[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7325 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7325
To address the housing crisis through bold investments to increase and
preserve the national affordable housing supply, paths to
homeownership, and perpetual affordability through shared equity
housing and community land trust models, investigating landlord price
fixing, and providing relief for rural renters, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 13, 2024
Ms. Balint (for herself, Mr. Gomez, Mr. Davis of Illinois, Mr. Garcia
of Illinois, Mr. Goldman of New York, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Mr.
Jackson of Illinois, Ms. Lee of Pennsylvania, Ms. Moore of Wisconsin,
Mr. Mullin, Ms. Norton, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, Ms. Omar, Mrs. Ramirez, Ms.
Sanchez, Ms. Schakowsky, Mr. Smith of Washington, Ms. Stansbury, Mr.
Thanedar, Ms. Tlaib, Ms. Tokuda, Ms. Underwood, Mrs. Watson Coleman,
Ms. Porter, and Mr. Pocan) introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the
Committee on Ways and Means, 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 address the housing crisis through bold investments to increase and
preserve the national affordable housing supply, paths to
homeownership, and perpetual affordability through shared equity
housing and community land trust models, investigating landlord price
fixing, and providing relief for rural renters, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Community Housing
Act of 2024''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as
follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Congressional findings.
Sec. 3. Severability.
TITLE I--INVESTMENTS IN HOUSING SUPPLY
Sec. 101. Housing Trust Fund.
Sec. 102. GSE basis point fee.
Sec. 103. Capital Magnet Fund.
Sec. 104. Investments in affordable and accessible housing production.
Sec. 105. Unlocking possibilities program.
Sec. 106. Shared Equity Housing Fund.
Sec. 107. Repeal of Faircloth amendment.
Sec. 108. Establishment of HUD Office of Community Land Use and Zoning.
Sec. 109. Continuation of FHA-FFB affordable rental housing financing
partnership.
Sec. 110. Increase of minimum State allocations under housing programs.
TITLE II--RENTAL SUPPORT AND PERPETUAL AFFORDABILITY
Sec. 201. Permanent emergency rental assistance program.
Sec. 202. HUD Eviction Protection Grant Program.
Sec. 203. Shared equity housing resources.
Sec. 204. Homeownership assistance.
Sec. 205. Report on tax on secondary homes.
Sec. 206. National housing information database.
TITLE III--RURAL HOUSING
Sec. 301. Permanent establishment of housing preservation and
revitalization program; decoupling rental
assistance.
Sec. 302. Interagency Task Force to coordinate delivery of substance
use disorder treatment and affordable
housing availability.
SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS.
The Congress finds that--
(1) the cost of housing for all Americans has increased
dramatically and wages have not kept pace with these increases
over the last 50 years;
(2) average rent in the United States has increased 24
percent between 2020 and 2023;
(3) more than half of low- and moderate-income borrowers
now spend between 30 and 50 percent of their income on mortgage
payments;
(4) rental housing subsidized by the Rural Housing Service
(RHS) of the Department of Agriculture is often the only
affordable option in rural communities;
(5) more than half of extremely low-income rural renters
experience housing insecurity;
(6) the Housing Trust Fund (HTF) provides a dedicated,
permanent source of funding for affordable housing;
(7) the HTF is an important source of gap financing for
State housing finance agencies, used along with tax credits and
the HOME Investment Partnership program (HOME);
(8) the Capital Magnet Fund (CMF) provides funding to
nonprofits and Community Development Financial Institutions
(CDFIs) to expand financing for the development,
rehabilitation, and purchase of affordable housing and other
related economic development projects in distressed
communities;
(9) the HTF and CMF are funded through contributions from
the Government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and
Freddie Mac;
(10) the GSEs are required to annually set aside an amount
equal to 4.2 basis points for each dollar of the unpaid
principal balance of their total new business purchases to
support the affordable housing programs;
(11) in 2023, receipts from the GSE set aside dropped
significantly due to shifting market conditions;
(12) the HOME program is used, in combination with housing
tax credits, by State housing finance agencies to build
affordable rental housing;
(13) the HOME program is also the primary Federal resource
for the construction of affordable family homes;
(14) despite its importance and effectiveness, the HOME
program has not been adequately funded in relation to
increasing costs associated with single family and multifamily
housing construction;
(15) restrictive land use regulations disproportionately
affect low- and moderate-income families by limiting the
availability of quality affordable housing and driving up the
costs of existing housing;
(16) President Biden has proposed the Unlocking
Possibilities program, a competitive grant program to help
States and localities eliminate needless barriers to affordable
housing production, including permitting for manufactured
housing communities;
(17) almost 2 million people in the United States live in
public housing;
(18) public housing agencies are unnecessarily prohibited
from increasing their number of public housing units above the
total they had in 1992 under a provision of law commonly
referred to as the ``Faircloth limit'';
(19) community land trust or shared equity programs are
crucial for ensuring perpetual housing affordability;
(20) community land trusts or related shared equity housing
programs have established legal frameworks to keep homes
affordable for more than 30 years;
(21) there are over 300 community land trust entities in
the United States encompassing 43,931 housing units;
(22) 44 percent of all shared equity dwelling units are
rental units;
(23) a reported 45 percent of shared equity homeowners are
people of color;
(24) many shared equity housing organizations include a
commitment to racial and ethnic diversity in their
organizational and operational practices;
(25) the Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP),
established during the COVID-19 pandemic, provided rental and
utility assistance to more than 5 million households;
(26) these funds protected renters and landlords and have
demonstrated the need for a permanent emergency rental
assistance program;
(27) analysis shows that daily eviction rates fell
dramatically due to the ERAP;
(28) State and local public developers are innovating new
ways to finance and cross-subsidize the creation of affordable
mixed income public housing without depending on the use of
scarce low-income housing tax credits; and
(29) State and Federal antitrust enforcers would benefit
from greater visibility into use of real estate and property
management software to stem anti-competitive price fixing in
the rental housing markets.
SEC. 3. SEVERABILITY.
If any provision of this Act, any amendment made by this Act, or
the application of any such provision or amendment to any person or
circumstance is held to be unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act
and of the amendments made by this Act, and the application of the
remaining provisions of this Act and amendments to any person or
circumstance shall not be affected.
TITLE I--INVESTMENTS IN HOUSING SUPPLY
SEC. 101. HOUSING TRUST FUND.
Section 1338(a) of the Federal Housing Enterprises Financial Safety
and Soundness Act of 1992 (12 U.S.C. 4568(a)) is amended by adding at
the end the following:
``(3) Appropriation.--In addition to amounts otherwise made
available, there is appropriated to the Housing Trust Fund, out
of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated,
$44,500,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2033.''.
SEC. 102. GSE BASIS POINT FEE.
Section 1337(a) of the Federal Housing Enterprises Financial Safety
and Soundness Act of 1992 (12 U.S.C. 4567) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking ``4.2 basis points''
and inserting ``10 basis points''; and
(2) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking ``4.2 basis points''
and inserting ``10 basis points''.
SEC. 103. CAPITAL MAGNET FUND.
Section 1339 of the Federal Housing Enterprises Financial Safety
and Soundness Act of 1992 (12 U.S.C. 4569) is amended by adding at the
end the following:
``(k) Appropriation.--In addition to amounts otherwise made
available, there is appropriated to the Capital Magnet Fund, out of any
money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, $1,500,000,000 for
each of fiscal years 2024 through 2033.''.
SEC. 104. INVESTMENTS IN AFFORDABLE AND ACCESSIBLE HOUSING PRODUCTION.
(a) Appropriation.--In addition to amounts otherwise made
available, there is appropriated to the Secretary of Housing and Urban
Development (in this section referred to as the ``Secretary'') for
fiscal year 2024, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise
appropriated--
(1) $9,925,000,000, to remain available until September 30,
2028, for activities and assistance for the HOME Investment
Partnerships Program (in this section referred to as the ``HOME
program''), as authorized under sections 241 through 242, 244
through 253, 255 through 256, and 281 through 290 of the
Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C.
12741-12742, 42 U.S.C. 12744-12753, 42 U.S.C. 12755-12756, 42
U.S.C. 12831-12840) (in this section referred to as ``NAHA''),
subject to the terms and conditions paragraph (1)(A) of
subsection (b);
(2) $14,925,000,000, to remain available until September
30, 2028, for activities and assistance for the HOME Investment
Partnerships Program, as authorized under sections 241 through
242, 244 through 253, 255 through 256, and 281 through 290 of
the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act (42
U.S.C. 12741-12742, 42 U.S.C. 12744-12753, 42 U.S.C. 12755-
12756, 42 U.S.C. 12831-12840), subject to the terms and
conditions in paragraphs (1)(B) and (2) of subsection (b);
(3) $50,000,000, to remain available until September 30,
2033, to make new awards or increase prior awards to existing
technical assistance providers to provide an increase in
capacity building and technical assistance available to any
grantees implementing activities or projects consistent with
this section; and
(4) $100,000,000, to remain available until September 30,
2033, for the costs to the Secretary of administering and
overseeing the implementation of this section and the HOME and
Housing Trust Fund programs generally, including information
technology, financial reporting, research and evaluations, and
other cross-program costs in support of programs administered
by the Secretary in this title, and other costs.
(b) Terms And Conditions.--
(1) Formulas.--
(A) The Secretary shall allocate amounts made
available under subsection (a)(1) pursuant to section
217 of NAHA (42 U.S.C. 12747) to grantees that received
allocations pursuant to that same formula in fiscal
year 2023 and shall make such allocations within 60
days of the enactment of this Act.
(B) The Secretary shall allocate amounts made
available under subsection (a)(2) pursuant to the
formula specified in section 1338(c)(3) of the Federal
Housing Enterprises Financial Safety and Soundness Act
of 1992 (12 U.S.C. 4568(c)(3)) to grantees that
received Housing Trust Fund allocations pursuant to
that same formula in fiscal year 2023 and shall make
such allocations within 60 days of the date of the
enactment of this Act.
(2) Eligible activities.--Other than as provided in
paragraph (5) of this subsection, funds made available under
subsection (a)(2) may only be used for eligible activities
described in subparagraphs (A) through (B)(i) of section
1338(c)(7) of the Federal Housing Enterprises Financial Safety
and Soundness Act of 1992 (12 U.S.C. 4568(c)(7)), except that
not more than 10 percent of funds made available may be used
for activities under such subparagraph (B)(i).
(3) Funding restrictions.--The commitment requirements in
section 218(g) (42 U.S.C. 12748(g)) of NAHA, the matching
requirements in section 220 (42 U.S.C. 12750) of NAHA, and the
set-aside for housing developed, sponsored, or owned by
community housing development organizations required in section
231 of NAHA (42 U.S.C. 12771) shall not apply for amounts made
available under this section.
(4) Reallocation.--For funds provided under paragraphs (1)
and (2) of subsection (a), the Secretary may recapture certain
amounts remaining available to a grantee under this section or
amounts declined by a grantee, and reallocate such amounts to
other grantees under that paragraph to ensure fund expenditure,
geographic diversity, and availability of funding to
communities within the State from which the funds have been
recaptured.
(5) Administration.--Notwithstanding subsections (c) and
(d)(1) of section 212 of NAHA (42 U.S.C. 12742), grantees may
use not more than 15 percent of their allocations under this
section for administrative and planning costs.
(c) Waivers.--The Secretary may waive or specify alternative
requirements for any provision of the Cranston-Gonzalez National
Affordable Housing Act specified in subsection (a)(1) or (a)(2) or
regulation for the administration of the amounts made available under
this section other than requirements related to tenant rights and
protections, fair housing, nondiscrimination, labor standards, and the
environment, upon a finding that the waiver or alternative requirement
is necessary to facilitate the use of amounts made available under this
section.
(d) Implementation.--The Secretary shall have authority to issue
such regulations, notices, or other guidance, forms, instructions, and
publications to carry out the programs, projects, or activities
authorized under this section to ensure that such programs, projects,
or activities are completed in a timely and effective manner.
SEC. 105. UNLOCKING POSSIBILITIES PROGRAM.
(a) Appropriation.--In addition to amounts otherwise available,
there is appropriated to the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
for fiscal year 2024, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise
appropriated--
(1) $1,646,000,000 for awarding grants under sections 101,
102, 103, 104(a) through 104(i), 104(l), 104(m), 105(a) through
105(g), 106(a)(2), 106(a)(4), 106(b) through 106(f), 109, 110,
111, 113, 115, 116, 120, and 122 of the Housing and Community
Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5301, 5302, 5303, 5304(a)-
(i), 5304(l), 5304(m), 5305(a)-(g), 5306(a)(2), 5306(a)(4),
5306(b)-(f), 5309, 5310, 5311, 5313, 5315, 5316, 5319, and
5321) awarded on a competitive basis to eligible recipients to
carry out grants under subsection (c) of this section;
(2) $8,000,000 for research and evaluation related to
housing planning and other associated costs;
(3) $3,000,000 to provide technical assistance to grantees
or applicants for grants made available by this section; and
(4) $66,000,000 for the costs to the Secretary of
administering and overseeing the implementation of this section
and community and economic development programs overseen by the
Secretary generally, including information technology,
financial reporting, research and evaluations, and other cross-
program costs in support of programs administered by the
Secretary in this title, and other costs.
Amounts appropriated by this section shall remain available until
September 30, 2033.
(b) Program Establishment.--The Secretary of Housing and Urban
Development, acting through the Director of the Office of Community
Land Use and Zoning Reform established under section 4(i) of the
Department of Housing and Urban Development Act (as added by the
amendment made by section 108(a) of this Act), shall establish a
competitive grant program for--
(1) planning grants to develop and evaluate housing plans
and substantially improve housing strategies;
(2) streamlining regulatory requirements and shorten
processes, reform zoning codes, increasing capacity to conduct
housing inspections, or other initiatives that reduce barriers
to housing supply elasticity and affordability;
(3) developing and evaluating local or regional plans for
community development to substantially improve community
development strategies related to sustainability, fair housing,
and location efficiency;
(4) implementation and livable community investment grants;
and
(5) research and evaluation.
(c) Grants.--
(1) Planning grants.--The Secretary shall, under selection
criteria determined by the Secretary, award grants under this
paragraph on a competitive basis to eligible entities to assist
pla