II
117th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 902
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 23, 2021
Ms. Klobuchar (for herself, Mr. Portman, and Mr. Kaine) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
A BILL
To authorize a grant program for the development and implementation of housing supply and affordability plans, and for other purposes.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the Housing Supply and Affordability Act
.
Local housing policy grant pilot program
Definitions
In this section:
Department
The term Department means the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Cost-burdened household
The term cost-burdened household means a household that spends not less than 30 percent of the income of the household on housing.
Eligible entity
The term eligible entity means a State, a political subdivision of a State, a coalition of States or political subdivisions of States, an Indian Tribe, or a Native Hawaiian organization that—
demonstrates, with respect to the area under the jurisdiction of the State, political subdivision, coalition, Indian Tribe, or organization—
rising housing costs or a reasonable expectation that housing costs will rise in the area; and
a housing supply shortage;
if applying for a planning grant—
intends to develop, or is in the process of developing, a housing policy plan; and
demonstrates an intent to use a portion of the planning grant to engage with community stakeholders and housing practitioners in developing a housing policy plan; and
if applying for an implementation grant—
has adopted and plans to implement, or is in the process of implementing, a housing policy plan; and
demonstrates the engagement of community stakeholders and housing practitioners in developing the housing policy plan.
Housing policy plan
The term housing policy plan means a comprehensive plan of an eligible entity to, with respect to the area under the jurisdiction of the eligible entity—
increase the housing supply in the area, while avoiding the displacement of the residents of the area;
increase the affordability of housing in the area; and
reduce barriers to housing development in the area.
Implementation grant
The term implementation grant means a grant awarded under subsection (c).
Indian Tribe
The term Indian Tribe has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304).
Native Hawaiian organization
The term Native Hawaiian organization has the meaning given the term in section 2 of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (25 U.S.C. 3001).
Planning grant
The term planning grant means a grant awarded under subsection (b).
Secretary
The term Secretary means the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, acting through the Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development, in coordination with—
the Office of Economic Resilience of the Office of Community Planning and Development of the Department;
the Office of Policy Development and Research of the Department;
the Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity of the Department;
the Office of Housing of the Department; and
the Office of Public and Indian Housing of the Department.
State
The term State means any State of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and any possession of the United States.
Planning grants
The Secretary may award grants on a competitive basis to eligible entities for the purpose of developing and evaluating housing policy plans.
Implementation grants
The Secretary may award grants on a competitive basis to eligible entities for the purpose of implementing housing policy plans.
Rural area minimum
The Secretary shall award not less than 10 percent of the funds awarded to eligible entities under this section to eligible entities located in rural areas.
Applications
In general
An eligible entity desiring a grant under this section shall submit to the Secretary an application at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may require.
Priority
In awarding grants under this section, the Secretary shall give priority to an eligible entity that—
has or is likely to develop a housing policy plan that will—
improve housing supply, affordability, and accessibility for all individuals of every race and income level;
reduce barriers to affordable housing development; and
avoid the displacement of residents by new housing developments in the area under the jurisdiction of the eligible entity;
in developing or implementing a housing policy plan, intends to leverage and efficiently use funds from—
another Federal, State, or local assistance program relating to housing; or
a private funding source;
intends to—
increase the supply and affordability of housing that is located—
near local transit options; and
in areas in which a significant or expanding supply of jobs or demand for employment is concentrated;
coordinate with local transportation and workforce agencies in accomplishing the increase described in clause (i); and
where appropriate, coordinate policy development for, and analysis and implementation of, the housing policy plan of the eligible entity at a regional scale to achieve a more equitable distribution of affordable housing across jurisdictional boundaries; or
is a coalition of States or political subdivisions of States.
Scoring
The Secretary shall base the degree of priority given to an eligible entity that satisfies 1 or more subparagraphs under paragraph (2) on a scoring system established by the Secretary.
Housing policy plan guidance
In general
The Secretary shall issue guidance that includes recommended policies, strategies, and reforms for eligible entities to adopt in housing policy plans to—
improve the elasticity of housing supply;
expand the supply and affordability of housing;
reduce barriers to housing development; and
meaningfully reduce housing segregation by income and race.
Policies
The guidance issued under paragraph (1) shall include recommendations for policies, strategies, and reforms to—
encourage and support the repurposing of land or structures for housing development;
allow for a greater variety of housing types;
revise land use policies to allow for the development of more housing;
streamline approval processes for housing development;
provide financial incentives to support affordable housing development; and
support inclusive engagement with community members relating to reforms to expand housing supply.
Areas
The guidance issued under paragraph (1) shall include recommendations for policies, strategies, and reforms for urban, suburban, and rural areas.
Matching requirement
In general
Subject to paragraph (3), an eligible entity that receives a grant under this section shall provide non-Federal contributions in an amount equal to the amount of the grant.
Eligible matching funds
If an eligible entity uses funds from another Federal assistance program relating to housing in developing or implementing a housing policy plan for which the eligible entity also receives a grant under this section, any non-Federal contribution made by the eligible entity as part of that Federal assistance program shall be counted towards the requirement under paragraph (1).
Reduced matching requirement
Based on the available resources of an eligible entity, the Secretary may reduce the amount of non-Federal contributions required to be provided by the eligible entity under paragraph (1).
Use of funds
Planning grants
An eligible entity receiving a planning grant shall use funds from the planning grant to finance activities to help develop and evaluate a housing policy plan for the area under the jurisdiction of the eligible entity, including—
quantifying existing and projected housing needs for households of every income level, including extremely low-income families, as defined in section 3(b) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a(b));
documenting the characteristics of—
the housing in the area;
the households of the area, including cost-burdened households; and
housing underproduction in the area;
developing strategies to increase the housing supply and the variety of housing types in the area to satisfy the housing needs of the population of the area;
analyzing population and employment trends in the area and documenting projections of those trends;
considering strategies to minimize displacement of low-income families, as defined in section 3(b) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a(b)), as a result of redevelopment in the area;
providing for participation and input from community members, community groups, local builders, local realtors, nonprofit housing advocates, and local religious groups; and
creating a schedule of programs and actions to implement the recommendations of the housing policy plan, including a plan for adopting actions through a local implementing ordinance or another regulatory process, such as a land use plan or a comprehensive plan.
Implementation and planning grants
An eligible entity receiving a grant under this section shall use a portion of the funds from the grant to submit the report required under subsection (j)(1).
Learning network
In general
Not later than 1 year after the date on which the Secretary awards the first planning grant or implementation grant under this section, the Secretary shall establish a learning network to—
facilitate problem-solving relating to the development and implementation of housing policy plans; and
disseminate best practices and effective strategies and policies to improve local housing supply and affordability.
Accessibility
The learning network established under paragraph (1) shall be accessible to—
eligible entities that receive a grant under this section; and
eligible entities that submit an application under subsection (e).
Reports and study
Grant recipient reports
Not later than 180 days after the date on which an eligible entity receives a grant under this section, and not less frequently than quarterly thereafter for a 3-year period, the eligible entity shall submit to the Secretary a report that includes—
a description of the expenditures the eligible entity has made with funds from the grant;
for an eligible entity receiving a planning grant, a summary of the progress of the eligibility entity towards finalizing a housing policy plan; and
for an eligible entity receiving an implementation grant, data relating to the success of the implementation of the housing policy plan of the eligible entity.
Secretary study and report
In general
Not later than 5 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall conduct a study on—
the impact of implementation grants and planning grants on the areas under the jurisdiction of eligible entities receiving those grants; and
successful strategies from housing policy plans that were impactful in—
expanding the housing supply; and
increasing the quantity of quality and affordable housing, while avoiding the displacement of the residents of an area.
Report
Not later than 1 year after the date on which the Secretary completes the study required under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report on the study.
Appropriations
In general
There are authorized to be appropriated, and there are appropriated, to the Secretary, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, $300,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2026 to carry out this Act.
Emergency designation
In general
The amounts provided by this section are designated as an emergency requirement pursuant to section 4(g) of the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 (2 U.S.C. 933(g)).
Designation in senate
In the Senate, this section is designated as an emergency requirement pursuant to section 4112(a) of H. Con. Res. 71 (115th Congress), the concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2018.
