[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2126 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2126

To authorize a grant program for the development and implementation of 
    housing supply and affordability plans, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 23, 2021

Ms. Blunt Rochester (for herself, Ms. Herrera Beutler, and Mrs. Beatty) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on the Budget, for 
a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 
                          committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To authorize a grant program for the development and implementation of 
    housing supply and affordability plans, 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 ``Housing Supply and Affordability 
Act''.

SEC. 2. LOCAL HOUSING POLICY GRANT PILOT PROGRAM.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Department.--The term ``Department'' means the 
        Department of Housing and Urban Development.
            (2) Cost-burdened household.--The term ``cost-burdened 
        household'' means a household that spends not less than 30 
        percent of the income of the household on housing.
            (3) Eligible entity.--The term ``eligible entity'' means a 
        State, a political subdivision of a State, a coalition of 
        States or political subdivisions of States, an Indian Tribe, or 
        a Native Hawaiian organization that--
                    (A) demonstrates, with respect to the area under 
                the jurisdiction of the State, political subdivision, 
                coalition, Indian Tribe, or organization--
                            (i) rising housing costs or a reasonable 
                        expectation that housing costs will rise in the 
                        area; and
                            (ii) a housing supply shortage;
                    (B) if applying for a planning grant--
                            (i) intends to develop, or is in the 
                        process of developing, a housing policy plan; 
                        and
                            (ii) demonstrates an intent to use a 
                        portion of the planning grant to engage with 
                        community stakeholders and housing 
                        practitioners in developing a housing policy 
                        plan; and
                    (C) if applying for an implementation grant--
                            (i) has adopted and plans to implement, or 
                        is in the process of implementing, a housing 
                        policy plan; and
                            (ii) demonstrates the engagement of 
                        community stakeholders and housing 
                        practitioners in developing the housing policy 
                        plan.
            (4) Housing policy plan.--The term ``housing policy plan'' 
        means a comprehensive plan of an eligible entity to, with 
        respect to the area under the jurisdiction of the eligible 
        entity--
                    (A) increase the housing supply in the area, while 
                avoiding the displacement of the residents of the area;
                    (B) increase the affordability of housing in the 
                area; and
                    (C) reduce barriers to housing development in the 
                area.
            (5) Implementation grant.--The term ``implementation 
        grant'' means a grant awarded under subsection (c).
            (6) Indian tribe.--The term ``Indian Tribe'' has the 
        meaning given the term in section 4 of the Indian Self-
        Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304).
            (7) Native hawaiian organization.--The term ``Native 
        Hawaiian organization'' has the meaning given the term in 
        section 2 of the Native American Graves Protection and 
        Repatriation Act (25 U.S.C. 3001).
            (8) Planning grant.--The term ``planning grant'' means a 
        grant awarded under subsection (b).
            (9) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Housing and Urban Development, acting through the Assistant 
        Secretary for Community Planning and Development, in 
        coordination with--
                    (A) the Office of Economic Resilience of the Office 
                of Community Planning and Development of the 
                Department;
                    (B) the Office of Policy Development and Research 
                of the Department;
                    (C) the Office of Fair Housing and Equal 
                Opportunity of the Department;
                    (D) the Office of Housing of the Department; and
                    (E) the Office of Public and Indian Housing of the 
                Department.
            (10) State.--The term ``State'' means any State of the 
        United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of 
        Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the 
        Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and any 
        possession of the United States.
    (b) Planning Grants.--The Secretary may award grants on a 
competitive basis to eligible entities for the purpose of developing 
and evaluating housing policy plans.
    (c) Implementation Grants.--The Secretary may award grants on a 
competitive basis to eligible entities for the purpose of implementing 
housing policy plans.
    (d) Rural Area Minimum.--The Secretary shall award not less than 10 
percent of the funds awarded to eligible entities under this section to 
eligible entities located in rural areas.
    (e) Applications.--
            (1) In general.--An eligible entity desiring a grant under 
        this section shall submit to the Secretary an application at 
        such time, in such manner, and containing such information as 
        the Secretary may require.
            (2) Priority.--In awarding grants under this section, the 
        Secretary shall give priority to an eligible entity that--
                    (A) has or is likely to develop a housing policy 
                plan that will--
                            (i) improve housing supply, affordability, 
                        and accessibility for all individuals of every 
                        race and income level;
                            (ii) reduce barriers to affordable housing 
                        development; and
                            (iii) avoid the displacement of residents 
                        by new housing developments in the area under 
                        the jurisdiction of the eligible entity;
                    (B) in developing or implementing a housing policy 
                plan, intends to leverage and efficiently use funds 
                from--
                            (i) another Federal, State, or local 
                        assistance program relating to housing; or
                            (ii) a private funding source;
                    (C) intends to--
                            (i) increase the supply and affordability 
                        of housing that is located--
                                    (I) near local transit options; and
                                    (II) in areas in which a 
                                significant or expanding supply of jobs 
                                or demand for employment is 
                                concentrated;
                            (ii) coordinate with local transportation 
                        and workforce agencies in accomplishing the 
                        increase described in clause (i); and
                            (iii) where appropriate, coordinate policy 
                        development for, and analysis and 
                        implementation of, the housing policy plan of 
                        the eligible entity at a regional scale to 
                        achieve a more equitable distribution of 
                        affordable housing across jurisdictional 
                        boundaries; or
                    (D) is a coalition of States or political 
                subdivisions of States.
            (3) Scoring.--The Secretary shall base the degree of 
        priority given to an eligible entity that satisfies 1 or more 
        subparagraphs under paragraph (2) on a scoring system 
        established by the Secretary.
    (f) Housing Policy Plan Guidance.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary shall issue guidance that 
        includes recommended policies, strategies, and reforms for 
        eligible entities to adopt in housing policy plans to--
                    (A) improve the elasticity of housing supply;
                    (B) expand the supply and affordability of housing;
                    (C) reduce barriers to housing development; and
                    (D) meaningfully reduce housing segregation by 
                income and race.
            (2) Policies.--The guidance issued under paragraph (1) 
        shall include recommendations for policies, strategies, and 
        reforms to--
                    (A) encourage and support the repurposing of land 
                or structures for housing development;
                    (B) allow for a greater variety of housing types;
                    (C) revise land use policies to allow for the 
                development of more housing;
                    (D) streamline approval processes for housing 
                development;
                    (E) provide financial incentives to support 
                affordable housing development; and
                    (F) support inclusive engagement with community 
                members relating to reforms to expand housing supply.
            (3) Areas.--The guidance issued under paragraph (1) shall 
        include recommendations for policies, strategies, and reforms 
        for urban, suburban, and rural areas.
    (g) Matching Requirement.--
            (1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (3), an eligible 
        entity that receives a grant under this section shall provide 
        non-Federal contributions in an amount equal to the amount of 
        the grant.
            (2) Eligible matching funds.--If an eligible entity uses 
        funds from another Federal assistance program relating to 
        housing in developing or implementing a housing policy plan for 
        which the eligible entity also receives a grant under this 
        section, any non-Federal contribution made by the eligible 
        entity as part of that Federal assistance program shall be 
        counted towards the requirement under paragraph (1).
            (3) Reduced matching requirement.--Based on the available 
        resources of an eligible entity, the Secretary may reduce the 
        amount of non-Federal contributions required to be provided by 
        the eligible entity under paragraph (1).
    (h) Use of Funds.--
            (1) Planning grants.--An eligible entity receiving a 
        planning grant shall use funds from the planning grant to 
        finance activities to help develop and evaluate a housing 
        policy plan for the area under the jurisdiction of the eligible 
        entity, including--
                    (A) quantifying existing and projected housing 
                needs for households of every income level, including 
                extremely low-income families, as defined in section 
                3(b) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 
                U.S.C. 1437a(b));
                    (B) documenting the characteristics of--
                            (i) the housing in the area;
                            (ii) the households of the area, including 
                        cost-burdened households; and
                            (iii) housing underproduction in the area;
                    (C) developing strategies to increase the housing 
                supply and the variety of housing types in the area to 
                satisfy the housing needs of the population of the 
                area;
                    (D) analyzing population and employment trends in 
                the area and documenting projections of those trends;
                    (E) considering strategies to minimize displacement 
                of low-income families, as defined in section 3(b) of 
                the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 
                1437a(b)), as a result of redevelopment in the area;
                    (F) providing for participation and input from 
                community members, community groups, local builders, 
                local realtors, nonprofit housing advocates, and local 
                religious groups; and
                    (G) creating a schedule of programs and actions to 
                implement the recommendations of the housing policy 
                plan, including a plan for adopting actions through a 
                local implementing ordinance or another regulatory 
                process, such as a land use plan or a comprehensive 
                plan.
            (2) Implementation and planning grants.--An eligible entity 
        receiving a grant under this section shall use a portion of the 
        funds from the grant to submit the report required under 
        subsection (j)(1).
    (i) Learning Network.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date on 
        which the Secretary awards the first planning grant or 
        implementation grant under this section, the Secretary shall 
        establish a learning network to--
                    (A) facilitate problem-solving relating to the 
                development and implementation of housing policy plans; 
                and
                    (B) disseminate best practices and effective 
                strategies and policies to improve local housing supply 
                and affordability.
            (2) Accessibility.--The learning network established under 
        paragraph (1) shall be accessible to--
                    (A) eligible entities that receive a grant under 
                this section; and
                    (B) eligible entities that submit an application 
                under subsection (e).
    (j) Reports and Study.--
            (1) Grant recipient reports.--Not later than 180 days after 
        the date on which an eligible entity receives a grant under 
        this section, and not less frequently than quarterly thereafter 
        for a 3-year period, the eligible entity shall submit to the 
        Secretary a report that includes--
                    (A) a description of the expenditures the eligible 
                entity has made with funds from the grant;
                    (B) for an eligible entity receiving a planning 
                grant, a summary of the progress of the eligibility 
                entity towards finalizing a housing policy plan; and
                    (C) for an eligible entity receiving an 
                implementation grant, data relating to the success of 
                the implementation of the housing policy plan of the 
                eligible entity.
            (2) Secretary study and report.--
                    (A) In general.--Not later than 5 years after the 
                date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 
                conduct a study on--
                            (i) the impact of implementation grants and 
                        planning grants on the areas under the 
                        jurisdiction of eligible entities receiving 
                        those grants; and
                            (ii) successful strategies from housing 
                        policy plans that were impactful in--
                                    (I) expanding the housing supply; 
                                and
                                    (II) increasing the quantity of 
                                quality and affordable housing, while 
                                avoiding the displacement of the 
                                residents of an area.
                    (B) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date 
                on which the Secretary completes the study required 
                under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall submit to 
                the appropriate committees of Congress a report on the 
                study.
    (k) Appropriations.--
            (1) In general.--There are authorized to be appropriated, 
        and there are appropriated, to the Secretary, out of any money 
        in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, $300,000,000 for 
        each of fiscal years 2022 through 2026 to carry out this Act.
            (2) Emergency designation.--
                    (A) In general.--The amounts provided by this 
                section are designated as an emergency requirement 
                pursuant to section 4(g) of the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go 
                Act of 2010 (2 U.S.C. 933(g)).
                    (B) Designation in senate.--In the Senate, this 
                section is designated as an emergency requirement 
                pursuant to section 4112(a) of H. Con. Res. 71 (115th 
                Congress), the concurrent resolution on the budget for 
                fiscal year 2018.
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