[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 730 Introduced in House (IH)]






108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 730

   To require a housing impact analysis of any new rule of a Federal 
      agency that has an economic impact of $100,000,000 or more.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 12, 2003

 Mr. Green of Wisconsin (for himself, Mr. Jones of North Carolina, Mr. 
    Souder, and Mr. Terry) introduced the following bill; which was 
               referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To require a housing impact analysis of any new rule of a Federal 
      agency that has an economic impact of $100,000,000 or more.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

     This Act may be cited as the ``Housing Affordability Assurance 
Act''.

SEC. 2. HOUSING IMPACT ANALYSIS.

    (a) Applicability.--Except as provided in subsection (b), the 
requirements of this section shall apply with respect to--
            (1) any proposed rule, unless the agency promulgating the 
        rule--
                    (A) has certified that the proposed rule will not, 
                if given force or effect as a final rule, have a 
                significant deleterious impact on housing 
                affordability; and
                    (B) has caused such certification to be published 
                in the Federal Register at the time of publication of 
                general notice of proposed rulemaking for the rule, 
                together with a statement providing the factual basis 
                for the certification; and
            (2) any final rule, unless the agency promulgating the 
        rule--
                    (A) has certified that the rule will not, if given 
                force or effect, have a significant deleterious impact 
                on housing affordability; and
                    (B) has caused such certification to be published 
                in the Federal Register at the time of publication of 
                the final rule, together with a statement providing the 
                factual basis for the certification.
Any agency making a certification under this subsection shall provide a 
copy of such certification and the statement providing the factual 
basis for the certification to the Secretary of Housing and Urban 
Development.
    (b) Exception for Certain Banking Rules.--The requirements of this 
section shall not apply to any proposed or final rule relating to--
            (1) the operations, safety, or soundness of--
                    (A) federally insured depository institutions or 
                any affiliate of such an institution (as such term is 
                defined in section 2(k) of the Bank Holding Company Act 
                of 1956 (12 U.S.C. 1841(k));
                    (B) credit unions;
                    (C) the Federal home loan banks;
                    (D) the enterprises (as such term is defined in 
                section 1303 of the Housing and Community Development 
                Act of 1992 (12 U.S.C. 4502);
                    (E) a Farm Credit System institution; or
                    (F) foreign banks or their branches, agencies, 
                commercial lending companies, or representative offices 
                that operate in the United States, or any affiliate of 
                a foreign bank (as such terms are defined in section 1 
                of the International Banking Act of 1978 (12 U.S.C. 
                3101); or
            (2) the payments system or the protection of deposit 
        insurance funds or the Farm Credit Insurance Fund.
    (c) Statement of Proposed Rulemaking.--Whenever an agency publishes 
general notice of proposed rulemaking for any proposed rule, unless the 
agency has made a certification under subsection (a), the agency 
shall--
            (1) in the notice of proposed rulemaking--
                    (A) state with particularity the text of the 
                proposed rule; and
                    (B) request any interested persons to submit to the 
                agency any written analyses, data, views, and 
                arguments, and any specific alternatives to the 
                proposed rule;
            (2) provide an opportunity for interested persons to take 
        the actions specified under paragraph (1)(B) before 
        promulgation of the final rule; and
            (3) prepare and make available for public comment an 
        initial housing impact analysis in accordance with the 
        requirements of subsection (d).
    (d) Initial Housing Impact Analysis.--
            (1) Requirements.--Each initial housing impact analysis 
        shall describe the impact of the proposed rule on housing 
        affordability. The initial housing impact analysis or a summary 
        shall be published in the Federal Register at the same time as, 
        and together with, the publication of general notice of 
        proposed rulemaking for the rule. The agency shall transmit a 
        copy of the initial housing impact analysis to the Secretary of 
        Housing and Urban Development.
            (2) Contents.--Each initial housing impact analysis 
        required under this subsection shall contain--
                    (A) a description of the reasons why action by the 
                agency is being considered;
                    (B) a succinct statement of the objectives of, and 
                legal basis for, the proposed rule;
                    (C) a description of and, where feasible, an 
                estimate of the extent to which the proposed rule would 
                increase the cost or reduce the supply of housing or 
                land for residential development; and
                    (D) an identification, to the extent practicable, 
                of all relevant Federal rules which may duplicate, 
                overlap, or conflict with the proposed rule.
    (e) Final Housing Impact Analysis.--
            (1) Requirement.--Whenever an agency promulgates a final 
        rule after publication of a general notice of proposed 
        rulemaking, unless the agency has made the certification under 
        subsection (a), the agency shall prepare a final housing impact 
        analysis.
            (2) Contents.--Each final housing impact analysis shall 
        contain--
                    (A) a succinct statement of the need for, and 
                objectives of, the rule;
                    (B) a summary of the significant issues, analyses, 
                and alternatives to the proposed rule raised during the 
                public comment period in response to the proposed rule 
                and initial housing impact analysis, a summary of the 
                assessment of the agency of such issues, analyses, and 
                alternatives, and a statement of any changes made in 
                the proposed rule as a result of such comments; and
                    (C) a description of and an estimate of the extent 
                to which the rule will impact housing affordability or 
                an explanation of why no such estimate is available.
            (3) Availability.--The agency shall make copies of the 
        final housing impact analysis available to members of the 
        public and shall publish in the Federal Register such analysis 
        or a summary thereof.
    (f) Avoidance of Duplicative or Unnecessary Analyses.--
            (1) Duplication.--Any Federal agency may perform the 
        analyses required by subsections (d) and (e) in conjunction 
        with or as a part of any other agenda or analysis required by 
        any other law, executive order, directive, or rule if such 
        other analysis satisfies the provisions of such subsections.
            (2) Joinder.--In order to avoid duplicative action, an 
        agency may consider a series of closely related rules as one 
        rule for the purposes of subsections (d) and (e).
    (g) Preparation of Analyses.--In complying with the provisions of 
subsections (d) and (e), an agency may provide either a quantifiable or 
numerical description of the effects of a proposed rule or alternatives 
to the proposed rule, or more general descriptive statements if 
quantification is not practicable or reliable.
    (h) Effect on Other Law.--The requirements of subsections (d) and 
(e) do not alter in any manner standards otherwise applicable by law to 
agency action.
    (i) Procedure for Waiver or Delay of Completion.--
            (1) Initial housing impact analysis.--An agency head may 
        waive or delay the completion of some or all of the 
        requirements of subsection (d) by publishing in the Federal 
        Register, not later than the date of publication of the final 
        rule, a written finding, with reasons therefor, that the final 
        rule is being promulgated in response to an emergency that 
        makes compliance or timely compliance with the provisions of 
        subsection (a) impracticable.
            (2) Final housing impact analysis.--An agency head may not 
        waive the requirements of subsection (e). An agency head may 
        delay the completion of the requirements of subsection (e) for 
        a period of not more than 180 days after the date of 
        publication in the Federal Register of a final rule by 
        publishing in the Federal Register, not later than such date of 
        publication, a written finding, with reasons therefor, that the 
        final rule is being promulgated in response to an emergency 
        that makes timely compliance with the provisions of subsection 
        (e) impracticable. If the agency has not prepared a final 
        housing impact analysis pursuant to subsection (e) within 180 
        days from the date of publication of the final rule, such rule 
        shall lapse and have no force or effect. Such rule shall not be 
        repromulgated until a final housing impact analysis has been 
        completed by the agency.
    (j) Definitions.--For purposes of this section, the following 
definitions shall apply:
            (1) Housing affordability.--The term ``housing 
        affordability'' means the quantity of housing that is 
        affordable to families having incomes that do not exceed 150 
        percent of the median income of families in the area in which 
        the housing is located, with adjustments for smaller and larger 
        families. For purposes of this paragraph, area, median family 
        income for an area, and adjustments for family size shall be 
        determined in the same manner as such factors are determined 
        for purposes of section 3(b)(2) of the United States Housing 
        Act of 1937.
            (2) Agency.--The term ``agency'' means each authority of 
        the Government of the United States, whether or not it is 
        within or subject to review by another agency, but does not 
        include--
                    (A) the Congress;
                    (B) the courts of the United States;
                    (C) the governments of the territories or 
                possessions of the United States;
                    (D) the government of the District of Columbia;
                    (E) agencies composed of representatives of the 
                parties or of representatives of organizations of the 
                parties to the disputes determined by them;
                    (F) courts-martial and military commissions;
                    (G) military authority exercised in the field in 
                time of war or in occupied territory; or
                    (H) functions conferred by--
                            (i) sections 1738, 1739, 1743, and 1744 of 
                        title 12, United States Code;
                            (ii) chapter 2 of title 41, United States 
                        Code;
                            (iii) subchapter II of chapter 471 of title 
                        49, United States Code; or
                            (iv) sections 1884, 1891-1902, and former 
                        section 1641(b)(2), of title 50, appendix, 
                        United States Code.
            (3) Families.--The term ``families'' has the meaning given 
        such term in section 3 of the United States Housing Act of 
        1937.
            (4) Rule.--The term ``rule'' means any rule for which the 
        agency publishes a general notice of proposed rulemaking 
        pursuant to section 553(b) of title 5, United States Code, or 
        any other law, including any rule of general applicability 
        governing grants by an agency to State and local governments 
        for which the agency provides an opportunity for notice and 
        public comment; except that such term does not include a rule 
        of particular applicability relating to rates, wages, corporate 
        or financial structures or reorganizations thereof, prices, 
        facilities, appliances, services, or allowances therefor or to 
        valuations, costs or accounting, or practices relating to such 
        rates, wages, structures, prices, appliances, services, or 
        allowances.
            (5) Significant.--The term ``significant'' means increasing 
        consumers' cost of housing by more than $100,000,000 per year.
    (k) Development.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development 
shall develop model initial and final housing impact analyses under 
this section and shall cause such model analyses to be published in the 
Federal Register. The model analyses shall define the primary elements 
of a housing impact analysis to instruct other agencies on how to carry 
out and develop the analyses required under subsections (d) and (e).
    (l) Judicial Review.--
            (1) Determination by agency.--Except as otherwise provided 
        in paragraph (2), any determination by an agency concerning the 
        applicability of any of the provisions of this Act to any 
        action of the agency shall not be subject to judicial review.
            (2) Other actions by agency.--Any housing impact analysis 
        prepared under subsection (d) or (e) and the compliance or 
        noncompliance of the agency with the provisions of this Act 
        shall not be subject to judicial review. When an action for 
        judicial review of a rule is instituted, any housing impact 
        analysis for such rule shall constitute part of the whole 
        record of agency action in connection with the review.
            (3) Exception.--Nothing in this subsection bars judicial 
        review of any other impact statement or similar analysis 
        required by any other law if judicial review of such statement 
        or analysis is otherwise provided by law.
                                 <all>