Important Acts

Question 1

Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act

Answer 1

The Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act has seven goals including safety, infrastructure condition, congestion reduction, system reliability, freight movement & economic vitality, environmental sustainability and reduced project delivery delays.

Question 2

Homestead Act of 1862

Answer 2

Allowed public lands to be sold for a nominal fee.

Question 3

Section 701 of the Housing Act of 1954

Answer 3

Provided funding for local comprehensive planning, leading to communities across the country developing comprehensive plans.

Question 4

LIHTC (1986)

Answer 4

Established the LIHTC program

Question 5

NEPA (1969)

Answer 5

NEPA requires the public and private sectors to conform to certain environmental standards but only if it involves federal funding, work performed by the federal government, or permits issued by a federal agency. Established the Committee on Environmental Quality. Requires environmental impact be a consideration.

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is America’s national charter for protection of the environment. It establishes policy, sets goals (section 101), and provides means (section 102) for carrying out policy pertaining to federal actions, funding, and permitting. It was signed into law on January 1, 1970. The EPA is an independent agency of the federal government that has the responsibility of maintaining and enforcing national standards under a variety of environmental laws, but overseeing subdivisons is not in their domain.

Question 6

Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000

Answer 6

1

Question 7

Freedom of Religious Practice Act of 1977

Answer 7

1

Question 8

Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993

Answer 8

1

Question 9

Religious Freedom Act of 1998

Answer 9

1

Question 10

Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act

Question 11

Farm Bill Conservation

Question 12

1956 Federal Highway Act

Answer 12

Allocated funds from automobile sales for road construction; created the highway system that links state capitals and most large cities.

Question 13

Federal Property Administration Act of 1949

Answer 13

Established the General Services Administration which is responsible for managing, acquiring, and disposing of federal property.

Question 14

G.I. Bill (1944) - Servicemen’s Readjustment Act

Answer 14

It provided loans for returning veterans to buy homes and start businesses; provided unemployment compensation and college or vocational education for returning veterans.

Question 15

Hazard Mitigation Act of 2000

Answer 15

Requires communities to identify natural hazards, assess the risks, and set community goals.

Question 16

MAP-21 Act (2012)

Answer 16

Provides funding for passenger rail, public transit, bicycle, and pedestrian paths.

Question 17

Wagner-Steagall Act (Housing Act of 1937)

Answer 17

Included Neighborhood Composition Rule, which continued segregation.

Question 18

Rural Resettlement Act (1935)

Answer 18

Roosevelt established the Rural Resettlement Administration with a goal of moving people off of agriculturally exhausted land and into greenbelt cities.

Question 19

Indian Reorganization Act (1934)

Answer 19

Restored tribal ownership of lands, recognized tribal constitutions and government, and provided loans for economic development. “Non-IRA tribes” did not organize under the Act.

Question 20

ADA (1990)

Answer 20

The Americans with Disabilities Act passed in 1990. The ADA Amendments Act of 2008 overturned two controversial Supreme Court decisions and made the scope of the ADA more broad and inclusive. The 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design set minimum requirements for newly designed and constructed or altered State and local government facilities, public accommodations, and commercial facilities to be readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities.

Question 21

The Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act and the Coordinated Border Infrastructure Program

Answer 21

CORBOR

Question 22

Telecommunications Reform Act of 1996

Answer 22

The act was the first significant overhaul of United States telecommunications law in more than sixty years, amending the Communications Act of 1934, and represented a major change in American telecommunication law, because it was the first time that the Internet was included in broadcasting and spectrum allotment.

The goal of the law was to “let anyone enter any communications business – to let any communications business compete in any market against any other.” The legislation’s primary goal was deregulation of the converging broadcasting and telecommunications markets.

Preemption
One key provision allowed the FCC to preempt state or local legal requirements that acted as a barrier to entry in the provision of interstate or intrastate telecommunications service.

Interconnectedness
Incumbent carriers and new entrants must be able to interconnect their networks with one another.

While local government cannot prohibit telecommunications services it does have the right to ensure appropriate placement in the community.

Question 23

Immigration Act of 1924 (Johnson-Reed Act)

Answer 23

The Immigration Act of 1924 limited the number of immigrants allowed entry into the United States through a national origins quota. The quota provided immigration visas to two percent of the total number of people of each nationality in the United States as of the 1890 national census. It completely excluded immigrants from Asia.

Question 24

Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965

Answer 24

The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, also known as the Hart–Celler Act and more recently as the 1965 Immigration Act, is a federal law passed by the 89th United States Congress and signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson. The law abolished the National Origins Formula, which had been the basis of U.S. immigration policy since the 1920s. The act removed de facto discrimination against Southern and Eastern Europeans, Asians, as well as other non-Western and Northern European ethnic groups from American immigration policy.

Question 25

New Markets Tax Credit Program

Answer 25

The New Markets Tax Credit Program spurs business development by providing tax credit incentives to investors for equity investments in Community Development Entities.

Question 26

Strong Cities, Strong Communities Visioning Challenge

Answer 26

The Strong Cities, Strong Communities (SC2) initiative, first announced in July 2011, seeks to strengthen neighborhoods, towns, cities, and regions around the country by enhancing the capacity of local governments to develop and execute their economic vision and strategies, providing necessary technical assistance and access to federal agency expertise, and creating new public and private sector partnerships.