1. (a) The Governor, on the recommendation of the Secretary, may designate an area as a Just Community if the Secretary demonstrates that:

   1. (1) past and current trends in homeownership, property values, commercial and residential vacancy, and business or housing investment show a need for reinvestment in the area; and

   2. (2) the area has been negatively impacted by a history of:

      1. (i) forms of legal racial segregation including redlining, exclusionary zoning, or racially restrictive covenants;
      2. (ii) the demolition of residential neighborhoods through the use of eminent domain or State or federal funding;
      3. (iii) a State imprisonment rate higher than 750 per 100,000 persons; or

      4. (iv) unequal exposure to environmental and health hazards, including:

         1. 1. proximity to a federal Superfund site;
         2. 2. estimated exposure to lead-based paint; and
         3. 3. rates of asthma among adults that are higher than the 90th percentile for the State.
2. (b) To maintain a Just Community designation, every 5 years the Secretary shall make designation recommendations for approval by the Governor in accordance with subsection (a) of this section.
3. (c) At the time Just Communities are designated or renewed, the Governor shall identify State programs under which a Just Community shall receive priority for State funding.
4. (d) The prioritization of State funding for Just Communities under subsection (c) of this section shall not supersede other program requirements specified in State law.

Added by Acts 2024, c. 147, § 1, eff. July 1, 2024; Acts 2024, c. 148, § 1, eff. July 1, 2024.