S. 3537 — Marijuana in Federally Assisted Housing Parity Act of 2025

This section amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to exclude from definitions of illegal drug activity or controlled substance—grounds for eviction from public housing, denial of admission, or termination of Section 8 rental assistance—any manufacture, sale, distribution, use, or possession of marijuana (as defined in 21 U.S.C. 802) that complies with state law, specifically by: (1) revising the definition in section 3(b)(9) (42 U.S.C. 1437a(b)(9)); (2) revising the definition in section 6(l) (42 U.S.C. 1437d(l)) and excluding such marijuana use from "controlled substance" in section 6(t)(7)(C); and (3) revising the definition in section 8(f)(5) (42 U.S.C. 1437f(f)(5)).

This section amends Subtitle F of title V of the Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act of 1998 (QHWRA)—which authorizes public housing agencies (PHAs) and owners of federally assisted housing (e.g., certain Section 8 properties) to deny admission to applicants and terminate tenancy for drug-related and certain other criminal activities—as follows: (1) in section 576 (42 U.S.C. 13661), revises screening standards to prohibit denial of admission based on marijuana use, distribution, possession, sale, or manufacture—as defined in 21 U.S.C. 802—that complies with state law, excludes such activity from the definition of "criminal activity" for eviction purposes, and makes conforming changes; (2) in section 577 (42 U.S.C. 13662), excludes compliant state marijuana activity from the definition of "illegal use of a controlled substance" for lease termination; (3) in section 579(a) (42 U.S.C. 13664(a)), adds a definition of "State" that includes the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Republic of Palau, and the U.S. Virgin Islands; and (4) adds a new section 580 prohibiting the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) from discouraging compliant state marijuana activity in federally assisted housing and requiring HUD, not later than 90 days after enactment of the Marijuana in Federally Assisted Housing Parity Act of 2025, to issue regulations restricting marijuana smoking in the same manner and locations as tobacco smoking restrictions in public housing (24 C.F.R. pt. 965, subpt. G). (Thus, PHAs and owners may not deny admission to or evict tenants based solely on state-legal marijuana activities, and marijuana smoking policies must align with tobacco rules.)