I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4756 

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 

OCTOBER 18, 2019 

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. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Housing Innovation 

5 Act of 2019’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 The Congress finds that— 

3 (1) housing should be considered a critical com4 ponent of our national infrastructure; 

5 (2) existing shortages of affordable housing op6 tions in many regions are contributing to long com7 mutes, financial stress, environmental pollution, and 

8 public health risk; 

9 (3) new approaches in the planning, design, and 

10 construction of housing need to be explored for di11 versifying housing options available to the workforce; 

12 and 

13 (4) greater coordination of existing Federal re14 sources across agencies could significantly expand 

15 and diversify the supply of housing. 

16 SEC. 3. OFFICE OF HOUSING INNOVATION; ASSISTANT SEC17 RETARY. 

18 (a) ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR HOUSING INNOVA19 TION.—Section 4(a) of the Department of Housing and 

20 Urban Development Act (42 U.S.C. 3533(a)) is amended: 

21 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘7 Assistant 

22 Secretaries’’ and inserting ‘‘9 Assistant Secretaries’’; 

23 and 

24 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub25 section: 

26 ‘‘(i) OFFICE OF HOUSING INNOVATION.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) ASSISTANT SECRETARY.—There shall be in 

2 the Department an Assistant Secretary for Housing 

3 Innovation, who shall be appointed by the President. 

4 ‘‘(2) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in 

5 the Department the Office of Housing Innovation, 

6 which shall be headed by the Assistant Secretary for 

7 Housing Innovation. 

8 ‘‘(3) FUNCTIONS.—The Assistant Secretary of 

9 Housing Innovation shall have primary responsibility 

10 within the Department for— 

11 ‘‘(A) accumulating and disseminating in12 formation regarding innovative practices and 

13 successful case studies of new approaches for 

14 increasing and diversifying the supply of hous15 ing, especially in urban metropolitan regions 

16 and surrounding rural regions that are facing 

17 challenges of housing shortages, housing afford18 ability, and traffic congestion; 

19 ‘‘(B) carrying out activities, including ad20 ministering the grant programs under the 

21 Housing Innovation Act of 2019, to encourage 

22 partnerships in exploring and developing inno23 vative solutions to the challenges to housing 

24 supply referred to in subparagraph (A); 


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1 ‘‘(C) coordinating with other offices within 

2 the Department, including the Office of Hous3 ing, the Office of Policy Development and Re4 search, and the Office of Community Planning 

5 and Development, and other Federal agencies, 

6 including the Department of Transportation, to 

7 recommend policies that address workforce 

8 housing needs; and 

9 ‘‘(D) providing technical assistance to local 

10 governments in undertaking or preparing for 

11 planning and policy reforms to increase housing 

12 units and housing supply diversity. 

13 ‘‘(4) DETAILEES.—The Secretary shall ensure 

14 that the staff of the Office of Housing Innovation 

15 includes, at all times— 

16 ‘‘(A) two detailees from the Department of 

17 Transportation, who shall include— 

18 ‘‘(i) one having expertise in transit 

19 issues or active transportation issues, or 

20 both; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) one from the Build America Bu22 reau having expertise on the Transpor23 tation Infrastructure Finance and Innova24 tion Act (TIFIA) program and the RailVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:44 Oct 26, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4756.IH H4756

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1 road Rehabilitation and Improvement Fi2 nancing (RRIF) program; 

3 ‘‘(B) one detailee from the Environmental 

4 Protection Agency having expertise on the pub5 lic health impacts of housing and community 

6 development; and 

7 ‘‘(C) one detailee from the Department of 

8 Energy having expertise on renewable energy 

9 and energy efficiency upgrades for low- and 

10 moderate-income communities. 

11 The Secretary shall consult with the heads of the 

12 agencies referred to in this paragraph to provide for 

13 such details and such details shall be made on a re14 imbursable basis.’’. 

15 (b) AMENDMENTS TO TITLE 5, UNITED STATES

16 CODE.— 

17 (1) POSITIONS AT LEVEL IV OF EXECUTIVE

18 SCHEDULE.—Section 5315 of title 5, United States 

19 Code, is amended in the undesignated item relating 

20 to Assistant Secretaries of Housing and Urban De21 velopment by striking ‘‘(8)’’ and inserting ‘‘(9)’’. 

22 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Paragraph (1) of 

23 section 4(a) of the Department of Housing and Urban De24 velopment Act (42 U.S.C. 3533(a)(1)) is amended by 

25 striking ‘‘7’’ and inserting ‘‘8’’. 


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1 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

2 authorized to be appropriated for necessary salaries and 

3 expenses of the Office of Housing Innovation of the De4 partment of Housing and Urban Development 

5 $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2020 and each fiscal year 

6 thereafter. 

7 SEC. 4. GRANTS FOR LOCAL PLANNING FOR HOUSING. 

8 (a) AUTHORITY.—The Secretary of Housing and 

9 Urban Development (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Sec10 retary’’), acting through the Assistant Secretary of Hous11 ing Innovation, shall carry out a program to make grants 

12 under this section to eligible localities for undertaking 

13 planning efforts and associated regulatory reforms that 

14 address the housing needs of such areas. 

15 (b) ELIGIBLE LOCALITIES.—For purposes of this 

16 section, the term ‘‘eligible locality’’ means a unit of gen17 eral local government that is located within an urbanized 

18 area, as such term is defined by the United States Census 

19 Bureau of the Department of Commerce. 

20 (c) GOALS.—Local plans developed using amounts 

21 from grants under this section shall address all of the fol22 lowing goals: 

23 (1) Increasing the supply of housing units with24 in the jurisdiction of the grantee or within certain 

25 defined areas within such jurisdiction, including 


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1 neighborhoods around existing or planned transit fa2 cilities and job centers. 

3 (2) Improving the affordability of the housing 

4 supply within the jurisdiction of the grantee or with5 in certain defined areas within such jurisdiction, in6 cluding neighborhoods around existing or planned 

7 transit facilities and job centers. 

8 (3) Diversifying the housing supply within the 

9 jurisdiction of the grantee or within certain defined 

10 areas within such jurisdiction to include more multi11 family housing options or newer and less common 

12 forms of housing, such as multifamily housing fo13 cused on smaller private spaces and more shared 

14 amenities, micro-unit housing, housing developments 

15 that incorporate co-working spaces, and housing for 

16 students. 

17 (4) Improving commute times to job sites, re18 ducing congestion, or reducing vehicle miles traveled 

19 within the region in which the locality is located. 

20 (d) USE.—The Secretary shall ensure that amounts 

21 from a grant under this section shall be used only for costs 

22 associated with a housing planning process that addresses 

23 the goals in subsection (c), including public outreach, com24 munity meetings, preparation of planning documents, and 

25 research and studies in support of such planning efforts. 


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1 (e) SELECTION.—The Secretary shall award grants 

2 to eligible localities submitting applications under sub3 section (g) that are selected to receive grants under a com4 petition based on criteria established by the Secretary, 

5 which shall include the following criteria: 

6 (1) The extent to which the eligible locality out7 lines a planning process that will facilitate progress 

8 toward the goals under subsection (c), including the 

9 potential changes or updates to local policies and 

10 regulations (such as zoning ordinances, parking re11 quirements, general plans, and specific plans) that 

12 such a planning process will aim to affect. 

13 (2) The extent to which the eligible locality 

14 demonstrates how the planning process will address 

15 the needs of the metropolitan region within which 

16 the eligible locality is located by providing housing 

17 for the existing and projected workforce demand. 

18 (3) The extent to which the eligible locality pro19 vides details of the planning actions it intends to 

20 take, including public outreach activities and actions 

21 for consideration for formal policy adoption of plan22 ning elements and recommendations. 

23 (4) The extent to which the eligible locality 

24 specifies a timeline for completion of its planning 

25 process, including potential dates for consideration 


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1 for formal policy adoption by the local governing 

2 body. 

3 (5) The extent to which the eligible locality 

4 demonstrates collaboration with regional planning 

5 efforts and coordination with the relevant metropoli6 tan planning organization that manages regional 

7 planning for the area within which the locality is lo8 cated. 

9 (f) LIMITATION ON AMOUNT.—A grant under this 

10 section for an eligible locality may not exceed $2,000,000. 

11 (g) APPLICATIONS.—The Secretary shall provide for 

12 eligible localities to submit applications to the Secretary 

13 for grants under this section, which shall contain such in14 formation as the Secretary may require. 

15 SEC. 5. GRANTS FOR RESEARCH AND PILOT PROJECTS. 

16 (a) AUTHORITY.—The Secretary, acting through the 

17 Assistant Secretary of Housing Innovation, shall carry out 

18 a program to make grants under this section to eligible 

19 partnerships for the purposes of carrying out research and 

20 pilot studies to support, inform, and advise local govern21 ments on their plans for new housing and community de22 velopment. 

23 (b) ELIGIBLE PARTNERSHIPS.—For purposes of this 

24 section, the term ‘‘eligible partnership’’ means a partnerVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:44 Oct 26, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4756.IH H4756

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1 ship of entities and institutions that includes at least one 

2 of the following entities: 

3 (1) A unit of local government. 

4 (2) A college, university, or other research insti5 tution. 

6 (3) A nonprofit organization. 

7 (c) USE.—Amounts from a grant under this section 

8 may only be used for research and pilot studies that are 

9 designed to study and investigate activities and measures 

10 for improving housing and commuting for the workforce 

11 in a community, including— 

12 (1) measures to improve the commuting experi13 ence between transit stations and homes (commonly 

14 referred to as the ‘‘last mile’’); 

15 (2) programs for accommodating higher edu16 cation students within the community; 

17 (3) programs for facilitating home-sharing for 

18 elderly residents; 

19 (4) plans and measures for integrating business 

20 and commercial activity with residential neighbor21 hoods; 

22 (5) plans and measures for increasing transpor23 tation options improving mobility within residential 

24 neighborhoods; 


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1 (6) programs for learning and disseminating in2 formation about modular building techniques and 

3 other approaches to reducing housing construction 

4 costs; 

5 (7) plans or programs for improving public 

6 health through changes in the built environment, 

7 such as safer streets that are more conducive and 

8 welcoming to pedestrian activity; 

9 (8) measures to evaluate the impact of housing 

10 development in the community on the long-term so11 cial mobility and economic prospects of residents; 

12 and 

13 (9) such other measures, plans, and activities 

14 as applicants may propose, but only if the Secretary 

15 approves such proposals as consistent with the goals 

16 under section 4(c). 

17 (d) LIMITATIONS ON AMOUNT.—A grant under this 

18 section for an eligible partnership may not exceed the less19 er of— 

20 (1) $500,000; or 

21 (2) in the case only of an eligible partnership 

22 that has previously received a grant under this sec23 tion, the amount that the eligible partnership cer24 tifies, as the Secretary shall require, that the part25 nership will contribute from non-Federal sources for 


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1 activities described in subsection (c) that are as2 sisted with such grant amounts. 

3 SEC. 6. GRANTS FOR EDUCATION ACTIVITIES. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through the 

5 Assistant Secretary of Housing Innovation, shall carry out 

6 a program under this section to make grants to partner7 ships that include at least one academic institution for 

8 providing support for educational and community out9 reach programs that are focused on issues related to hous10 ing, community development, and regional planning. 

11 (b) LIMITATIONS ON AMOUNT.—A grant under this 

12 section for a partnership may not exceed the lesser of— 

13 (1) $200,000; or 

14 (2) in the case only of a partnership that has 

15 previously received a grant under this section, the 

16 amount that the partnership certifies, as the Sec17 retary shall require, that the partnership will con18 tribute from non-Federal sources for educational 

19 and community outreach programs described in sub20 section (a) that are assisted with such grant 

21 amounts. 

22 SEC. 7. GAO REVIEW. 

23 Not later than the expiration of the 3-year period be24 ginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

25 Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct 


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1 a review of grant programs under sections 4, 5, and 6 

2 of this Act to analyze the effectiveness of such programs 

3 and shall submit a report containing the results of such 

4 review and any conclusions resulting from such review to 

5 the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Rep6 resentatives and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 

7 Urban Affairs of the Senate. 

8 SEC. 8. REGULATIONS. 

9 The Secretary may issue any regulations necessary 

10 to carry out this Act. 

11 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

12 (a) FUNDING.—There are authorized to be appro13 priated to the Secretary of Housing and Urban Develop14 ment to carry out this Act $100,000,000 for each of fiscal 

15 years 2020 through 2026 of which, in each fiscal year— 

16 (1) 90 percent shall be available only for grants 

17 under section 4; 

18 (2) 5 percent shall be available only for grants 

19 under section 5; and 

20 (3) 5 percent shall be available only for grants 

21 under section 6. 

22 (b) SOURCE OF FUNDING.—It is the sense of the 

23 Congress that the funding to carry out this Act provided 

24 pursuant to subsection (a) should not result in a reduction 


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1 of Federal funding for any existing affordable housing 

2 program or programs. 

Æ 


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