[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8266 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8266
To establish an Office of Housing Innovation in the Department of
Housing and Urban Development to assist in exploring and developing new
approaches for increasing and diversifying the supply of housing and
for meeting the challenges of housing shortages, housing affordability,
and traffic congestion, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 1, 2022
Mr. DeSaulnier introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Financial Services
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish an Office of Housing Innovation in the Department of
Housing and Urban Development to assist in exploring and developing new
approaches for increasing and diversifying the supply of housing and
for meeting the challenges of housing shortages, housing affordability,
and traffic congestion, 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 ``Housing Innovation Act of 2022''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds that--
(1) housing should be considered a critical component of
our national infrastructure;
(2) existing shortages of affordable housing options in
many regions are contributing to long commutes, financial
stress, environmental pollution, and public health risk;
(3) new approaches in the planning, design, and
construction of housing need to be explored for diversifying
housing options available to the workforce; and
(4) greater coordination of existing Federal resources
across agencies could significantly expand and diversify the
supply of housing.
SEC. 3. OFFICE OF HOUSING INNOVATION; ASSISTANT SECRETARY.
(a) Assistant Secretary for Housing Innovation.--Section 4(a) of
the Department of Housing and Urban Development Act (42 U.S.C. 3533(a))
is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``7 Assistant
Secretaries'' and inserting ``9 Assistant Secretaries''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
``(i) Office of Housing Innovation.--
``(1) Assistant secretary.--There shall be in the
Department an Assistant Secretary for Housing Innovation, who
shall be appointed by the President.
``(2) Establishment.--There is established in the
Department the Office of Housing Innovation, which shall be
headed by the Assistant Secretary for Housing Innovation.
``(3) Functions.--The Assistant Secretary of Housing
Innovation shall have primary responsibility within the
Department for--
``(A) accumulating and disseminating information
regarding innovative practices and successful case
studies of new approaches for increasing and
diversifying the supply of housing, especially in urban
metropolitan regions and surrounding rural regions that
are facing challenges of housing shortages, housing
affordability, and traffic congestion;
``(B) carrying out activities, including
administering the grant programs under the Housing
Innovation Act of 2022, to encourage partnerships in
exploring and developing innovative solutions to the
challenges to housing supply referred to in
subparagraph (A);
``(C) coordinating with other offices within the
Department, including the Office of Housing, the Office
of Policy Development and Research, and the Office of
Community Planning and Development, and other Federal
agencies, including the Department of Transportation,
to recommend policies that address workforce housing
needs; and
``(D) providing technical assistance to local
governments in undertaking or preparing for planning
and policy reforms to increase housing units and
housing supply diversity.
``(4) Detailees.--The Secretary shall ensure that the staff
of the Office of Housing Innovation includes, at all times--
``(A) two detailees from the Department of
Transportation, who shall include--
``(i) one having expertise in transit
issues or active transportation issues, or
both; and
``(ii) one from the Build America Bureau
having expertise on the Transportation
Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act
(TIFIA) program and the Railroad Rehabilitation
and Improvement Financing (RRIF) program;
``(B) one detailee from the Environmental
Protection Agency having expertise on the public health
impacts of housing and community development; and
``(C) one detailee from the Department of Energy
having expertise on renewable energy and energy
efficiency upgrades for low- and moderate-income
communities.
The Secretary shall consult with the heads of the agencies
referred to in this paragraph to provide for such details and
such details shall be made on a reimbursable basis.''.
(b) Amendments to Title 5, United States Code.--
(1) Positions at level iv of executive schedule.--Section
5315 of title 5, United States Code, is amended in the
undesignated item relating to Assistant Secretaries of Housing
and Urban Development by striking ``(8)'' and inserting
``(9)''.
(c) Conforming Amendment.--Paragraph (1) of section 4(a) of the
Department of Housing and Urban Development Act (42 U.S.C. 3533(a)(1))
is amended by striking ``7'' and inserting ``8''.
(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated for necessary salaries and expenses of the Office of
Housing Innovation of the Department of Housing and Urban Development
$50,000,000 for fiscal year 2023 and each fiscal year thereafter.
SEC. 4. GRANTS FOR LOCAL PLANNING FOR HOUSING.
(a) Authority.--The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (in
this Act referred to as the ``Secretary''), acting through the
Assistant Secretary of Housing Innovation, shall carry out a program to
make grants under this section to eligible localities for undertaking
planning efforts and associated regulatory reforms that address the
housing needs of such areas.
(b) Eligible Localities.--For purposes of this section, the term
``eligible locality'' means a unit of general local government that is
located within an urbanized area, as such term is defined by the United
States Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce.
(c) Goals.--Local plans developed using amounts from grants under
this section shall address all of the following goals:
(1) Increasing the supply of housing units within the
jurisdiction of the grantee or within certain defined areas
within such jurisdiction, including neighborhoods around
existing or planned transit facilities and job centers.
(2) Improving the affordability of the housing supply
within the jurisdiction of the grantee or within certain
defined areas within such jurisdiction, including neighborhoods
around existing or planned transit facilities and job centers.
(3) Diversifying the housing supply within the jurisdiction
of the grantee or within certain defined areas within such
jurisdiction to include more multifamily housing options or
newer and less common forms of housing, such as multifamily
housing focused on smaller private spaces and more shared
amenities, micro-unit housing, housing developments that
incorporate co-working spaces, and housing for students.
(4) Improving commute times to job sites, reducing
congestion, or reducing vehicle miles traveled within the
region in which the locality is located.
(d) Use.--The Secretary shall ensure that amounts from a grant
under this section shall be used only for costs associated with a
housing planning process that addresses the goals in subsection (c),
including public outreach, community meetings, preparation of planning
documents, and research and studies in support of such planning
efforts.
(e) Selection.--The Secretary shall award grants to eligible
localities submitting applications under subsection (g) that are
selected to receive grants under a competition based on criteria
established by the Secretary, which shall include the following
criteria:
(1) The extent to which the eligible locality outlines a
planning process that will facilitate progress toward the goals
under subsection (c), including the potential changes or
updates to local policies and regulations (such as zoning
ordinances, parking requirements, general plans, and specific
plans) that such a planning process will aim to affect.
(2) The extent to which the eligible locality demonstrates
how the planning process will address the needs of the
metropolitan region within which the eligible locality is
located by providing housing for the existing and projected
workforce demand.
(3) The extent to which the eligible locality provides
details of the planning actions it intends to take, including
public outreach activities and actions for consideration for
formal policy adoption of planning elements and
recommendations.
(4) The extent to which the eligible locality specifies a
timeline for completion of its planning process, including
potential dates for consideration for formal policy adoption by
the local governing body.
(5) The extent to which the eligible locality demonstrates
collaboration with regional planning efforts and coordination
with the relevant metropolitan planning organization that
manages regional planning for the area within which the
locality is located.
(f) Limitation on Amount.--A grant under this section for an
eligible locality may not exceed $2,000,000.
(g) Applications.--The Secretary shall provide for eligible
localities to submit applications to the Secretary for grants under
this section, which shall contain such information as the Secretary may
require.
SEC. 5. GRANTS FOR RESEARCH AND PILOT PROJECTS.
(a) Authority.--The Secretary, acting through the Assistant
Secretary of Housing Innovation, shall carry out a program to make
grants under this section to eligible partnerships for the purposes of
carrying out research and pilot studies to support, inform, and advise
local governments on their plans for new housing and community
development.
(b) Eligible Partnerships.--For purposes of this section, the term
``eligible partnership'' means a partnership of entities and
institutions that includes at least one of the following entities:
(1) A unit of local government.
(2) A college, university, or other research institution.
(3) A nonprofit organization.
(c) Use.--Amounts from a grant under this section may only be used
for research and pilot studies that are designed to study and
investigate activities and measures for improving housing and commuting
for the workforce in a community, including--
(1) measures to improve the commuting experience between
transit stations and homes (commonly referred to as the ``last
mile'');
(2) programs for accommodating higher education students
within the community;
(3) programs for facilitating home-sharing for elderly
residents;
(4) plans and measures for integrating business and
commercial activity with residential neighborhoods;
(5) plans and measures for increasing transportation
options improving mobility within residential neighborhoods;
(6) programs for learning and disseminating information
about modular building techniques and other approaches to
reducing housing construction costs;
(7) plans or programs for improving public health through
changes in the built environment, such as safer streets that
are more conducive and welcoming to pedestrian activity;
(8) measures to evaluate the impact of housing development
in the community on the long-term social mobility and economic
prospects of residents; and
(9) such other measures, plans, and activities as
applicants may propose, but only if the Secretary approves such
proposals as consistent with the goals under section 4(c).
(d) Limitations on Amount.--A grant under this section for an
eligible partnership may not exceed the lesser of--
(1) $500,000; or
(2) in the case only of an eligible partnership that has
previously received a grant under this section, the amount that
the eligible partnership certifies, as the Secretary shall
require, that the partnership will contribute from non-Federal
sources for activities described in subsection (c) that are
assisted with such grant amounts.
SEC. 6. GRANTS FOR EDUCATION ACTIVITIES.
(a) In General.--The Secretary, acting through the Assistant
Secretary of Housing Innovation, shall carry out a program under this
section to make grants to partnerships that include at least one
academic institution for providing support for educational and
community outreach programs that are focused on issues related to
housing, community development, and regional planning.
(b) Limitations on Amount.--A grant under this section for a
partnership may not exceed the lesser of--
(1) $200,000; or
(2) in the case only of a partnership that has previously
received a grant under this section, the amount that the
partnership certifies, as the Secretary shall require, that the
partnership will contribute from non-Federal sources for
educational and community outreach programs described in
subsection (a) that are assisted with such grant amounts.
SEC. 7. GAO REVIEW.
Not later than the expiration of the 3-year period beginning on the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the
United States shall conduct a review of grant programs under sections
4, 5, and 6 of this Act to analyze the effectiveness of such programs
and shall submit a report containing the results of such review and any
conclusions resulting from such review to the Committee on Financial
Services of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Banking,
Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate.
SEC. 8. REGULATIONS.
The Secretary may issue any regulations necessary to carry out this
Act.
SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
(a) Funding.--There are authorized to be appropriated to the
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to carry out this Act
$100,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2023 through 2029 of which, in
each fiscal year--
(1) 90 percent shall be available only for grants under
section 4;
(2) 5 percent shall be available only for grants under
section 5; and
(3) 5 percent shall be available only for grants under
section 6.
(b) Source of Funding.--It is the sense of the Congress that the
funding to carry out this Act provided pursuant to subsection (a)
should not result in a reduction of Federal funding for any existing
affordable housing program or programs.
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