I

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 4062

To amend the United States Housing Act of 1937 to provide for referenda

among residents of public housing developments to determine whether

firearms shall be prohibited or limited in such developments, and for

other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 16, 1994

Mr. WYDEN (for himself and Mr. LEWIS of Georgia) introduced the following

bill; which was referred jointly to the Committees on Banking, Finance

and Urban Affairs and the Judiciary

A BILL

To amend the United States Housing Act of 1937 to provide

for referenda among residents of public housing developments to determine whether firearms shall be prohibited

or limited in such developments, 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 ‘‘Safe Public Housing

5 Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS.

7 The Congress finds that—
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1 (1) a disproportionate amount of violent crime,

2 including crime with guns, is committed in or near

3 public housing developments;

4 (2) public housing developments are funded and

5 regulated by the Federal Government;

6 (3) many guns responsible for violence in public

7 housing have been transported between States; and

8 (4) under the commerce clause of the Constitu9 tion of the United States, the Congress has the au10 thority to regulate the presence of guns in public

11 housing and establish crimes relating to guns in

12 public housing.

13 SEC. 3. REFERENDA REGARDING PROHIBITING AND REG14 ISTERING FIREARMS IN PUBLIC HOUSING DE15 VELOPMENTS.

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title I of the United States Hous17 ing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437 et seq.) is amended by

18 adding at the end the following new section:

19 ‘‘SEC. 26. REFERENDA REGARDING PROHIBITING AND REG20 ISTERING FIREARMS IN PUBLIC HOUSING DE21 VELOPMENTS.

22 ‘‘(a) PROHIBITION AND REGISTRATION OF FIRE23 ARMS.—

24 ‘‘(1) PROHIBITION.—No resident of a covered

25 public housing development described in subsection
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1 (b)(1)(A) may knowingly possess or cause to be

2 present a firearm in the covered public housing de3 velopment, or attempt to do so.

4 ‘‘(2) REGISTRATION OF FIREARMS.—No resi5 dent of a covered public housing development de6 scribed in subsection (b)(1)(B) may knowingly pos7 sess or cause to be present a firearm in the covered

8 public housing development, or attempt to do so, un9 less the resident has registered such firearm with

10 the public housing agency, as the Secretary shall re11 quire.

12 ‘‘(3) REGISTRATION OF FIREARMS OWNERS.—

13 No resident of a covered public housing development

14 described in subsection (b)(1)(C) may knowingly

15 possess or cause to be present a firearm in the cov16 ered public housing development, or attempt to do

17 so, unless the resident has registered with the public

18 housing agency as a possessor of firearms, as the

19 Secretary shall require.

20 ‘‘(4) REGISTRATION STANDARD.—A public

21 housing agency may refuse to register a firearm for

22 a resident under paragraph (2) or to register a resi23 dent to possess firearms under paragraph (3), if the

24 agency has probable cause to believe that possession

25 of a firearm by such resident will be a threat to the
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1 safety of residents of the covered public housing

2 development.

3 ‘‘(5) LAW ENFORCEMENT EXCEPTIONS.—Para4 graphs (1), (2), and (3) shall not apply to the pos5 session of a firearm by—

6 ‘‘(A) a law enforcement officer acting in

7 his or her official capacity; or

8 ‘‘(B) a Federal official or a member of the

9 Armed Forces if such possession is otherwise

10 authorized by law.

11 ‘‘(b) COVERED PUBLIC HOUSING DEVELOPMENT.—

12 For purposes of this section, the term ‘covered public

13 housing development’ means a qualified public housing

14 development for which—

15 ‘‘(1) a referendum under subsection (c) or

16 (j)(1) has been held to determine whether the devel17 opment shall be subject to—

18 ‘‘(A) the prohibition under subsection

19 (a)(1) regarding the possession of firearms by

20 residents;

21 ‘‘(B) the requirements under subsection

22 (a)(2) regarding registration of firearms by

23 residents; or
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1 ‘‘(C) the requirements under subsection

2 (a)(3) regarding registration of residents who

3 possess firearms;

4 ‘‘(2) the Secretary of Housing and Urban De5 velopment has certified under subsection (i)(1) or

6 (j)(4) that the referendum was approved;

7 ‘‘(3) the 30-day period beginning upon such

8 certification has expired; and

9 ‘‘(4) notice that the development shall cease to

10 be a covered public housing development has not

11 subsequently been published pursuant to subsection

12 (j)(5)(B)(i).

13 ‘‘(c) REFERENDUM.—Not later than the expiration of

14 the 60-day period beginning upon the certification under

15 subsection (e)(2) of a petition requesting a referendum

16 under this section for a qualified public housing develop17 ment to ascertain whether the development shall be a cov18 ered public housing development and subject to paragraph

19 (1), (2), or (3) of subsection (a), such a referendum shall

20 be conducted among the residents of the development who

21 are adults. The referendum shall be conducted by the pub22 lic housing agency, except that, at the request of the resi23 dent council for the qualified public housing development,

24 the public housing agency may designate a nonprofit orga-
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1 nization to conduct the referendum if the agency deter2 mines such organization is qualified to do so.

3 ‘‘(d) SUBMISSION OF PETITION AND REVIEW.—Upon

4 submission to the Secretary of a petition for a referendum

5 under this section, the Secretary shall immediately notify

6 the public housing agency that administers the public

7 housing to which the petition relates that the petition has

8 been submitted and shall review the petition to determine

9 if it complies with the requirements for certification of the

10 petition under subsection (e)(1) or (j)(2), as applicable.

11 The Secretary shall make such determination before the

12 expiration of the 30-day period beginning upon the sub13 mission of the petition to the Secretary. The public hous14 ing agency responsible for administering the public hous15 ing to which the petition relates shall provide to the Sec16 retary any information necessary for the Secretary to

17 make such a determination.

18 ‘‘(e) CERTIFICATION OF PETITION.—

19 ‘‘(1) REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTIFICATION.—

20 The Secretary may certify a petition for a referen21 dum under subsection (c) only if the petition meets

22 the following requirements:

23 ‘‘(A) CONTENTS OF PETITION.—The peti24 tion shall—
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1 ‘‘(i) clearly state that the purpose of

2 the petition is to request the Secretary to

3 conduct a referendum under subsection (c)

4 to ascertain whether the public housing de5 scribed in the petition shall be—

6 ‘‘(I) a covered public housing de7 velopment for purposes of this section;

8 and

9 ‘‘(II) subject to the provisions of

10 paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of sub11 section (a), and shall specify which

12 paragraph;

13 ‘‘(ii) clearly describe the limitations

14 regarding firearms that will apply to the

15 public housing development if the referen16 dum is approved and the penalties for vio17 lations of such limitations;

18 ‘‘(iii) clearly describe the public hous19 ing to which the petition relates in a man20 ner sufficient for the Secretary to deter21 mine whether such housing is a qualified

22 public housing development;

23 ‘‘(iv) clearly state that each of the sig24 natories represents that, as of the date of

25 signing the petition, the signatory is a law-
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1 ful resident of the public housing described

2 in the petition and is an adult; and

3 ‘‘(v) contain the name and address of

4 each signatory.

5 ‘‘(B) SIGNATURE REQUIREMENTS.—Not

6 less than 10 percent of the adults who, as of

7 the date that the petition is submitted to the

8 Secretary, reside in the public housing de9 scribed in the petition have signed the petition

10 during the 12-month period ending upon such

11 date of submission.

12 ‘‘(C) QUALIFIED PUBLIC HOUSING DEVEL13 OPMENT.—The public housing to which the pe14 tition relates is a qualified public housing devel15 opment under subsection (l).

16 ‘‘(2) CERTIFICATION.—Upon determining that

17 a petition under this section complies with the re18 quirements for certification under paragraph (1) of

19 this subsection or subsection (j)(2), as applicable,

20 the Secretary shall immediately certify such compli21 ance and notify, in writing, the public housing agen22 cy for the qualified public housing development to

23 which the petition relates of such certification.

24 ‘‘(3) DENIAL OF CERTIFICATION.—Upon deter25 mining that a petition fails to comply with the re-
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1 quirements for certification, the Secretary shall im2 mediately notify, in writing, the public housing agen3 cy for the qualified public housing development to

4 which the petition relates of such failure.

5 ‘‘(4) FAILURE TO NOTIFY.—If, pursuant to the

6 submission of a petition for a referendum under this

7 section to the Secretary, the Secretary fails to deter8 mine whether the petition complies with the require9 ments for certification before the expiration of the

10 30-day period under subsection (d) and provide no11 tice of the determination in accordance with para12 graph (2) or (3) of this subsection before such date,

13 the petition shall be considered as certified for pur14 poses of this section.

15 ‘‘(f) REQUIREMENTS OF REFERENDUM.—The Sec16 retary shall, by regulation, establish requirements for

17 referenda held under this section. Such regulations shall

18 provide, with respect to a referendum for a qualified public

19 housing development—

20 ‘‘(1) that the referendum shall be restricted to

21 residents of the development who are adults;

22 ‘‘(2) for giving reasonable notice to residents of

23 the development of the time, place, and manner of

24 the referendum;
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1 ‘‘(3) for holding the referendum at such time

2 and place and in such a manner that the adult resi3 dents of the development have a reasonable oppor4 tunity to participate;

5 ‘‘(4) that the referendum shall be conducted by

6 secret ballot; and

7 ‘‘(5) that the referendum shall be administered

8 by officials or employees of the public housing agen9 cy or the nonprofit organization designated pursuant

10 to subsection (c).

11 ‘‘(g) TALLY.—The public housing agency or non12 profit organization conducting a referendum under this

13 section shall determine the result of the referendum and

14 immediately upon such determination notify the Secretary

15 of the result.

16 ‘‘(h) STANDARDS FOR APPROVAL.—The proposition

17 presented in a referendum under this section shall be con18 sidered to have been approved only if—

19 ‘‘(1) a majority of the residents of the develop20 ment who are adults voted in the referendum; and

21 ‘‘(2) a majority of such residents voting in the

22 referendum voted in favor of the proposition pre23 sented in the referendum.

24 ‘‘(i) REVIEW AND CERTIFICATION OF RESULTS BY

25 SECRETARY.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days

2 after receiving notice of the result of a referendum

3 under subsection (c), the Secretary shall—

4 ‘‘(A) review the referendum to determine

5 whether the referendum was held in accordance

6 with the requirements of this section and the

7 regulations issued pursuant to this section; and

8 ‘‘(B) if the Secretary determines that the

9 referendum was held in accordance with such

10 requirements and regulations, certify the result

11 of the referendum.

12 ‘‘(2) NOTICE.—If the Secretary certifies a ref13 erendum under subsection (b) as having been ap14 proved for a qualified public housing development,

15 the Secretary shall—

16 ‘‘(A) immediately notify the public housing

17 agency that administers the qualified public

18 housing development of the certification and the

19 firearms limitation effective date (as defined in

20 subsection (o)) for the development;

21 ‘‘(B) before the firearms limitation effec22 tive date for the development, cause to be pub23 lished in the Federal Register notice—
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1 ‘‘(i) that the development shall be

2 classified as covered public housing devel3 opment for purposes of this section;

4 ‘‘(ii) that the prohibition or limitation

5 under paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of sub6 section (a) that was approved under the

7 referendum shall take effect with respect

8 to the public housing development; and

9 ‘‘(iii) describing the specific obliga10 tions and effects resulting from such clas11 sification (including the effects of section

12 922(s) of title 18, United States Code and

13 of the lease provisions required under sec14 tion 6(l)(6) of this Act), the firearms limi15 tation effective date for the development,

16 and the boundaries of the development;

17 ‘‘(C) before the firearms limitation effec18 tive date for the development, provide written

19 notice to each resident of the development con20 taining the information required in notice pub21 lished under subparagraph (B); and

22 ‘‘(D) require the public housing agency to

23 post notice of the prohibitions or limitation that

24 shall apply to the covered public housing devel25 opment in prominent places in the development
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1 before the firearms limitation effective date for

2 the development.

3 ‘‘(j) REFERENDUM TO ALTER FIREARMS PROHIBI4 TION OR LIMITATION.—

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than the expira6 tion of the 60-day period beginning upon the certifi7 cation under subsection (e)(2) of a petition that re8 quests a referendum under this subsection for a cov9 ered public housing development to—

10 ‘‘(A) ascertain whether the development

11 shall cease to be a covered public housing devel12 opment for purposes of this section, or

13 ‘‘(B) ascertain whether the prohibition or

14 limitation under paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of

15 subsection (a) that applies to the development

16 at such time shall cease to apply and another

17 such prohibition or limitation shall apply,

18 such a referendum shall be conducted among the

19 residents of the development who are adults. The

20 referendum shall be conducted by the public housing

21 agency, except that, at the request of the resident

22 council for the covered public housing development,

23 the public housing agency may designate a nonprofit

24 organization to conduct the referendum if the agency

25 determines such organization is qualified to do so.
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1 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTIFICATION OF

2 PETITION.—The Secretary may certify a petition for

3 a referendum under paragraph (1) only if—

4 ‘‘(A) the petition clearly states that the

5 purpose of the petition is to request the Sec6 retary to conduct a referendum under para7 graph (1) to ascertain whether the development

8 shall—

9 ‘‘(i) cease to be a covered public hous10 ing development for purposes of this sec11 tion; or

12 ‘‘(ii) instead of being subject to the

13 prohibition or limitation under paragraph

14 (1), (2), or (3) of subsection (a) that ap15 plies to the development at such time, be

16 subject to another prohibition or limitation

17 under one of such paragraphs, and shall

18 specify which paragraph;

19 ‘‘(B) the petition clearly describes any limi20 tations regarding firearms that will apply to the

21 covered public housing development if the ref22 erendum is approved and the penalties for viola23 tions of such limitations;
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1 ‘‘(C) the petition clearly describes the cov2 ered public housing development to which the

3 petition relates;

4 ‘‘(D) the petition clearly states that each

5 of the signatories represents that, as of the date

6 of signing the petition, the signatory is a lawful

7 resident of the covered public housing develop8 ment described in the petition and is an adult;

9 ‘‘(E) the petition contains the name and

10 address of each signatory;

11 ‘‘(F) not less than 10 percent of the adults

12 who, as of the date that the petition is submit13 ted to the Secretary, reside in the covered pub14 lic housing development described in the peti15 tion have signed the petition during the 12-

16 month period ending upon such date of submis17 sion; and

18 ‘‘(G) the public housing to which the peti19 tion relates is a covered public housing develop20 ment.

21 ‘‘(3) PROCEDURE FOR CERTIFICATION OF PETI22 TION.—The provisions of paragraphs (2) through

23 (4) of subsection (e) and subsections (f), (g), and (h)

24 shall apply to any petition for a referendum under

25 paragraph (1) of this subsection submitted to the
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1 Secretary and any referendum conducted pursuant

2 to certification of such petition.

3 ‘‘(4) REVIEW OF AND CERTIFICATION OF REF4 ERENDUM RESULTS BY SECRETARY.—Not later than

5 30 days after receiving notice of the result of a ref6 erendum under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall—

7 ‘‘(A) review the referendum to determine

8 whether the referendum was held in accordance

9 with the requirements of this section and the

10 regulations issued pursuant to this section; and

11 ‘‘(B) if the Secretary determines that the

12 referendum was held in accordance with such

13 requirements and regulations, certify the result

14 of the referendum.

15 ‘‘(5) NOTICE.—If the Secretary certifies a ref16 erendum under paragraph (1) as having been ap17 proved for a covered public housing development, the

18 Secretary shall—

19 ‘‘(A) immediately notify the public housing

20 agency that administers the covered public

21 housing of the certification and, if applicable,

22 the firearms limitation effective date for the

23 new firearms prohibition or limitation that will

24 apply to the development;
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1 ‘‘(B) before the expiration of the 30-day

2 period beginning upon such certification, cause

3 to be published in the Federal Register—

4 ‘‘(i) in the case of a referendum con5 ducted for the purpose under paragraph

6 (1)(A), notice that, effective upon such

7 publication, the development shall cease to

8 be a covered public housing development

9 for purposes of this section and describing

10 the boundaries of the development; or

11 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a referendum con12 ducted for the purpose under paragraph

13 (1)(B), notice—

14 ‘‘(I) that the prohibition or limi15 tation under paragraph (1), (2), or

16 (3) of subsection (a) that applies at

17 such time to the development shall

18 cease to apply;

19 ‘‘(II) that the prohibition or limi20 tation that was approved under the

21 referendum shall take effect with re22 spect to the public housing develop23 ment; and

24 ‘‘(III) describing the specific obli25 gations and effects resulting from
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1 such classification (including the ef2 fects of section 922(s) of title 18,

3 United States Code and of the lease

4 provisions required under section

5 6(l)(6) of this Act), the firearms limi6 tation effective date under paragraph

7 (5) of this subsection for the new fire8 arms prohibition or limitation that

9 will apply to the development, and the

10 boundaries of the development;

11 ‘‘(C) before the expiration of such 30-day

12 period, provide written notice to each resident

13 of the qualified public housing development that

14 contains the information required in notice

15 under clause (i) or (ii) of subparagraph (B),

16 whichever is applicable; and

17 ‘‘(D) in the case of a referendum con18 ducted for the purpose under paragraph (1)(B),

19 require the public housing agency to post notice

20 of the new prohibitions or limitation that shall

21 apply to the covered public housing development

22 in prominent places in the development before

23 the firearms limitation effective date for the de24 velopment under paragraph (5).
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1 ‘‘(6) FIREARMS LIMITATION EFFECTIVE DATE

2 FOR ALTERATION OF FIREARMS PROHIBITION OR

3 LIMITATION.—In the case of referendum conducted

4 for the purpose under paragraph (1)(B) that is cer5 tified by the Secretary as having been approved, the

6 prohibition or limitation under paragraph (1), (2),

7 or (3) of subsection (a) in effect for the covered pub8 lic housing development at the time of the referen9 dum shall cease to apply and the prohibition or limi10 tation that was considered under the referendum

11 shall take effect with respect to the development,

12 upon the expiration of the 30-day period beginning

13 upon such certification.

14 ‘‘(k) TIMING OF PROHIBITION REFERENDUM.—The

15 Secretary may not certify a petition under this section for

16 any public housing that is submitted before the expiration

17 of the 12-month period beginning on the date of any ref18 erendum under this section relating to any such housing

19 that was certified by the Secretary as having been

20 approved.

21 ‘‘(l) QUALIFIED PUBLIC HOUSING DEVELOP22 MENTS.—Public housing for which a petition is submitted

23 under subsection (d) shall be a qualified public housing

24 development for purposes of this section only if the Sec-
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1 retary determines that the boundaries of the housing de2 scribed in the petition accurately describe—

3 ‘‘(1) a group of buildings (and the grounds and

4 other appurtenances thereto) that comprise or are

5 associated, treated, or administered as a single pub6 lic housing development; or

7 ‘‘(2) a single building or a group of buildings

8 comprising public housing, and the grounds and

9 other appurtenances thereto, that, in the determina10 tion of the Secretary, has a continuous or other

11 boundary or other geographic or administrative asso12 ciation that would allow treatment as a unitary de13 velopment if the housing becomes a covered public

14 housing development for purposes of this section.

15 The Secretary may make a determination of whether cer16 tain public housing is a qualified public housing develop17 ment before the submission of a petition under subsection

18 (d) for the public housing.

19 ‘‘(m) WITHHOLDING OF AMOUNTS FOR FAILURE TO

20 CONDUCT REFERENDUM.—If any referendum is required

21 under this section to be conducted (pursuant to certifi22 cation of petition for a referendum under subsection (e)

23 or (j)(3)) and is not conducted in accordance with the pro24 visions of this section, the Secretary may withhold any

25 amounts provided under this Act for the public housing
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1 agency that administers such housing until the referen2 dum is conducted.

3 ‘‘(n) LIABILITY.—A public housing agency admin4 istering a covered public housing development that makes

5 a good faith effort to comply with the requirements under

6 this section applicable to such agency regarding such de7 velopment shall not be liable for any injury caused by a

8 firearm because of any failure to prevent any activity in

9 the development that violates any provision under this sec10 tion or section 922(s) of title 18, United States Code.

11 ‘‘(o) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section:

12 ‘‘(1) ADULT.—The term ‘adult’ means an indi13 vidual who is 18 years of age or older.

14 ‘‘(2) DEVELOPMENT.—The term ‘development’,

15 when used in reference to public housing, has the

16 meaning given the term ‘project’ in section 3(b) of

17 this Act.

18 ‘‘(3) FIREARMS LIMITATION EFFECTIVE

19 DATE.—The term ‘firearms limitation effective date’

20 means, with respect to a qualified public housing de21 velopment or covered public housing development,

22 the date under subsection (b)(3) or (j)(6), respec23 tively, on which the prohibition or limitation under

24 paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of subsection (a) that was
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1 approved under the referendum takes effect with re2 spect to the development.

3 ‘‘(4) NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.—The term

4 ‘nonprofit organization’ means a private organiza5 tion no part of the net earnings of which inures to

6 the benefit of any member, shareholder, founder,

7 contributor, or individual.

8 ‘‘(5) QUALIFIED PUBLIC HOUSING DEVELOP9 MENT.—The term ‘qualified public housing develop10 ment’ means public housing that has been deter11 mined by the Secretary under subsection (l) to be a

12 qualified public housing development.

13 ‘‘(6) RESIDENT COUNCIL.—The term ‘resident

14 council’ means any incorporated nonprofit organiza15 tion or association that—

16 ‘‘(A) is representative of the residents of

17 the housing;

18 ‘‘(B) adopts written procedures providing

19 for the election of officers on a regular basis;

20 and

21 ‘‘(C) has a democratically elected govern22 ing board, elected by residents of the housing.

23 ‘‘(p) EFFECT ON STATE LAW.—The provisions of

24 this section and section 6 do not annul, alter, or affect,

25 or exempt any person subject to the provisions of such
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1 sections from complying with, the laws of any State with

2 respect to possession or registration of firearms, except

3 to the extent that such laws are inconsistent with any pro4 vision of this section or section 6, and then only to the

5 extent of such inconsistency.’’.

6 (b) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall issue any

7 regulations necessary to carry out the provisions in the

8 amendment made by subsection (a).

9 SEC. 4. TERMINATION OF TENANCY IN PUBLIC HOUSING

10 DEVELOPMENT FOR VIOLATION OF PROHIBI11 TION OR LIMITATION ON POSSESSION OF

12 FIREARMS.

13 (a) EXPEDITED ADMINISTRATIVE GRIEVANCE PRO14 CEDURE.—Section 6(k) of the United States Housing Act

15 of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437d(k)) is amended in the 1st sen16 tence of the matter that follows paragraph (6)—

17 (1) by striking ‘‘or any’’ and inserting ‘‘, in18 volves any’’; and

19 (2) by inserting after ‘‘such premises,’’ the fol20 lowing: ‘‘or involves any activity that violates a lease

21 provision required under subsection (l)(6),’’.

22 (b) LEASE PROVISION.—Section 6(l) of the United

23 States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437d(l)) is

24 amended—
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1 (1) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the

2 end;

3 (2) by redesignating paragraph (6) as para4 graph (7); and

5 (3) by inserting after paragraph (5) the follow6 ing new paragraph:

7 ‘‘(6) provide that, if the public housing in which

8 the dwelling unit subject to the lease is located in or

9 becomes a covered public housing development for

10 purposes of section 26, the tenancy may be termi11 nated for any activity—

12 ‘‘(A) that violates the particular prohibi13 tion or limitation under section 26(a) that ap14 plies to such covered public housing develop15 ment that is engaged in by a public housing

16 resident, any member of the resident’s house17 hold, or any guest or other person under the

18 resident’s control, or

19 ‘‘(B) that violates the prohibition under

20 section 922(s) of title 18, United States Code

21 that is engaged in by any guest or other person

22 under the resident’s control,

23 except that a resident shall not be considered to

24 have control of any guest or other person for pur25 poses of this paragraph if the resident makes a good
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1 faith effort to notify the public housing agency for

2 the development or an appropriate law enforcement

3 agency of any activity described in subparagraph (A)

4 or (B) that is engaged in by such guest or person;

5 and’’.

6 SEC. 5. PROHIBITION OF POSSESSION OF FIREARMS IN

7 CERTAIN PUBLIC HOUSING DEVELOPMENTS

8 BY NON-RESIDENTS AND CRIMINAL PENALTY.

9 (a) UNLAWFUL ACT.—Section 922 of title 18, United

10 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the follow11 ing new subsection:

12 ‘‘(s)(1) It shall be unlawful for any individual who

13 is not a resident of the covered public housing development

14 knowingly to possess a firearm in an area that is a covered

15 public housing development.

16 ‘‘(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to the possession

17 of a firearm—

18 ‘‘(A) by a law enforcement officer acting in his

19 or her official capacity;

20 ‘‘(B) by a Federal official or a member of the

21 Armed Forces, if such possession is otherwise au22 thorized by law; or

23 ‘‘(C) if the individual possessing the firearm is

24 specifically authorized to possess the firearm at the

25 covered public housing development at such time by
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1 the Federal Government, the government of the

2 State or political subdivision of the State in which

3 the development is located, or the public housing

4 agency that administers the development, pursuant

5 to a determination that such individual—

6 ‘‘(i) does not pose a threat to the safety of

7 residents of the development; and

8 ‘‘(ii) is otherwise authorized under Federal

9 law or the applicable law of the State or the po10 litical subdivision in which the development is

11 located, to possess the firearm.

12 ‘‘(3) As used in this subsection, the term ‘covered

13 public housing development’ has the meaning given such

14 term in section 26(b) of the United States Housing Act

15 of 1937.’’.

16 (b) PENALTY.—Section 924(a)(1)(B) of title 18,

17 United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘or (q)’’ and

18 inserting ‘‘(q), or (s)’’.

19 SEC. 6. ELIGIBILITY OF ACTIVITIES TO ENFORCE PHA FIRE20 ARMS LIMITATIONS FOR FUNDING UNDER

21 PUBLIC AND ASSISTED HOUSING DRUG

22 ELIMINATION GRANTS.

23 Section 5124(a) of the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988

24 (42 U.S.C. 11903(a)) is amended—
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1 (1) in paragraph (6), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the

2 end;

3 (2) in paragraph (7), by striking the period at

4 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

5 (3) by adding at the end the following new

6 paragraph:

7 ‘‘(8) in the case of a grant to a public housing

8 agency (or public housing resident management cor9 poration) that administers a covered public housing

10 development under section 26 of the United States

11 Housing Act of 1937, costs of activities relating to

12 enforcement of the prohibitions or limitations under

13 such section 26 and section 922(s) of title 18, Unit14 ed States Code, that apply to such development,

15 which shall include only—

16 ‘‘(A) acquiring, maintaining, and operating

17 metal detectors for covered public housing de18 velopments;

19 ‘‘(B) acquiring, maintaining, and operating

20 on-site or off-site storage facilities, as appro21 priate, for firearms confiscated or relinquished

22 in covered public housing developments;

23 ‘‘(C) providing for registration of firearms

24 or possessors of firearms under such provisions;

25 and
28

•HR 4062 IH

1 ‘‘(D) any other activities relating to en2 forcement of such provisions for such develop3 ments as the Secretary may approve.’’.

Æ