Federal

Housing Is a Human Right Act of 2023

Source: Congress.gov · 13,491 words in original text

What This Bill Does

This bill creates new federal programs and funding to address homelessness and housing instability. It establishes grants for alternatives to penalizing people who are homeless, funds infrastructure projects to meet basic human needs, increases support for emergency housing programs, and ensures people experiencing homelessness can vote. The bill also creates new taxes on luxury property sales and large rental companies to generate revenue for these programs. ##

Who It Affects

- People experiencing homelessness or housing instability - Local governments and nonprofit organizations - States and public defender systems - Libraries (public, school, and law school) - Large landlords who own over 1,000 rental units - Buyers and sellers of luxury properties (over $10 million) - Election officials and voting assistance providers - Federal agencies working on homelessness ##

Key Provisions

- The Attorney General awards grants to create alternatives to penalizing homelessness, including diversion programs and mobile crisis response teams that provide mental health support instead of law enforcement response (Sec. 101, Sec. 103) - The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development establishes a Community Development Block Grant Plus Program that provides up to $6 billion annually for affordable housing, permanent supportive housing, and infrastructure like public bathrooms and water fountains to serve homeless and cost-burdened households (Sec. 201) - The bill authorizes $10 billion annually each for emergency housing solutions and permanent supportive housing programs, plus $1 billion for emergency food and shelter (Sec. 302, Sec. 303, Sec. 304) - A new 5 percent tax applies to real property sales over $10 million, a 10 percent tax on anonymous property transfers, and a 1 percent tax on rental income for large landlords owning over 1,000 units in one area or 2,000 units total (Sec. 601) - The Election Assistance Commission conducts a study on voting barriers for homeless people and awards grants to nonprofits and local governments to help homeless individuals vote (Sec. 401, Sec. 402) ##

What Changes

If this becomes law, local governments receiving federal homelessness funding must stop enforcing laws that criminalize sleeping or eating in public. They must create procedures to protect homeless people's belongings and facilitate voting access. Nonprofits and governments must adopt non-discrimination policies protecting transgender and gender non-binary individuals. Libraries will receive grants to create programs serving homeless populations. The federal government will establish a permanent interagency council on homelessness with at least 10 members who have experienced homelessness. Large landlords and luxury property sellers will owe new federal taxes, with revenue directed to homelessness programs. ##

Important Definitions

- **Homeless**: Lacking a fixed, regular nighttime residence; living in a car, abandoned building, shelter, or place not meant for sleeping; or about to lose housing - **Housing-unstable**: Lacking stable housing due to economic hardship, including living doubled-up with others, in hotels, moving frequently, or having extremely low income - **At risk of homelessness**: Having income below 30 percent of median family income for the area plus lacking support networks, or facing eviction within 21 days - **Housing First**: Quickly connecting homeless people to permanent affordable housing without requiring sobriety, treatment completion, or work requirements first - **Permanent supportive housing**: Housing with indefinite rental assistance and voluntary support services to help people maintain stability - **Penalize homelessness**: A government imposing criminal or civil penalties on homeless people for necessary activities like sleeping, resting, or eating - **Population at higher risk of homelessness**: Groups experiencing higher rates of homelessness, including communities of color, LGBTQ persons, foster youth, people with disabilities, and formerly incarcerated people - **Cost-burdened**: Spending more than 22 percent of income on housing costs or compromising other basic needs to pay for housing ##

Effective Date

Not specified in bill text

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1708 To address root causes of homelessness, meet the needs of community mem- bers experiencing harms from homelessness, transition communities to- wards providing housing for all, end penalization of homelessness, and ensure full democratic participation and inclusion of persons experiencing homelessness, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 22, 2023 Ms. JAYAPAL (for herself, Ms. MENG, Ms. PRESSLEY, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. CHU, Mr. BOWMAN, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. NORTON, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Ms. BUSH, Mr. GARCI´A of Illinois, Mr. TORRES of New York, Ms. TLAIB, Ms. LEE of California, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, Ms. BONAMICI, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, and Ms. CLARKE of New York) in- troduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Fi- nancial Services, and in addition to the Committees on House Adminis- tration, the Judiciary, Education and the Workforce, and Ways and Means, 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 address root causes of homelessness, meet the needs of community members experiencing harms from home- lessness, transition communities towards providing hous- ing for all, end penalization of homelessness, and ensure full democratic participation and inclusion of persons experiencing homelessness, and for other purposes. VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:15 Apr 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H1708.IH H1708 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HR 1708 IH Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Housing Is a Human Right Act of 2023’’. 5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 6 this Act is as follows: 7 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Definitions. TITLE I—SUPPORTED ALTERNATIVES TO PENALIZATION OF PERSONS EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS Sec. 101. Grant authorization. Sec. 102. Application. Sec. 103. Use of funds. Sec. 104. Authorization of appropriations. TITLE II—INVESTING IN INFRASTRUCTURE TO ADDRESS BASIC HUMAN NEEDS Sec. 201. CDBG Plus program. Sec. 202. Library pilot grants. Sec. 203. Use of unutilized and underutilized public buildings and real property to assist the homeless. TITLE III—INVESTING IN COMMUNITY STABILITY AND WELL- BEING Sec. 301. Treatment of revenue generated. Sec. 302. Emergency solutions grant program. Sec. 303. Continuum of care grant program. Sec. 304. Federal Emergency Management Agency emergency food and shelter grant program. Sec. 305. Requirements. Sec. 306. GAO study of requirements regarding participation and involvement of homeless individuals. TITLE IV—ACCESS TO VOTING Sec. 401. Study of factors adversely affecting ability of homeless and housing- unstable individuals to vote. Sec. 402. Grants to facilitate voting by homeless and housing-unstable individ- uals. TITLE V—UNITED STATES INTERAGENCY COUNCIL ON HOMELESSNESS Sec. 501. Permanent authorization. VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:15 Apr 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H1708.IH H1708 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HR 1708 IH Sec. 502. Functions. Sec. 503. Advisory board. Sec. 504. Director. Sec. 505. Conforming amendment. TITLE VI—REVENUE RELATED TO HOUSING SPECULATION AND DISPLACEMENT Sec. 601. Amendments to the tax code. SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 1 For purposes of this Act, the following definitions 2 shall apply: 3 (1) AT RISK OF HOMELESSNESS.—The term 4 ‘‘at risk of homelessness’’ means, with respect to an 5 individual or family, that the individual or family— 6 (A) has an annual income that is less than 7 30 percent of median family income for the 8 area, as determined by the Secretary; 9 (B) does not have sufficient resources or 10 support networks, including family, friends, 11 faith-based organizations, and other social net- 12 works, immediately available to prevent the in- 13 dividual or family from moving to an emergency 14 shelter or other place described in paragraph 15 (3)(A) of this subsection; and 16 (C)(i) has moved because of economic 17 hardship two or more times during the 60 days 18 immediately preceding the application for home- 19 lessness prevention assistance under this Act; 20 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:15 Apr 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1708.IH H1708 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HR 1708 IH (ii) is living in the home of another be- 1 cause of economic hardship; 2 (iii) has been notified in writing that their 3 right to occupy their current housing or living 4 situation will be terminated within 21 days of 5 the date of application for assistance under this 6 Act; 7 (iv) lives in a hotel or motel and the cost 8 of the hotel or motel stay is not paid by chari- 9 table organizations or by Federal, State, or 10 local government programs for low-income indi- 11 viduals; 12 (v) lives in a single-room occupancy or effi- 13 ciency apartment unit in which there reside 14 more than two persons, or lives in a larger 15 housing unit in which there reside more than 16 1.5 people per room, as defined by the United 17 States Census Bureau; 18 (vi) is exiting a publicly funded institution, 19 or system of care, including health-care facili- 20 ties, mental health facilities, foster care and 21 other youth facilities, and correction programs 22 and institutions; or 23 (vii) otherwise lives in housing that has 24 characteristics associated with instability and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:15 Apr 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1708.IH H1708 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •HR 1708 IH an increased risk of homelessness, including 1 those characteristics identified in the approved 2 consolidated plan for the applicable jurisdiction. 3 (2) COST-BURDENED.—The term ‘‘cost-bur- 4 dened’’ means, with respect to an individual or fam- 5 ily, that the individual or family— 6 (A) spends more than 22 percent of their 7 income on rent, or other housing-related costs, 8 including property taxes, utility bills, and mort- 9 gage payments, or both; or 10 (B) otherwise compromises other basic 11 needs in order to pay for housing. 12 (3) GOVERNMENTAL UNIT; MUNICIPALITY.— 13 The terms ‘‘governmental unit’’ and ‘‘municipality’’ 14 have the meanings given such terms in section 101 15 of title 31, United States Code. 16 (4) HOMELESS.—The term ‘‘homeless’’ means, 17 with respect to an individual or family— 18 (A) an individual or family who lacks a 19 fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime resi- 20 dence; 21 (B) an individual or family with a primary 22 nighttime residence that is a public or private 23 place not designed for or ordinarily used as a 24 regular sleeping accommodation for human 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:15 Apr 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1708.IH H1708 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •HR 1708 IH beings, including a car, park, abandoned build- 1 ing, bus or train station, airport, or camping 2 ground; 3 (C) an individual or family living in a su- 4 pervised publicly or privately operated shelter 5 designated to provide temporary living arrange- 6 ments (including hotels and motels paid for by 7 Federal, State, or local government programs 8 for low-income individuals or by charitable or- 9 ganizations, congregate shelters, and transi- 10 tional housing); 11 (D) an individual who resided in a shelter 12 or place not meant for human habitation and 13 who is exiting an institution where he or she 14 temporarily resided; and 15 (E) an individual or family who will immi- 16 nently lose their housing, including housing 17 they own, rent, or live in without paying rent, 18 are sharing with others, and rooms in hotels or 19 motels not paid for by Federal, State, or local 20 government programs for low-income individ- 21 uals or by charitable organizations. 22 (5) HOUSING FIRST.—The term ‘‘Housing 23 First’’ means, with respect to addressing homeless- 24 ness, an approach to quickly and successfully con- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:15 Apr 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1708.IH H1708 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •HR 1708 IH nect individuals and families experiencing homeless- 1 ness to permanent and affordable housing opportuni- 2 ties and appropriate services without preconditions 3 and low or no barriers to entry, including barriers 4 relating to sobriety, treatment, work requirements, 5 and service participation requirements. 6 (6) HOUSING-UNSTABLE.— 7 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘housing-un- 8 stable’’ means, with respect to an individual or 9 family that the individual or family— 10 (i) lacks a fixed, regular, and ade- 11 quate nighttime residence; 12 (ii) shares housing with other persons 13 due to loss of housing or economic hard- 14 ship; 15 (iii) lives in hotels or motels, trailer 16 parks, or campgrounds due to lack of al- 17 ternative arrangements; 18 (iv) is awaiting foster care placement; 19 (v) lives in substandard housing; 20 (vi) is a child of migrant worker; 21 (vii) has moved more than three times 22 in the past year due to economic insta- 23 bility; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:15 Apr 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1708.IH H1708 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 •HR 1708 IH (viii) would be unable to pay for hous- 1 ing if their income decreased by $100 or 2 more or if they experienced a financial 3 hardship; 4 (ix) is paying for housing or shelter 5 with labor or sex; 6 (x) has housing that is dependent on 7 their employer; 8 (xi) is exiting from incarceration (in- 9 cluding pre-trial and pre-conviction deten- 10 tion; immigration detention; and juvenile 11 detention) or who will be exiting from in- 12 carceration (including conditional release 13 on bail or parole) in the next six months, 14 or, with respect to youth, who is or has 15 been held in the custody of the Office of 16 Refugee Resettlement of the Department 17 of Health and Human Services; 18 (xii) has an income that does not ex- 19 ceed 50 percent of median income for the 20 area in which they reside; 21 (xiii) has a primary income that is 22 fixed and derived solely from Federal or 23 State benefits; or 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:15 Apr 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1708.IH H1708 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 9 •HR 1708 IH (xiv) is a survivor of domestic violence 1 or trafficking residing with a perpetrator 2 of domestic violence or trafficking. 3 (B) INCLUDED POPULATIONS.—Such term 4 includes an individual or family who is— 5 (i) at risk of homelessness, as such 6 term in defined in this subsection; 7 (ii) not consistently or safely housed, 8 including individuals and families at immi- 9 nent risk of eviction, who are couch-hop- 10 ping, have had to move into the dwelling 11 unit of another individual or family; or 12 (iii) homeless in a rural area. 13 (7) JUSTICE SYSTEM-INVOLVED.—The term 14 ‘‘justice system-involved’’ includes persons who are 15 or have been incarcerated or held in municipal, 16 State, or Federal jails, prisons, juvenile facilities, or 17 other types of detention facilities, who have been 18 held in pre-trial or post-conviction detention, who 19 have an arrest or conviction regardless of whether 20 they were detained or incarcerated, who have been 21 held in immigration detention, or, with respect to 22 youth, who are or have been held in the custody of 23 the Office of Refugee Resettlement of the Depart- 24 ment of Health and Human Services. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:15 Apr 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1708.IH H1708 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 10 •HR 1708 IH (8) PENALIZE HOMELESSNESS.—The term ‘‘pe- 1 nalize homelessness’’ means to impose, by a govern- 2 mental unit, criminal or civil penalties on persons 3 who are homeless or housing unstable in a manner 4 that is related to those persons’ engagement in nec- 5 essary human activities, including sleeping, resting, 6 and eating. 7 (9) PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING.—The 8 term ‘‘permanent supportive housing’’ means hous- 9 ing that provides— 10 (A) indefinite leasing or rental assistance; 11 and 12 (B) non-mandatory, culturally competent 13 supportive services to assist persons to achieve 14 housing stability and maintain their health and 15 well-being. 16 (10) POPULATION AT HIGHER RISK OF HOME- 17 LESSNESS.— 18 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘population 19 at higher risk of homelessness’’ means a group 20 of persons that is defined by a common char- 21 acteristic and that has been found to experience 22 homelessness, housing instability, or to be cost- 23 burdened at a rate higher than that of the gen- 24 eral public. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:15 Apr 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1708.IH H1708 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 11 •HR 1708 IH (B) HIGHER RATE.—Information that may 1 be used in demonstrating such a higher rate in- 2 cludes data generated by the Federal Govern- 3 ment, by State or municipal governments, by 4 peer-reviewed research, and by organizations 5 having expertise in working with or advocating 6 on behalf of homeless, housing unstable, or 7 cost-burdened groups. 8 (C) INCLUDED POPULATIONS.—Such term 9 shall include populations for which such higher 10 rate has already been demonstrated, including 11 Asian, Black, Latino, Native American, Native 12 Hawaiian, Pacific Islander and other commu- 13 nities of color; persons with disabilities, includ- 14 ing mental health disabilities, elderly persons, 15 foster and former foster youth; LGBTQ per- 16 sons, gender non-binary and gender non-con- 17 forming persons, justice system-involved per- 18 sons, and veterans. 19 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:15 Apr 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1708.IH H1708 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 12 •HR 1708 IH TITLE I—SUPPORTED ALTER- 1 NATIVES TO PENALIZATION 2 OF PERSONS EXPERIENCING 3 HOMELESSNESS 4 SEC. 101. GRANT AUTHORIZATION. 5 The Attorney General is authorized to make grants 6 to States, units of local government, public and commu- 7 nity defender systems, and nonprofit organizations to cre- 8 ate or expand alternatives to penalizing homelessness. 9 SEC. 102. APPLICATION. 10 (a) IN GENERAL.—An entity seeking a grant under 11 this title shall submit to the Attorney General an applica- 12 tion at such time, in such manner, and containing such 13 information as the Attorney General may reasonably re- 14 quire, [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]

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