S. 3092 — Affordable Housing Expansion Act

This section amends the Davis-Bacon Act prevailing wage requirements (i.e., minimum wages for mechanics and laborers on federal construction, alteration, or repair contracts exceeding $2,000) as follows: (1) revises the geographic basis for determining prevailing wages to include, in addition to civil subdivisions of the state, data from broader geographic groupings such as metropolitan statistical areas (as determined appropriate by the Secretary of Labor), provided metropolitan labor market data is not used for nonmetropolitan wage determinations; and (2) directs the Secretary of Labor, not later than one year after enactment, to review and revise wage survey methods, following public notice and comment, to incorporate reliable and objective data sources (e.g., Bureau of Labor Statistics surveys), increase business participation rates, and ensure proportional representation of unionized and non-unionized businesses in completed surveys.

This section limits prevailing wage determinations by the Secretary of Labor under the Davis-Bacon Act (40 U.S.C. 3142) for projects assisted under section 212(a) of the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1715c(a)), section 104(b)(1) of the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 4114(b)(1)), section 12(a) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437j(a)), and section 811(j)(5) of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 8013(j)(5)) to a single wage rate under such Act's subsection (b) corresponding to the project's overall residential character.

This section establishes the Davis-Bacon Modernization Working Group within the Department of Labor not later than 60 days after enactment, in consultation with the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, to recommend updates to prevailing wage requirements under the Davis-Bacon Act (40 U.S.C. ch. 31, subch. IV) for certain affordable housing projects. (The Davis-Bacon Act requires payment of locally prevailing wages to laborers and mechanics on federal construction contracts exceeding $2,000.) The working group, chaired by a Department of Labor representative and composed of eight members (i.e., representatives from the Departments of Labor and Housing and Urban Development; housing construction, financial services, and affordable housing industry associations; a state public housing agency; a tribally designated housing entity, as defined in the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 4103); and a labor organization), must (1) recommend application of residential prevailing wage classifications to affordable housing with five or more stories; (2) develop administrative and legislative options to waive or streamline prevailing wages for specified Federal Housing Administration-insured affordable rental new construction projects; and (3) assess outcomes of shifting prevailing wage determinations to the Bureau of Labor Statistics using existing data rather than voluntary business surveys. The working group must submit a report with majority-supported recommendations to the Secretary of Labor and specified congressional committees within one year of establishment (with members serving without compensation); the Federal Advisory Committee Act does not apply; and the working group terminates upon report completion.

This section revises the Davis-Bacon Act prevailing wage certification requirements for FHA mortgage insurance under specified authorities (e.g., sections 1713, 1715a, 1715e, 1715k, 1715l(d)(3) or (d)(4), 1715l(h)(1), 1715x, 1715z(j)(1), 1743, 1748b, 1748h–2, and 1750g) covering certain multifamily dwellings or housing projects. Specifically, it (1) changes the prevailing wage benchmark from construction of "similar character" to "residential character"; (2) updates the statutory reference from the Davis-Bacon Act, as amended (40 U.S.C. 276a–276a–5), to subchapter IV of chapter 31 of title 40, United States Code; and (3) specifies that the wage rate is that applicable at the time the insurance application is filed.

This section revises the Davis-Bacon prevailing wage requirements for labor on Section 202 supportive housing for the elderly (i.e., capital advances and project rental assistance to nonprofits for very low-income elderly persons) to residential character wage rates, as determined by the Secretary of Labor under subchapter IV of chapter 31, title 40, U.S. Code, applicable at the time the application is filed (from similar character wage rates under the Davis-Bacon Act).

This section revises the prevailing wage requirements for laborers and mechanics employed on Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act of 1996 (NAHASDA) projects to rates for corresponding classes on residential construction, as predetermined by the Secretary of Labor under subchapter IV of chapter 31 of title 40, United States Code, applicable at the time the grant application is filed (from general Davis-Bacon Act rates).

This section revises the Davis-Bacon prevailing wage requirement applicable to construction or rehabilitation under the Supportive Housing for Persons with Disabilities program (Section 811) by changing the wage rate standard from "similar character" (as determined under the Davis-Bacon Act) to "residential character" (as determined by the Secretary of Labor under subchapter IV of chapter 31 of title 40, U.S. Code, applicable at the time the application is filed). (Thus, projects use residential prevailing wage rates, which are typically lower than commercial rates.)

This section revises the Davis-Bacon prevailing wage requirements for laborers and mechanics employed in the development of low-income housing projects to specify wages for corresponding classes of workers on residential construction, as predetermined by the Secretary of Labor pursuant to 40 U.S.C. ch. 31 subch. IV and applicable at the time the application is filed (from wages predetermined pursuant to the Davis-Bacon Act (49 Stat. 1011)). (Thus, the required wage rates more closely align with residential construction schedules.)