H.R. 7796 — Economic Recovery for Nuclear-Affected Communities Act

This section states congressional findings that (1) communities throughout the U.S., including those in 14 specified states (California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Vermont, and Wisconsin), serve as de facto interim storage sites for stranded nuclear waste; (2) the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 requires the Secretary of Energy to make impact assistance payments of $15 per kilogram of spent nuclear fuel to mitigate social and economic impacts on affected states and localities; (3) decommissioning nuclear power plants causes economic harm to host communities as major employers and tax revenue sources; and (4) stranded nuclear waste impedes economic development and site redevelopment, necessitating resources for currently and prospectively affected communities over the next 10 years.

This section establishes definitions for terms used in this Act, including (1) Administrator, meaning the Administrator of the U.S. Economic Development Administration; (2) eligible civilian nuclear power plant, meaning a civilian nuclear power plant (as defined in the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982) that has been decommissioned or is in the process of being decommissioned; (3) nuclear affected community, meaning a unit of local government (e.g., county, city, town, village, school district, or special district) determined by the Administrator to contain stranded nuclear waste or an eligible civilian nuclear power plant within its jurisdictional boundary; and (4) stranded nuclear waste, meaning nuclear waste or spent nuclear fuel stored in dry casks or spent fuel pools (as defined in the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982) at the site of an eligible civilian nuclear power plant.

This section reinstates the first-time homebuyer tax credit (i.e., up to $8,000, or 10% of the purchase price, for eligible individuals who have not owned a principal residence in the prior three years) for principal residences purchased in a nuclear affected community (as defined in section 3 of the Economic Recovery for Nuclear-Affected Communities Act) after the date of enactment. It strikes certain limitations on the credit amount and eligibility, as well as provisions for basis reduction, recapture, and termination.

This section directs the Administrator to establish, not later than 180 days after enactment, a competitive prize competition to award $500,000 prizes to proposals from affected communities for alternatives to nuclear facilities, generating sites, and waste sites. It establishes an advisory prize board of at least nine members with expertise in nuclear waste, workforce issues, technology development, and economic development—including possible representatives from national laboratories, nonprofit organizations, and institutions of higher education—to advise on the competition's design and implementation and on a related pilot project. The section further directs the Administrator, in consultation with the board, to develop and fund a pilot project based on the winning proposal using up to $500,000 from amounts available under section 7 and requires a report to the relevant congressional committees within 60 days of the prize award describing the winning proposal.

This section establishes a noncompetitive grant program, to be carried out by the Administrator not later than 120 days after enactment, to provide grants to nuclear-affected communities (i.e., those with stranded nuclear waste or facing decreased tax revenues or assessed valuation from decommissioning an eligible civilian nuclear power plant) to offset economic and social impacts of stranded nuclear waste or support decommissioning communities. Under subsection (b), for grants based on stranded nuclear waste, eligible nuclear-affected communities may receive $15 per kilogram of spent nuclear fuel stored at the relevant plant (consistent with impact assistance pricing in the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982), with one grant per eligible unit of local government per fiscal year per plant. Under subsection (c), for grants based on lost tax revenue, eligible communities that apply and demonstrate (for a calendar year after December 31, 2014, and before January 1, 2026) at least a 20% reduction in overall tax revenue (from the prior 5-year average) and a plant-attributable tax revenue loss of at least 20% of the prior 5-year average overall tax revenue may receive assistance, subject to appropriations, over an 8-year period beginning in the qualifying year in amounts equal to the lesser of $10 million or a declining percentage of the plant-attributable loss each year: 80% (year 1), 70% (year 2), 60% (year 3), 50% (year 4), 40% (year 5), 30% (year 6), 20% (year 7), or 10% (year 8). (Thus, "tax revenue" includes payments in lieu of taxes.)

This section authorizes appropriations of $110 million for each of FY2026 through 2031 and $120 million for each of FY2032 through 2036 to carry out the Act; (2) prohibits use of such funds to offset funding for any other federal program; and (3) limits each nuclear affected community to no more than one grant per calendar year, prohibiting receipt of grants under both sections 6(b) and 6(c) in the same calendar year.