II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2291 To require all newly constructed, federally assisted, single-family houses and town houses to meet minimum standards of visitability for persons with disabilities. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JULY 25, 2019 Ms. DUCKWORTH introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs A BILL To require all newly constructed, federally assisted, single- family houses and town houses to meet minimum stand- ards of visitability for persons with disabilities. 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 ‘‘Eleanor Smith Inclu- 4 sive Home Design Act of 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 As used in this Act: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 Aug 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2291.IS S2291 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 2291 IS (1) COVERED DWELLING UNIT.—The term 1 ‘‘covered dwelling unit’’ means a dwelling unit 2 that— 3 (A) is— 4 (i) a detached single-family house; 5 (ii) a townhouse or multi-level dwell- 6 ing unit (whether detached or attached to 7 other units or structures); or 8 (iii) a ground-floor unit in a building 9 of not more than 3 dwelling units; 10 (B) is designed as, or intended for occu- 11 pancy as, a residence; 12 (C) was designed, constructed, or commis- 13 sioned, contracted, or otherwise arranged for 14 construction, by any person or entity that, at 15 any time before the design or construction, re- 16 ceived or was guaranteed Federal financial as- 17 sistance for any program or activity relating to 18 the design, construction, or commissioning, con- 19 tracting, or other arrangement for construction, 20 of the dwelling unit; and 21 (D) is made available for first occupancy 22 on or after the date that is 1 year after the 23 date of enactment of this Act. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 Aug 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2291.IS S2291 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 2291 IS (2) FEDERAL FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.—The 1 term ‘‘Federal financial assistance’’ means— 2 (A) any assistance that is provided or oth- 3 erwise made available by the Secretary of Hous- 4 ing and Urban Development or the Secretary of 5 Veterans Affairs, or under any program or ac- 6 tivity of the Department of Housing and Urban 7 Development or the Department of Veterans 8 Affairs, through any grant, loan, contract, or 9 any other arrangement, on or after the date 10 that is 1 year after the date of enactment of 11 this Act, including— 12 (i) a grant, a subsidy, or any other 13 funds; 14 (ii) service provided by a Federal em- 15 ployee; 16 (iii) real or personal property or any 17 interest in or use of such property, includ- 18 ing— 19 (I) a transfer or lease of the 20 property for less than the fair market 21 value or for reduced consideration; 22 and 23 (II) proceeds from a subsequent 24 transfer or lease of the property if the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 Aug 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2291.IS S2291 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 2291 IS Federal share of the fair market value 1 is not returned to the Federal Govern- 2 ment; 3 (iv) any— 4 (I) tax credit; or 5 (II) mortgage or loan guarantee 6 or insurance; and 7 (v) community development funds in 8 the form of an obligation guaranteed under 9 section 108 of the Housing and Commu- 10 nity Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 11 5308); and 12 (B) any assistance that is provided or oth- 13 erwise made available by the Secretary of Agri- 14 culture under title V of the Housing Act of 15 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1471 et seq.). 16 (3) PERSON OR ENTITY.—The term ‘‘person or 17 entity’’ includes an individual, corporation (including 18 a not-for-profit corporation), partnership, associa- 19 tion, labor organization, legal representative, mutual 20 corporation, joint-stock company, trust, unincor- 21 porated association, trustee, trustee in a case under 22 title 11, United States Code, receiver, or fiduciary. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 Aug 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2291.IS S2291 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 2291 IS SEC. 3. VISITABILITY REQUIREMENT. 1 It shall be unlawful for any person or entity, with 2 respect to a covered dwelling unit designed, constructed, 3 or commissioned, contracted, or otherwise arranged for 4 construction, by the person or entity, to fail to ensure that 5 the dwelling unit contains not less than 1 level that com- 6 plies with the Standards for Type C (Visitable) Units of 7 the American National Standards Institute (commonly 8 known as ‘‘ANSI’’) Standards for Accessible and Usable 9 Buildings and Facilities (section 1005 of ICC ANSI 10 A117.1–2009) or any successor standard. 11 SEC. 4. ENFORCEMENT. 12 (a) REQUIREMENT FOR FEDERAL FINANCIAL AS- 13 SISTANCE.—An applicant for Federal financial assistance 14 shall submit an assurance to the Federal agency respon- 15 sible for the assistance that each program or activity of 16 the applicant will be conducted in compliance with this 17 Act. 18 (b) APPROVAL OF ARCHITECTURAL, INTERIOR DE- 19 SIGN, AND CONSTRUCTION PLANS.— 20 (1) SUBMISSION.— 21 (A) IN GENERAL.—An applicant for or re- 22 cipient of Federal financial assistance for the 23 design, construction, or commissioning, con- 24 tracting, or other arrangement for construction, 25 of a covered dwelling unit shall submit for ap- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 Aug 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2291.IS S2291 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 2291 IS proval the architectural, interior design, and 1 construction plans for the unit to the State or 2 local department or agency that is responsible, 3 under applicable State or local law, for the re- 4 view and approval of construction and design 5 plans for compliance with generally applicable 6 building codes or requirements (in this sub- 7 section referred to as the ‘‘appropriate State or 8 local agency’’). 9 (B) NOTICE INCLUDED.—In submitting 10 plans under subparagraph (A), a person or enti- 11 ty shall include notice that the person or entity 12 has applied for or received Federal financial as- 13 sistance, as defined in this Act, with respect to 14 the covered dwelling unit. 15 (2) DETERMINATION OF COMPLIANCE.— 16 (A) CONDITION OF FEDERAL HOUSING AS- 17 SISTANCE.—The Secretary of Housing and 18 Urban Development, the Secretary of Agri- 19 culture, and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 20 may not provide any Federal financial assist- 21 ance under any program administered by the 22 Secretary involved to a State or unit of general 23 local government (or any agency thereof) unless 24 the appropriate State or local agency thereof is, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 Aug 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2291.IS S2291 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •S 2291 IS in the determination of the Secretary involved, 1 taking the enforcement actions under subpara- 2 graph (B). 3 (B) ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS.—The en- 4 forcement actions under this subparagraph 5 are— 6 (i) reviewing any plans for a covered 7 dwelling unit submitted under paragraph 8 (1) and approving or disapproving the 9 plans based on compliance of the dwelling 10 unit with the requirements of this Act; and 11 (ii) consistent with applicable State or 12 local laws and procedures, withholding 13 final approval of construction or occupancy 14 of a covered dwelling unit unless and until 15 the appropriate State or local agency de- 16 termines compliance as described in clause 17 (i). 18 (c) CIVIL ACTION FOR PRIVATE PERSONS.— 19 (1) ACTION.—Not later than 2 years after the 20 occurrence or termination, whichever is later, of an 21 act or omission with respect to a covered dwelling 22 unit in violation of this Act, a person aggrieved by 23 the act or omission may bring a civil action in an 24 appropriate district court of the United States or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 Aug 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2291.IS S2291 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •S 2291 IS State court against any person or entity responsible 1 for any part of the design or construction of the cov- 2 ered dwelling unit, subject to paragraph (2). 3 (2) LIABILITY OF STATE OR LOCAL AGENCY.— 4 In a civil action brought under paragraph (1) for a 5 violation involving architectural or construction 6 plans for a covered dwelling unit that were approved 7 by the appropriate State or local agency— 8 (A) if the approved plans violate this Act 9 and any construction on the dwelling unit that 10 violates this Act was performed in accordance 11 with the approved plans, the State or local 12 agency shall be liable for that construction; and 13 (B) if the approved plans comply with this 14 Act and any construction on the dwelling unit 15 violates this Act, the person or entity respon- 16 sible for the construction shall be liable for that 17 construction. 18 (d) ENFORCEMENT BY ATTORNEY GENERAL.— 19 (1) CIVIL ACTION.—If the Attorney General has 20 reasonable cause to believe that a person or group 21 of persons has violated this Act, the Attorney Gen- 22 eral may bring a civil action in an appropriate dis- 23 trict court of the United States. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 Aug 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2291.IS S2291 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •S 2291 IS (2) INTERVENTION IN PRIVATE ACTION.—The 1 Attorney General may, upon timely application, in- 2 tervene in any civil action brought under subsection 3 (c) by a private person if the Attorney General cer- 4 tifies that the case is of general public importance. 5 (e) RELIEF.—In any civil action brought under this 6 section, if the court finds that a violation of this Act has 7 occurred or is about to occur, the court— 8 (1) may award to the plaintiff actual and puni- 9 tive damages; and 10 (2) subject to subsection (g), may grant as re- 11 lief, as the court finds appropriate, any permanent 12 or temporary injunction, temporary restraining 13 order, or other order (including an order enjoining 14 the defendant from violating the Act or ordering 15 such affirmative action as may be appropriate). 16 (f) VIOLATIONS.—For purposes of this section, a vio- 17 lation involving a covered dwelling unit that is not de- 18 signed or constructed in accordance with this Act shall not 19 be considered to terminate until the violation is corrected. 20 (g) ATTORNEY’S FEES.—In any civil action brought 21 under this section, the court, in its discretion, may allow 22 the prevailing party, other than the United States, a rea- 23 sonable attorney’s fee and costs. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 Aug 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2291.IS S2291 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •S 2291 IS (h) EFFECT ON CERTAIN SALES, ENCUMBRANCES, 1 AND RENTALS.—Relief granted under this section shall 2 not affect any contract, sale, encumbrance, or lease con- 3 summated before the granting of the relief and involving 4 a bona fide purchaser, encumbrancer, or tenant, without 5 actual notice of a civil action under this section. 6 SEC. 5. EFFECT ON STATE LAWS. 7 Nothing in this Act shall be constructed to invalidate 8 or limit any law of a State or political subdivision of a 9 State, or of any other jurisdiction in which this Act shall 10 be effective, that grants, guarantees, or provides the same 11 rights, protections, and requirements as are provided by 12 this Act, but any law of a State, a political subdivision 13 thereof, or other such jurisdiction that purports to require 14 or permit any action that would violate this Act shall to 15 that extent be invalid. 16 SEC. 6. DISCLAIMER OF PREEMPTIVE EFFECT ON OTHER 17 ACTS. 18 Nothing in this Act shall limit any right, procedure, 19 or remedy available under the Constitution of the United 20 States or any other Act of Congress. 21 SEC. 7. SEVERABILITY OF PROVISIONS. 22 If any provision of this Act or the application thereof 23 to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remain- 24 ing provisions of this Act and the application of those pro- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 Aug 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2291.IS S2291 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •S 2291 IS visions to other persons or circumstances shall not be af- 1 fected thereby. 2 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 Aug 02, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S2291.IS S2291 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS