Housing Supply and Affordability Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2126 To authorize a grant program for the development and implementation of housing supply and affordability plans, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 23, 2021 Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER (for herself, Ms. HERRERA BEUTLER, and Mrs. BEATTY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on the Budget, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdic- tion of the committee concerned A BILL To authorize a grant program for the development and imple- mentation of housing supply and affordability plans, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Housing Supply and 4 Affordability Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. LOCAL HOUSING POLICY GRANT PILOT PROGRAM. 6 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:48 May 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2126.IH H2126 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2126 IH (1) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 1 means the Department of Housing and Urban De- 2 velopment. 3 (2) COST-BURDENED HOUSEHOLD.—The term 4 ‘‘cost-burdened household’’ means a household that 5 spends not less than 30 percent of the income of the 6 household on housing. 7 (3) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti- 8 ty’’ means a State, a political subdivision of a State, 9 a coalition of States or political subdivisions of 10 States, an Indian Tribe, or a Native Hawaiian orga- 11 nization that— 12 (A) demonstrates, with respect to the area 13 under the jurisdiction of the State, political 14 subdivision, coalition, Indian Tribe, or organiza- 15 tion— 16 (i) rising housing costs or a reason- 17 able expectation that housing costs will rise 18 in the area; and 19 (ii) a housing supply shortage; 20 (B) if applying for a planning grant— 21 (i) intends to develop, or is in the 22 process of developing, a housing policy 23 plan; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:48 May 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2126.IH H2126 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2126 IH (ii) demonstrates an intent to use a 1 portion of the planning grant to engage 2 with community stakeholders and housing 3 practitioners in developing a housing policy 4 plan; and 5 (C) if applying for an implementation 6 grant— 7 (i) has adopted and plans to imple- 8 ment, or is in the process of implementing, 9 a housing policy plan; and 10 (ii) demonstrates the engagement of 11 community stakeholders and housing prac- 12 titioners in developing the housing policy 13 plan. 14 (4) HOUSING POLICY PLAN.—The term ‘‘hous- 15 ing policy plan’’ means a comprehensive plan of an 16 eligible entity to, with respect to the area under the 17 jurisdiction of the eligible entity— 18 (A) increase the housing supply in the 19 area, while avoiding the displacement of the 20 residents of the area; 21 (B) increase the affordability of housing in 22 the area; and 23 (C) reduce barriers to housing development 24 in the area. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:48 May 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2126.IH H2126 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2126 IH (5) IMPLEMENTATION GRANT.—The term ‘‘im- 1 plementation grant’’ means a grant awarded under 2 subsection (c). 3 (6) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 4 has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the 5 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 6 Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 7 (7) NATIVE HAWAIIAN ORGANIZATION.—The 8 term ‘‘Native Hawaiian organization’’ has the mean- 9 ing given the term in section 2 of the Native Amer- 10 ican Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (25 11 U.S.C. 3001). 12 (8) PLANNING GRANT.—The term ‘‘planning 13 grant’’ means a grant awarded under subsection (b). 14 (9) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 15 the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, 16 acting through the Assistant Secretary for Commu- 17 nity Planning and Development, in coordination 18 with— 19 (A) the Office of Economic Resilience of 20 the Office of Community Planning and Develop- 21 ment of the Department; 22 (B) the Office of Policy Development and 23 Research of the Department; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:48 May 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2126.IH H2126 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2126 IH (C) the Office of Fair Housing and Equal 1 Opportunity of the Department; 2 (D) the Office of Housing of the Depart- 3 ment; and 4 (E) the Office of Public and Indian Hous- 5 ing of the Department. 6 (10) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means any 7 State of the United States, the District of Columbia, 8 the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Is- 9 lands, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth 10 of the Northern Mariana Islands, and any possession 11 of the United States. 12 (b) PLANNING GRANTS.—The Secretary may award 13 grants on a competitive basis to eligible entities for the 14 purpose of developing and evaluating housing policy plans. 15 (c) IMPLEMENTATION GRANTS.—The Secretary may 16 award grants on a competitive basis to eligible entities for 17 the purpose of implementing housing policy plans. 18 (d) RURAL AREA MINIMUM.—The Secretary shall 19 award not less than 10 percent of the funds awarded to 20 eligible entities under this section to eligible entities lo- 21 cated in rural areas. 22 (e) APPLICATIONS.— 23 (1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity desiring a 24 grant under this section shall submit to the Sec- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:48 May 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2126.IH H2126 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2126 IH retary an application at such time, in such manner, 1 and containing such information as the Secretary 2 may require. 3 (2) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this 4 section, the Secretary shall give priority to an eligi- 5 ble entity that— 6 (A) has or is likely to develop a housing 7 policy plan that will— 8 (i) improve housing supply, afford- 9 ability, and accessibility for all individuals 10 of every race and income level; 11 (ii) reduce barriers to affordable hous- 12 ing development; and 13 (iii) avoid the displacement of resi- 14 dents by new housing developments in the 15 area under the jurisdiction of the eligible 16 entity; 17 (B) in developing or implementing a hous- 18 ing policy plan, intends to leverage and effi- 19 ciently use funds from— 20 (i) another Federal, State, or local as- 21 sistance program relating to housing; or 22 (ii) a private funding source; 23 (C) intends to— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:48 May 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2126.IH H2126 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 2126 IH (i) increase the supply and afford- 1 ability of housing that is located— 2 (I) near local transit options; and 3 (II) in areas in which a signifi- 4 cant or expanding supply of jobs or 5 demand for employment is con- 6 centrated; 7 (ii) coordinate with local transpor- 8 tation and workforce agencies in accom- 9 plishing the increase described in clause 10 (i); and 11 (iii) where appropriate, coordinate pol- 12 icy development for, and analysis and im- 13 plementation of, the housing policy plan of 14 the eligible entity at a regional scale to 15 achieve a more equitable distribution of af- 16 fordable housing across jurisdictional 17 boundaries; or 18 (D) is a coalition of States or political sub- 19 divisions of States. 20 (3) SCORING.—The Secretary shall base the de- 21 gree of priority given to an eligible entity that satis- 22 fies 1 or more subparagraphs under paragraph (2) 23 on a scoring system established by the Secretary. 24 (f) HOUSING POLICY PLAN GUIDANCE.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:48 May 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2126.IH H2126 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 2126 IH (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall issue 1 guidance that includes recommended policies, strate- 2 gies, and reforms for eligible entities to adopt in 3 housing policy plans to— 4 (A) improve the elasticity of housing sup- 5 ply; 6 (B) expand the supply and affordability of 7 housing; 8 (C) reduce barriers to housing develop- 9 ment; and 10 (D) meaningfully reduce housing segrega- 11 tion by income and race. 12 (2) POLICIES.—The guidance issued under 13 paragraph (1) shall include recommendations for 14 policies, strategies, and reforms to— 15 (A) encourage and support the repurposing 16 of land or structures for housing development; 17 (B) allow for a greater variety of housing 18 types; 19 (C) revise land use policies to allow for the 20 development of more housing; 21 (D) streamline approval processes for 22 housing development; 23 (E) provide financial incentives to support 24 affordable housing development; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:48 May 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2126.IH H2126 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 2126 IH (F) support inclusive engagement with 1 community members relating to reforms to ex- 2 pand housing supply. 3 (3) AREAS.—The guidance issued under para- 4 graph (1) shall include recommendations for policies, 5 strategies, and reforms for urban, suburban, and 6 rural areas. 7 (g) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.— 8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (3), an 9 eligible entity that receives a grant under this sec- 10 tion shall provide non-Federal contributions in an 11 amount equal to the amount of the grant. 12 (2) ELIGIBLE MATCHING FUNDS.—If an eligible 13 entity uses funds from another Federal assistance 14 program relating to housing in developing or imple- 15 menting a housing policy plan for which the eligible 16 entity also receives a grant under this section, any 17 non-Federal contribution made by the eligible entity 18 as part of that Federal assistance program shall be 19 counted towards the requirement under paragraph 20 (1). 21 (3) REDUCED MATCHING REQUIREMENT.— 22 Based on the available resources of an eligible enti- 23 ty, the Secretary may reduce the amount of non- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:48 May 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2126.IH H2126 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 2126 IH Federal contributions required to be provided by the 1 eligible entity under paragraph (1). 2 (h) USE OF FUNDS.— 3 (1) PLANNING GRANTS.—An eligible entity re- 4 ceiving a planning grant shall use funds from the 5 planning grant to finance activities to help develop 6 and evaluate a housing policy plan for the area 7 under the jurisdiction of the eligible entity, includ- 8 ing— 9 (A) quantifying existing and projected 10 housing needs for households of every income 11 level, including extremely low-income families, 12 as defined in section 3(b) of the United States 13 Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a(b)); 14 (B) documenting the characteristics of— 15 (i) the housing in the area; 16 (ii) the households of the area, includ- 17 ing cost-burdened households; and 18 (iii) housing underproduction in the 19 area; 20 (C) developing strategies to increase the 21 housing supply and the variety of housing types 22 in the area to satisfy the housing needs of the 23 population of the area; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:48 May 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2126.IH H2126 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 2126 IH (D) analyzing population and employment 1 trends in the area and documenting projections 2 of those trends; 3 (E) considering strategies to minimize dis- 4 placement of low-income families, as defined in 5 section 3(b) of the United States Housing Act 6 of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a(b)), as a result of re- 7 development in the area; 8 (F) providing for participation and input 9 from community members, community groups, 10 local builders, local realtors, nonprofit housing 11 advocates, and local religious groups; and 12 (G) creating a schedule of programs and 13 actions to implement the recommendations of 14 the housing policy plan, including a plan for 15 adopting actions through a local implementing 16 ordinance or another regulatory process, such 17 as a land use plan or a comprehensive plan. 18 (2) IMPLEMENTATION AND PLANNING 19 GRANTS.—An eligible entity receiving a grant under 20 this section shall use a portion of the funds from the 21 grant to submit the report required under subsection 22 (j)(1). 23 (i) LEARNING NETWORK.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:48 May 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2126.IH H2126 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 2126 IH (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 1 the date on which the Secretary awards the first 2 planning grant or implementation grant under this 3 section, the Secretary shall establish a learning net- 4 work to— 5 (A) facilitate problem-solving relating to 6 the development and implementation of housing 7 policy plans; and 8 (B) disseminate best practices and effec- 9 tive strategies and policies to improve local 10 housing supply and affordability. 11 (2) ACCESSIBILITY.—The learning network es- 12 tablished under paragraph (1) shall be accessible 13 to— 14 (A) eligible entities that receive a grant 15 under this section; and 16 (B) eligible entities that submit an applica- 17 tion under subsection (e). 18 (j) REPORTS AND STUDY.— 19 (1) GRANT RECIPIENT REPORTS.—Not later 20 than 180 days after the date on which an eligible en- 21 tity receives a grant under this section, and not less 22 frequently than quarterly thereafter for a 3-year pe- 23 riod, the eligible entity shall submit to the Secretary 24 a report that includes— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:48 May 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2126.IH H2126 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 2126 IH (A) a description of the expenditures the 1 eligible entity has made with funds from the 2 grant; 3 (B) for an eligible entity receiving a plan- 4 ning grant, a summary of the progress of the 5 eligibility entity towards finalizing a housing 6 policy plan; and 7 (C) for an eligible entity receiving an im- 8 plementation grant, data relating to the success 9 of the implementation of the housing policy 10 plan of the eligible entity. 11 (2) SECRETARY STUDY AND REPORT.— 12 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 5 years 13 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec- 14 retary shall conduct a study on— 15 (i) the impact of implementation 16 grants and planning grants on [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]