Any State may apply to the Secretary for approval to be a participating State under the Program and to be eligible for an allocation of Federal funds under the Program.
If a State does not, within 60 days after March 11, 2021, file with the Secretary a notice of its intent to apply for approval by the Secretary of a State program or within 9 months after March 11, 2021, file with the Secretary a complete application for approval of a State program, the Secretary may grant to municipalities of that State a special permission that will allow them to apply directly to the Secretary without the State for approval to be participating municipalities.
To qualify for the special permission, a municipality of a State shall be required, within 12 months after March 11, 2021, to file with the Secretary a complete application for approval by the Secretary of a State program.
If more than 3 municipalities, or combination of municipalities as provided in paragraph (3), of a State apply for approval by the Secretary to be participating municipalities under this subsection, and the applications meet the approval criteria in paragraph (4), the Secretary shall allocate Federal funds to the 3 municipalities with the largest populations.
If 3 or fewer municipalities, or combination of municipalities as provided in paragraph (3), of a State apply for approval by the Secretary to be participating municipalities under this subsection, and the applications meet the approval criteria in paragraph (4), the Secretary shall allocate Federal funds to each applicant municipality or combination of municipalities.
If the Secretary approves municipalities to be participating municipalities under this subsection, the Secretary shall apportion the full amount of the Federal funds that are allocated to that State to municipalities that are approved under this subsection in amounts proportionate to the population of those municipalities, based on the most recent available decennial census.
If the Secretary approves municipalities to be participating municipalities under this subsection, the Secretary shall take into account the additional considerations in section 5705(d) of this title in making the determination under section 5704 or 5705 of this title that the State program or programs to be implemented by the participating municipalities, including a State capital access program, is eligible for Federal contributions to, or for the account of, the State program.