II 111th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 2836 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.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Asset Management Improvement Act of 2009.

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.

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.

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.