[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2689 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2689
To prohibit the use of biometric recognition technology and biometric
analytics in certain federally assisted rental dwelling units, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
October 23, 2019
Mr. Booker introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To prohibit the use of biometric recognition technology and biometric
analytics in certain federally assisted rental dwelling units, 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 ``No Biometric Barriers to Housing Act
of 2019''.
SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON BIOMETRIC IDENTIFICATION TECHNOLOGY.
(a) In General.--On and after the date that is 6 months after the
date of enactment of this Act, an owner of a covered federally assisted
rental dwelling unit may not use, or authorize the use of, facial
recognition technology and biometric analytics, physical biometric
recognition technology and biometric analytics, or remote biometric
recognition technology and biometric analytics in the dwelling unit or
in any building or grounds containing the dwelling unit.
(b) Definitions.--In this Act:
(1) Assistance.--The term ``assistance''--
(A) means any grant, loan, subsidy, contract,
cooperative agreement, or other form of financial
assistance; and
(B) does not include the insurance or guarantee of
a loan, mortgage, or pool of loans or mortgages.
(2) Biometric analytics.--The term ``biometric analytics''
means authentication techniques that rely on measurable
physical characteristics that can be automatically checked by
technical systems.
(3) Covered federally assisted rental dwelling unit.--The
term ``covered federally assisted rental dwelling unit'' means
a residential dwelling unit that is made available for rental
and for which assistance is provided, or that is part of a
housing project for which assistance is provided, under--
(A) the public housing program under the United
States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437 et seq.);
(B) the program for supportive housing for persons
with disabilities under section 811 of the Cranston-
Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C.
8013);
(C) the program for supportive housing for the
elderly under section 202 of the Housing Act of 1959
(12 U.S.C. 1701q); or
(D) the program for project-based rental assistance
under section 8 of the United States Housing Act of
1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f).
(4) Facial recognition technology.--The term ``facial
recognition technology'' means technology that facilitates or
otherwise enables an automated or semi-automated process that
assists in identifying an individual based on the physical
characteristics of the face of an individual, or that logs
characteristics of the face, head, or body of an individual to
infer emotion, associations, activities, or the location of an
individual.
(5) Owner.--The term ``owner'' means any private person or
entity, including a cooperative, an agency of the Federal
Government, or a public housing agency, having the legal right
to lease or sublease dwelling units.
(6) Physical biometric recognition technology.--The term
``physical biometric recognition technology'' means technology
that facilitates or otherwise enables an automated or semi-
automated process that assists in identifying an individual or
capturing information about an individual based on the
characteristics of the DNA, fingerprints, palmprints, iris, or
retina of an individual.
(7) Remote biometric recognition technology.--The term
``remote biometric recognition technology'' means technology
that facilitates or otherwise enables an automated or semi-
automated process that assists in identifying an individual or
capturing information about an individual based on the
characteristics of the gait, voice, or other immutable
characteristic of an individual ascertained from a distance, or
that logs those characteristics to infer emotion, associations,
activities, or the location of an individual.
SEC. 3. REPORT TO CONGRESS.
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall submit to the
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate and the
Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives, and
make available to the public on the website of the Department of
Housing and Urban Development, a report that describes--
(1) any known usage of facial recognition technology and
biometric analytics, physical biometric recognition technology
and biometric analytics, or remote biometric recognition
technology and biometric analytics in any covered federally
assisted rental dwelling unit during the 5 years preceding the
date of enactment of this Act;
(2) the impact of those technologies and biometric
analytics on the residents of those covered federally assisted
rental dwelling units;
(3) the purpose of installing those technologies and
biometric analytics in those covered federally assisted rental
dwelling units;
(4) demographic information about the residents of each
covered federally assisted rental dwelling unit where the usage
of those technologies and biometric analytics occurred; and
(5) the potential impacts on vulnerable communities of
additional usage of facial recognition technology and biometric
analytics, physical biometric recognition technology and
biometric analytics, or remote biometric recognition technology
and biometric analytics in covered federally assisted rental
dwelling units, including impacts on resident privacy, civil
rights, and fair housing.
<all>