[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6529 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 6529
To require owners of a covered federally assisted rental dwelling units
to install self-closing doors in such units, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 28, 2022
Mr. Torres of New York introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on Financial Services
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A BILL
To require owners of a covered federally assisted rental dwelling units
to install self-closing doors in such units, 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 ``_____ Act of 2022''.
SEC. 2. SELF-CLOSING DOORS.
(a) Plan.--Each owner of a covered federally assisted rental
dwelling unit shall, not later than 1 year after the date of the
enactment of this Act, ensure that all doors, in the building that
contains the covered federally assisted rental dwelling unit, that
provide access to interior corridors and stairwells are self-closing
doors and that such self-closing doors are maintained.
(b) Certification.--Each owner of a covered federally assisted
rental dwelling unit shall certify under penalty of perjury each month
to the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development in such manner as the
Secretary may require that all doors in the building that contains the
covered federally assisted rental dwelling unit owned by the owner,
that provide access to stairwells are self-closing doors and that such
self-closing doors are maintained.
(c) Inspection.--The proper installation, maintenance, and
functioning of self-closing doors in a building containing a covered
federally assisted dwelling unit shall be included in all inspections
required by the Secretary.
(d) Guidance.--The Secretary shall provide guidance to public
housing agencies (as defined in section 3(b)(6) of the United States
Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a(b)(6))) with respect to how to
educate tenants about self-closing doors, and other health and safety
measures, to help advance primary prevention and prevent future deaths
and other harms in covered federally assisted dwelling units.
(e) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment
of this Act, and each year thereafter, the Secretary shall submit a
report to the Congress that--
(1) describes the status of the implementation of
subsection (a), and includes--
(A) the number of covered federally assisted
dwelling units without a self-closing door;
(B) the number of self-closing doors that have been
installed by owners of covered federally assisted
dwelling units;
(C) the number of fatalities that occurred due to
fire in the 1-year period preceding the date on which
the report is submitted in buildings containing a
covered federally assisted dwelling unit and what fire
safety features such buildings had installed, including
whether the buildings had self-closing doors installed;
(D) a list of any owners of covered federally
assisted housing that have not complied with the
certification required described in subsection (b) in
the 1-year period preceding the date on which the
report is submitted; and
(E) the results of any inspections of covered
federally assisted dwelling units conducted by the
Secretary that included an inspection of self-closing
doors; and
(2) discloses the results of data collection instituted by
the Secretary before the date of the enactment of this Act to
determine the prevalence of self-closing doors in covered
federally assisted dwelling units.
(f) Relation to State and Local Law.--This section does not annul,
alter, or affect, or exempt any person subject to the provisions of
this section from complying with, the laws of any State or unit of
local government with respect to installing or maintaining self-closing
doors, except to the extent that those laws are more stringent than any
provision of this section, and then only to the extent of the
inconsistency. The Secretary is authorized to determine whether such
inconsistencies exist and may not determine that the law of any State
or unit of local government is inconsistent with any provision of this
section if the Secretary determines that such law provides for greater
protection or safety.
(g) Definitions.--For the purposes of this Act:
(1) Assistance.--The term ``assistance'' means any grant,
loan, subsidy, contract, cooperative agreement, or other form
of financial assistance, but such term does not include the
insurance or guarantee of a loan, mortgage, or pool of loans or
mortgages.
(2) Self-closing door.--The term ``self closing door''
means a door that--
(A) when opened and released, returns to the closed
position; and
(B) complies with the accessible door standards
most recently issued by the American National Standards
Institute.
(3) Covered federally assisted housing.--The term ``covered
federally assisted rental dwelling unit'' means a residential
dwelling unit that is made available for rental and for which
assistance is provided, or that is part of a housing project
for which assistance is provided, under--
(A) the public housing program under the United
States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437 et seq.);
(B) the programs for rental assistance under
section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42
U.S.C. 1437f), including--
(i) the program for project-based rental
assistance; and
(ii) the program for tenant-based rental
assistance;
(C) the AIDS Housing Opportunities program under
subtitle D of title VIII of the Cranston-Gonzalez
National Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 12901 et
seq.);
(D) the program for supportive housing for the
elderly under section 202 of the Housing Act of 1959
(12 U.S.C. 1701q);
(E) the program for supportive housing for persons
with disabilities under section 811 of the Cranston-
Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 24
8013); or
(F) the programs under sections 514, 515, and 516
of the Housing Act of 1949.
(4) Owner.--The term ``owner'' means, with respect to a
covered federally assisted rental dwelling unit, any private
person or entity, including a cooperative, an agency of the
Federal Government, or a public housing agency, having the
legal right to lease or sublease dwelling units.
(5) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Housing and Urban Development.
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