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

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