I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4808 

To require Community Development Block Grant and Surface Transportation 

Block Grant recipients to develop a strategy to support inclusive zoning 

policies, to allow for a credit to support housing affordability, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 23, 2019 

Mr. CLYBURN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committees on Financial Services, and Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be 

subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration 

of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To require Community Development Block Grant and Surface Transportation Block Grant recipients to develop 

a strategy to support inclusive zoning policies, to allow 

for a credit to support housing affordability, 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, Opportunity, 

5 Mobility, and Equity Act of 2019’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. REQUIREMENT FOR CDBG GRANTEES. 

2 Section 104 of the Housing and Community Develop3 ment Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5304) is amended by adding 

4 at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(n) STRATEGY TO INCREASE THE AFFORDABLE

6 HOUSING STOCK.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each grantee receiving as8 sistance under this title shall— 

9 ‘‘(A) include in the consolidated plan re10 quired under part 91 of title 24, Code of Fed11 eral Regulations (or any successor thereto) a 

12 strategy to support new inclusive zoning poli13 cies, programs, or regulatory initiatives that 

14 create a more affordable, elastic, and diverse 

15 housing supply and thereby increase economic 

16 growth and access to jobs and housing; and 

17 ‘‘(B) implement the strategy described in 

18 subparagraph (A) and demonstrate continuous 

19 progress in advancing the goals described in 

20 section (2)(A), and include such implementation 

21 and progress in the annual performance report 

22 submitted under section 91.520 of title 24, 

23 Code of Federal Regulations (or any successor 

24 thereto). 

25 ‘‘(2) INCLUSIONS.—The strategy under para26 graph (1) shall— 


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1 ‘‘(A) demonstrate— 

2 ‘‘(i) transformative activities in com3 munities that— 

4 ‘‘(I) reduce barriers to housing 

5 development, including affordable 

6 housing; and 

7 ‘‘(II) increase housing supply af8 fordability and elasticity; and 

9 ‘‘(ii) strong connections between hous10 ing, transportation, and workforce plan11 ning; 

12 ‘‘(B) include, as appropriate, policies relat13 ing to inclusive land use, such as— 

14 ‘‘(i) for the purpose of adding afford15 able units, increasing both the percentage 

16 and absolute number of affordable units— 

17 ‘‘(I) authorizing high-density and 

18 multifamily zoning; 

19 ‘‘(II) eliminating off-street park20 ing requirements; 

21 ‘‘(III) establishing density bo22 nuses, defined as increases in per23 mitted density of a housing develop24 ment conditioned upon the inclusion 


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1 of affordable housing in such develop2 ment; 

3 ‘‘(IV) streamlining or shortening 

4 permitting processes and timelines; 

5 ‘‘(V) removing height limitations; 

6 ‘‘(VI) establishing by-right devel7 opment, defined as the elimination of 

8 discretionary review processes when 

9 zoning standards are met; 

10 ‘‘(VII) using property tax abate11 ments; and 

12 ‘‘(VIII) relaxing lot size restric13 tions; 

14 ‘‘(ii) prohibiting source of income dis15 crimination; 

16 ‘‘(iii) taxing vacant land or donating 

17 vacant land to nonprofit developers; 

18 ‘‘(iv) allowing accessory dwelling 

19 units; 

20 ‘‘(v) establishing development tax or 

21 value capture incentives; and 

22 ‘‘(vi) prohibiting landlords from ask23 ing prospective tenants for their criminal 

24 history; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) provide that affordable housing units 

2 should, to the maximum extent practicable and 

3 unless alternate policies would result in more 

4 rapid progress toward and achievement of the 

5 goals described in paragraph (2)(A)— 

6 ‘‘(i) be designated as affordable for 

7 the useful life of the units; 

8 ‘‘(ii) a proportion of the new housing 

9 stock in the community that equals or ex10 ceeds the percentage of the population of 

11 the community requiring such units in 

12 order to not be an eligible individual under 

13 section 36A of the Internal Revenue Code 

14 of 1986 (as added by section 4 of the 

15 Housing, Opportunity, Mobility, and Eq16 uity Act of 2019); and 

17 ‘‘(iii) be accessible to the population 

18 served by the program established under 

19 this title; and 

20 ‘‘(D) where applicable, specify how the 

21 strategy will increase affordable housing options 

22 for individuals living in rural areas, persistent 

23 poverty counties (defined as any county with a 

24 poverty rate of at least 20 percent, as deter25 mined in each of the 1990 and 2000 decennial 


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1 censuses, and in the Bureau of the Census’s 

2 Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates for 

3 the most recent year for which the estimates 

4 are available), and high-poverty areas (defined 

5 as any census tract with a poverty rate of at 

6 least 20 percent as measured by the 5-year data 

7 series available from the American Community 

8 Survey of the Census Bureau for 2013 to 

9 2017).’’. 

10 SEC. 3. REQUIREMENT FOR SURFACE TRANSPORTATION 

11 BLOCK GRANT PROGRAM. 

12 Section 133 of title 23, United States Code, is 

13 amended— 

14 (1) by redesignating subsection (i) as subsection 

15 (j); and 

16 (2) by inserting after subsection (h) the fol17 lowing: 

18 ‘‘(i) IMPLEMENTATION OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING

19 STRATEGY.—A project under this section may not be car20 ried out unless the community in which the project is lo21 cated has implemented a strategy to increase affordable 

22 housing stock as described in subsection (n) of section 104 

23 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 

24 (42 U.S.C. 5304).’’. 


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1 SEC. 4. REFUNDABLE CREDIT FOR RENT COSTS OF ELIGI2 BLE INDIVIDUALS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart C of part IV of sub4 chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 

5 1986 is amended by inserting after section 36 the fol6 lowing new section: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 36A. RENT COSTS OF ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUALS. 

8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In the case of an eligible indi9 vidual, there shall be allowed as a credit against the tax 

10 imposed by this subtitle for the taxable year an amount 

11 equal to the excess of— 

12 ‘‘(1) the lesser of— 

13 ‘‘(A) the small area fair market rent (or, 

14 if the small area fair market rent is not avail15 able, the fair market rent), including the utility 

16 allowance, published by the Department of 

17 Housing and Urban Development for purposes 

18 of the housing choice voucher program under 

19 section 8(o) of the United States Housing Act 

20 of 1938— 

21 ‘‘(i) in the case of a household com22 prised of one individual, for an efficiency, 

23 and 

24 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a household com25 prised of more than one individual, for a 


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1 residence in which the number of bedrooms 

2 would not require— 

3 ‘‘(I) more than two members of 

4 the household to share a bedroom, 

5 ‘‘(II) children of different gen6 ders to share a bedroom with one an7 other, or 

8 ‘‘(III) a household member with 

9 a disability requiring medical equip10 ment to share a bedroom, or 

11 ‘‘(B) the rent paid during the taxable year 

12 by the individual (and, if married, the individ13 ual’s spouse) for the principal residence of the 

14 individual, over 

15 ‘‘(2) an amount equal to 30 percent of the ad16 justed gross income of the taxpayer for the taxable 

17 year. 

18 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUAL.—For purposes of this 

19 section— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘eligible indi21 vidual’ means any individual if the rent paid during 

22 the taxable year by the individual (and, if married, 

23 the individual’s spouse) for the principal residence of 

24 the individual exceeds 30 percent of the adjusted 

25 gross income of the taxpayer for the taxable year. 


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1 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTIONS.—Such term shall not in2 clude any individual if— 

3 ‘‘(A) the individual does not include on the 

4 return of tax for the taxable year such individ5 ual’s taxpayer identification number and, if 

6 married, the taxpayer identification number of 

7 such individual’s spouse, or 

8 ‘‘(B) a deduction under section 151 with 

9 respect to such individual is allowable to an10 other taxpayer for the taxable year. 

11 ‘‘(3) MARRIED INDIVIDUALS.—Such term shall 

12 include an individual who is married only if a joint 

13 return is filed for the taxable year. 

14 ‘‘(4) SPECIAL RULES.— 

15 ‘‘(A) PRINCIPAL RESIDENCE.—The term 

16 ‘principal residence’ has the same meaning as 

17 when used in section 121. 

18 ‘‘(B) MARRIED.—Marital status shall be 

19 determined under section 7703. 

20 ‘‘(c) RENT.—For purposes of this section, rent paid 

21 includes any amount paid for utilities of a type taken into 

22 account for purposes of determining the utility allowance 

23 under section 42(g)(2)(B)(ii). 


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1 ‘‘(d) COORDINATION WITH CERTAIN MEANS-TESTED

2 PROGRAMS.—Rules similar to the rules of section 32(l) 

3 shall apply to refunds made by reason of this section. 

4 ‘‘(e) RECONCILIATION OF CREDIT AND ADVANCE

5 PAYMENTS.—The amount of the credit allowed under this 

6 section for any taxable year shall be reduced (but not 

7 below zero) by the aggregate amount of any advance pay8 ments of such credit under section 7527A for such taxable 

9 year.’’. 

10 (b) ADVANCE PAYMENT OF RENTAL COSTS TAX

11 CREDIT.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 77 of the Internal 

13 Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by inserting after 

14 section 7527 the following new section: 

15 ‘‘SEC. 7527A. ADVANCE PAYMENT OF RENTAL COSTS TAX 

16 CREDIT. 

17 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months after 

18 the date of the enactment of the Housing, Opportunity, 

19 Mobility, and Equity Act of 2019, the Secretary shall es20 tablish a program for making advance payments of the 

21 credit allowed under section 36A on a monthly basis (de22 termined without regard to subsection (e) of such section) 

23 to any taxpayer who— 


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1 ‘‘(1) the Secretary has determined, in the man2 ner provided in subsection (c), will be allowed such 

3 credit for the taxable year, and 

4 ‘‘(2) has made an election under subsection (d). 

5 ‘‘(b) AMOUNT OF ADVANCE PAYMENT.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of subsection 

7 (a), the amount of the monthly advance payment of 

8 the credit provided to a taxpayer during the applica9 ble period shall be equal to the lesser of— 

10 ‘‘(A) an amount equal to— 

11 ‘‘(i) the amount of the credit which 

12 the Secretary has estimated, in the manner 

13 provided in subsection (c), will be allowed 

14 to such taxpayer under section 36A for the 

15 taxable year ending in such applicable pe16 riod, divided by 

17 ‘‘(ii) 12, or 

18 ‘‘(B) such other amount as is elected by 

19 the taxpayer. 

20 ‘‘(2) APPLICABLE PERIOD.—For purposes of 

21 this section, the term ‘applicable period’ means the 

22 12-month period from the month of July of the tax23 able year through the month of June of the subse24 quent taxable year. 


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1 ‘‘(c) MANNER OF DETERMINING ELIGIBILITY.—The 

2 Secretary shall determine eligibility for the credit under 

3 section 36A, and the estimated amount of such credit, 

4 based on the taxpayer’s adjusted gross income for the pre5 ceding taxable year, the mean fair market rental amount 

6 with respect to the individual for such preceding year, and 

7 the rent paid during such preceding year by the individual 

8 (and, if married, the individual’s spouse) for the principal 

9 residence of the individual. Any terms used in this sub10 section which are also used in section 36A shall have the 

11 same meaning as when used in such section. 

12 ‘‘(d) ELECTION OF ADVANCE PAYMENT.—A taxpayer 

13 may elect to receive an advance payment of the credit al14 lowed under section 36A for any taxable year by including 

15 such election on a timely filed return for the preceding 

16 taxable year. 

17 ‘‘(e) INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE NOTIFICATION.— 

18 The Internal Revenue Service shall take such steps as may 

19 be appropriate to ensure that taxpayers who are eligible 

20 to receive the credit under section 36A are aware of the 

21 availability of the advance payment of such credit under 

22 this section. 

23 ‘‘(f) AUTHORITY.—The Secretary may prescribe such 

24 regulations or other guidance as may be appropriate or 

25 necessary for the purposes of carrying out this section.’’. 


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1 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.— 

2 (1) The table of sections for subpart C of part 

3 IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Rev4 enue Code of 1986 is amended by inserting after the 

5 item relating to section 36 the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 36A. Rent costs of eligible individuals.’’. 

6 (2) The table of sections for chapter 77 of such 

7 Code is amended by inserting after the item relating 

8 to section 7527 the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 7527A. Advance payment of rental costs tax credit.’’. 

9 (d) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

10 6211(b)(4)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 

11 amended by inserting ‘‘, 36A’’ after ‘‘36’’. 

12 (e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

13 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 

14 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

15 (f) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the date 

16 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury 

17 shall submit to Congress a report on the credit allowed 

18 under section 36A of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 

19 (as added by subsection (a)) and the advance payment of 

20 such credit under section 7527A of such Code (as added 

21 by subsection (b)), including on whether taxpayers are 

22 fraudulently claiming such credit or advance payments. 


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1 SEC. 5. REFUND TO RAINY DAY SAVINGS PROGRAM. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than December 31, 

3 2018, the Secretary of the Treasury or the Secretary’s del4 egate (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall 

5 establish and implement a program (referred to in this 

6 section as the ‘‘Refund to Rainy Day Savings Program’’) 

7 to allow a participating taxpayer, pursuant to the require8 ments established under this section, to defer payment on 

9 20 percent of the amount which would otherwise be re10 funded to such taxpayer as an overpayment (as described 

11 in section 6401 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986). 

12 (b) PERIOD OF DEFERRAL.—Except as provided 

13 under subsection (c)(5), a participating taxpayer may elect 

14 to defer payment of the amount described in subsection 

15 (a) and have such amount deposited in the Rainy Day 

16 Fund (as described in subsection (c)). 

17 (c) RAINY DAY FUND.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish 

19 a fund, in such manner as the Secretary determines 

20 to be appropriate, to be known as the ‘‘Rainy Day 

21 Fund’’, consisting of any amounts described in sub22 section (a) on which payment has been deferred by 

23 participating taxpayers. 

24 (2) INVESTMENT.—Any amounts deposited in 

25 the Rainy Day Fund shall be invested by the Sec26 retary, in coordination with the Bureau of the Fiscal 


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1 Service of the Department of the Treasury, in 

2 United States Treasury bills issued under chapter 

3 31 of title 31, United States Code, with maturities 

4 suitable for the needs of the Fund and selected so 

5 as to provide the highest return on investment for 

6 participating taxpayers. 

7 (3) DISBURSEMENTS FROM FUND.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—On the date that is 180 

9 days after receipt of the individual income tax 

10 return of a participating taxpayer, the amounts 

11 in the Rainy Day Fund shall be made available 

12 to the Secretary to distribute to such taxpayer 

13 in an amount equal to the amount deferred by 

14 such taxpayer under subsection (a) and any in15 terest accrued on such amount (as determined 

16 under paragraph (4)). 

17 (B) DISTRIBUTED TO BANK ACCOUNT.— 

18 The amounts described in subparagraph (A) 

19 shall be distributed to the bank account identi20 fied by the participating taxpayer under sub21 section (d)(3). 

22 (4) INTEREST ACCRUED.—The amount of inter23 est accrued on the amount deferred by a partici24 pating taxpayer under subsection (a) shall be deter25 mined by the Secretary, in coordination with the BuVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:21 Oct 28, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4808.IH H4808

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1 reau of the Fiscal Service of the Department of the 

2 Treasury, based upon the return on the investment 

3 of such amounts under paragraph (2). 

4 (5) EARLY WITHDRAWAL.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—On any date during the 

6 period between the date which is 30 days after 

7 receipt by the Secretary of the individual in8 come tax return of the participating taxpayer 

9 and October 15 of the applicable year, such tax10 payer may elect to terminate the deferral of the 

11 amount described under subsection (a) and re12 ceive a distribution from the Rainy Day Fund 

13 equal to such amount and any interest which 

14 has accrued on such amount up to that date. 

15 (B) COMPLETE WITHDRAWAL.—A partici16 pating taxpayer making an election under sub17 paragraph (A) must terminate deferral of the 

18 full amount described under subsection (a), and 

19 such amount shall be distributed to the bank 

20 account identified by the participating taxpayer 

21 under subsection (d)(3). 

22 (d) PARTICIPATING TAXPAYER.—For purposes of 

23 this section, the term ‘‘participating taxpayer’’ means a 

24 taxpayer who— 


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1 (1) has not requested or received an extension 

2 of the time for payment of taxes for such taxable 

3 year under section 6161 of the Internal Revenue 

4 Code of 1986; 

5 (2) prior to the due date for filing the return 

6 of tax for such taxable year, elects to participate in 

7 the Refund to Rainy Day Savings Program; and 

8 (3) provides the Secretary with a bank account 

9 number and any other financial information deemed 

10 necessary by the Secretary for purposes of para11 graphs (3)(B) and (5)(B) of subsection (c). 

12 (e) FORMS.—The Secretary shall ensure that the 

13 election to defer payment of the amount described in sub14 section (a) may be claimed on Forms 1040, 1040A, and 

15 1040EZ. 

16 (f) IMPLEMENTATION.— 

17 (1) EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS AND OUT18 REACH.—The Secretary shall— 

19 (A) design educational materials for tax20 payers regarding financial savings and the Re21 fund to Rainy Day Savings Program; 

22 (B) publicly disseminate and distribute 

23 such materials during the first calendar quarter 

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1 ment of amounts described in subsection (c)(3); 

2 and 

3 (C) engage in outreach regarding the Re4 fund to Rainy Day Savings Program to the Vol5 unteer Income Tax Assistance program and 

6 paid tax preparers. 

7 (2) INFORMATION FOR PARTICIPATING TAX8 PAYERS.—The Secretary shall ensure that a partici9 pating taxpayer is able to electronically verify the 

10 status of the amount deferred by such taxpayer 

11 under subsection (a), including any interest accrued 

12 on such amount and the status of any distribution. 

13 (3) FEDERALLY FUNDED BENEFITS.—Any 

14 amounts described in subsection (a) which are dis15 tributed to a participating taxpayer, including any 

16 interest accrued on such amount, shall be treated in 

17 the same manner as any refund made to such tax18 payer under section 32 of the Internal Revenue Code 

19 of 1986 for purposes of determining the eligibility of 

20 such taxpayer for benefits or assistance, or the 

21 amount or extent of benefits or assistance, under 

22 any Federal program or under any State or local 

23 program financed in whole or in part with Federal 

24 funds. 

Æ 


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