[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5829 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5829

 To improve the Operating Fund for public housing of the Department of 
         Housing and Urban Development, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 17, 2008

  Mr. Sires (for himself, Mr. Frank of Massachusetts, and Mr. Meek of 
   Florida) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To improve the Operating Fund for public housing of the Department of 
         Housing and Urban Development, and for other purposes.

    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 ``Public Housing Asset Management 
Improvement Act of 2008''.

SEC. 2. REVISIONS TO ASSET MANAGEMENT RULES AND RELATED FEES.

    (a) Management and Related Fees.--The Secretary of Housing and 
Urban Development shall not impose any restriction or limitation on the 
amount of management and related fees with respect to a public housing 
project if the fee is determined to be reasonable by the public housing 
agency, unless such restriction or limitation imposed by the Secretary 
on such fees--
            (1) is determined pursuant to a negotiated rulemaking which 
        is convened by the Secretary no earlier than April 1, 2009, and 
        in accordance with subchapter III of chapter 5 of title 5, 
        United States Code, with representatives from interested 
        parties; and
            (2) is effective only on or after January 1, 2011.
The Secretary may not consider a public housing agency as failing to 
comply with the asset management requirements of subpart H of part 990 
of title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor or 
amended regulation containing asset management requirements, or 
determine that an agency fails to comply with such requirements, 
because of or as a result of the agency determining its fees in 
accordance with this subsection.
    (b) Increase of Threshold for Exemption From Asset Management 
Requirements.--
            (1) Increase.--Any public housing agency that owns or 
        operates fewer than 500 public housing units under title I of 
        the United States Housing Act of 1937 may elect to be exempt 
        from any asset management requirement imposed by the Secretary 
        of Housing and Urban Development.
            (2) Determination of operating fund allocation.--If a 
        public housing agency elects pursuant to paragraph (1) to be 
        exempt from asset management requirements, the agency may, at 
        its option, retain the same number of separate public housing 
        projects, for purposes of determining its operating fund 
        allocation, as the agency had identified and the Secretary of 
        Housing and Urban Development had approved before the agency's 
        election to be so exempt.

SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON RESTRICTION OF FUNGIBILITY OF CAPITAL FUND 
              AMOUNTS.

    The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall not impose any 
requirement, regulation, or guideline relating to asset management that 
restricts or limits in any way the use by public housing agencies of 
amounts for Capital Fund assistance under section 9(d) of such Act, 
pursuant to paragraph (1) or (2) of section 9(g) of the United States 
Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437g(g)), for costs of any central 
office of a public housing agency.

SEC. 4. TENANT PARTICIPATION.

    (a) Rule of Construction.--Neither the requirements of this Act, 
nor any other requirement, regulation, guideline, or other policy or 
action of the Department of Housing and Urban Development relating to 
public housing asset management may be construed to repeal or waive any 
provision of part 964 of title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations, 
regarding tenant participation and tenant opportunities in public 
housing. The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall ensure 
that public housing agencies encourage the reasonable efforts of 
resident tenant organizations to represent their members or the 
reasonable efforts of tenants to organize.
    (b) PHAs in Receivership.--In the case of any public housing agency 
in receivership, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development or any 
receiver may not abrogate, waive, repeal, or modify any provision of 
part 964 of title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations or any 
provision of a formalized housing agreement entered into pursuant to 
such part 964 (including pursuant to section 964.11, 964.14, 
964.18(a)(6), or 964.135 of such part) before the commencement of such 
receivership by a resident or tenant organization and the public 
housing agency.
    (c) Guidance.--Guidance issued by the Secretary of Housing and 
Urban Development shall encourage participation by residents in the 
implementation of asset management and the development of local 
policies for such purposes.

SEC. 5. INELIGIBILITY OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS FOR ASSISTANCE.

    Immigrants who are not lawfully present in the United States shall 
be ineligible for financial assistance under this Act, as provided and 
defined by section 214 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 
1980 (42 U.S.C. 1436a). Nothing in this Act shall be construed to alter 
the restrictions or definitions in such section 214.

SEC. 6. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.

    (a) Prohibition of Management Fees for Agreements Prohibiting or 
Requiring Registration of Firearms.--The Secretary of Housing and Urban 
Development shall not accept as reasonable any management or related 
fees for enforcing any provision of a dwelling lease agreement or other 
similar agreement that requires the registration of or prohibits the 
possession of any firearm that is possessed by an individual for his or 
her personal protection or for sport the possession of which is not 
prohibited, or the registration of which is not required, by existing 
law.
    (b) Community Service Requirement.--
            (1) Option to establish.--Section 12(c) of the United 
        States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1347j(c)) is amended--
                    (A) in the subsection heading, by inserting 
                ``Optional'' before ``Community Service'';
                    (B) in paragraph (1), by striking the matter that 
                precedes subparagraph (A) and inserting the following:
            ``(1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2) and 
        notwithstanding any other provision of law, a public housing 
        agency may, at the option of the agency, require that each 
        adult resident of a public housing project--'';
                    (C) in paragraph (2), by striking the matter that 
                precedes subparagraph (A) and inserting the following:
            ``(2) Exemptions.--The Secretary shall require each public 
        housing agency that establishes a community service requirement 
        pursuant to paragraph (1) to provide an exemption from the 
        applicability of the requirements authorized by paragraph (1) 
        for any individual who--'';
                    (D) in paragraph (3)--
                            (i) in subparagraph (A)--
                                    (I) by striking ``the requirement 
                                under paragraph (1), the public housing 
                                agency'' and inserting ``a requirement 
                                established pursuant to paragraph (1) 
                                by a public housing agency, the 
                                agency''; and
                                    (II) by striking ``the requirement 
                                under paragraph (1) of this 
                                subsection'' and inserting ``such 
                                requirement''; and
                            (ii) in subparagraph (C)--
                                    (I) in the matter preceding clause 
                                (i), by striking ``the requirement 
                                under paragraph (1)'' and inserting ``a 
                                requirement established pursuant to 
                                paragraph (1) by the agency'';
                                    (II) in clause (i)(III) by striking 
                                ``the resident's lease will not be 
                                renewed'' and inserting the following 
                                ``the agency may, in accordance with 
                                policies established by the agency at 
                                the option of the agency, refuse to 
                                renew the resident's lease''; and
                                    (III) in clause (ii)--
                                            (aa) by striking ``not'' 
                                        and inserting ``, in accordance 
                                        with policies established by 
                                        the agency at the option of the 
                                        agency, refuse to'';
                                            (bb) by striking ``shall'' 
                                        and inserting ``may, in 
                                        accordance with such 
                                        policies,''; and
                                            (cc) by striking ``under 
                                        paragraph (1)'' and inserting 
                                        ``established pursuant to 
                                        paragraph (1)'';
                    (E) in paragraph (4)--
                            (i) by striking ``not'' and inserting ``, 
                        in accordance with policies established by the 
                        agency at the option of the agency, refuse 
                        to''; and
                            (ii) by striking ``the requirement under 
                        paragraph (1)'' and inserting ``a requirement 
                        established pursuant to paragraph (1) by the 
                        agency'';
                    (F) in paragraph (5), by inserting ``that 
                establishes a community service requirement pursuant to 
                paragraph (1)'' after ``Each public housing agency'';
                    (G) in paragraph (6), by striking ``The requirement 
                under'' and inserting ``A requirement established 
                pursuant to''; and
                    (H) in paragraph (8), by striking ``the community 
                service requirement under'' and inserting ``a community 
                service requirement established pursuant to''.
            (2) PHA plan.--Section 5A(d)(12) of the United States 
        Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437c-1(d)(12)) is amended by 
        striking subparagraph (C) and inserting the following new 
        subparagraph:
                    ``(C) whether the public housing agency will have 
                in effect a community service requirement pursuant to 
                section 12(c) and, if so, how the agency will comply 
                with the requirements of such section, and how the 
                agency will comply with the requirements of section 
                12(d) (relating to treatment of income changes 
                resulting from welfare program requirements).''.
    (c) Public and Assisted Housing Drug Elimination Program.--
            (1) Authorization of appropriations.--Section 5129 of the 
        Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988 (42 U.S.C. 11908) is amended by 
        striking subsection (a) and inserting the following new 
        subsection:
    ``(a) In General.--There are authorized to be appropriated to carry 
out this chapter such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 
2009, 2010, and 2011.''.
            (2) Eligible activities.--Section 5124(a)(6) of the Anti-
        Drug Abuse Act of 1988 (42 U.S.C. 11903(a)(6)) is amended by 
        striking the semicolon at the end and inserting the following: 
        ``, except that the activities conducted under any program 
        carried out in whole or in part with grant amounts provided 
        pursuant to this paragraph may include--
                    ``(A) providing treatment for drug abuse through 
                rehabilitation or relapse prevention;
                    ``(B) providing education about the dangers and 
                adverse consequences of drug use or violent crime;
                    ``(C) identifying drug users, assisting such users 
                in discontinuing their drug use through an education 
                program, and, if appropriate, referring the users to a 
                drug treatment program;
                    ``(D) providing after school activities for youths 
                for the purpose of discouraging, reducing, or 
                eliminating drug use or violent crime by youths;
                    ``(E) providing capital improvements for the 
                purpose of discouraging, reducing, or eliminating drug 
                use or violent crime;
                    ``(F) providing security services for the purpose 
                of discouraging, reducing, or eliminating drug use or 
                violent crime; and
                    ``(G) other appropriate activities.''.
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