September 26, 1973 - 3 Pub. Law 93-112 (11) evaluate existing approaches to architectural and transportation barriers confronting handicapped individuals, develop new such approaches, enforce statutory and regulatory standards and requirements regarding barrier-free construction of public facilities and study and develop solutions to existing architectural and transportation barriers impeding handicapped individuals. REHABILITATION SERVICES ADMINISTRATION SEC. 3. (a) There is established in the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare a Rehabilitation Services Administration which shall be headed by a Commissioner (hereinafter in this Act referred to as the "Commissioner") appointed by the President. Except for titles IV and V and as otherwise specifically provided in this Act, such Administration shall be the principal agency for carrying out this Act. The Secretary shall not approve any delegation of the functions of the Commissioner to any other officer not directly responsible to the Commissioner unless the Secretary shall first submit a plan for such delegation to the Congress. Such delegation is effective at the end of the first period of sixty calendar days of continuous session of Congress after the date on which the plan for such delegation is transmitted to it: Provided, however, That within thirty days of such transmittal, the Secretary shall consult with the Committee on Labor and Public Welfare of the Senate and the Committee on Education and Labor of the House of Representatives respecting such proposed delegation. For the purposes of this section, continuity of session is broken only by an adjournment of Congress sine die, and the days on which either House is not in session because of an adjournment of more than three days to a day certain are excluded in the computation of the thirty-day and sixty-day periods. ordination and consultation. (b) The Secretary, through the Commissioner in coordination with Research, coother appropriate programs in the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, in carrying out research under this Act shall establish the expertise and technological competence to, and shall, in consultation with, the National Science Foundation and the National Academy of Sciences develop and support, and stimulate the development and utilization (including production and distribution of new and existing devices) of, innovative methods of applying advanced medical technology, scientific achievement, and psychological and social knowledge to solve rehabilitation problems, and be responsible for carrying out the activities described in section 202 (b) (2). (c) The Secretary shall take whatever action is necessary to insure that funds appropriated pursuant to this Act, as well as unexpended appropriations for carrying out the Vocational Rehabilitation Act (29) U.S.C. 31-42), are expended only for the programs, personnel, and administration of programs carried out under this Act. ADVANCE FUNDING SEC. 4. (a) For the purpose of affording adequate notice of funding available under this Act, appropriations under this Act are authorized to be included in the appropriation Act for the fiscal year preceding the fiscal year for which they are available for obligation. (b) In order to effect a transition to the advance funding method of timing appropriation action, the authority provided by subsection (a) of this section shall apply notwithstanding that its initial application will result in the enactment in the same year (whether in the same appropriation Act or otherwise) of two separate appropriations, one for the then current fiscal year and one for the succeeding fiscal year. Post, p. 375. 68 Stat. 652. Pub. Law 93-112 87 STAT. 359 Election by concurrence. SEC. 5. Pursuant to regulations prescribed by the President, and to the extent consistent with the other provisions of this Act, where funds are provided for a single project by more than one Federal agency to an agency or organization assisted under this Act, the Federal agency principally involved may be designated to act for all in administering the funds provided, and, in such cases, a single non-Federal share requirement may be established according to the proportion of funds advanced by each agency. When the principal agency involved is the Rehabilitation Services Administration, it may waive any grant or contract requirement (as defined by such regulations) under or pursuant to any law other than this Act, which requirement is inconsistent with the similar requirements of the administering agency under or pursuant to this Act. CONSOLIDATED REHABILITATION PLAN SEC. 6. (a) In order to secure increased flexibility to respond to the varying needs and local conditions within the State, and in order to permit more effective and interrelated planning and operation of its rehabilitation programs, the State may submit a consolidated rehabilitation plan which includes the State's plan under section 101 (a) of this Act and its program for persons with developmental disabilities under the Developmental Disabilities Services and Facilities Construction 84 Stat. 1316. Amendments of 1970: Provided, That the agency administering such State's program under such Act concurs in the submission of such a consolidated rehabilitation plan. Post, p. 363. 42 USC 2670 note. Noncompliance, assistance termination procedures. (b) Such a consolidated rehabilitation plan must comply with, and be administered in accordance with, all the requirements of this Act and the Developmental Disabilities Services and Facilities Construction Amendments of 1970. If the Secretary finds that all such requirements are satisfied, he may approve the plan to serve in all respects as the substitute for the separate plans which would otherwise be required with respect to each of the programs included therein, or he may advise the State to submit separate plans for such programs. (c) Findings of noncompliance in the administration of an approved consolidated rehabilitation plan, and any reductions, suspensions, or terminations of assistance as a result thereof, shall be carried out in accordance with the procedures set forth in subsections (c) and (d) of section 101 of this Act. DEFINITIONS SEC. 7. For the purposes of this Act: (1) The term "construction" means the construction of new buildings, the acquisition, expansion, remodeling, alteration, and renovation of existing buildings, and initial equipment of such buildings, and the term "cost of construction" includes architects' fees and acquisition of land in connection with construction but does not include the cost of offsite improvements. (2) The term "criminal act" means any crime, including an act, omission, or possession under the laws of the United States or a State or unit of general local government which poses a substantial threat of personal injury, notwithstanding that by reason of age, insanity, intoxication or otherwise the person engaging in the act, omission, or possession was legally incapable of committing a crime. September 26, 1973 5 Pub. Law 93-112 (3) The term "establishment of a rehabilitation facility" means the acquisition, expansion, remodeling, or alteration of existing buildings. necessary to adapt them to rehabilitation facility purposes or to increase their effectiveness for such purposes (subject, however, to such limitations as the Secretary may determine, in accordance with regulations he shall prescribe, in order to prevent impairment of the objectives of, or duplication of, other Federal laws providing Federal assistance in the construction of such facilities), and the initial equipment for such buildings, and may include the initial staffing thereof. (4) The term "evaluation of rehabilitation potential" means, as appropriate in each case: (A) a preliminary diagnostic study to determine that the individual has a substantial handicap to employment, and that vocational rehabilitation services are needed; (B) a diagnostic study consisting of a comprehensive evaluation of pertinent medical, psychological, vocational, educational, cultural, social, and environmental factors which bear on the individual's handicap to employment and rehabilitation potential including, to the degree needed, an evaluation of the individual's personality, intelligence level, educational achievements, work experience, vocational aptitudes and interests, personal and socia! adjustments, employment opportunities, and other pertinent data helpful in determining the nature and scope of services needed; (C) an appraisal of the individual's patterns of work behavior and ability to acquire occupational skill, and to develop work attitudes, work habits, work tolerance, and social and behavior patterns suitable for successful job performance, including the utilization of work, simulated or real, to assess and develop the individual's capacities to perform adequately in a work environment; (D) any other goods or services provided for the purpose of ascertaining the nature of the handicap and whether it may reasonably be expected that the individual can benefit from vocational rehabilitation services; (E) referral; (F) the administration of these evaluation services; and 87 STAT. 360 (G) (i) the provision of vocational rehabilitation services to any individual for a total period not in excess of eighteen months for the purpose of determining whether such individual is a handicapped individual, a handicapped individual for whom a vocational goal is not possible or feasible (as determined in accordance with section 102(c)), or neither such individual; and (ii) an Post, p. 368. assessment, at least once in every ninety-day period during which such services are provided, of the results of the provision of such services to an individual to ascertain whether any of the determinations described in subclause (i) may be made. Post, pp. 372. (5) The term "Federal share" means 80 per centum, except that it shall mean 90 per centum for the purposes of part C of title I of this Act and as specifically set forth in section 301 (b) (3) : Provided, That with respect to payments pursuant to part B of title I of this Act to 377. any State which are used to meet the costs of construction of those Post, p. 370. rehabilitation facilities identified in section 103(b) (2) in such State, Post, p. 368. the Federal share shall be the percentages determined in accordance with the provisions of section 301(b)(3) applicable with respect to that State and that, for the purpose of determining the non-Federal share with respect to any State, expenditures by a political subdivision thereof or by a local agency shall, subject to such limitations and conditions as the Secretary shall by regulation prescribe, be regarded as expenditures by such State. 87 STAT. 361 Pub. Law 93-112 - 6 - September 26, 1973 (6) The term "handicapped individual" means any individual who (A) has a physical or mental disability which for such individual constitutes or results in a substantial handicap to employment and (B) can reasonably be expected to benefit in terms of employability from vocational rehabilitation services provided pursuant to titles I and III Post, pp. 363, of this Act. 377. Post, p. 363. (7) The term "local agency" means an agency of a unit of general local government or of an Indian tribal organization (or combination of such units or organizations) which has an agreement with the State agency designated pursuant to section 101 (a) (1) to conduct a vocational rehabilitation program under the supervision of such State agency in accordance with the State plan approved under section 101. Nothing in the preceding sentence of this paragraph or in section 101 shall be construed to prevent the local agency from utilizing another local public or nonprofit agency to provide vocational rehabilitation services: Provided, That such an arrangement is made part of the agreement specified in this paragraph. (8) The term "nonprofit", when used with respect to a rehabilitation facility, means a rehabilitation facility owned and operated by a corporation or association, no part of the net earnings of which inures, or may lawfully inure, to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual and the income of which is exempt from taxation under section 68A Stat. 163. 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954. 26 USC 501. (9) The term "public safety officer" means a person serving the United States or a State or unit of general local government, with or without compensation, in any activity pertaining to (A) the enforcement of the criminal laws, including highway patrol, or the maintenance of civil peace by the National Guard or the Armed Forces, (B) a correctional program, facility, or institution where the activity is potentially dangerous because of contact with criminal suspects, defendants, prisoners, probationers, or parolees, (C) a court having criminal or juvenile delinquent jurisdiction where the activity is potentially dangerous because of contact with criminal suspects, defendants, prisoners, probationers, or parolees, or (D) firefighting, fire prevention, or emergency rescue missions. (10) The term "rehabilitation facility" means a facility which is operated for the primary purpose of providing vocational rehabilitation services to handicapped individuals, and which provides singly or in combination one or more of the following services for handicapped individuals: (A) vocational rehabilitation services which shall include, under one management, medical, psychological, social, and vocational services, (B) testing, fitting, or training in the use of prosthetic and orthotic devices, (C) prevocational conditioning or recreational therapy, (D) physical and occupational therapy, (E) speech and hearing therapy, (F) psychological and social services, (G) evaluation of rehabilitation potential, (H) personal and work adjustment, (I) Vocational training with a view toward career advancement (in combination with other rehabilitation services), (J) evaluation or control of specific disabilities, (K) orientation and mobility services to the blind, and (L) extended employment for those handicapped individuals who cannot be readily absorbed in the competitive labor market, except that all medical and related health services must be prescribed by, or under the formal supervision of, persons licensed to prescribe or supervise the provision of such services in the State. (11) The term "Secretary", except when the context otherwise requires, means the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare. September 26, 1973 - 7 Pub. Law 93-112 (12) The term "severe handicap" means the disability which requires multiple services over an extended period of time and results from amputation, blindness, cancer, cerebral palsy, cystic fibrosis, deafness, heart disease, hemiplegia, mental retardation, mental illness, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, neurological disorders (including stroke and epilepsy), paraplegia, quadriplegia and other spinal cord conditions, renal failure, respiratory or pulmonary dysfunction, and any other disability specified by the Secretary in regulations he shall prescribe. 87 STAT. 362 (13) The term "State" includes the District of Columbia, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, and for the purposes of American Samoa and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, the appropriate State agency designated as provided in section 101 (a) (1) shall be the Gov- Post, p. 363. ernor of American Samoa or the High Commissioner of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, as the case may be. (14) The term "vocational rehabilitation services" means those services identified in section 103 which are provided to handicapped Post, D. 368. individuals under this Act. ALLOTMENT PERCENTAGE SEC. 8. (a) (1) The allotment percentage for any State shall be 100 per centum less that percentage which bears the same ratio to 50 per centum as the per capita income of such State bears to the per capita income of the United States, except that (A) the allotment percentage shall in no case be more than 75 per centum or less than 333 per centum, and (B) the allotment percentage for the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands shall be 75 per centum. Promulgation, (2) The allotment percentages shall be promulgated by the Secretary between July 1 and September 30 of each even-numbered year, computation. on the basis of the average of the per capita incomes of the States and of the United States for the three most recent consecutive years for which satisfactory data are available from the Department of Commerce. Such promulgation shall be conclusive for each of the two fiscal years in the period beginning on the July 1 next succeeding such promulgation. (3) The term "United States" means (but only for purposes of this "United States." subsection) the fifty States and the District of Columbia. (b) The population of the several States and of the United States shall be determined on the basis of the most recent data available, to be furnished by the Department of Commerce by October 1 of the year preceding the fiscal year for which funds are appropriated pursuant to statutory authorizations. AUDIT SEC. 9. Each recipient of a grant or contract under this Act shall keep such records as the Secretary may prescribe, including records which fully disclose the amount and disposition by such recipient of the proceeds of such grant or contract, the total cost of the project or undertaking in connection with which such grant or contract is made or funds thereunder used, the amount of that portion of the cost of the project or undertaking supplied by other sources, and such records as will facilitate an effective audit. The Secretary and the Comptroller General of the United States, or any of their duly authorized representatives, shall have access for the purpose of audit and examination to any books, documents, papers, and records of the recipient of any grant or contract under this Act which are pertinent to such grant or contract. Population determination. |