112 STAT. 530 PUBLIC LAW 105-185-JUNE 23, 1998 under subsections (b) and (c), the State shall expend for 1 the fiscal year for multistate activities a percentage that is at least equal to the lesser of— "(i) 25 percent; or ' "(ii) twice the percentage for the State determined under subparagraph (A).
- "(C) REDUCTION BY SECRETARY.—The Secretary may
reduce the minimum percentage required to be expended for multistate activities under subparagraph (B) by a State ' in a case of hardship, infeasibility, or other similar circumstance beyond the control of the State, as determined by the Secretary.
"(D) PLAN OF WORK.— The State shall include in the plan of work of the State required under section 4 a description of the msinner in which the State will meet the requirements of this paragraph. "(3) APPLICABILITY.—T his subsection does not apply to funds provided— "(A) by a State or local government pursuant to a matching requirement; "(B) to a 1994 Institution (as defined in section 532 5,. of the Equity in Educational Land-Grant Status Act of 1994 (Public Law 103-382; 7 U.S.C. 301 note)); or "(C) to the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, or Guam, " (i) MERIT REVIEW. — Effective date. "(1) REVIEW REQUIRED. —Effective October 1, 1999, extension activity carried out under subsection (h) shall be subject to merit review. "(2) OTHER REQUIREMENTS.—An extension activity for which merit review is conducted under paragraph (1) shall be considered to have satisfied the requirements for review under section 103(e) of the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998.". SEC. 106. RESEARCH FACILITIES. (a) CRITERIA FOR APPROVAL.— Section 3(c)(2)(C)(ii) of the Research Facilities Act (7 U.S.C. 390a(c)(2)(C)(ii)) is amended by striking "regional needs" and inserting "national or multistate needs". (b) NATIONAL OR MULTISTATS NEEDS SERVED BY ARS FACILI- TIES. —Section 3 of the Research Facilities Act (7 U.S.C. 390a) is amended by adding at the end the following: "(e) NATIONAL OR MULTISTATE NEEDS SERVED BY ARS FACILI- TIES. —The Secretary shall ensure that each research activity conducted by a facility of the Agricultural Research Service serves a national or multistate need.". (c) 10-YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN.— Section 4(d) of the Research Facilities Act (7 U.S.C. 390b(d)) is amended by striking "regional" and inserting "multistate". (d) COMPREHENSIVE RESEARCH CAPACITY.— Section 4 of the Research Facilities Act (7 U.S.C. 390b) is amended by adding at the end the following: "(g) COMPREHENSIVE RESEARCH CAPACITY. —After submission of the 10-year strategic plan required under subsection (d), the
�
