29C.20A - DISASTER AID INDIVIDUAL ASSISTANCE GRANT FUND.

        29C.20A  DISASTER AID INDIVIDUAL ASSISTANCE GRANT
      FUND.
         1.  A disaster aid individual assistance grant fund is created in
      the state treasury for the use of the executive council.  Moneys in
      the fund may be expended following the governor's proclamation of a
      state of disaster emergency.  The executive council may make
      financial grants to meet disaster-related expenses or serious needs
      of individuals or families adversely affected by a disaster which
      cannot otherwise be met by other means of financial assistance.  The
      aggregate total of grants awarded shall not be more than one million
      dollars during a fiscal year.  However, within the same fiscal year,
      additional funds may be specifically authorized by the executive
      council to meet additional needs.
         2.  The grant funds shall be administered by the department of
      human services.  The department shall adopt rules to create the Iowa
      disaster aid individual assistance grant program.  The rules shall
      specify the eligibility of applicants and eligible items for grant
      funding.  The executive council shall use grant funds to reimburse
      the department of human services for its actual expenses associated
      with the administration of the grants.
         3.  To be eligible for a grant, an applicant shall have an annual
      household income that is less than two hundred percent of the federal
      poverty level based on the number of people in the applicant's
      household as defined by the most recently revised poverty income
      guidelines published by the United States department of health and
      human services.  The amount of a grant for a household shall not
      exceed five thousand dollars.  Expenses eligible for grant funding
      shall be limited to personal property, home repair, food assistance,
      and temporary housing assistance.  An applicant for a grant shall
      sign an affidavit committing to refund any part of the grant that is
      duplicated by any other assistance, such as but not limited to
      insurance or assistance from community development groups, charities,
      the small business administration, and the federal emergency
      management agency.
         4.  The homeland security and emergency management division shall
      submit an annual report, by January 1 of each year, to the
      legislative fiscal committee and the general assembly's standing
      committees on government oversight concerning the activities of the
      grant program in the previous fiscal year.  
         Section History: Recent Form
         2007 Acts, ch 145, §1; 2008 Acts, ch 1078, §1; 2009 Acts, ch 86,
      §3