[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8604 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8604
To reduce regulatory barriers to housing, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 4, 2024
Ms. Blunt Rochester 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 reduce regulatory barriers to housing, 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 ``Reducing Regulatory Barriers to
Housing Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) As of 2021 in the United States, there was an estimated
housing shortage of 3,890,000 homes. This housing supply
shortage has resulted in a record number of cost-burdened
households across regions and spanning the large and small
cities, towns, and coastal and rural communities of the United
States.
(2) Several factors contribute to the undersupply of
housing in the United States, particularly workforce housing,
including rising costs of construction, a shortage of labor,
supply chain disruptions, and a lack of reliable funding
sources.
(3) Regulatory barriers at the State and local levels, such
as zoning and land use regulations, also inhibit the creation
of new housing to meet local and regional housing needs.
(4) State and local governments are proactively exploring
solutions for reforming regulatory barriers, but additional
resources, data, and models are needed to adequately address
these challenges.
(5) While land use regulation is the responsibility of
State and local governments, Federal support for necessary
reforms is not a preemption of existing authority, and there is
a need for the Federal Government to provide support and
assistance to State and local governments that wish to
undertake necessary reforms in a manner that fits their
communities' needs.
(6) It is the policy of the United States to provide for
fair housing throughout the country, and it is in the regional
and national interest to have a supply of housing that is fair,
affordable, adequate, and near opportunity.
(7) Therefore, zoning ordinances or systems of land use
regulation that have the intent or effect of restricting
housing opportunities based on economic status or income
without interests that are substantial, legitimate,
nondiscriminatory and that outweigh the regional need for
housing are contrary to the regional and national interest.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Assistant secretary.--The term ``Assistant Secretary''
means the Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and
Research of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
(2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Housing and Urban Development.
SEC. 4. LAND USE AND PLANNING.
(a) In General.--Section 4 of the Department of Housing and Urban
Development Act (42 U.S.C. 3533) is amended by adding at the end the
following:
``(i) Land Use and Planning.--
``(1) Definitions.--In this subsection:
``(A) Affordable housing.--The term `affordable
housing' means housing for which the monthly payment is
less than 30 percent of the monthly income of a
household.
``(B) Local zoning framework.--The term `local
zoning framework' means the local zoning codes and
other ordinances, procedures, and policies governing
zoning and land-use at the local level.
``(C) State zoning framework.--The term `State
zoning framework' means the State legislation or State
agency and department procedures enabling local
planning and zoning authorities and establishing and
guiding related policies and programs.
``(D) Unit of general local government.--The term
`unit of general local government'--
``(i) has the meaning given the term in
section 102 of the Housing and Community
Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5302); and
``(ii) includes regional planning entities.
``(2) Land use and planning.--The Secretary, acting through
the Assistant Secretary, shall--
``(A) provide technical assistance upon request to
States and localities on zoning and planning to--
``(i) eliminate discriminatory land use
policies and reduce barriers to housing
construction, including construction of housing
attainable for low-income and moderate-income
renters and homeowners; and
``(ii) promote sustainable and resilient
land development;
``(B) work across the Department and with the
Department of the Treasury, the Department of Justice,
the Department of Transportation, the Department of
Agriculture, the Department of Health and Human
Services, the Environmental Protection Agency, the
Department of Energy, the Department of the Interior,
and the Council on Environmental Quality to--
``(i) coordinate efforts relating to or
impacting housing development; and
``(ii) as relevant, streamline permitting,
including by aligning the implementing
procedures of those agencies under the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C.
4321 et seq.) to promote housing production and
transit-oriented development;
``(C) conduct, support, and disseminate research on
local zoning and planning measures to improve access to
affordable housing and increase housing supply across a
range of urban, suburban, exurban, and rural
communities, including by establishing a research
program to perform research, collect data, and
evaluate--
``(i) best practices in zoning and planning
to expand opportunities for housing
affordability and fair housing across a range
of housing types, sizes, and affordability;
``(ii) the effects of land-use reform
measures on--
``(I) neighborhood, jurisdictional,
and regional housing conditions;
``(II) residential stability; and
``(III) access to affordable
housing at all incomes levels;
``(iii) methods of community engagement to
improve the public engagement process to reform
land-use planning and regulatory practices;
``(iv) systems and standards for data
collection; and
``(v) other topics related to zoning and
planning as determined by the Secretary; and
``(D) develop the necessary expertise and capacity
within the Office to carry out this paragraph; and
``(E) not preempt local zoning.
``(3) Guidelines on state zoning frameworks.--
``(A) Establishment.--Not later than 3 years after
the date of enactment of this subsection, the Assistant
Secretary shall publish a document outlining guidelines
and best practices for State zoning frameworks to
support production of adequate housing to meet the
needs of communities and provide housing opportunities
for individuals at every income level across
communities.
``(B) Consultation; public comment.--During the 1-
year period beginning on the date of enactment of this
subsection, in developing the guidelines and best
practices required under subparagraph (A), the
Assistant Secretary shall--
``(i) publish draft guidelines in the
Federal Register for public comment; and
``(ii) establish a task force for the
purpose of providing consultation with the
Department of the draft guidelines published
under clause (i), the members of which shall
include--
``(I) planners and architects;
``(II) advocates with experience in
affordable housing, community
development efforts, and fair housing;
``(III) housing developers,
including affordable and market-rate
housing developers, manufactured
housing developers, and other business
interests;
``(IV) community engagement experts
and community members impacted by
zoning decisions;
``(V) public housing authorities
and transit authorities;
``(VI) members of local zoning and
planning boards and local and regional
transportation planning organizations;
``(VII) State officials responsible
for housing or land use, including
members of State zoning boards of
appeals; and
``(VIII) academic researchers.
``(C) Contents.--The guidelines and best practices
required under subparagraph (A) shall--
``(i) outline potential models for updated
State enabling legislation or State agency and
department procedures;
``(ii) include recommendations regarding--
``(I) the reduction or elimination
of parking minimums;
``(II) the increase in maximum
floor area ratio requirements and
maximum building heights and the
reduction in minimum lot size and
setback requirements;
``(III) the elimination of
restrictions against accessory dwelling
units;
``(IV) increasing by-right uses,
including duplex, triplex, or quadplex
buildings, across cities or
metropolitan areas, including
mechanisms, such as proximity to
transit, to determine the
jurisdictional level for rezoning and
ensures development that does not
disproportionately burden residents of
economically distressed areas;
``(V) provisions regarding review
of by-right development proposals to
streamline review and reduce
uncertainty, including non-
discretionary, ministerial review;
``(VI) the reduction of obstacles
to a range of housing types at all
levels of affordability, including
manufactured and modular housing;
``(VII) State model codes for
directing local reforms, including
mechanisms to encourage adoption;
``(VIII) provisions to encourage
transit-oriented development, including
but not limited to, increased
permissible units per structure and
reduced minimum lot sizes near existing
or planned public transit stations;
``(IX) improvements to the public
engagement processes, including--
``(aa) meaningful access
for limited English proficient
persons and effective
communication improvements for
persons with disabilities;
``(bb) leveraging of
virtual meeting technologies;
and
``(cc) proactive outreach
in communities;
``(X) the elimination of or reforms
to protest petition statutes;
``(XI) the standardization,
reduction, or elimination of impact
fees;
``(XII) the standardization of
building codes;
``(XIII) models for community
benefit agreements;
``(XIV) mechanisms to preserve
affordability, limit disruption of low-
income communities, and prevent
displacement of existing residents;
``(XV) a model for a State zoning
appeals process, which would--
``(aa) create a process for
developers or builders
requesting a variance,
conditional use, or zoning
district change or otherwise
petitioning a local zoning or
planning board for a project
including a State-defined
amount of affordable housing to
appeal a rejection to a State
body or regional body empowered
by the State;
``(bb) establish
qualifications for communities
to be exempted from the appeals
process based on their
available stock of affordable
housing; and
``(cc) establish a State
zoning appeals board to
consider appeals to a variance
rejection and objectively
evaluate petitions based on the
potential for environmental
damage and infrastructural
capacity;
``(XVI) best practices on the
disposition of land owned by State
governments for affordable housing
development; and
``(XVII) other land use measures
that promote access to new housing
opportunities identified by the
Secretary; and
``(iii) consider--
``(I) local housing needs,
including ways to set and measure
housing goals and targets;
``(II) a range of affordability for
rental units, with a prioritization of
units attainable to extremely low-
income, low-income, and moderate-income
residents;
``(III) a range of affordability
for homeownership units attainable to
low-income and moderate-income
residents;
``(IV) distinctions between States
providing constitutional or statutory
home rule authority to municipalities
and States operating under the Dillon
rule, as articulated in Hunter v.
Pittsburgh, 207 U.S. 161 (1907);
``(V) accountability measures;
``(VI) the long-term cost to
residents and businesses if more
housing is not constructed;