[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2836 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2836

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


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            December 4, 2009

  Mr. Kohl (for himself and Ms. Snowe) introduced the following bill; 
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, 
                           and Urban Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 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 ``Asset Management Improvement Act of 
2009''.

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, 2010, 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, 2012.
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.
                                 <all>