Ninety-five percent of all moneys received by the State of Alabama through the Community Services Block Grant Act, Section 671 of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981 shall be appropriated to community action agencies and certain other agencies as defined in Section 11-96-3 to carry out programs under Section 11-96-4 herein. The Legislature is authorized to appropriate any other funds that might become available for the purposes as described in this chapter.

Funds appropriated for the purpose of Section 11-96-1 shall be allocated annually to community action agencies in proportion to the size of the poverty level population served by the agency when compared to the size of the poverty level population and available resources in the state. "Poverty level population" means the number of people whose household income is below the official poverty line established by the United States Director of the Office of Management and Budget.

(a) A "community action agency" for the purposes of this chapter shall include the following:

(1) A county, a municipality or a combination thereof;

(2) A private non-profit agency which has been designated as an "eligible entity" under Section 673(1) of the Community Services Block Grant Act; or

(3) A private non-profit agency newly established by local ordinance in compliance with subsection (b) of this section.

(b) Each community action agency shall administer its programs through a governing board consisting of 15 to 51 members.

(1) One-third of the members of the board shall be elected or appointed public officials, currently holding office or their representatives. These members shall be designated or approved by the chief elected local government official or officials of the jurisdiction which they represent.

(2) At least one-third of the members shall be persons chosen in accordance with democratic selection procedures adequate to assure that they are representative of the poor in the area served by the agency.

(3) The other members shall be officials or members of business, industry, labor, religious, welfare, education, housing or other major groups and interests in the community. Each member of the board selected to represent a specific geographic area within an appointed community must reside in the area represented.

Procedures for selection of board members shall be submitted to county commissions within the community action agency service area for their review. This procedure may be set out in the by-laws governing the community action agency.

(c) Each community action agency receiving funds under this chapter shall prepare a bi-annual audit to be made available to the public, to state and local government.

(d) If a community action agency delegates responsibility for major policy determinations with respect to the character, funding, extent, and administration of the budgeting for programs to be carried on in a particular geographic poverty or low-income area within the community in a subsidiary board, council, or similar agency, that board, council, or agency shall be broadly representative of the area.

(e) The specific service area of any community action agency must be specific in its charter. No community action agency service areas shall overlap; nor shall any new service area include less than 50,000 total population. This population requirement shall not affect existing community action agencies, nor affect the authority of an existing agency to expand into an area not already served by a community action program.

(f) Each community action agency shall consult neighborhood-based organizations composed of residents of the area of members of the groups served to assist the agency in planning, conduct, and evaluation of components of the community action program.

(g) A community action agency shall:

(1) Plan systematically for an effective community action program;

(2) Encourage agencies engaged in activities related to the community action program to administer assistance on a common or cooperative basis;

(3) Initiate and sponsor projects responsive to needs of the poor which are not otherwise being met, with particular emphasis on providing central or common services that can be drawn upon by a variety of related programs;

(4) Establish effective procedures by which the poor and area residents concerned will be enabled to influence the character of programs affecting their interests;

(5) Join with and encourage business, labor and other private groups and organizations to undertake activities which will result in the additional use of private resources and capabilities, and otherwise carry out its purposes as approved by its governing board.

(a) A limited purpose agency qualifying for funds from the community services administration block grant is a community-based and -operated program which:

(1) Was designated as an eligible entity to receive funds from the community services block grant program under Public Law 97-115, the "Older Americans Act Amendments of 1981" or administer a head start program.

(2) Performs the functions of community action agencies, but which is not technically a community action agency.

(3) Received funds in fiscal year 1981 under Section 221 and Section 222 or under Title IV of the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964.

(b) Each limited purpose agency shall administer its programs through a governing board consisting of 15 to 50 members.

This board shall be representative of the population of its service area, and representative of the poor, as well as representatives from the business community and other agencies.

(c) Each limited purpose agency receiving funds under this chapter shall prepare a bi-annual audit to be made available to the public, and to state and local government.

(d) If a limited purpose agency delegates responsibility for major policy determinations with respect to the character, funding, extent, and administration of the budgeting for programs to be carried on in a particular geographic poverty or low-income area within the community in a subsidiary board, council, or similar agency, that board, council, or agency shall be broadly representative of the area.

(e) The specific area of any limited purpose agency must be specified in its charter. No limited purpose agency may service any area that overlaps with the service areas of a community action agency unless the limited purpose agency is operating a program that is clearly statewide in its scope.

(f) Each limited purpose agency shall adhere to the principles of consultation and planning as defined for community action agencies and defined under Section 11-96-3.

(a) A community action program is a community-based and -operated program which:

(1) Includes or is designated to include a sufficient number of projects of components to provide, in sum, a range of services and activities having a measurable and potentially major impact on causes of poverty in the community or those areas of the community where poverty is a particularly acute problem;

(2) Has been developed, and which organizes and combines its component projects and activities, in a manner appropriate to carry out all the purposes of Sections 11-96-2 and 11-96-4; and

(3) Conforms to any other supplementary criteria as may be prescribed by federal or state laws or regulations.

(b) The components of a community action program may include programs designated to assist participants, including the elderly poor, to:

(1) Secure and retain meaningful employment;

(2) Attain an adequate education;

(3) Make better use of available income;

(4) Obtain and maintain adequate housing and a suitable living environment;

(5) Obtain emergency assistance through loans or grants to meet immediate and urgent individual and family needs, including the need for health services, nutritious food, housing, employment and energy related assistance;

(6) Remove obstacles and solve problems which block the achievement of self-sufficiency;

(7) Achieve greater participation in the affairs of the community; and,

(8) Make more frequent and effective use of other programs related to the purposes of Sections 11-96-2 and 11-96-4.

(c) Components of a community action program may be administered by the community action agency when consistent with sound and efficient management and applicable law, or by other agencies. There may be projects eligible for assistance under Section 11-96-2, or projects assisted from other public or private sources; and they may be either specially designed to meet local needs or designed pursuant to the eligibility standards of a state or federal program providing assistance to a particular kind of activity which will help in meeting those needs.

Any community action agency, whether public or private which has been designated as such at the time of passage of this chapter and which has received funding as an "eligible entity" under Section 673(1) of the Community Services Block Grant Act shall maintain such designation and shall continue to receive any funds designated for community action programs as long as those agencies comply with the provisions of this chapter and all other applicable state or federal laws or regulations.

Provided, however, that this section shall not be construed to affect the eligibility of newly established community action agencies designated to serve areas not already served by a community action program to receive funding under the community action programs.