projects in marketing services and marketing research on the basis of annual work plans submitted by State agencies.

The Federal statute requires equal matching from State funds of Federal allotments to States for cooperative projects in marketing services and in marketing research, and specifies that no allotment or payment for any fiscal year to any State agency may exceed the amount which the State agency makes available out of its own funds "for such research." Qualifying amounts must be additional to any State funds that were available in 1946 to the State agencies for marketing services and research.

(Agricultural Marketing Service, Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C., 20250. Federal Extension Service, Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C., 20250. Cooperative State Experiment Station Service, Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C., 20250.)

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

PUBLIC WORKS ACCELERATION

To provide employment and assist economic development in areas where heavy unemployment has persisted, the Public Works Acceleration Act of 1962 authorized the President to initiate and accelerate public works projects. Eligible areas are those designated by the Secretary of Labor as "areas of substantial unemployment" for at least 9 of the preceding 12 months, and areas designated by the Secretary of Commerce as "redevelopment areas" for purposes of the Area Redevelopment Act. Projects eligible for the program include those of State and local governments for which Federal financial assistance is authorized under other provisions of law. The aid is intended for projects that would otherwise be delayed or would not be undertaken.

The program is coordinated by the Secretary of Commerce, with the assistance of the Area Redevelopment Administration. Federal appropriations for the acceleration program are allocated in part among Federal departments and agencies responsible for administering laws authorizing Federal financial assistance to public works projects of State and local governments. The acceleration grants may be combined with other Federal grants for the same projects, bringing the total of all Federal contributions for any project up to 50 percent of the cost, notwithstanding any lower limits established by other laws. If the State or local government does not have economic and financial capacity to provide half of the project costs, the total of Federal contributions may be as much as 75 percent.

Acceleration program grants are available only for public works which can be initiated or accelerated within a reasonable period, will meet an essential public need, can be completed in substantial part within 12 months, will contribute significantly to reducing local unemployment, and are not inconsistent with locally approved comprehensive plans if there are any for the jurisdiction. Schools and other educational facilities are excluded from the program.

Of amounts allocated by the President (including amounts for direct Federal projects), not more than 10 percent may be used for projects in any one State.

Federal advances for planning public works (see the statement, Public works planning Housing and Home Finance Agency) need not be repaid if construction of the planned project is initiated as a result of an acceleration grant. Also, the Administrator of the Housing and Home Finance Agency is authorized to make acceleration grants of not to exceed 50 percent of the cost of certain projects for which loans are authorized and to waive population limits and priorities specified in the Housing Amendments of 1955 (see the statement, Public facility loans (HÍFA)).

State or local governments receiving acceleration grants are required to finance at least one-half of the project costs, except in those areas of severe economic difficulty where the required State or local share may be as low as 25 percent. Also, each recipient is required to show that its proposed or planned total expenditure of non-Federal funds for all capital improvement projects is increased by at least the amount of the non-Federal share of cost for the accelerated projects.

(Area Redevelopment Administration, Department of Commerce, Washington, D.C., 20230.)

REDEVELOPMENT AREAS

Local or regional public agencies in "redevelopment areas" may qualify for several types of Federal assistance under the Area Redevelopment Act. "Redevelopment areas" are those areas within the United States in which substantial and persistent unemployment has existed for an extended period. Included are areas where the ratio of unemployment has averaged substantially above the national rate. Also included are areas of substantial and persistent unemployment. or underemployment which are among the highest in numbers or percentages of low-income families.

To qualify for most of the benefits available under the act, a redevelopment area is required to submit and have approved by the Secretary of Commerce an overall program for the economic development of the area. It must submit also a finding by an appropriate State or local public agency that the project for which assistance is sought is consistent with the program.

Types of assistance available to State or local governments in redevelopment areas include planning grants; urban renewal grants; public facility grants and loans; Federal participation with State, local, or semipublic sources in industrial or commercial loans; occupational training or retraining programs; and technical assistance. Each type is referred to below.

Planning. See Urban planning (Housing and Home Finance Agency).

Urban renewal.-See Urban renewal: Capital grants (Housing and Home Finance Agency).

Public facility grants and loans.-A State or political subdivision may qualify for a grant from the Area Redevelopment Administration of the Department of Commerce for land acquisition or development for public facility use, and for the construction, rehabilitation, or improvement of public facilities within a redevelopment area. Eligibility depends on findings that the project will tend to improve opportunities in the redevelopment area for industrial or commercial

expansion which will reduce unemployment or underemployment in the area; that the applicant will contribute to project costs in proportion to its ability; and that the project will fill a pressing need but is not likely to be undertaken without this grant assistance. Public facilities which would compete with regulated privately owned public utilities may not be assisted by Federal grants unless the State regulatory body determines that the facility is needed and cannot otherwise be provided.

Matching of the Federal grants is not specifically required, but the State or local government requesting the grant is required to contribute in proportion to its ability.

Financing may be derived from a Federal loan if the funds are not otherwise available on reasonable terms and there is a reasonable expectation of repayment. Loans may run not more than 40 years. The interest rate is not more than one-fourth of 1 percent above the average for interest-bearing obligations of the United States. A Federal loan may be used to provide full financing, or a combination of Federal grant and loan may be used.

The Area Redevelopment Administration of the Department of Commerce and the Community Facilities Administration of the Housing and Home Finance Agency cooperate in the financing of public facilities construction. (See also Public facility loans-Housing and Home Finance Agency.)

Industrial and commercial loans.-The Area Redevelopment Administration may make or participate in loans to aid in financing public or private industrial or commercial projects in a redevelopment area. Applicants may be private or public entities, approved by an agency or instrumentality of the State or political subdivision directly concerned with economic development. Projects must conform to various requirements stated in the Federal law. Requests are subject to analysis by the Small Business Administration before approval by the ARA. The interest rate is not more than one-half of 1 percent above the average for interest-bearing obligations of the United States. The Federal loan assistance may not exceed 65 percent of the cost of acquiring land, constructing or enlarging buildings, and, in cases of demonstrated need, acquiring machinery and equipment. At least 10 percent of the financing must be supplied by a State or local government source or a community organization such as a development company. The applicant must finance at least 5 percent of the cost. (See also Small business development company loans-Small Business Administration.)

Occupational training or retraining.-See Occupational training in redevelopment areas under Vocational education (Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.)

Technical assistance. To help alleviate or prevent excessive unemployment or underemployment, the Secretary of Commerce is authorized to provide technical assistance to redevelopment areas and to other areas in substantial need of such assistance. The aid includes studies evaluating the needs and potentialities of an area for economic growth and development. Assistance is given primarily through publications offering general guidance, services of technical experts to study particular local problems, and technical assistance

projects which involve detailed studies of commercial or industrial development possibilities in a community or region.

(Area Redevelopment Administration, Department of Commerce, Washington, D.C., 20230.)

HIGHWAYS

Federal aid for highway construction and related activities is divided into several categories, identified below.

Regular Federal aid highways.-A comprehensive program covers primary, secondary, and urban roads, for which Federal appropriations are apportioned in accordance with specific formulas which relate characteristics of the several States to national totals. The grants are used to reimburse States for half of the cost of construction or improvement on approved projects. Advance payments may be provided if necessary. (The Federal share is above 50 percent in States where public domain exceeds 5 percent of the total area. It is 100 percent for elimination of railway-highway crossing hazards, as noted below.) Routes are selected by the individual States through their highway departments, subject to approval by the Secretary of Com

merce.

Primary systems comprise main connected highways, located in both rural and urban areas. Federal appropriations are apportioned among the States annually: One-third in proportion to total area, one-third in proportion to total population, and one-third in proportion to mileage of rural delivery and star routes. No State is allotted less than one-half of 1 percent of the national total.

Secondary systems may be located in both rural and urban areas, subject to the condition that any extension into urban areas is required to pass through the urban area or connect with another Federal-aid system within the urban area. Included in secondary roads are farmto-market roads, rural mail and public school bus routes, and other local roads not on the primary and interstate Federal-aid systems. In the annual apportionment of Federal appropriations for the secondary system among the States, one-third is prorated in proportion to total area, one-third in proportion to rural population, and onethird in proportion to mileage of rural delivery and star routes. No State is allotted less than one-half of 1 percent of the national total. Extensions of primary and secondary systems within urban areas are aided by appropriations which are apportioned annually among the States in proportion to population in municipalities and other urban places of 5,000 or more population.

Of the total Federal appropriations authorized for the fiscal years 1964 and 1965 for primary, secondary, and urban extension construction grants, 45 percent is available for projects on the Federal-aid primary system, 30 percent for the secondary system, and 25 percent for urban extensions.

A State may make limited transfers of Federal aid between these highway systems. With the approval of the Governor and the Secretary of Commerce, the State highway department may transfer up to one-fifth of the Federal aid apportioned in any fiscal year for primary, secondary, or urban extension highways to any other one of these systems. The apportionment for any system may not be increased by more than one-fifth. Also, in a State where all public roads and high

ways are under the control of the State highway department, Federal aid for the secondary system may be used for projects on another Federal-aid system if the State highway department and the Secretary agree that the funds are not needed for the secondary system. Interstate system. The interstate highway system, with a maximum of 41,000 miles in the continental United States, connects by direct routes the principal metropolitan areas, cities, and industrial centers, and border connections with routes of continental importance in Canada and Mexico. Route selection is by joint action of the State highway departments of each State and adjoining States, subject to approval by the Secretary of Commerce. Annual apportionments of Federal appropriations among the States are in proportion to the estimated costs of completing the system in the several States. Beginning with the fiscal year 1967, apportionments will be based on the Federal share of the cost; i.e., the amount for each State will be in the ratio which the Federal share of the estimated cost of completing the interstate system in that State bears to the sum of the estimated cost of the Federal share of completing the system in all the States.

The Federal share ordinarily is 90 percent of the total cost; it is higher, but not more than 95 percent, in States with proportionately large areas of public domain. The Federal share is also higher where the State agrees to control advertising on land along interstate highways or where railway-highway crossing hazards are eliminated (as explained below). Grants are paid ordinarily as reimbursements for State expenditure, but advances may be provided if necessary.

Control of outdoor advertising.-States which agree, prior to July 1, 1965, to control advertising alongside highways of the Interstate System are given an incentive payment of one-half of 1 percent of the cost of those portions of the Interstate System projects to which the national policy and standards of advertising control apply. This makes the Federal share 90.5 percent (or more in public lands States) for the affected construction.

Relocation assistance.-For projects approved after October 23, 1962, construction costs covered by Federal aid may include relocation payments made by a State highway department or a local public agency acting as its agent. Relocation payments may cover necessary moving expense caused by displacement from real property acquired for the project, up to $200 for an individual or family and up to $3,000 for a business concern, farm operation, or nonprofit organization.

Elimination of hazards of railway-highway crossings. Within the Federal-aid highway grant system, up to 10 percent of all sums apportioned for any fiscal year may be used for projects for eliminating railway-highway crossing hazards. The Federal share may amount to 100 percent of the construction cost but not more than 50 percent of rightof-way and property-damage costs paid from public funds. Railroads may be required to share up to 10 percent of the cost, with a corresponding reduction in the Federal payment.

Highway planning and research.-Of highway-aid funds apportioned to any State, 1.5 percent is available for expenditure by the State highway department for engineering and economic surveys, planning future highway programs and their financing, studies of highway usage and its regulation and taxation, and highway research and development. An additional one-half of 1 percent of sums