,,ii  #aadth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #hga  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the
 ,,united ,,states  ,march #bf1         
#bjae,mr4 ,mc,connell 7for himself1 ,mr4
 ,heller1 ,mrs4 ,capito1 and ,mr4 ,paul7
 introduced the following bill2 which   
was read twice and referred to the      
,committee on ,banking1 ,housing1 and   
,urban ,affairs  ,a ,,bill  ,to provide 
for an application process for          
interested parties to apply for an area 
to be designated as a rural area1 and   
for other purposes4  #a4 ,short title   
,this ,act may be cited as the ,helping 
,expand ,lending ,practices in ,rural   
,communities ,act of #bjae or the ,,help
 ,rural ,communities ,act of #bjae4  #b4
 ,designation of rural area  7a7        
,application ,not later than #ij days   
after the date of the enactment of this 
,act1 the ,bureau of ,consumer          
,financial ,protection shall establish  
an application process under which a    
person who lives or does business in a  
,state may1 with respect to an area     

identified by the person in such ,state 
that has not been designated by the     
,bureau as a rural area for purposes of 
a ,federal consumer financial law 7as   
defined under section #ajjb of the      
,consumer ,financial ,protection ,act of
 #bjaj71 apply for such area to be so   
designated4  7b7 ,evaluation criteria   
,when evaluating an application         
submitted under subsection 7a71 the     
,bureau shall take into consideration   
the following factors3  7#a7 ,criteria  
used by the ,director of the ,bureau of 
the ,census for classifying geographical
 areas as rural or urban4  7#b7         
,criteria used by the ,director of the  
,office of ,management and ,budget to   
designate counties as metropolitan or   
micropolitan or neither4  7#c7 ,criteria
 used by the ,secretary of ,agriculture 
to determine property eligibility for   
rural development programs4  7#d7 ,the  
,department of ,agriculture rural-urban 
commuting area codes4  7#e7 ,a written  
opinion provided by the ,state's bank   

supervisor1 as defined under section    
#c7r7 of the ,federal ,deposit          
,insurance ,act 7#ab ,u4,s4,c4          
#ahac7r774  7#f7 ,population density4   
7c7 ,rule of construction ,if1 at any   
time prior to the submission of an      
application under subsection 7a71 the   
area subject to review has been         
designated as nonrural by any ,federal  
agency described under subsection 7b7   
using any of the criteria described     
under subsection 7b71 the ,bureau shall 
not be required to consider such        
designation in its evaluation4  7d7     
,public comment period  7#a7 ,in general
 ,not later than #fj days after         
receiving an application submitted under
 subsection 7a71 the ,bureau shall--    
7,a7 publish such application in the    
,federal ,register2 and  7,b7 make such 
application available for public comment
 for not fewer than #ij days4  7#b7     
,limitation on additional applications  
,nothing in this section shall be       
construed to require the ,bureau1 during

 the public comment period with respect 
to an application submitted under       
subsection 7a71 to accept an additional 
application with respect to the area    
that is the subject of the initial      
application4  7e7 ,decision on          
designation ,not later than #ij days    
after the end of the public comment     
period under subsection 7d77#a7 for an  
application1 the ,bureau shall--  7#a7  
grant or deny such application1 in whole
 or in part2 and  7#b7 publish such     
grant or denial in the ,federal         
,register1 along with an explanation of 
what factors the ,bureau relied on in   
making such determination4  7f7         
,subsequent applications ,a decision by 
the ,bureau under subsection 7e7 to deny
 an application for an area to be       
designated as a rural area shall not    
preclude the ,bureau from accepting a   
subsequent application submitted under  
subsection 7a7 for such area to be so   
designated1 so long as such subsequent  
application is made after the end of the

 #ij-;day period beginning on the date  
that the ,bureau denies the application 
under subsection 7e74  7g7 ,sunset ,this
 section shall cease to have any force  
or effect after the end of the #b-year  
period beginning on the date of the     
enactment of this ,act4  #c4 ,operations
 in rural areas ,the ,truth in ,lending 
,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #afja et seq47 is   
amended-- 7#a7 in section               
#abi;,c7b77#b77;,e77iv77,i71 by striking
 predominantly2 and  7#b7 in section    
#abi;,d7c77#a71 by striking             
predominantly4