[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2448 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2448
To direct the Secretary of Interior to submit to Congress a report on
the National Park Service's interpretation and application of the
Standards for Rehabilitation for use of the Federal Historic
Preservation Tax Incentives program.
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IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 27, 2025
Mr. Magaziner introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Ways and Means
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A BILL
To direct the Secretary of Interior to submit to Congress a report on
the National Park Service's interpretation and application of the
Standards for Rehabilitation for use of the Federal Historic
Preservation Tax Incentives program.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. REPORT.
(a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit a report on the
Service's interpretation and application of the Secretary's Standards
for Rehabilitation pertaining to use of the Program to--
(1) the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of
Representatives; and
(2) the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the
Senate.
(b) Contents.--The report required under subsection (a) shall
include the following:
(1) Data on the processing of Program Applications during
the 10 years immediately before the date of the enactment of
this Act, including--
(A) the average time a Program Application is in
the system, from the date it is submitted to the State
Historic Preservation Office by the applicant until it
is approved or denied by the Service, presented by
project size, type, and parts 1, 2, and 3 of the
Program Application; and
(B) the annual average number of--
(i) hold notices annually;
(ii) conditions placed on the approval
under part 2 of the Program Application;
(iii) denied applications;
(iv) projects approved under part 2 of the
Program Application; and
(v) Program Applications withdrawn.
(2) A description of the following:
(A) Areas of improvement to and recommendations for
the Standards to remove barriers to the development of
affordable housing while safeguarding Federal historic
preservation.
(B) Opportunities for the Secretary to update or
provide additional guidance to facilitate--
(i) the conversion of nonresidential
buildings into housing;
(ii) the remediation of environmental,
health, and safety hazards;
(iii) inclusion of energy efficient
upgrades and integration of sustainability
features;
(iv) access for persons with disabilities;
and
(v) removal of other barriers to use raised
by users and beneficiaries of the Program.
(C) The specific steps the Service has taken in the
10 years immediately before the date of the enactment
of this Act to improve or clarify the interpretation of
the Standards to support affordable housing
development.
(D) The most frequent issues that Program users,
State reviewers, and other stakeholders raise when
developing affordable housing projects and the steps
the Service has taken to address those issues,
including details of the process of the Service for
soliciting, collecting, and incorporating feedback on
the Service interpretation of the Standards.
(E) The process that the Service uses to decide
when to update guidance, including guidelines,
preservation briefs, bulletins regarding interpretation
of the Standards, and tax-incentive guidance, for
implementing the Standards and whether resource
limitations are affecting the ability of the Service to
update such guidance.
(3) Recommendations of the Secretary regarding updates and
improvements that can be made to the Standards and the
implementation by the Service of the Standards and accompanying
guidelines to--
(A) make the Program more compatible with
affordable housing needs;
(B) ensure historic properties are protected from
climate risk; and
(C) take into consideration economic and technical
feasibility.
(c) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Program.--The term ``Program'' means the Federal
Historic Preservation Tax Incentives program.
(2) Program application.--The term ``Program Application''
means the Historic Preservation Certification Application.
(3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of the Interior.
(4) Service.--The term ``Service'' means the National Park
Service.
(5) Standards.--The term ``Standards'' means the Department
of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation for the Federal
Historic Preservation Tax Incentives program under part 67 of
title 36, Code of Federal Regulations.
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