cash or fairly valued in-kind contributions like equipment or services. It cannot include money the federal government already provided, or services the federal government paid for or subsidized to a significant degree. The Secretary may waive this matching requirement if the Secretary decides that extraordinary economic conditions in the area justify it, or that the area has an extreme mosquito control need because of (I) the size or density of the human population at risk, (II) the size or density of the mosquito population needing control, or (III) how severe the mosquito-borne disease is. After the grant year ends, the subdivision or consortium must send a report to the Secretary and to its State, describing the program and evaluating whether it was effective. A political subdivision or consortium may not get more than one grant under this part. (c) Applications for grants To get a grant under subsection (a) or (b), an applicant must submit an application in the form, made in the manner, and containing the agreements, assurances, and information the Secretary decides are necessary. (d) Technical assistance The Secretary may use money appropriated under subsection (f) to give training and technical assistance for the planning, development, and operation of the assessments and plans under subsection (a) and the control programs under subsection (b), either directly or through grants or contracts to public and private entities. (e) Definition of political subdivision In this section, "political subdivision" means the local government just below the State level, including counties, parishes, and boroughs. If State law recognizes some other general-government entity that works instead of, and separately from, a county, parish, or borough, the Secretary may treat an area under that entity's jurisdiction as a political subdivision too. (f) Authorization of appropriations (1) In general Congress authorized $100,000,000 to carry out this section for each of fiscal years 2019 through 2023. (2) Public health emergencies When control programs respond to a mosquito-borne disease that is a public health emergency, this authorization is on top of — not instead of — money authorized under other medical and public health preparedness and response laws. (3) Fiscal year 2019 appropriations For fiscal year 2019, at least 50 percent of the money appropriated under paragraph (1) had to go to grants to political subdivisions or consortia under subsection (b).