To reform the program for rental assistance under section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937, and for other purposes.

Summary: Section 8 Reform, Responsibility, and Accountability Act of 2012 - Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 (USHA) to prohibit section 8 rental assistance (including tenant- and project-based assistance) from being provided to any family that includes a convicted felon or illegal alien.

Places a five-year limitation on section 8 rental assistance, disregarding any month during which such individual was a member of a disabled or elderly family so assisted.

Prohibits such assistance on behalf of any family, unless each member of the family who is 18 years of age or older performs at least 20 hours of work activities per week.

Requires the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to exempt from such prohibition any individual family member who meets certain requirements.

Requires a public housing agency (PHA), in providing such housing assistance, to give preference to families that include a member who is a veteran that will reside in the dwelling unit.

Declares that requirements relating to termination of housing assistance and termination of tenancy shall apply to any section 8 housing assistance provided, any housing assistance payments contract, and any tenant of a unit assisted.

Prohibits any requirement of USHA, or of any housing assistance payments contract under USHA, from being construed to annul, alter, affect, or exempt any person or housing assisted under it or under such a contract from complying with the laws of any state or local government. Expresses the sense of Congress that the HUD Moving to Work demonstration program under the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1996 should be expanded to include significantly more PHAs.

Authorizes the use of unspent section 8 housing assistance payments for section 8 compliance measures.

Requires approved PHA plans, including modifications and amendments, to be made public at the PHA's office and in electronic form on the World Wide Web.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Section 8 Reform, Responsibility, 
and Accountability Act of 2012''.

SEC. 2. PROHIBITION OF SECTION 8 RENTAL ASSISTANCE FOR FELONS AND 
              ILLEGAL ALIENS.

    (a) In General.--Section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 
(42 U.S.C. 1437f) is amended by inserting after subsection (i) the 
following new subsection:
    ``(j) Prohibition of Assistance for Felons.--Notwithstanding any 
other provision of law, assistance under this section (including 
tenant- and project-based assistance) may not be provided for any 
family that includes an individual who--
            ``(1) at any time, has been convicted of a felony under any 
        State or Federal law; or
            ``(2) is unlawfully present in the United States.''.
    (b) Applicability.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall 
apply beginning upon the expiration of the 24-month period that begins 
on the date of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 3. 5-YEAR TIME LIMITATION ON SECTION 8 RENTAL ASSISTANCE.

    Section 16 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 
1437n) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(g) 5-Year Time Limitation on Section 8 Assistance.--
            ``(1) In general.--Except as otherwise provided in this 
        subsection and notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, 
        assistance under section 8 may not be provided on behalf of any 
        family that includes a member who has previously been provided 
        such assistance for 60 months (whether or not consecutive) or 
        longer.
            ``(2) Exception for elderly and disabled families.--In 
        determining the number of months for which an individual has 
        been provided assistance under section 8, for purposes of 
        paragraph (1), a public housing agency shall disregard any 
        month during which such individual was a member of a disabled 
        or elderly family so assisted.
            ``(3) Applicability.--
                    ``(A) In general.--This subsection shall apply 
                beginning upon the expiration of the 24-month period 
                that begins on the date of the enactment of the Section 
                8 Reform, Responsibility, and Accountability Act of 
                2012.
                    ``(B) Treatment of assistance before effective date 
                of limitation.--Except as provided in subparagraph (C), 
                any months that commenced before the expiration of such 
                period shall be considered for purposes of determining, 
                pursuant to paragraph (1), the number of months for 
                which an individual has been provided assistance under 
                section 8.
                    ``(C) Two-year safe harbor after effective date.--
                For purposes of paragraph (1), the maximum number of 
                months that commenced before the expiration of such 24-
                month period that any individual may be considered to 
                have been provided assistance under section 8, shall be 
                36.''.

SEC. 4. WORK REQUIREMENTS FOR SECTION 8 RENTAL ASSISTANCE.

    Section 16 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 
1437n), as amended by the preceding provisions of this Act, is further 
amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(h) Work Requirement for Assisted Families Receiving Section 8 
Assistance.--
            ``(1) In general.--Except as provided in this subsection 
        and notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, assistance 
        under section 8 may not be provided on behalf of any family, 
        unless each member of the family who is 18 years of age or 
        older performs not fewer than 20 hours of work activities (as 
        such term is defined in section 407(d) of the Social Security 
        Act (42 U.S.C. 607(d))) per week.
            ``(2) Exemptions.--The Secretary of Housing and Urban 
        Development shall provide an exemption from the applicability 
        of paragraph (1) for any individual family member who--
                    ``(A) is 62 years of age or older;
                    ``(B) is a blind or disabled individual, as defined 
                under section 216(i)(1) or 1614 of the Social Security 
                Act (42 U.S.C. 416(i)(1); 1382c), and who is unable to 
                comply with this section, or is a primary caretaker of 
                such individual;
                    ``(C) meets the requirements for being exempted 
                from having to engage in a work activity under the 
                State program funded under part A of title IV of the 
                Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) or under 
                any other welfare program of the State in which the 
                public housing agency administering rental assistance 
                described in paragraph (1) is located, including a 
                State-administered welfare-to-work program;
                    ``(D) is in a family receiving assistance under a 
                State program funded under part A of title IV of the 
                Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) or under 
                any other welfare program of the State in which the 
                public housing agency administering such rental 
                assistance is located, including a State-administered 
                welfare-to-work program, and has not been found by the 
                State or other administering entity to be in 
                noncompliance with such program; or
                    ``(E) is a single custodial parent caring for a 
                child who has not attained 6 years of age, and the 
                individual proves that the individual has a 
                demonstrated inability (as determined by the State) to 
                obtain needed child care, for one or more of the 
                following reasons:
                            ``(i) Unavailability of appropriate child 
                        care within a reasonable distance from the 
                        individual's home or work site.
                            ``(ii) Unavailability or unsuitability of 
                        informal child care by a relative or under 
                        other arrangements.
                            ``(iii) Unavailability of appropriate and 
                        affordable formal child care arrangements.
            ``(3) Administration.--A public housing agency providing 
        rental assistance described in paragraph (1) may administer the 
        work activities requirement under this subsection directly, 
        through a resident organization, or through a contractor having 
        experience in administering work activities programs within the 
        service area of the public housing agency. The Secretary may 
        establish qualifications for such organizations and 
        contractors.
            ``(4) Participation of nonprofit employment and work 
        development organizations.--In administering this subsection, 
        each public housing agency shall provide for the active 
        participation of nonprofit employment assistance and training 
        organizations and nonprofit work development organizations in 
        assisting families receiving rental assistance under section 8, 
        in accordance with such requirements as the Secretary shall 
        establish.
            ``(5) Applicability.--This subsection shall apply beginning 
        upon the expiration of the 24-month period that begins on the 
        date of the enactment of the Section 8 Reform, Responsibility, 
        and Accountability Act of 2012.''.

SEC. 5. PREFERENCE FOR PROVIDING SECTION 8 RENTAL ASSISTANCE TO 
              VETERANS.

    (a) In General.--Section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 
(42 U.S.C. 1437f) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (d)(1)(A)--
                    (A) by inserting after ``except that'' the 
                following: ``each public housing agency shall give 
                preference to families that include a member who is a 
                veteran as such term is defined in section 101 of title 
                38, United States Code) who will reside in the dwelling 
                unit assisted, and except that''; and
                    (B) by inserting after ``local preferences,'' the 
                following: ``which shall be subordinate to the 
                preference for veterans and shall be''; and
            (2) in subsection (o)--
                    (A) in paragraph (6)(A)--
                            (i) in clause (ii)--
                                    (I) by striking ``this 
                                subparagraph'' and inserting ``clause 
                                (ii)''; and
                                    (II) by inserting before the period 
                                at the end the following: ``, and shall 
                                be subordinate to the preference 
                                established under clause (i)'';
                            (ii) by redesignating clauses (i) and (ii) 
                        (as so amended) as clauses (ii) and (iii), 
                        respectively; and
                            (iii) by inserting before clause (ii) (as 
                        so redesignated by clause (ii) of this 
                        subparagraph) the following new clause:
                            ``(i) Required preference for veterans.--In 
                        making tenant-based assistance under this 
                        subsection available on behalf of eligible 
                        families, each public housing agency shall give 
                        preference to families that include a member 
                        who is a veteran (as such term is defined in 
                        section 101 of title 38, United States Code) 
                        who will reside in the dwelling unit 
                        assisted.''; and
                    (B) in paragraph (13)(J)--
                            (i) by striking ``The agency'' and 
                        inserting the following: ``In selecting 
                        families to receive project-based assistance 
                        pursuant to this paragraph, the agency shall 
                        give preference to families that include a 
                        member who is a veteran (as such term is 
                        defined in section 101 of title 38, United 
                        States Code) who will reside in the unit. In 
                        addition, the agency''; and
                            (ii) by inserting after ``section 5A'' the 
                        following: ``, except that any such preferences 
                        established pursuant to this sentence shall be 
                        subordinate to the preference established by 
                        the preceding sentence.''.
    (b) Applicability.--The amendments made by subsection (a) shall 
apply beginning upon the date of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 6. TERMINATION OF SECTION 8 ASSISTANCE AND TERMINATION OF TENANCY 
              IN ASSISTED UNITS.

    Section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 
1437f) is amended by inserting after subsection (k) the following new 
subsection:
    ``(l) Termination of Assistance and Tenancy.--Notwithstanding any 
other provision of this section or of chapter 1 or 8 of the handbook of 
the Secretary entitled `Occupancy Requirements of Subsidized 
Multifamily Housing Programs', as in effect on May 18, 2011 (HUD 
Handbook 4350.3 REV-1), the provisions of chapter 8 (relating to 
termination of housing assistance and termination of tenancy) shall 
apply with respect to any housing assistance provided under this 
section, any housing assistance payments contract pursuant to this 
section, and any tenant of a unit assisted under this section.''.

SEC. 7. TREATMENT OF STATE AND LOCAL LAWS.

    Section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 
1437f) is amended by inserting after subsection (l), as added by the 
preceding provisions of this Act, the following new subsection:
    ``(m) Treatment of State and Local Laws.--No provision of this Act 
or of any housing assistance payments contract under this section may 
be construed to annul, alter, affect, or exempt any person or housing 
assisted under this section or such a contract from complying with the 
laws of any State or political subdivision of a State.''.

SEC. 8. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS REGARDING THE MOVING TO WORK PROGRAM.

    It is the sense of the Congress that the Moving to Work 
demonstration program of the Department of Housing and Urban 
Development under section 204 of the Departments of Veterans Affairs 
and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies 
Appropriations Act, 1996 (42 U.S.C. 1437f note) should be expanded to 
include significantly more public housing agencies.

SEC. 9. USE OF UNSPENT HOUSING ASSISTANCE PAYMENTS CONTRACT AMOUNTS FOR 
              COMPLIANCE MEASURES.

    Amounts provided by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development 
to a public housing agency under an annual contributions contract for 
rental assistance under section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 
1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f) that remain unused for housing assistance 
payments contracts may be used by such agency for actions--
            (1) to monitor compliance of owners of housing assisted 
        under such section and tenants of such housing with all laws 
        and regulations relating to such assistance; and
            (2) to enforce violations of such laws and regulations.

SEC. 10. PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF PHA PLANS.

    (a) In General.--Section 5A of the United States Housing Act of 
1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437c-1) is amended by adding at the end the following 
new subsection:
    ``(m) Public Availability of Plan.--Each public housing agency that 
has a public housing agency plan approved under this section shall make 
the approved plan (and any approved modifications and amendments to 
such plan) publicly available for inspection during regular business 
hours at the offices of the agency and in electronic form by means of 
the World Wide Web.''.
    (b) Applicability.--Subsection (m) of section 5A of the United 
States Housing Act of 1937, as added by the amendment made by 
subsection (a), shall apply beginning upon the date of the enactment of 
this Act.