S. 1299 — Housing Supply Frameworks Act

This section states congressional findings concerning the U.S. housing shortage, including an estimated shortage of 3,850,000 homes as of 2022 that has resulted in record numbers of cost-burdened households nationwide; contributing factors such as rising construction costs, labor shortages, supply chain disruptions, lack of funding, and state/local regulatory barriers (e.g., zoning and land use regulations); the need for additional federal resources, data, and models to support state and local reform efforts; and that zoning ordinances restricting housing opportunities based on economic status or income—absent substantial, legitimate, nondiscriminatory interests outweighing regional housing needs—are contrary to regional and national interests.

This section establishes definitions for terms used in the Act. Those terms are (1) "affordable housing," meaning housing for which the monthly payment is not more than 30 percent of the household's monthly income; (2) "Assistant Secretary," meaning the Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research of the Department of Housing and Urban Development; (3) "local zoning framework," meaning local zoning codes and other ordinances, procedures, and policies governing zoning and land use at the local level; (4) "Secretary," meaning the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development; and (5) "State zoning framework," meaning state legislation or state agency and department procedures—or such legislation or procedures in an insular area of the United States—enabling local planning and zoning authorities and establishing and guiding related policies and programs.

This section directs the Assistant Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to publish, not later than three years after the date of enactment, guidelines and best practices on state and local zoning frameworks to support production of adequate housing for communities and all income levels. In developing the guidelines, the Assistant Secretary must, during the two-year period beginning on enactment, (1) publish drafts in the Federal Register for public comment and (2) consult a task force including planners, architects, affordable housing advocates, developers, community members, public housing and transit authorities, local zoning officials, state housing officials, academics, and home builders. The guidelines must (1) outline models for state enabling legislation and agency procedures; (2) recommend reforms such as reducing or eliminating parking minimums, increasing floor area ratios, building heights, and by-right uses (including duplexes, triplexes, and quadplexes), eliminating accessory dwelling unit restrictions, streamlining review processes, reducing impact fees, standardizing building codes, promoting transit-oriented and manufactured housing development, reforming public engagement and protest petitions, and developing state model codes, appeals processes (with exemptions for high-affordability areas), and local dispositions of public land; with differentiated best practices for rural, suburban, urban, and varying-density communities; and (3) consider fair housing compliance, effects on federal grants and tax credits from HUD, DOT, and USDA, infrastructure-housing coordination, local housing needs assessments, and a range of rental affordability prioritizing extremely low-, low-, and moderate-income residents.

This section requires the Assistant Secretary, not later than five years after publishing the guidelines and best practices for State and local zoning frameworks, to submit to Congress a report describing (1) the States that have adopted recommendations from those guidelines pursuant to section 4; (2) a summary of localities that have adopted such recommendations; (3) a list of States that adopted a State zoning framework; (4) a summary of modifications each such State made to its zoning framework; (5) a general summary of types of updates localities made to their local zoning frameworks; and (6) the effect of such State adoptions on the number of building permits issued.

This section abolishes the Regulatory Barriers Clearinghouse and repeals the authorizing statute (42 U.S.C. 12705d). (As background, the clearinghouse—housed in HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research—served as a national repository for information on state and local laws, regulations, and policies affecting affordable housing (e.g., zoning, building codes, and tax policies), along with strategies to address barriers and promote affordable housing and desegregation; it responded to inquiries, provided technical assistance, and distributed an index of such strategies to housing agencies in localities with populations over 100,000. Thus, HUD will cease these functions.)