II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 5313 

To require the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to establish 

an excess urban heat mitigation grant program, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 20, 2022 

Mr. BROWN introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development 

to establish an excess urban heat mitigation grant program, 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 ‘‘Excess Urban Heat 

5 Mitigation Act of 2022’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) Heat stress is a leading weather-related 

9 cause of death in the United States, with more than 

10 600 people killed in the United States by extreme 


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1 heat every year, and many more experiencing res2 piratory problems and heat-related illness. 

3 (2) Urban areas are likely to experience higher 

4 temperatures than surrounding areas due to design5 related attributes of the built environment, including 

6 manmade factors such as low solar reflectance, low 

7 tree cover, high building density, high impervious 

8 surface cover, and waste heat emissions. 

9 (3) Underserved communities are disproportion10 ately impacted by extreme heat. In the United 

11 States, low-income census blocks have 15.2 percent 

12 less tree cover and an average land surface tempera13 ture that is 1.5 degrees Celsius hotter than high-in14 come blocks. 

15 (4) Studies show that in 97 percent of the larg16 est urbanized areas in the United States, people of 

17 color live in census tracts with higher surface urban 

18 heat intensity than non-Hispanic Whites, indicating 

19 that heat exposure is unequally distributed by race. 

20 (5) Urban heat is not only a public health 

21 threat but also an economic one, as rising heat leads 

22 to increased roadway maintenance costs, higher resi23 dential and commercial summer energy costs, and 

24 lost labor productivity, as well as the cost to patients 


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1 and health care infrastructure for heat-related hos2 pitalizations and emergency department visits. 

3 (6) Excess urban heat causes increased energy 

4 consumption, elevated emission of air pollutants and 

5 greenhouse gases, and impaired water quality. 

6 (7) Heat waves are expected to not only occur 

7 more frequently in the United States but also be of 

8 longer duration, lasting 10 to 20 days longer by the 

9 end of the century. 

10 (8) Solutions exist that communities can imple11 ment now to mitigate the challenge of urban heat. 

12 One example is the planting of urban trees to offset 

13 or reverse the urban heat island effect. Studies in 

14 multiple cities in the United States have shown that 

15 urban trees can offset projected increases in heat-re16 lated mortality in 2050 by 40 to 99 percent. 

17 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

18 In this Act: 

19 (1) COVERED CENSUS TRACT.—The term ‘‘cov20 ered census tract’’ means a census tract with a pov21 erty rate of not less than 20 percent, as measured 

22 by the 5-year data series available from the Amer23 ican Community Survey of the Bureau of the Census 

24 for the period of 2014 through 2018, including such 

25 a census tract that includes an area that was desVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:43 Jan 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5313.IS S5313

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1 ignated as ‘‘hazardous’’ or ‘‘definitely declining’’ in 

2 maps drawn by the Home Owners’ Loan Corpora3 tion. 

4 (2) COVERED GRANT.—The term ‘‘covered 

5 grant’’ means a grant awarded under section 4(a). 

6 (3) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti7 ty’’ means— 

8 (A) a State (as defined in section 102 of 

9 the Housing and Community Development Act 

10 of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5302)); 

11 (B) a metropolitan planning organization; 

12 (C) a unit of general local government (as 

13 defined in section 102 of the Housing and Com14 munity Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 

15 5302)); 

16 (D) an Indian tribe (as defined in section 

17 102 of the Housing and Community Develop18 ment Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5302)); 

19 (E) a territorial government; 

20 (F) a nonprofit organization working in co21 ordination with an entity described in subpara22 graphs (A) through (E); and 

23 (G) a consortium of nonprofit organiza24 tions. 


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1 (4) ELIGIBLE PROJECT.—The term ‘‘eligible 

2 project’’— 

3 (A) means a project designed to mitigate 

4 heat in an urban area by— 

5 (i) working to combat the causes of 

6 higher temperatures; or 

7 (ii) mitigating the impacts of higher 

8 temperatures or other extreme weather 

9 events; and 

10 (B) includes the implementation, construc11 tion, or maintenance of— 

12 (i) tree planting and maintenance 

13 with, wherever possible, preference for— 

14 (I) native tree species; 

15 (II) tree species with high shade 

16 production and carbon sequestration; 

17 and 

18 (III) tree species that provide ed19 ible fruit and nuts; 

20 (ii) cool pavements; 

21 (iii) cool roofs; 

22 (iv) green roofs; 

23 (v) bus stop shelters; 

24 (vi) shade structures; 


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1 (vii) cooling centers with, wherever 

2 possible, preference for— 

3 (I) cooling centers that collabo4 rate with existing community centers 

5 and spaces; 

6 (II) cooling centers with year7 round accessibility; and 

8 (III) cooling centers that utilize 

9 renewable energy; 

10 (viii) community gardens, including 

11 agroforestry practices; 

12 (ix) outreach to communities about re13 sources available under this section; 

14 (x) local heat mitigation education ef15 forts; or 

16 (xi) other actions the Secretary deter17 mines appropriate to address or mitigate 

18 excess urban heat. 

19 (5) ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE.—The term ‘‘en20 vironmental justice’’ means the fair treatment and 

21 meaningful involvement of all people regardless of 

22 race, color, culture, national origin, income, and edu23 cational levels with respect to the development, im24 plementation, and enforcement of protective environ25 mental laws, regulations, and policies. 


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1 (6) EXCESS URBAN HEAT EFFECT.—The term 

2 ‘‘excess urban heat effect’’ means the phenomenon 

3 of local urban warming, resulting from manmade 

4 factors such as low solar reflectance, low tree cover, 

5 high building density, high impervious surface cover, 

6 and waste heat emissions. 

7 (7) EXTREME HEAT.—The term ‘‘extreme 

8 heat’’ means a prolonged period of excessively hot 

9 weather, with temperatures well above climatological 

10 normals for a given location and season. 

11 (8) NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.—The term 

12 ‘‘nonprofit organization’’ means an organization de13 scribed in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue 

14 Code of 1986 and exempt from taxation under sec15 tion 501(a) of such Code. 

16 (9) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

17 the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. 

18 (10) URBAN AREA.—The term ‘‘urban area’’ 

19 has the meaning given the term in section 101(a) of 

20 title 23, United States Code. 

21 SEC. 4. URBAN HEAT MITIGATION GRANT PROGRAM. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

23 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, acting 

24 through the Office of Community Planning and Develop25 ment, in coordination with the Administrator of the EnviVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:43 Jan 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5313.IS S5313

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1 ronmental Protection Agency, the Chief of the Forest 

2 Service, and the Director of the Climate Program Office 

3 of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 

4 shall establish an urban heat mitigation grant program to 

5 award grants to eligible entities to implement eligible 

6 projects. 

7 (b) SET-ASIDE.—Not less than 75 percent of the 

8 amounts of covered grants awarded for a fiscal year shall 

9 be awarded to eligible entities to implement projects in a 

10 covered census tract. 

11 (c) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not more than 3 percent of 

13 amounts appropriated to carry out this section may 

14 be used to provide technical assistance to eligible en15 tities applying for or implementing a covered grant. 

16 (2) PREFERENCE.—In providing technical as17 sistance under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall 

18 give preference to eligible entities that intend to 

19 serve communities— 

20 (A) located in a covered census tract; or 

21 (B) with lower-tree canopy and higher 

22 maximum daytime summer temperatures com23 pared to surrounding communities, as deter24 mined by the Secretary, based on publicly avail25 able information. 


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1 (3) INCLUSIONS.—Technical assistance pro2 vided under paragraph (1) may include— 

3 (A) assistance developing a complete appli4 cation; 

5 (B) financial analysis and budget develop6 ment; 

7 (C) support for project integration; 

8 (D) assessment of project readiness; and 

9 (E) technical assistance implementing ac10 tivities once a covered grant is received. 

11 (d) APPLICATION.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity desiring a 

13 covered grant shall submit to the Secretary an appli14 cation, at such time and in such manner as required 

15 by the Secretary in guidance, that includes, at a 

16 minimum— 

17 (A) how the eligible entity will use the cov18 ered grant; 

19 (B) how the eligible projects funded will 

20 combat extreme heat or excess urban heat ef21 fects and improve quality of life for impacted 

22 communities; 

23 (C) a robust engagement plan that— 

24 (i) outlines how the eligible entity will 

25 meaningfully engage with the communities 


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1 in which the eligible projects take place 

2 throughout project implementation; and 

3 (ii) demonstrates how the eligible enti4 ty plans to— 

5 (I) foster meaningful, reciprocal 

6 relationships with community-based 

7 organizations; 

8 (II) engage in respectful, good9 faith consultation with diverse com10 munity stakeholders; and 

11 (III) empower members of the 

12 community to participate in decision 

13 making; and 

14 (D) how the eligible entity will address the 

15 intersection between human health, environ16 ment, and built environment. 

17 (2) GUIDANCE.—Not later than 180 days after 

18 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

19 shall issue the guidance described in paragraph (1). 

20 (e) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para22 graph (2), the Federal share of the cost of an eligi23 ble project carried out with amounts from a covered 

24 grant shall be not more than 80 percent. 


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1 (2) WAIVER.—The Secretary may increase the 

2 maximum Federal share described in paragraph (1) 

3 from 80 percent to 100 percent for an eligible 

4 project carried out by an eligible entity that dem5 onstrates economic hardship, as determined by the 

6 Secretary. 

7 (f) PRIORITY.—In awarding covered grants, the Sec8 retary shall give priority to an eligible entity that serves— 

9 (1) a community located in a covered census 

10 tract; or 

11 (2) a community with lower tree canopy and 

12 higher maximum daytime summer temperatures 

13 compared to surrounding communities, as deter14 mined by the Secretary, based on publicly available 

15 information. 

16 (g) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary shall 

17 submit an annual report to Congress that identifies the 

18 recipients of covered grants and the geographic and eco19 nomic distribution of those recipients. 

20 (h) OVERSIGHT.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—In order to ensure the effec22 tiveness of projects that are carried out using cov23 ered grants, the Secretary shall use not more than 

24 5 percent of any amounts appropriated to carry out 

25 this section to establish an oversight board to help— 


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1 (A) select recipients of covered grants; and 

2 (B) review the progress made by recipients 

3 of covered grants on a yearly basis. 

4 (2) EVALUATION.—The board established under 

5 paragraph (1) shall— 

6 (A) develop and apply a rubric to evaluate 

7 the success of projects carried out using covered 

8 grants in reaching their objective to combat the 

9 causes and effects of excess urban heat; and 

10 (B) serve the Secretary in an advisory ca11 pacity. 

12 (3) MEMBERSHIP.— 

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—Members of the board 

14 established under paragraph (1) may include— 

15 (i) representatives from the Environ16 mental Protection Agency, particularly 

17 from the Heat Island Reduction Program; 

18 (ii) representatives from the Depart19 ment of Health and Human Services, par20 ticularly from the Office of Climate 

21 Change and Health Equity; 

22 (iii) representatives from the Depart23 ment of Energy, particularly from the Of24 fice of Energy Efficiency and Renewable 

25 Energy; 


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1 (iv) representatives from the Depart2 ment of Agriculture, particularly from the 

3 Urban and Community Forestry Program; 

4 (v) subject to subparagraph (B), rep5 resentatives from nonprofit organizations 

6 with proven leadership in urban heat miti7 gation or environmental justice, as deter8 mined by the Secretary; and 

9 (vi) subject to subparagraph (B), rep10 resentatives from academia and research 

11 studying the effects of and mitigation of 

12 excess urban heat, environmental justice, 

13 or related areas. 

14 (B) CERTIFICATION REQUIRED.—In order 

15 to be a member of the board established under 

16 paragraph (1), a representative described in 

17 clause (v) or (vi) of subparagraph (A) of this 

18 paragraph shall certify that the representative 

19 does possess any conflict of interest with re20 spect to projects being considered for a covered 

21 grant or being carried out using a covered 

22 grant. 


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1 (i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

2 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

3 $30,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2023 through 2030. 

Æ 


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