[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 43 (Monday, March 9, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Pages S936-S938]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 4388. Mr. HAGERTY submitted an amendment intended to be proposed
to amendment SA 4308 proposed by Mr. Scott of South Carolina (for
himself and Ms. Warren) to the bill H.R. 6644, a bill to increase the
supply of housing in America, and for other purposes; which was ordered
to lie on the table; as follows:
At the appropriate place in title II, insert the
following:
SEC. 2___. ``FREEDOM TO BUILD'' DESIGNATION.
(a) Establishment.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 18 months after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Housing and Urban
Development shall establish a ``Freedom to Build''
designation for eligible localities that voluntarily qualify
under subsection (b) or subsection (c).
(2) List.--The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
shall maintain and publish on a publicly accessible website a
list of all localities that have received a Freedom to Build
designation, updated not less frequently than annually.
(3) Duration.--A Freedom to Build designation shall be
effective for a 5-year period beginning on the date on which
the designation is made and shall be renewable upon a
demonstration of continued qualification under subsection (b)
or subsection (c).
(4) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this subsection shall
be construed to require any locality to apply for or obtain a
Freedom to Build designation.
(b) Qualification by Reform Adoption.--
(1) In general.--A locality may qualify for a Freedom to
Build designation by certifying to the Secretary of Housing
and Urban Development that the locality has adopted not fewer
than the minimum number of reforms specified by the Secretary
under paragraph (3) from each of the 3 categories described
in paragraph (2).
(2) Categories of reform.--The Secretary of Housing and
Urban Development shall,
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through notice-and-comment rulemaking, identify specific
reforms within each of the following categories:
(A) Unleashing construction innovation.--Reforms that
remove regulatory barriers to the use of modern construction
technologies, materials, and methods, including modular, pre-
fabricated, panelized, and other off-site construction
techniques, by aligning local requirements with nationally
recognized standards and prohibiting differential treatment
based on mode of construction. Such reforms may include--
(i) aligning local codes governing off-site construction
with nationally recognized standards, including standards
published by the International Code Council;
(ii) permitting emerging construction materials and methods
without differential treatment based on whether or how a
dwelling is fabricated;
(iii) prohibiting local amendments to the model building
code that add cost beyond what the nationally recognized code
requires, unless the locality demonstrates a specific safety
basis for such amendment; and
(iv) such other reforms as the Secretary determines further
the purposes of this subparagraph.
(B) Fast-tracking the approval process.--Reforms that
reduce the time, cost, and uncertainty of the development
approval process and provide builders with meaningful
recourse when the process fails. Such reforms may include--
(i) by-right approval for projects that conform to
applicable zoning and building codes, without discretionary
review;
(ii) binding maximum timelines for permit decisions and
inspections, with clear remedies for the applicant, which may
include deemed approval or immediate administrative appeal,
when deadlines are not met;
(iii) full public disclosure of all permits, approvals,
inspections, and associated fees that may be required, and
prohibition of undisclosed requirements or mid-process cost
increases;
(iv) limiting the impact fees and offsite charges to costs
with a reasonable nexus to the specific development project;
(v) authorizing builders to use qualified third-party
inspectors for required inspections and to select licensed
professionals of their choice for required studies;
(vi) protecting approved development plans from the
retroactive application of code changes adopted after the
date on which approval was granted;
(vii) limiting standing to challenge an approved
development to parties who can demonstrate that the
development would create a common-law nuisance or an
immediate threat to health, safety, or welfare;
(viii) an expedited dispute resolution process for denials
and delays, under which the jurisdiction bears the burden of
demonstrating that its action is necessary to protect
substantial public health, safety, or welfare interests, and
under which the builder may recover costs and damages for
unreasonable delay; and
(ix) such other reforms as the Secretary determines further
the purposes of this subparagraph.
(C) Defending property rights and consumer freedom.--
Reforms that eliminate government mandates that restrict what
may be built, how it may be built, who may build it, what
energy sources it may use, or what owners and tenants may do
with their property, where such mandates exceed what is
required for genuine health and safety. Such reforms may
include--
(i) prohibiting rent control or rent stabilization on
dwelling units, which may exempt existing dwellings, for
which a certificate of occupancy is first issued after the
date of designation;
(ii) protecting the ability of property owners to promptly
address nonpayment, lease violations, fraud, and unauthorized
occupancy;
(iii) prohibiting mandatory below-market set-asides in new
development unless the requirement is fully offset by a
density bonus, fee waiver, or equivalent incentive
voluntarily accepted by the builder;
(iv) prohibiting wage, residency, or workforce-composition
mandates on housing development projects beyond those imposed
by generally applicable State law;
(v) requiring that local building code provisions be
consistent with evidence-based standards promulgated by the
Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Agriculture, the
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, the National
Institute of Standards and Technology, or any other Federal
agency, and eliminating non-safety-related local additions;
(vi) authorizing builders to comply with a federally
recognized energy rating index as an alternative to
prescriptive energy efficiency codes, and prohibiting
mandates for electric-vehicle charging infrastructure or on-
site renewable energy generation;
(vii) prohibiting local ordinances that ban or effectively
eliminate the choice of a property owner of a residential
energy source;
(viii) authorizing builders to design to any version of the
applicable building or energy code adopted within a
reasonable period, as determined by the Secretary of Housing
and Urban Development, at the time of plan submission, rather
than only the most recently adopted edition;
(ix) limiting regulatory layering, including prohibiting
State requirements that add to project costs beyond
applicable Federal requirements, and prohibiting local
requirements that add to project costs beyond applicable
State requirements, unless justified by documented
jurisdiction-specific health or safety characteristics;
(x) prohibiting growth moratoria, construction caps, or
geographic containment boundaries that restrict where new
housing may be built;
(xi) prohibiting rules or policies that penalize or
increase the cost of a housing development on the basis that
it is primarily accessible by automobile; and
(xii) such other reforms as the Secretary determines
further the purposes of this subparagraph.
(3) Minimum thresholds.--The Secretary of Housing and Urban
Development shall, through notice-and-comment rulemaking,
establish the minimum number of reforms from each category
described in paragraph (2) that a locality must adopt to
qualify for a Freedom to Build designation. The minimum
number shall be not fewer than 3 reforms from each category.
(c) Qualification by Housing Supply Outcomes.--
(1) In general.--As an alternative to qualification under
subsection (b), a locality may qualify for a Freedom to Build
designation by demonstrating sustained housing supply growth
meeting an affordability-adjusted target established by the
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under this
subsection.
(2) Affordability-adjusted target.--The Secretary of
Housing and Urban Development shall, through notice-and-
comment rulemaking, establish a formula for determining the
supply growth target applicable to each locality. The formula
shall--
(A) set a higher supply growth target for localities in
housing markets in which housing costs are high and rising,
and a lower target, which may be zero, for localities in
housing markets in which housing costs are affordable and
stable;
(B) account for both the level of housing costs, such as
the ratio of median home price to median household income,
and the trajectory of housing costs, such as the rate of home
price or rent appreciation;
(C) measure housing cost conditions at the level of the
metropolitan statistical area or the housing market area
defined by the Secretary, rather than at the level of the
individual locality, to prevent a locality from avoiding a
supply growth target applicable to its region;
(D) measure supply growth relative to the affordability-
adjusted target rather than by raw production volume; and
(E) permit the supply growth target to be met by an
individual locality or through documented participation by
the locality in a regional housing production compact with
one or more other localities.
(3) Data sources.--In establishing the formula under
paragraph (2), the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
shall use existing, publicly available data, which may
include the House Price Index published by the Federal
Housing Finance Agency, the American Community Survey of the
Bureau of the Census, Fair Market Rents published by the
Department of Housing and Urban Development, and housing unit
counts from the decennial census or the American Community
Survey.
(d) Periodic Review.--The Secretary of Housing and Urban
Development shall review, and if appropriate update through
notice-and-comment rulemaking, the specific reforms
identified under subsection (b)(2) and the formula
established under subsection (c)(2) not less than once every
5 years after the date on which the regulations are
promulgated.
(e) Revocation.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of Housing and Urban
Development may revoke the Freedom to Build designation of a
locality upon a finding that the locality has--
(A) materially reversed 1 or more qualifying reforms
adopted under subsection (b); or
(B) ceased to meet the supply growth target under
subsection (c), as applicable.
(2) Notice.--Before revoking a designation under paragraph
(1), the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall
provide the locality with written notice and a period of not
less than 180 days to cure the deficiency.
At appropriate place in section 210, insert the following:
(__) Set-aside for Freedom to Build Communities.--Of the
amounts appropriated to carry out this section for each
fiscal year, not less than 25 percent shall be reserved for
applicants located in localities with a current Freedom to
Build designation under section 2___.
(__) Streamlined Procedures.--The Secretary of Housing and
Urban Development may establish streamlined application
procedures and reduced reporting requirements for applicants
located in localities with a current Freedom to Build
designation under section 2___.
At the appropriate place in section 209, insert the
following:
(__) Preference for Designated Communities.--In awarding
grants under this section, the Secretary shall provide
preferential scoring to applicants located in localities with
a current Freedom to Build designation under section 2___.
(__) Eligible Uses.--In addition to the uses otherwise
authorized under this section, grant funds awarded under this
section may be used for planning and implementation
activities undertaken by a locality for the purpose of
qualifying for a Freedom to Build designation under section
2___.
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At the appropriate place in section 202, insert the
following:
(__) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) Local regulatory barriers, including restrictive
zoning, burdensome permitting processes, and cost-increasing
mandates, are a significant contributor to housing-supply
constraints and rising housing costs across the United
States.
(2) Federal investments in infrastructure, transportation,
and community development generate greater public benefit
when the surrounding regulatory environment permits the
construction of housing in response to improved accessibility
and economic opportunity.
(3) Communities that remove regulatory barriers to
homebuilding serve national economic, workforce development,
and housing affordability objectives.
(4) Federal tax incentives for housing production and
investment, including the low-income housing tax credit under
section 42 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, qualified
opportunity zone incentives under section 1400Z-2 of such
Code, and the new markets tax credit under section 45D of
such Code, generate greater returns for taxpayers and produce
more housing when deployed in communities with pro-building
regulatory environments.
(5) Federal housing, transportation, and community
development funds achieve greater impact when directed to
communities where the regulatory environment enables those
investments to produce their intended results. Directing such
funds to communities that simultaneously maintain regulatory
barriers to the construction those programs are designed to
support diminishes the effectiveness and return on the
Federal investment.
(6) An adequate and growing supply of housing allows demand
growth from rising incomes and declining interest rates to
result in expanded homeownership rather than higher home
prices, property taxes, and homeowner insurance premiums,
thereby protecting the affordability and value of
homeownership for current and prospective homeowners.
(7) The Freedom to Build designation established under
section 2___ provides a reliable and verifiable indicator
that a community has committed to a regulatory environment
supportive of housing supply growth.
(__) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that
Federal agencies administering competitive grant programs for
infrastructure, transportation, and community development,
including the Department of Transportation, the Environmental
Protection Agency, and the Department of Agriculture, should
consider whether an applicant is located in a locality with a
current Freedom to Build designation under section 2___ as a
positive factor in evaluating applications for such grants
where housing supply or community development is relevant to
the objectives of the program.
(__) Priority for Freedom to Build Communities.--In
addition to the priority authorized under subsection (b) with
respect to opportunity zones, the Secretary of Housing and
Urban Development may prioritize applicants that are located
in or primarily serve communities with a current Freedom to
Build designation under section 2___ for any competitive
grant administered by the Department of Housing and Urban
Development that relates to housing development, housing
preservation, or community development.
At the appropriate place in section 205, insert the
following:
(__) Safe Harbor for Freedom to Build Communities.--
(1) Exemption from funding reduction.--Notwithstanding any
other provision of this section, a community described in
paragraph (3) shall not be subject to any reduction in the
amount of assistance the community would otherwise receive
under section 106 as a result of the reallocation required
under this section.
(2) Eligibility for bonus.--A community described in
paragraph (3) shall remain eligible for any increase in the
amount of assistance under the reallocation required under
this section if the community meets the housing growth
improvement rate threshold applicable to communities
receiving increased assistance.
(3) Community described.--A community described in this
paragraph is a community that, at the time of the
determination under this section, holds a current Freedom to
Build designation under section 2___.
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