I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3260 

To require all newly constructed, federally assisted, single-family houses and 

town houses to meet minimum standards of visitability for persons with 

disabilities. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 28, 2015 

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY (for herself, Mr. CLAY, Mr. ELLISON, Ms. MOORE, Ms. 

NORTON, and Mr. RANGEL) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 

A BILL 

To require all newly constructed, federally assisted, singlefamily houses and town houses to meet minimum standards of visitability for persons with disabilities. 

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 ‘‘Eleanor Smith Inclu5 sive Home Design Act of 2015’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 As used in this Act: 


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1 (1) COVERED DWELLING UNIT.—The term 

2 ‘‘covered dwelling unit’’ means a dwelling unit 

3 that— 

4 (A) is a detached single family house, a 

5 townhouse or multi-level dwelling unit (whether 

6 detached or attached to other units or struc7 tures), or a ground-floor unit in a building of 

8 three or fewer dwelling units; 

9 (B) is designed as, or intended for occu10 pancy as, a residence; 

11 (C) was designed, constructed, or commis12 sioned, contracted or otherwise arranged for 

13 construction, by any person or entity who, at 

14 any time before the design or construction, re15 ceived or was guaranteed Federal financial as16 sistance for any program or activity; and 

17 (D) is made available for first occupancy 

18 after the expiration of the one-year period be19 ginning on the date of the enactment of this 

20 Act. 

21 (2) FEDERAL FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.—The 

22 term ‘‘Federal financial assistance’’ means— 

23 (A) any assistance that is provided or oth24 erwise made available by the Secretary of Hous25 ing and Urban Development or the Secretary of 


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1 Veterans Affairs, or any program or activity or 

2 such agencies, through any grant, loan, con3 tract, or any other arrangement, after the expi4 ration of the one-year period beginning on the 

5 date of the enactment of this Act, including— 

6 (i) grants, subsidies, or any other 

7 funds; 

8 (ii) services of Federal personnel; 

9 (iii) real or personal property or any 

10 interest in or use of such property, includ11 ing— 

12 (I) transfers or leases of the 

13 property for less than the fair market 

14 value or for reduced consideration; 

15 and 

16 (II) proceeds from a subsequent 

17 transfer or lease of the property if the 

18 Federal share of its fair market value 

19 is not returned to the Federal Govern20 ment; 

21 (iv) any tax credit, mortgage or loan 

22 guarantee or insurance; and 

23 (v) community development funds in 

24 the form of obligations guaranteed under 

25 section 108 of the Housing and CommuVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:29 Jul 30, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3260.IH H3260

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1 nity Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 

2 5308); or 

3 (B) any assistance that is provided or oth4 erwise made available by the Secretary of Agri5 culture under title V of the Housing Act of 

6 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1471 et seq.). 

7 (3) PERSON OR ENTITY.—The term ‘‘person or 

8 entity’’ includes one or more individuals, corpora9 tions (including not-for-profit corporations), partner10 ships, associations, labor organizations, legal rep11 resentatives, mutual corporations, joint-stock compa12 nies, trusts, unincorporated associations, trustees, 

13 trustees in cases under title 11 of the United States 

14 Code, receivers, and fiduciaries. 

15 SEC. 3. VISITABILITY REQUIREMENT. 

16 It shall be unlawful for any person referred to in sec17 tion 2(1)(C) with respect to a covered dwelling unit to fail 

18 to ensure that such dwelling unit contains at least one 

19 level that complies with the Standards for Type C (Visit20 able) Units of the American National Standards Institute 

21 (ANSI) Standards for Accessible and Usable Buildings 

22 and Facilities (1005–ICC ANSI A117.1–2009) and any 

23 future revisions thereto. 


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1 SEC. 4. ENFORCEMENT. 

2 (a) REQUIREMENT FOR FEDERAL FINANCIAL AS3 SISTANCE.—Each applicant for Federal financial assist4 ance shall submit an assurance to the Federal agency re5 sponsible for such assistance that all of its programs and 

6 activities will be conducted in compliance with this Act. 

7 (b) APPROVAL OF ARCHITECTURAL AND CONSTRUC8 TION PLANS.— 

9 (1) SUBMISSION.—Any applicant for or recipi10 ent of Federal financial assistance for a covered 

11 dwelling unit shall submit for approval the architec12 tural and construction plans for such unit to the 

13 State or local department or agency that is respon14 sible, under applicable State or local law, for the re15 view and approval of construction plans for compli16 ance with generally applicable building codes or re17 quirements (in this subsection referred to as the 

18 ‘‘appropriate State or local agency’’). 

19 (2) DETERMINATION OF COMPLIANCE.— 

20 (A) ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS.—The en21 forcement actions under this subparagraph 

22 are— 

23 (i) reviewing any plans for a covered 

24 dwelling unit submitted pursuant to para25 graph (1) and approving or disapproving 

26 such plans based upon compliance of the 


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1 dwelling unit with the requirements of this 

2 Act; and 

3 (ii) consistent with applicable State or 

4 local laws and procedures, withholding 

5 final approval of construction or occupancy 

6 of a covered dwelling unit unless and until 

7 such compliance is determined. 

8 (B) CONDITION OF FEDERAL HOUSING AS9 SISTANCE.—The Secretary of Housing and 

10 Urban Development may not provide any Fed11 eral financial assistance under any program ad12 ministered by such Secretary to a State or unit 

13 of general local government (or any agency 

14 thereof) unless the appropriate State or local 

15 agency thereof is, in the determination of the 

16 Secretary, taking the enforcement actions under 

17 subparagraph (A). 

18 (c) CIVIL ACTION FOR PRIVATE PERSONS.— 

19 (1) ACTION.—Any person aggrieved by an act 

20 or omission that is unlawful under this Act may 

21 commence a civil action in an appropriate United 

22 States district court or State court against any per23 son or entity responsible for any part of the design 

24 or construction of a covered dwelling unit no later 


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1 than two years after the occurrence or termination 

2 of the alleged unlawful conduct under this Act. 

3 (2) LIABILITY.—In any action under this sub4 section for a violation involving architectural or con5 struction plans for a covered dwelling unit that were 

6 approved by the appropriate State or local depart7 ment or agency— 

8 (A) if such approved plans violate this Act 

9 and any construction on such dwelling that vio10 lates this Act was performed in accordance with 

11 such approved plans, such State or local depart12 ment or agency shall be liable for such con13 struction in violation; and 

14 (B) if such approved plans comply with 

15 this Act and any construction on such dwelling 

16 violates this Act, the person or entity respon17 sible for the construction shall be liable for such 

18 construction in violation. 

19 (d) ENFORCEMENT BY ATTORNEY GENERAL.— 

20 Whenever the Attorney General has reasonable cause to 

21 believe that any person or group of persons has violated 

22 this Act, the Attorney General may commence a civil ac23 tion in any appropriate United States district court. The 

24 Attorney General may also, upon timely application, inter25 vene in any civil action brought under subsection (c) by 


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1 a private person if the Attorney General certifies that the 

2 case is of general public importance. 

3 (e) RELIEF.—In any civil action brought under this 

4 section, if the court finds that a violation of this title has 

5 occurred or is about to occur, it may award to the plaintiff 

6 actual and punitive damages, and subject to subsection 

7 (g), may grant as relief, as the court finds appropriate, 

8 any permanent or temporary injunction, temporary re9 straining order, or other order (including an order enjoin10 ing the defendant from violating the Act or ordering such 

11 affirmative action as may be appropriate). 

12 (f) VIOLATIONS.—For purposes of this section, a vio13 lation involving a covered dwelling unit that is not de14 signed or constructed in conformity with the requirements 

15 of this Act shall not be considered to terminate until the 

16 violation is corrected. 

17 (g) ATTORNEY’S FEES.—In any civil action brought 

18 under this section, the court, in its discretion, may allow 

19 the prevailing party, other than the United States, a rea20 sonable attorney’s fee and costs. 

21 (h) EFFECT ON CERTAIN SALES, ENCUMBRANCES, 

22 AND RENTALS.—Relief granted under this section shall 

23 not affect any contract, sale, encumbrance, or lease con24 summated before the granting of such relief and involving 


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1 a bona fide purchaser, encumbrancer, or tenant, without 

2 actual notice of a civil action under this title. 

3 SEC. 5. EFFECT ON STATE LAWS. 

4 Nothing in this Act shall be constructed to invalidate 

5 or limit any law of a State or political subdivision of a 

6 State, or of any other jurisdiction in which this Act shall 

7 be effective, that grants, guarantees, or provides the same 

8 rights, protections, and requirements as are provided by 

9 this Act, but any law of a State, a political subdivision 

10 thereof, or other such jurisdiction that purports to require 

11 or permit any action that would violate this Act shall to 

12 that extent be invalid. 

13 SEC. 6. DISCLAIMER OF PREEMPTIVE EFFECT ON OTHER 

14 ACTS. 

15 Nothing in this Act shall limit any right, procedure, 

16 or remedy available under the Constitution or any other 

17 Act of the Congress. 

18 SEC. 7. SEVERABILITY OF PROVISIONS. 

19 If any provision of this Act of the application thereof 

20 to any person or circumstances is held invalid, the remain21 der of the Act and the application of the provision to other 

22 persons not similarly situated shall not be affected there23 by. 

Æ 


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