“To establish a competitive grant program supporting affordable housing planning and implementation activities, and for other purposes.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), not later than one year after enactment, to establish a competitive grant program for eligible entities—including states, insular areas, metropolitan cities, and urban counties (as defined in section 102 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974) and regional planning agencies or consortia—to support planning and implementation activities associated with affordable housing. Eligible uses vary by entity type and include, for regional planning agencies, (1) developing housing plans (i.e., plans to increase housing supply and affordability, improve accessibility and quality, reduce development barriers, and coordinate with transportation agencies), (2) substantially improving state or local housing strategies (i.e., those required under section 105 of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act), (3) updating zoning codes and regulatory processes, (4) increasing capacity for housing inspections and reducing barriers to housing supply elasticity and affordability, and (5) developing or improving community development strategies to increase affordable housing availability and access, public transportation access, and location-efficient development; for states, insular areas, metropolitan cities, and urban counties, substantially similar implementation and administrative activities plus funding for supporting community investments; with no more than 10% of grant amounts used for administrative costs. The section further requires coordination with the Federal Transit Administrator to the extent practicable; deems new housing construction and non-federal government buildings (when part of natural hazard mitigation projects) as eligible expenses; and defines key terms including eligible entity, housing plan, and housing strategy.