ACHA Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 3088 To provide assistance to public housing agencies that have failing properties in their inventories in order to protect the health and safety of public housing residents, to allow consortia to enter into single annual contribu- tions contracts, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES DECEMBER 18, 2019 Ms. DUCKWORTH (for herself, Mr. DURBIN, and Mr. BOOKER) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs A BILL To provide assistance to public housing agencies that have failing properties in their inventories in order to protect the health and safety of public housing residents, to allow consortia to enter into single annual contributions contracts, 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 ‘‘Averting Crises in 4 Housing Assistance Act’’ or the ‘‘ACHA Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:14 Dec 24, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3088.IS S3088 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 3088 IS SEC. 2. OVERSIGHT OF FAILING PROPERTIES. 1 Section 6 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 2 (42 U.S.C. 1437d) is amended by adding at the end the 3 following: 4 ‘‘(u) OVERSIGHT OF FAILING PROPERTIES.— 5 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 6 ‘‘(A) APPLICABLE PUBLIC HOUSING AGEN- 7 CY.—The term ‘applicable public housing agen- 8 cy’ means a public housing agency that has a 9 public housing inventory that includes a failing 10 property. 11 ‘‘(B) EARLY INTERVENTION MECHA- 12 NISM.—The term ‘early intervention mecha- 13 nism’ means the early intervention mechanism 14 developed by the Secretary under paragraph 15 (2)(A). 16 ‘‘(C) FAILING PROPERTY.—The term ‘fail- 17 ing property’ means any facility— 18 ‘‘(i) with a uniform physical condition 19 score that is less than 60; 20 ‘‘(ii) that has a failure that would dis- 21 qualify the facility under the physical con- 22 dition standards described in section 5.703 23 of title 24, Code of Federal Regulations, or 24 any successor regulation; or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:14 Dec 24, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3088.IS S3088 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 3088 IS ‘‘(iii) for which not less than 25 per- 1 cent of the residents of the facility or a 2 resident advisory board established under 3 section 5A(e) has submitted to Secretary a 4 complaint described paragraph (2)(D). 5 ‘‘(D) GOOD CONDITION.—The term ‘good 6 condition’, with respect to a property in the 7 public housing inventory of a public housing 8 agency, means a condition that does not have 9 any of the criteria described in clause (i), (ii), 10 or (iii) of subparagraph (C). 11 ‘‘(E) PERFORMANCE INDICATORS.—The 12 term ‘performance indicators’ means the indica- 13 tors described in subsection (j)(1). 14 ‘‘(2) ESTABLISHMENT OF EARLY INTERVEN- 15 TION MECHANISM.— 16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 17 days after the date of enactment of this sub- 18 section, the Secretary shall establish an early 19 intervention mechanism under which the Sec- 20 retary shall— 21 ‘‘(i) identify properties in the public 22 housing inventory of public housing agen- 23 cies that are not in good condition; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:14 Dec 24, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3088.IS S3088 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 3088 IS ‘‘(ii) partner with public housing 1 agencies to which properties identified 2 under clause (i) belong to assist those pub- 3 lic housing agencies in— 4 ‘‘(I) preserving to the greatest 5 extent possible, the public housing 6 stock of each public housing agency as 7 public housing; and 8 ‘‘(II) rehabilitating the public 9 housing stock of each public housing 10 agency in a manner that qualifies the 11 public housing agency, with respect to 12 each property described in clause (i), 13 as meeting a satisfactory standard of 14 performance under the performance 15 indicators. 16 ‘‘(B) IDENTIFICATION OF FAILING PROP- 17 ERTIES.— 18 ‘‘(i) IDENTIFICATION.—Not later than 19 60 days after the date on which the Sec- 20 retary establishes the early intervention 21 mechanism, and every year thereafter, the 22 Secretary shall, under the early interven- 23 tion mechanism— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:14 Dec 24, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3088.IS S3088 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 3088 IS ‘‘(I) identify each property of 1 each public housing agency that is not 2 in good condition; and 3 ‘‘(II) designate each property 4 identified under subclause (I) as a 5 failing property. 6 ‘‘(ii) APPEAL AND PETITION.—Not 7 later than 60 days after the date on which 8 the Secretary establishes the early inter- 9 vention mechanism, the Secretary shall es- 10 tablish procedures for an applicable public 11 housing agency to— 12 ‘‘(I) appeal a designation made 13 under clause (i)(II); 14 ‘‘(II) petition for removal of a 15 designation made under clause (i)(II); 16 and 17 ‘‘(III) appeal any refusal to re- 18 move a designation made under clause 19 (i)(II). 20 ‘‘(iii) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary 21 shall— 22 ‘‘(I) publish a list of each failing 23 property on the internet website of the 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:14 Dec 24, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3088.IS S3088 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 3088 IS Department of Housing and Urban 1 Development; 2 ‘‘(II) update the list described in 3 subclause (I) not less frequently than 4 every 60 days; and 5 ‘‘(III) require each applicable 6 public housing agency to post a notice 7 on the internet website of the public 8 housing agency, if applicable, and in 9 each common area and at each en- 10 trance of each failing property of the 11 public housing agency to alert resi- 12 dents of any such designation. 13 ‘‘(C) AGREEMENT AND NOTIFICATION.— 14 Not later than 90 days after the date on which 15 the Secretary designates a property as a failing 16 property, or, if an applicable public housing 17 agency makes an appeal or a petition under 18 subparagraph (B)(ii) and that appeal or peti- 19 tion is denied, not later than 90 days after the 20 date on which the appeal or petition is denied, 21 the Secretary shall— 22 ‘‘(i) enter into an agreement with the 23 public housing agency to which the failing 24 property belongs— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:14 Dec 24, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3088.IS S3088 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •S 3088 IS ‘‘(I) under which the public hous- 1 ing agency shall establish an action 2 plan to restore the failing property to 3 good condition; and 4 ‘‘(II) that provides— 5 ‘‘(aa) a timeline for pre- 6 serving the failing property in a 7 manner consistent with sub- 8 clauses (I) and (II) of subpara- 9 graph (A)(ii); and 10 ‘‘(bb) a deadline by which 11 the failing property shall be re- 12 quired to be restored in a manner 13 that qualifies the applicable pub- 14 lic housing agency the public 15 housing inventory of which in- 16 cludes the failing property, with 17 respect to the failing property, as 18 meeting a satisfactory standard 19 of performance under the per- 20 formance indicators; 21 ‘‘(ii) notify the residents of the failing 22 property of the timeline and deadline de- 23 scribed in clause (i) by requiring the public 24 housing agency to post a notice of the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:14 Dec 24, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3088.IS S3088 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •S 3088 IS timeline and deadline on the internet 1 website of the public housing agency, if ap- 2 plicable, and in each common area and at 3 each entrance of the failing property; and 4 ‘‘(iii) provide technical assistance and 5 other resources to the public housing agen- 6 cy, including assistance and resources 7 that— 8 ‘‘(I) prioritize preserving the fail- 9 ing property as public housing if it is 10 financially feasible to bring the prop- 11 erty into good condition; 12 ‘‘(II) minimize, to the greatest 13 extent possible, the dislocation of ten- 14 ants who wish to remain in the failing 15 property; 16 ‘‘(III) provide housing vouchers 17 to tenants who wish to relocate during 18 the rehabilitation of the failing prop- 19 erty, and pay for any associated mov- 20 ing costs; 21 ‘‘(IV) permit a tenant who relo- 22 cated under subclause (III) to return 23 to the failing property after the prop- 24 erty has been restored to good condi- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:14 Dec 24, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3088.IS S3088 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •S 3088 IS tion, and pay for any associated mov- 1 ing costs; and 2 ‘‘(V) restore the failing property 3 in a manner that qualifies the public 4 housing agency, with respect to the 5 failing property, as meeting a satisfac- 6 tory standard of performance under 7 the performance indicators and in ac- 8 cordance with the agreement entered 9 into under clause (i). 10 ‘‘(D) COMPLAINT PROCESS.—The Sec- 11 retary shall establish a process by which resi- 12 dents of public housing or a resident advisory 13 board established under section 5A(e) may sub- 14 mit to the Secretary a complaint that provides 15 that the public housing— 16 ‘‘(i) is in a failing condition; and 17 ‘‘(ii) does not meet the physical condi- 18 tion standards described in section 5.703 19 of title 24, Code of Federal Regulations, or 20 any successor regulation. 21 ‘‘(3) PRIVATE CAUSE OF ACTION.— 22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary and 23 an applicable public housing agency fail to re- 24 store a failing property included in the public 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:14 Dec 24, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3088.IS S3088 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •S 3088 IS housing inventory of the applicable public hous- 1 ing agency to good condition by the date that 2 is 1 year after the date on which the public 3 housing agency establishes an action plan relat- 4 ing to the failed property under paragraph 5 (2)(C), or, if an applicable public housing agen- 6 cy makes an appeal or a petition under para- 7 graph (2)(B) and that appeal or petition is de- 8 nied, not later than 1 year after the date on 9 which that appeal or petition is denied, a resi- 10 dent of the failing property may maintain an 11 action against the Secretary in an appropriate 12 district court of the United States. 13 ‘‘(B) RELIEF.—Upon proof that the Sec- 14 retary and an applicable public housing agency 15 have failed to restore a failing property to good 16 condition by a preponderance of the evidence in 17 an action under subparagraph (A), the court 18 may award appropriate relief to the resident of 19 the failing property who brought the action, in- 20 cluding— 21 ‘‘(i) injunctive relief to require the 22 Secretary to restore the failing property to 23 good condition; 24 ‘‘(ii) compensatory damages; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:14 Dec 24, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3088.IS S3088 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •S 3088 IS ‘‘(iii) the costs of suit; and 1 ‘‘(iv) reasonable fees for any attorney 2 and expert witness of the resident. 3 ‘‘(4) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 4 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Cap- 5 ital Fund under section 9(d) of the United States 6 Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437g(d)) 7 $70,000,000,000 to carry out this subsection.’’. 8 SEC. 3. RECEIVERSHIP PROCESS. 9 (a) AMENDMENT TO THE UNITED STATES HOUSING 10 ACT OF 1937.—Section 6(j)(3) of the United States 11 Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437d(j)(3)) is amended 12 by adding at the end the following: 13 ‘‘(I) CONSULTATION WITH PUBLIC HOUSING RESI- 14 DENTS.— 15 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary (or an ad- 16 ministrative receiver appointed by the Secretary) 17 takes possession of a public housing agency (includ- 18 ing all or part of any project or program of the 19 agency), or if a receiver is appointed by a court, in 20 carrying out the duties of the Secretary or receiver 21 under this paragraph, the Secretary or receiver shall 22 consult with the public housing residents of the pub- 23 lic housing agency. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:14 Dec 24, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3088.IS S3088 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •S 3088 IS ‘‘(ii) REQUIREMENTS.—The consultation con- 1 ducted under clause (i) shall include— 2 ‘‘(I) providing notice to the residents of the 3 receivership, including the contact information 4 for an individual or entity that residents may 5 contact for maintenance requests and other 6 property management responsibilities and file 7 complaints; 8 ‘‘(II) holding 1 informational meeting for 9 the residents before the Secretary takes posses- 10 sion of the public housing agency or another re- 11 ceiver is appointed; and 12 ‘‘(III) holding in-person meetings with the 13 residents on not less frequently than a monthly 14 basis regarding the receivership. 15 ‘‘(J) PURPOSE OF RECEIVERSHIP PROCESS.—The 16 purpose of the receivership process under this paragraph 17 is to— 18 ‘‘(i) preserve, without demolition or disposition, 19 the public housing of each public housing agency; 20 ‘‘(ii) preserve the health and safety of public 21 housing residents of the public housing agency; and 22 ‘‘(iii) minimize, to the greatest extent possible, 23 the dislocation of tenants who wish to remain in 24 their dwelling units.’’. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:14 Dec 24, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3088.IS S3088 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 13 •S 3088 IS (b) GUIDANCE.—Not later than 1 year after the date 1 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Housing and 2 Urban Development shall revise any relevant regulation, 3 policy, or guideline of the Department of Housing and 4 Urban Development to conform with the amendment made 5 by subsection (a). 6 SEC. 4. ABILITY OF CONSORTIA TO ENTER INTO SINGLE AN- 7 NUAL CONTRIBUTIONS CONTRACTS. 8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 13(a) of the United 9 States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437k(a)) is 10 amended by adding at the end the following: 11 ‘‘(4) SINGLE ANNUAL CONTRIBUTIONS CON- 12 TRACTS.— 13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—On and after the date 14 on which the Secretary promulgates regulations 15 under subparagraph (B), subject to the ap- 16 proval of the Secretary, each consortium de- 17 scribed in paragraph (1) may enter into a single 18 annual contributions contract under which the 19 consortium— 20 ‘‘(i) shall be a separate legal entity 21 f [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]