PRINTER'S NO. 3267
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No. 2396
Session of
2024
INTRODUCED BY CEPHAS, GIRAL, WAXMAN, SCHLOSSBERG, M. JONES,
KINSEY, NEILSON, HILL-EVANS, BRENNAN, MALAGARI, KRAJEWSKI,
SANCHEZ, DALEY, CIRESI, SCOTT, KAZEEM AND GREEN, JUNE 7, 2024
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT,
JUNE 7, 2024
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of December 3, 1959 (P.L.1688, No.621),
2 entitled "An act to promote the health, safety and welfare of
3 the people of the Commonwealth by broadening the market for
4 housing for persons and families of low and moderate income
5 and alleviating shortages thereof, and by assisting in the
6 provision of housing for elderly persons through the creation
7 of the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency as a public
8 corporation and government instrumentality; providing for the
9 organization, membership and administration of the agency,
10 prescribing its general powers and duties and the manner in
11 which its funds are kept and audited, empowering the agency
12 to make housing loans to qualified mortgagors upon the
13 security of insured and uninsured mortgages, defining
14 qualified mortgagors and providing for priorities among
15 tenants in certain instances, prescribing interest rates and
16 other terms of housing loans, permitting the agency to
17 acquire real or personal property, permitting the agency to
18 make agreements with financial institutions and Federal
19 agencies, providing for the purchase by persons of low and
20 moderate income of housing units, and approving the sale of
21 housing units, permitting the agency to sell housing loans,
22 providing for the promulgation of regulations and forms by
23 the agency, prescribing penalties for furnishing false
24 information, empowering the agency to borrow money upon its
25 own credit by the issuance and sale of bonds and notes and by
26 giving security therefor, permitting the refunding,
27 redemption and purchase of such obligations by the agency,
28 prescribing remedies of holders of such bonds and notes,
29 exempting bonds and notes of the agency, the income
30 therefrom, and the income and revenues of the agency from
31 taxation, except transfer, death and gift taxes; making such
32 bonds and notes legal investments for certain purposes; and
 1 indicating how the act shall become effective," in the
2 agency, providing for tracking system for publicly financed
3 housing.
4 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
5 hereby enacts as follows:
6 Section 1. The act of December 3, 1959 (P.L.1688, No.621),
7 known as the Housing Finance Agency Law, is amended by adding a
8 section to read:
9 Section 209. Tracking System for Publicly Financed
10 Housing.--(a) Within one year of the effective date of this
11 section, the agency shall establish a system for tracking
12 publicly financed housing in this Commonwealth. The tracking
13 system shall include a methodology for:
14 (1) tracking the anticipated termination dates of
15 affordability restrictions affecting all publicly financed
16 properties in this Commonwealth; and
17 (2) to the extent permitted by Federal law or regulation,
18 disclosing the anticipated termination dates, along with any
19 other information required under subsection (b), in a database
20 posted to the agency's publicly accessible Internet website and
21 in reports required under subsection (d).
22 (b) No later than the first day of the month following the
23 month in which the tracking system required under subsection (a)
24 is implemented, the agency shall post to its publicly accessible
25 Internet website a searchable database of all publicly financed
26 housing in this Commonwealth. The database shall include all of
27 the following:
28 (1) The address of the property.
29 (2) The name and business address of the owner of the
30 property.
31 (3) The anticipated date on which the affordability
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 1 restrictions affecting the property may terminate. In the event
2 that a property is subject to multiple affordability
3 restrictions under one or more public-assistance programs, the
4 anticipated termination date for each affordability restriction
5 shall be included.
6 (4) To the extent available, information as to whether the
7 public-assistance program or programs affecting the property
8 allow the owner to elect to keep the property in the program or
9 programs after the anticipated termination date of affordability
10 restrictions relating to the program or programs.
11 (5) Information regarding whether the property has been
12 granted an extension or modification of the affordability
13 restrictions affecting the property and the new anticipated
14 termination date of the affordability restrictions resulting
15 from the extension or modification.
16 (6) Any other information the agency deems relevant.
17 (c) The agency shall maintain the database required under
18 subsection (b) and update the contents, including any updates
19 provided by a local housing agency under subsection (e), no
20 later than the last day of each March, June, September and
21 December.
22 (d) By December 31 in each year following the implementation
23 of the tracking system established under subsection (a), the
24 agency shall submit the following reports:
25 (1) To the Governor, a report containing the following:
26 (i) For each publicly financed housing property that has or
27 shall terminate in or before the end of the calendar year in
28 which the report is due, all of the information required under
29 subsection (b) and the aggregate number of the terminated or
30 terminating properties in this Commonwealth.
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 1 (ii) For each publicly financed housing property that is
2 anticipated to terminate in or before the end of the first
3 calendar year commencing after the due date of the report, all
4 of the information required under subsection (b) and the
5 aggregate number of terminating properties in this Commonwealth.
6 (iii) For each publicly financed housing property that is
7 anticipated to terminate in or before the end of the second
8 calendar year commencing after the due date of the report, all
9 of the information required under subsection (b) and the
10 aggregate number of the terminating properties in this
11 Commonwealth.
12 (2) To each member of the General Assembly, a report
13 containing the following:
14 (i) For each publicly financed housing property located
15 within the member's electoral district that has or shall
16 terminate in or before the end of the calendar year in which the
17 report is due, all of the information required under subsection
18 (b) and the aggregate number of the terminated or terminating
19 properties located within the district.
20 (ii) For each publicly financed housing property located
21 within the member's electoral district that is anticipated to
22 terminate in or before the end of the first calendar year
23 commencing after the due date of the report, all of the
24 information required under subsection (b) and the aggregate
25 number of terminating properties located within the district.
26 (iii) For each publicly financed housing property located
27 within the member's electoral district that is anticipated to
28 terminate in or before the end of the second calendar year
29 commencing after the due date of the report, all of the
30 information required under subsection (b) and the aggregate
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 1 number of terminating properties located within the district.
2 (e) Within six months of the effective date of this section,
3 a local housing agency shall deliver to the agency all of the
4 information required under subsection (b) with respect to each
5 property owned or operated by the local housing agency.
6 Following the implementation of the tracking system under
7 subsection (a), the local housing agency shall deliver to the
8 agency any updates with respect to the information required
9 under this subsection no later than the last day of every
10 February, May, August and November. The agency shall incorporate
11 all information delivered under this subsection in the publicly
12 accessible database required under subsection (b) and in all
13 reports required under subsection (d).
14 (f) The General Assembly shall appropriate sufficient funds
15 to the agency for the development and maintenance of the
16 database required under this section.
17 (g) As used in this section, the following words and phrases
18 shall have the meanings given to them in this subsection unless
19 the context clearly indicates otherwise:
20 "Affordability restriction." A limit on rent that an owner
21 may charge for occupancy of a rental unit in a publicly financed
22 housing development or a limit on tenant income for persons or
23 families seeking to qualify for admission to a publicly financed
24 housing development.
25 "Local housing agency." An entity created and organized for
26 the purpose of owning, operating, financing or administering one
27 or more publicly financed housing projects.
28 "Owner." A natural person, firm, partnership, corporation,
29 trust, organization, limited liability company or other entity,
30 or its successors or assigns, that holds title to publicly
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 1 financed housing.
2 "Publicly financed housing." A housing unit or development
3 that receives government assistance under any of the following
4 programs:
5 (1) 42 U.S.C. Ch. 8 Subch. I (relating to general program of
6 assisted housing), as it applies to new construction,
7 substantial rehabilitation, moderate rehabilitation, property
8 disposition and loan management set-aside programs or any other
9 program providing project-based rental assistance.
10 (2) The Federal Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program
11 provided under 26 U.S.C. § 42 (relating to low-income housing
12 credit).
13 (3) 12 U.S.C. § 1701s (relating to rent supplement payments
14 for qualified lower income families), as it applies to programs
15 for rent supplement assistance thereunder.
16 (4) 12 U.S.C. Ch. 13 (relating to national housing).
17 (5) The below-market interest rate program under 12 U.S.C.
18 § 1715l(d)(3) (relating to housing for moderate income and
19 displaced families).
20 (6) 12 U.S.C. § 1715l(d)(4), to the extent the project's
21 rents are restricted under a government agreement.
22 (7) 12 U.S.C. § 1715z-1 (relating to rental and cooperative
23 housing for lower income families).
24 (8) 42 U.S.C. § 1441 et seq. (Housing Act of 1949).
25 (9) 42 U.S.C. § 1490a (relating to loans to provide occupant
26 owned, rental, and cooperative housing for low and moderate
27 income, elderly or handicapped persons or families).
28 (10) The Urban Development Action Grant provided under 42
29 U.S.C. § 5318 (relating to urban development action grants), to
30 the extent that the affordability of dwelling units subject to
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 1 the program are restricted under a government agreement.
2 (11) The Housing Development Action grant provided under 42
3 U.S.C. Ch. 8 Subch. I, to the extent the project's rents are
4 restricted under a government agreement.
5 (12) The Pennsylvania Housing Tax Credit provided under
6 Article XIX-G of the act of March 4, 1971 (P.L.6, No.2), known
7 as the "Tax Reform Code of 1971."
8 (13) Any other housing unit or development that receives
9 government assistance under Federal or State programs similar to
10 the other programs listed in this subsection.
11 "Tenant." A person entitled to possession or occupancy of a
12 rental unit in publicly financed housing, including a subtenant,
13 lessee or sublessee.
14 "Termination." The cessation, discharge or removal of an
15 affordability restriction affecting publicly financed housing in
16 the absence of a simultaneous replacement of that restriction
17 with an equivalent affordability restriction, including:
18 (1) Nonrenewal or termination, in whole or in part, of a
19 government program contract.
20 (2) The expiration, in whole or in part, of an affordability
21 restriction under a government program or the requirement to
22 renew the restriction.
23 (3) Payment in full of a government program mortgage loan.
24 (4) Prepayment of a government program mortgage loan.
25 Section 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
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Statutes/Laws affected:
Printer's No. 3267: P.L.1688, No.621