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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 10351 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>

118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                               H. R. 10351

   To direct the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, acting 
through the Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research, to 
publish guidelines and best practices for State zoning and local zoning 
                  frameworks, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           December 11, 2024

    Mr. Flood (for himself and Ms. Blunt Rochester) introduced the 
   following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial 
                                Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
   To direct the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, acting 
through the Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research, to 
publish guidelines and best practices for State zoning and local zoning 
                  frameworks, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Housing Supply and Innovation 
Frameworks Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) As of 2021 in the United States, there was an estimated 
        housing shortage of 3,890,000 homes. This housing supply 
        shortage has resulted in a record number of cost-burdened 
        households across regions and spanning the large and small 
        cities, towns, and coastal and rural communities of the United 
        States.
            (2) Several factors contribute to the undersupply of 
        housing in the United States, particularly workforce housing, 
        including rising costs of construction, a shortage of labor, 
        supply chain disruptions, and a lack of reliable funding 
        sources.
            (3) Regulatory barriers at the State and local levels, such 
        as zoning and land use regulations, also inhibit the creation 
        of new housing to meet local and regional housing needs.
            (4) State and local governments are proactively exploring 
        solutions for reforming regulatory barriers, but additional 
        resources, data, and models can help adequately address these 
        challenges.
            (5) While land use regulation is the responsibility of 
        State and local governments, there is Federal support for 
        necessary reforms, and there is an opportunity for the Federal 
        Government to provide support and assistance to State and local 
        governments that wish to undertake necessary reforms in a 
        manner that fits their communities' needs.
            (6) Therefore, zoning ordinances or systems of land use 
        regulation that have the intent or effect of restricting 
        housing opportunities based on economic status or income 
        without interests that are substantial, legitimate, 
        nondiscriminatory and that outweigh the regional need for 
        housing are contrary to the regional and national interest.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Affordable housing.--The term ``affordable housing'' 
        means housing for which the monthly payment is not more than 30 
        percent of the monthly income of the household.
            (2) Assistant secretary.--The term ``Assistant Secretary'' 
        means the Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and 
        Research of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
            (3) Framework-related terms.--
                    (A) Local zoning framework.--The term ``local 
                zoning framework'' means the local zoning codes and 
                other ordinances, procedures, and policies governing 
                zoning and land-use at the local level.
                    (B) State zoning framework.--The term ``State 
                zoning framework'' means the State legislation or State 
                agency and department procedures, or such legislation 
                or procedures in an insular area of the United States, 
                enabling local planning and zoning authorities and 
                establishing and guiding related policies and programs.
            (4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Housing and Urban Development.

SEC. 4. GUIDELINES ON STATE AND LOCAL ZONING FRAMEWORKS.

    (a) Establishment.--Not later than 3 years after the date of 
enactment of this section, the Assistant Secretary shall publish 
documents outlining guidelines and best practices to support production 
of adequate housing to meet the needs of communities and provide 
housing opportunities for individuals at every income level across 
communities with respect to--
            (1) State zoning frameworks; and
            (2) local zoning frameworks.
    (b) Consultation; Public Comment.--During the one-year period 
beginning on the date of enactment of this section, in developing the 
guidelines and best practices required under the previous subsection, 
the Assistant Secretary shall--
            (1) publish draft guidelines in the Federal Register for 
        public comment; and
            (2) establish a task force for the purpose of providing 
        consultation to draft guidelines published under the previous 
        clause, the members of which shall include--
                    (A) planners and architects;
                    (B) advocates with experience in affordable 
                housing, community development efforts, and fair 
                housing;
                    (C) housing developers, including affordable and 
                market-rate housing developers, manufactured housing 
                developers, and other business interests;
                    (D) community engagement experts and community 
                members impacted by zoning decisions;
                    (E) public housing authorities and transit 
                authorities;
                    (F) members of local zoning and planning boards and 
                local and regional transportation planning 
                organizations;
                    (G) State officials responsible for housing or land 
                use, including members of State zoning boards of 
                appeals;
                    (H) academic researchers; and
                    (I) home builders.
    (c) Contents.--The guidelines and best practices required under 
subsection (a) shall--
            (1) with respect to State zoning frameworks, outline 
        potential models for updated State enabling legislation or 
        State agency and department procedures;
            (2) include recommendations regarding--
                    (A) the reduction or elimination of parking 
                minimums;
                    (B) the increase in maximum floor area ratio 
                requirements and maximum building heights and the 
                reduction in minimum lot sizes and set-back 
                requirements;
                    (C) the elimination of restrictions against 
                accessory dwelling units;
                    (D) increasing by-right uses, including duplex, 
                triplex, or quadplex buildings, across cities or 
                metropolitan areas, including mechanisms, such as 
                proximity to transit, to determine the jurisdictional 
                level for rezoning and ensures development that does 
                not disproportionately burden residents of economically 
                distressed areas;
                    (E) provisions regarding review of by-right 
                development proposals to streamline review and reduce 
                uncertainty, including--
                            (i) nondiscretionary, ministerial review; 
                        and
                            (ii) entitlement and design review 
                        processes;
                    (F) the reduction of obstacles to a range of 
                housing types at all levels of affordability, including 
                manufactured and modular housing;
                    (G) State model zoning regulations for directing 
                local reforms, including mechanisms to encourage 
                adoption;
                    (H) provisions to encourage transit-oriented 
                development, including increased permissible units per 
                structure and reduced minimum lot sizes near existing 
                or planned public transit stations;
                    (I) potential reforms to the public engagement 
                process, including--
                            (i) meaningful access for persons with 
                        limited English proficiency and effective 
                        communication improvements for persons with 
                        disabilities;
                            (ii) leveraging of virtual meeting 
                        technologies; and
                            (iii) proactive outreach in communities;
                    (J) reforms to protest petition statutes;
                    (K) the standardization, reduction, or elimination 
                of impact fees;
                    (L) cost effective and appropriate building codes;
                    (M) models for community benefit agreements;
                    (N) mechanisms to preserve affordability, limit 
                disruption of low-income communities, and prevent 
                displacement of existing residents;
                    (O) with respect to State zoning frameworks, a 
                model for a State zoning appeals process, which would--
                            (i) create a process for developers or 
                        builders requesting a variance, conditional 
                        use, or zoning district change or otherwise 
                        petitioning a local zoning or planning board 
                        for a project including a State-defined amount 
                        of affordable housing to appeal a rejection to 
                        a State body or regional body empowered by the 
                        State;
                            (ii) establish qualifications for 
                        communities to be exempted from the appeals 
                        process based on their available stock of 
                        affordable housing; and
                            (iii) establish a State zoning appeals 
                        board to consider appeals to a variance 
                        rejection and objectively evaluate petitions 
                        based on the potential for environmental damage 
                        and infrastructural capacity;
                    (P) with respect to State zoning frameworks, best 
                practices on the disposition of land owned by State 
                governments for affordable housing development;
                    (Q) with respect to local zoning frameworks--
                            (i) the simplification and standardization 
                        of existing zoning codes;
                            (ii) maximum review timelines; and
                            (iii) best practices for the disposition of 
                        land owned by local governments; and
                    (R) other land use measures that promote access to 
                new housing opportunities identified by the Secretary; 
                and
            (3) consider--
                    (A) local housing needs, including ways to set and 
                measure housing goals and targets;
                    (B) a range of affordability for rental units, with 
                a prioritization of units attainable to extremely low-
                income, low-income, and moderate-income residents;
                    (C) a range of affordability for homeownership 
                units attainable to low-income and moderate-income 
                residents;
                    (D) with respect to State zoning frameworks, 
                distinctions between States providing constitutional or 
                statutory home rule authority to municipalities and 
                States operating under the Dillon rule, as articulated 
                in Hunter v. Pittsburgh (207 U.S. 161 (1907));
                    (E) accountability measures;
                    (F) the long-term cost to residents and businesses 
                if more housing is not constructed;
                    (G) barriers to individuals seeking to access 
                affordable housing in growing communities and 
                communities with economic opportunity;
                    (H) consistency with respect to fair housing and 
                civil rights requirements;
                    (I) coordination between infrastructure investments 
                and housing planning;
                    (J) with respect to State zoning frameworks, 
                statewide mechanisms to preserve existing affordability 
                over the long term, including support for land banks 
                and community land trusts;
                    (K) with respect to State zoning frameworks, 
                guidance to States on collecting and maintaining 
                proactive data on the current rental housing market and 
                rental registries;
                    (L) public comments described in subsection (b)(1); 
                and
                    (M) other considerations as identified by the 
                Secretary.

SEC. 5. REPORTING.

    Not later than 2 years after the date on which the Assistant 
Secretary publishes the guidelines and best practices for State and 
local zoning frameworks, the Assistant Secretary shall submit to 
Congress a report describing--
            (1) the States that have adopted a version of the 
        guidelines and best practices, including those that developed 
        and adopted a State zoning framework;
            (2) the localities that have adopted a version of the 
        guidelines;
            (3) a summary of the modifications that each State has made 
        in their State zoning framework; and
            (4) a general summary of the types of updates localities 
        have made to their local zoning framework.

SEC. 6. ABOLISHMENT OF REGULATORY BARRIERS CLEARINGHOUSE.

    (a) In General.--The Regulatory Barriers Clearinghouse established 
pursuant to section 1205 of the Housing and Community Development Act 
of 1992 (42 U.S.C. 12705d) is abolished.
    (b) Repeal.--Section 1205 of the Housing and Community Development 
Act of 1992 (42 U.S.C. 12705d) is repealed.

SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Housing 
and Urban Development $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 through 
2029.
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