PUBLIC LAW 109–59—AUG. 10, 2005
119 STAT. 1871
‘‘(d) JURISDICTION.— ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The United States district courts shall have exclusive jurisdiction over any civil action against a State for failure to carry out any responsibility of the State under this section. ‘‘(2) LEGAL STANDARDS AND REQUIREMENTS.—A civil action under paragraph (1) shall be governed by the legal standards and requirements that would apply in such a civil action against the Secretary had the Secretary taken the actions in question. ‘‘(3) INTERVENTION.—The Secretary shall have the right to intervene in any action described in paragraph (1). ‘‘(e) EFFECT OF ASSUMPTION OF RESPONSIBILITY.—A State that assumes responsibility under subsection (a)(2) shall be solely responsible and solely liable for carrying out, in lieu of the Secretary, the responsibilities assumed under subsection (a)(2), until the program is terminated as provided in subsection (i). ‘‘(f) LIMITATIONS ON AGREEMENTS.—Nothing in this section permits a State to assume any rulemaking authority of the Secretary under any Federal law. ‘‘(g) AUDITS.— ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To ensure compliance by a State with any agreement of the State under subsection (c) (including compliance by the State with all Federal laws for which responsibility is assumed under subsection (a)(2)), for each State participating in the program under this section, the Secretary shall conduct— ‘‘(A) semiannual audits during each of the first 2 years of State participation; and ‘‘(B) annual audits during each subsequent year of State participation. ‘‘(2) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY AND COMMENT.— ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An audit conducted under paragraph (1) shall be provided to the public for comment. ‘‘(B) RESPONSE.—Not later than 60 days after the date on which the period for public comment ends, the Secretary shall respond to public comments received under subparagraph (A). ‘‘(h) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Secretary shall submit to Congress an annual report that describes the administration of the program. ‘‘(i) TERMINATION.— ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in paragraph (2), the program shall terminate on the date that is 6 years after the date of enactment of this section. ‘‘(2) TERMINATION BY SECRETARY.—The Secretary may terminate the participation of any State in the program if— ‘‘(A) the Secretary determines that the State is not adequately carrying out the responsibilities assigned to the State; ‘‘(B) the Secretary provides to the State— ‘‘(i) notification of the determination of noncompliance; and ‘‘(ii) a period of at least 30 days during which to take such corrective action as the Secretary determines is necessary to comply with the applicable agreement; and
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