Executive Order 7130—Prescribing Rules and Regulations Relating to Approved Projects Administered and Supervised by the Rural Electrification Administration Under the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act of 1935

REGULATION NO. 4

By virtue of and pursuant to the authority vested in me by the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act of 1935, approved April 8, 1935 (Public Resolution No. 11, 74th Congress), I hereby prescribe the following rules and regulations:

Section 1. Definitions. (a) The term "project" as used herein shall mean any project which is financed in whole or in part from funds appropriated by the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act of 1935 and which has been approved for inclusion in the program to be administered by the Rural Electrification Administration pursuant to Executive Order No. 7037 of May 11, 1935.

(b) The term "Administrator" as used herein shall mean the Administrator of the Rural Electrification Administration.

(c) The term "borrowing agency" as used herein shall mean any State, Territory, Possession, including any sub-division or agency thereof, municipality, and the District of Columbia, and any private corporation or association to which a loan is made for a project as herein defined.

Section 2. Funds allocated for projects as herein defined shall be available for use by the Rural Electrification Administration:

(a) For loans to private corporations, associations, and cooperative associations existing under and by virtue of the laws of the several States, for financing the construction of such projects.

(b) For loans for projects of States, Territories, Possessions, including subdivisions and agencies thereof, municipalities and the District of Columbia and self liquidating projects of public bodies thereof, where, in the determination of the President, not less than twenty-five per centum of the loan is to be expended for work under each particular project.

Section 3. (a) Wage rates for persons employed on projects (except in executive, administrative, supervisory, and highly skilled positions) shall be subject exclusively to the determination or the approval of the Rural Electrification Administration but in accordance with local wage conditions.

(b) The maximum hours of work for persons employed on projects (except in executive, administrative, supervisory, and highly skilled positions) shall be determined by the Rural Electrification Administration, but shall not be in excess of eight hours per day and forty hours per week, except in special or unusual circumstances when the above limitations are not feasible or practicable.

Section 4. Preference in the employment of workers shall be given to persons from the public relief rolls, and except with the specific authorization of the Rural Electrification Administration at least 90 per cent of all persons working on a work project shall have been taken from the public relief rolls.

Section 5. Only persons certified for assignment to work by the United States Employment Service or persons specifically authorized by the Rural Electrification Administration shall be employed on projects.

Section 6. For the prosecution of each project the Administrator is given exclusive authority to approve and to execute with the borrowing agency a loan contract under the terms of which the borrowing agency agrees to construct or cause to be constructed the project according to specifications determined or approved by the Rural Electrification Administration, and the Administrator agrees to loan a sum or sums not greater than the sum or sums approved for such project. Such loan contract shall authorize the borrowing agency to prosecute the project either (a) on force account or (b) by contract, with or without competitive bids. The term "force account" as used herein shall mean the employment by the borrowing agency of the persons working on the project and the construction of the project by the borrowing agency. The method by which any project shall be prosecuted shall be determined exclusively by the Administrator, and in the event that a given project is to be prosecuted by contract, all contracts entered into by the borrowing agency for the prosecution of the projects or any portion thereof shall be subject exclusively to the approval of the Rural Electrification Administration. The loan contract shall provide for supervision of the project by the Rural Electrification Administration, and shall contain such provisions as the Administrator may determine for effectuating the purposes of the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act of 1935, the applicable provisions of the Executive Orders, Rules and Regulations issued thereunder, and the policies of the Rural Electrification Administration.

Section 7. Any provisions of the Executive Orders and Rules and Regulations heretofore issued under the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act of 1935 that are inconsistent with the several provisions of this Executive Order are hereby modified to the extent that they shall be inapplicable to projects as herein defined, and without limiting the generality of the foregoing, it is hereby specifically prescribed that the following provisions of the Rules and Regulations heretofore issued shall be inapplicable to projects as herein defined: Part I, Part II, and paragraph (c) of Part III of Regulation No. 1 (Executive Order No. 7046 of May 20, 1935); Section 5 of Regulation No. 2 (Executive Order No. 7060 of June 5, 1935); and of Regulation No. 3 (Executive Order No. 7083 of June 24, 1935), Sections 2 to 6 inclusive, Section 8, and those portions of Section 9 which relate to the matters included in Sections 4 and 5 of this Executive Order.

Section 8. The Administrator is hereby authorized to prescribe such rules and regulations and to delegate to agents and representatives such powers as, in his discretion, shall be necessary and proper for the performance of the duties and functions of the Rural Electrification Administration and for effectuating the purposes of this Executive Order and Executive Order No. 7037 of May 11, 1935, establishing the Rural Electrification Administration.

FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT

The White House,
August 7, 1935.