I

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1776

To expand homeownership in the United States.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MAY 12, 1999

Mr. LAZIO (for himself and Mr. LEACH) introduced the following bill; which

was referred to the Committee on Banking and Financial Services

A BILL

To expand homeownership in the United States.

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 AND TABLE OF CONTENTS.

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the

5 ‘‘American Homeownership and Economic Opportunity

6 Act of 1999’’.

7 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for

8 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents.

Sec. 2. Findings and purpose.

TITLE I—REMOVAL OF BARRIERS TO HOUSING AFFORDABILITY

Sec. 101. Short title.

Sec. 102. Housing impact analysis.

Sec. 103. Grants for regulatory barrier removal strategies.
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Sec. 104. Eligibility for community development block grants.

Sec. 105. Regulatory barriers clearinghouse.

TITLE II—HOMEOWNERSHIP THROUGH MORTGAGE INSURANCE

AND LOAN GUARANTEES

Sec. 201. Study of mandatory inspection requirement under single family housing mortgage insurance program.

Sec. 202. Extension of loan term for manufactured home lots.

Sec. 203. Neighborhood teacher program.

Sec. 204. Insurance for mortgages to refinance existing home equity conversion

mortgages.

Sec. 205. Report on title I home improvement loan program.

TITLE III—SECTION 8 HOMEOWNERSHIP OPTION

Sec. 301. Downpayment assistance.

TITLE IV—COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANTS

Sec. 401. Reauthorization.

Sec. 402. Prohibition of set-asides.

Sec. 403. Homeownership for municipal employees.

Sec. 404. Technical amendment relating to brownfields.

Sec. 405. Housing opportunities for persons with AIDS.

TITLE V—HOME INVESTMENT PARTNERSHIPS PROGRAM

Sec. 501. Reauthorization.

Sec. 502. Eligibility of limited equity cooperatives and mutual housing associations.

Sec. 503. Leveraging affordable housing investment through local loan pools.

Sec. 504. Loan guarantees.

Sec. 505. Homeownership for municipal employees.

TITLE VI—LOCAL HOMEOWNERSHIP INITIATIVES

Sec. 601. Reauthorization of neighborhood reinvestment corporation.

Sec. 602. Homeownership zones.

Sec. 603. Lease-to-own.

Sec. 604. Local capacity building.

Sec. 605. Consolidated application and planning requirement and super-NOFA.

TITLE VII—MANUFACTURED HOUSING IMPROVEMENT

Sec. 701. Short title and references.

Sec. 702. Findings and purposes.

Sec. 703. Definitions.

Sec. 704. Federal manufactured home construction and safety standards.

Sec. 705. Abolishment of National Manufactured Home Advisory Council.

Sec. 706. Public information.

Sec. 707. Research, testing, development, and training.

Sec. 708. Fees.

Sec. 709. Elimination of annual report requirement.

Sec. 710. Effective date.

Sec. 711. Savings provision.

TITLE VIII—INDIAN HOUSING HOMEOWNERSHIP
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Sec. 801. Lands Title Report Commission.

Sec. 802. Loan guarantees for Indian housing.

TITLE IX—TRANSFER OF UNOCCUPIED AND SUBSTANDARD HUDHELD HOUSING TO LOCAL GOVERNMENTS AND COMMUNITY

DEVELOPMENT CORPORATIONS

Sec. 901. Transfer of unoccupied and substandard HUD-held housing to local

governments and community development corporations.

Sec. 902. Technical corrections to the Multifamily Assisted Housing Reform

and Affordability Act of 1997.

TITLE X—PRIVATE MORTGAGE INSURANCE CANCELLATION AND

TERMINATION

Sec. 1001. Treatment of adjustable rate mortgages.

Sec. 1002. Treatment of certain modifications.

Sec. 1003. Residential mortgages and residential mortgage transactions.

Sec. 1004. Clarification of status of balloon mortgage financing.

Sec. 1005. Disclosure requirements.

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

2 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that—

3 (1) the priorities of our Nation should include

4 expanding homeownership opportunities by providing

5 access to affordable housing that is safe, clean, and

6 healthy;

7 (2) our Nation has an abundance of conven8 tional capital sources available for homeownership fi9 nancing; and

10 (3) experience with local homeownership pro11 grams has shown that if flexible capital sources are

12 available, communities possess ample will and cre13 ativity to provide opportunities uniquely designed to

14 assist their citizens in realizing the American dream

15 of homeownership.

16 (b) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this Act—
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1 (1) to encourage and facilitate homeownership

2 by families in the United States who are not other3 wise able to afford homeownership; and

4 (2) to expand homeownership through policies

5 that—

6 (A) promote the ability of the private sec7 tor to produce affordable housing without exces8 sive government regulation;

9 (B) encourage tax incentives, such as the

10 mortgage interest deduction, at all levels of gov11 ernment; and

12 (C) facilitate the availability of flexible

13 capital for homeownership opportunities and

14 provide local governments with increased flexi15 bility under existing Federal programs to facili16 tate homeownership.

17 TITLE I—REMOVAL OF BAR18 RIERS TO HOUSING AFFORD19 ABILITY

20 SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE.

21 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Housing Affordability

22 Barrier Removal Act of 1999’’.

23 SEC. 102. HOUSING IMPACT ANALYSIS.

24 (a) APPLICABILITY.—The requirements of this sec25 tion shall apply with respect to—
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1 (1) any proposed rule, unless the agency pro2 mulgating the rule—

3 (A) has certified that the proposed rule

4 will not, if given force or effect as a final rule,

5 have a significant deleterious impact on housing

6 affordability; and

7 (B) has caused such certification to be

8 published in the Federal Register at the time of

9 publication of general notice of proposed rule10 making for the rule, together with a statement

11 providing the factual basis for the certification;

12 and

13 (2) any final rule, unless the agency promul14 gating the rule—

15 (A) has certified that the rule will not, if

16 given force or effect, have a significant delete17 rious impact on housing affordability; and

18 (B) has caused such certification to be

19 published in the Federal Register at the time of

20 publication of the final rule, together with a

21 statement providing the factual basis for the

22 certification.

23 Any agency making a certification under this subsection

24 shall provide a copy of such certification and the state-
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1 ment providing the factual basis for the certification to

2 the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.

3 (b) STATEMENT OF PROPOSED RULEMAKING.—

4 Whenever an agency publishes general notice of proposed

5 rulemaking for any proposed rule, unless the agency has

6 made a certification under subsection (a), the agency

7 shall—

8 (1) in the notice of proposed rulemaking—

9 (A) state with particularity the text of the

10 proposed rule; and

11 (B) request any interested persons to sub12 mit to the agency any written analyses, data,

13 views, and arguments, and any specific alter14 natives to the proposed rule that—

15 (i) accomplish the stated objectives of

16 the applicable statutes, in a manner com17 parable to the proposed rule;

18 (ii) result in costs to the Federal Gov19 ernment equal to or less than the costs re20 sulting from the proposed rule; and

21 (iii) result in housing affordability

22 greater than the housing affordability re23 sulting from the proposed rule;
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1 (2) provide an opportunity for interested per2 sons to take the actions specified under paragraph

3 (1)(B) before promulgation of the final rule; and

4 (3) prepare and make available for public com5 ment an initial housing impact analysis in accord6 ance with the requirements of subsection (c).

7 (c) INITIAL HOUSING IMPACT ANALYSIS.—

8 (1) REQUIREMENTS.—Each initial housing im9 pact analysis shall describe the impact of the pro10 posed rule on housing affordability. The initial hous11 ing impact analysis or a summary shall be published

12 in the Federal Register at the same time as, and to13 gether with, the publication of general notice of pro14 posed rulemaking for the rule. The agency shall

15 transmit a copy of the initial housing impact anal16 ysis to the Secretary of Housing and Urban Devel17 opment.

18 (2) MONTHLY HUD LISTING.—On a monthly

19 basis, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Develop20 ment shall cause to be published in the Federal Reg21 ister, and shall make available through a World

22 Wide Web site of the Department, a listing of all

23 proposed rules for which an initial housing impact

24 analysis was prepared during the preceding month.
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1 (3) CONTENTS.—Each initial housing impact

2 analysis required under this subsection shall

3 contain—

4 (A) a description of the reasons why action

5 by the agency is being considered;

6 (B) a succinct statement of the objectives

7 of, and legal basis for, the proposed rule;

8 (C) a description of and, where feasible, an

9 estimate of the extent to which the proposed

10 rule would increase the cost or reduce the sup11 ply of housing or land for residential develop12 ment; and

13 (D) an identification, to the extent prac14 ticable, of all relevant Federal rules which may

15 duplicate, overlap, or conflict with the proposed

16 rule.

17 (d) PROPOSAL OF LESS DELETERIOUS ALTERNATIVE

18 RULE.—

19 (1) ANALYSIS.—The agency publishing a gen20 eral notice of proposed rulemaking shall review any

21 specific analyses and alternatives to the proposed

22 rule which have been submitted to the agency pursu23 ant to subsection (b)(2) to determine whether any

24 alternative to the proposed rule—
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1 (A) accomplishes the stated objectives of

2 the applicable statutes, in a manner comparable

3 to the proposed rule;

4 (B) results in costs to the Federal Govern5 ment equal to or less than the costs resulting

6 from the proposed rule; and

7 (C) results in housing affordability greater

8 than the housing affordability resulting from

9 the proposed rule.

10 (2) NEW NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULE11 MAKING.—If the agency determines that an alter12 native to the proposed rule meets the requirements

13 under subparagraphs (A) through (C) of paragraph

14 (1), unless the agency provides an explanation on

15 the record for the proposed rule as to why the alter16 native should not be implemented, the agency shall

17 incorporate the alternative into the final rule or, at

18 the agency’s discretion, issue a new proposed rule

19 which incorporates the alternative.

20 (e) FINAL HOUSING IMPACT ANALYSIS.—

21 (1) REQUIREMENT.—Whenever an agency pro22 mulgates a final rule after publication of a general

23 notice of proposed rulemaking, unless the agency has

24 made the certification under subsection (a), the

25 agency shall prepare a final housing impact analysis.
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1 (2) CONTENTS.—Each final housing impact

2 analysis shall contain—

3 (A) a succinct statement of the need for,

4 and objectives of, the rule;

5 (B) a summary of the significant issues

6 raised during the public comment period in re7 sponse to the initial housing impact analysis, a

8 summary of the assessment of the agency of

9 such issues, and a statement of any changes

10 made in the proposed rule as a result of such

11 comments; and

12 (C) a description of and an estimate of the

13 extent to which the rule will impact housing af14 fordability or an explanation of why no such es15 timate is available.

16 (3) AVAILABILITY.—The agency shall make

17 copies of the final housing impact analysis available

18 to members of the public and shall publish in the

19 Federal Register such analysis or a summary there20 of.

21 (f) AVOIDANCE OF DUPLICATIVE OR UNNECESSARY

22 ANALYSES.—

23 (1) DUPLICATION.—Any Federal agency may

24 perform the analyses required by subsections (c) and

25 (e) in conjunction with or as a part of any other
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1 agenda or analysis required by any other law, execu2 tive order, directive, or rule if such other analysis

3 satisfies the provisions of such subsections.

4 (2) JOINDER.—In order to avoid duplicative ac5 tion, an agency may consider a series of closely re6 lated rules as one rule for the purposes of sub7 sections (c) and (e).

8 (g) PREPARATION OF ANALYSES.—In complying with

9 the provisions of subsections (c) and (e), an agency may

10 provide either a quantifiable or numerical description of

11 the effects of a proposed rule or alternatives to the pro12 posed rule, or more general descriptive statements if quan13 tification is not practicable or reliable.

14 (h) EFFECT ON OTHER LAW.—The requirements of

15 subsections (c) and (e) do not alter in any manner stand16 ards otherwise applicable by law to agency action.

17 (i) PROCEDURE FOR WAIVER OR DELAY OF COMPLE18 TION.—

19 (1) INITIAL HOUSING IMPACT ANALYSIS.—An

20 agency head may waive or delay the completion of

21 some or all of the requirements of subsection (c) by

22 publishing in the Federal Register, not later than

23 the date of publication of the final rule, a written

24 finding, with reasons therefor, that the final rule is

25 being promulgated in response to an emergency that
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1 makes compliance or timely compliance with the pro2 visions of subsection (a) impracticable.

3 (2) FINAL HOUSING IMPACT ANALYSIS.—An

4 agency head may not waive the requirements of sub5 section (e). An agency head may delay the comple6 tion of the requirements of subsection (e) for a pe7 riod of not more than 180 days after the date of

8 publication in the Federal Register of a final rule by

9 publishing in the Federal Register, not later than

10 such date of publication, a written finding, with rea11 sons therefor, that the final rule is being promul12 gated in response to an emergency that makes time13 ly compliance with the provisions of subsection (e)

14 impracticable. If the agency has not prepared a final

15 housing impact analysis pursuant to subsection (e)

16 within 180 days from the date of publication of the

17 final rule, such rule shall lapse and have no force or

18 effect. Such rule shall not be repromulgated until a

19 final housing impact analysis has been completed by

20 the agency.

21 (j) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section, the

22 following definitions shall apply:

23 (1) HOUSING AFFORDABILITY.—The term

24 ‘‘housing affordability’’ means the quantity of hous25 ing that is affordable to families having incomes that
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1 do not exceed 150 percent of the median income of

2 families in the area in which the housing is located,

3 with adjustments for smaller and larger families.

4 For purposes of this paragraph, area, median family

5 income for an area, and adjustments for family size

6 shall be determined in the same manner as such fac7 tors are determined for purposes of section 3(b)(2)

8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937.

9 (2) AGENCY.—The term ‘‘agency’’ means each

10 authority of the Government of the United States,

11 whether or not it is within or subject to review by

12 another agency, but does not include—

13 (A) the Congress;

14 (B) the courts of the United States;

15 (C) the governments of the territories or

16 possessions of the United States;

17 (D) the government of the District of Co18 lumbia;

19 (E) agencies composed of representatives

20 of the parties or of representatives of organiza21 tions of the parties to the disputes determined

22 by them;

23 (F) courts-martial and military commis24 sions;
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1 (G) military authority exercised in the field

2 in time of war or in occupied territory; or

3 (H) functions conferred by—

4 (i) sections 1738, 1739, 1743, and

5 1744 of title 12, United States Code;

6 (ii) chapter 2 of title 41, United

7 States Code;

8 (iii) subchapter II of chapter 471 of

9 title 49, United States Code; or

10 (iv) sections 1884, 1891–1902, and

11 former section 1641(b)(2), of title 50, ap12 pendix, United States Code.

13 (3) FAMILIES.—The term ‘‘families’’ has the

14 meaning given such term in section 3 of the United

15 States Housing Act of 1937.

16 (4) RULE.—The term ‘‘rule’’ means any rule

17 for which the agency publishes a general notice of

18 proposed rulemaking pursuant to section 553(b) of

19 title 5, United States Code, or any other law, includ20 ing any rule of general applicability governing grants

21 by an agency to State and local governments for

22 which the agency provides an opportunity for notice

23 and public comment; except that such term does not

24 include a rule of particular applicability relating to

25 rates, wages, corporate or financial structures or re-
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1 organizations thereof, prices, facilities, appliances,

2 services, or allowances therefor or to valuations,

3 costs or accounting, or practices relating to such

4 rates, wages, structures, prices, appliances, services,

5 or allowances.

6 (5) SIGNIFICANT.—The term ‘‘significant’’

7 means increasing consumers’ cost of housing by

8 more than $100,000,000 per year.

9 (k) DEVELOPMENT.—Not later than 1 year after the

10 date of the enactment of this title, the Secretary of Hous11 ing and Urban Development shall develop model initial

12 and final housing impact analyses under this section and

13 shall cause such model analyses to be published in the

14 Federal Register. The model analyses shall define the pri15 mary elements of a housing impact analysis to instruct

16 other agencies on how to carry out and develop the anal17 yses required under subsections (a) and (c).

18 (l) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—

19 (1) DETERMINATION BY AGENCY.—Except as

20 otherwise provided in paragraph (2), any determina21 tion by an agency concerning the applicability of any

22 of the provisions of this title to any action of the

23 agency shall not be subject to judicial review.

24 (2) OTHER ACTIONS BY AGENCY.—Any housing

25 impact analysis prepared under subsection (c) or (e)
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1 and the compliance or noncompliance of the agency

2 with the provisions of this title shall not be subject

3 to judicial review. When an action for judicial review

4 of a rule is instituted, any housing impact analysis

5 for such rule shall constitute part of the whole

6 record of agency action in connection with the re7 view.

8 (3) EXCEPTION.—Nothing in this subsection

9 bars judicial review of any other impact statement or

10 similar analysis required by any other law if judicial

11 review of such statement or analysis is otherwise

12 provided by law.

13 SEC. 103. GRANTS FOR REGULATORY BARRIER REMOVAL

14 STRATEGIES.

15 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Sub16 section (a) of section 1204 of the Housing and Community

17 Development Act of 1992 (42 U.S.C. 12705c(a)) is

18 amended to read as follows:

19 ‘‘(a) FUNDING.—There is authorized to be appro20 priated for grants under subsections (b) and (c)

21 $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2000 and such sums as may

22 be necessary for each of fiscal years 2001, 2002, 2003,

23 and 2004.’’.

24 (b) CONSOLIDATION OF STATE AND LOCAL

25 GRANTS.—Subsection (b) of section 1204 of the Housing
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1 and Community Development Act of 1992 (42 U.S.C.

2 12705c(b)) is amended—

3 (1) in the subsection heading, by striking

4 ‘‘STATE GRANTS’’ and inserting ‘‘GRANT AUTHOR5 ITY’’;

6 (2) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by

7 inserting after ‘‘States’’ the following: ‘‘and units of

8 general local government (including consortia of

9 such governments)’’;

10 (3) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘a State pro11 gram to reduce State and local’’ and inserting

12 ‘‘State, local, or regional programs to reduce’’;

13 (4) in paragraph (4), by inserting ‘‘or local’’

14 after ‘‘State’’; and

15 (5) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘State’’.

16 (c) REPEAL OF LOCAL GRANTS PROVISION.—Section

17 1204 of the Housing and Community Development Act

18 of 1992 (42 U.S.C. 12705c) is amended by striking sub19 section (c).

20 (d) APPLICATION AND SELECTION.—The last sen21 tence of section 1204(e) of the Housing and Community

22 Development Act of 1992 (42 U.S.C. 12705c(e)) is

23 amended—
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1 (1) by striking ‘‘and for the selection of units

2 of general local government to receive grants under

3 subsection (f)(2); and

4 (2) by inserting before the period at the end the

5 following: ‘‘and such criteria shall require that grant

6 amounts be used in a manner consistent with the

7 strategy contained in the comprehensive housing af8 fordability strategy for the jurisdiction pursuant to

9 section 105(b)(4) of the Cranston-Gonzalez National

10 Affordable Housing Act’’.

11 (e) SELECTION OF GRANTEES.—Subsection (f) of

12 section 1204 of the Housing and Community Development

13 Act of 1992 (42 U.S.C. 12705c(f)) is amended to read

14 as follows:

15 ‘‘(f) SELECTION OF GRANTEES.—To the extent

16 amounts are made available to carry out this section, the

17 Secretary shall provide grants on a competitive basis to

18 eligible grantees based on the proposed uses of such

19 amounts, as provided in applications under subsection

20 (e).’’.

21 (f) TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.—Section 107(a)(1) of

22 the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974

23 (42 U.S.C. 5307(a)(1)) is amended—

24 (1) in subparagraph (G), by inserting ‘‘and’’

25 after the semicolon at the end;
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1 (2) by striking subparagraph (H); and

2 (3) by redesignating subparagraph (I) as sub3 paragraph (H).

4 SEC. 104. ELIGIBILITY FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

5 BLOCK GRANTS.

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 104(c)(1) of the Housing

7 and Community Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C.

8 5304(c)(1)) is amended by inserting before the comma the

9 following: ‘‘, which shall include making a good faith effort

10 to carry out the strategy established under section

11 105(b)(4) of such Act by the unit of general local govern12 ment to remove barriers to affordable housing’’.

13 (b) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—The amendment

14 made by subsection (a) may not be construed to create

15 any new private right of action.

16 SEC. 105. REGULATORY BARRIERS CLEARINGHOUSE.

17 Section 1205 of the Housing and Community Devel18 opment Act of 1992 (42 U.S.C. 12705d) is amended—

19 (1) in subsection (a)—

20 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1),

21 by striking ‘‘receive, collect, process, and assem22 ble’’ and inserting ‘‘serve as a national reposi23 tory to receive, collect, process, assemble, and

24 disseminate’’;

25 (B) in paragraph (1)—
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1 (i) by striking ‘‘, including’’ and in2 serting ‘‘(including’’; and

3 (ii) by inserting before the semicolon

4 at the end the following: ‘‘), and the preva5 lence and effects on affordable housing of

6 such laws, regulations, and policies’’;

7 (C) in paragraph (2), by inserting before

8 the semicolon the following: ‘‘, including par9 ticularly innovative or successful activities,

10 strategies, and plans’’; and

11 (D) in paragraph (3), by inserting before

12 the period at the end the following: ‘‘, including

13 particularly innovative or successful strategies,

14 activities, and plans’’;

15 (2) in subsection (b)—

16 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘and’’ at

17 the end;

18 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking the pe19 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

20 (C) by adding at the end the following new

21 paragraph:

22 ‘‘(3) by making available through a World Wide

23 Web site of the Department, by electronic mail, or

24 otherwise, provide to each housing agency of a unit

25 of general local government that serves an area hav-
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1 ing a population greater than 100,000, an index of

2 all State and local strategies and plans submitted

3 under subsection (a) to the clearinghouse, which—

4 ‘‘(A) shall describe the types of barriers to

5 affordable housing that the strategy or plan

6 was designed to ameliorate or remove; and

7 ‘‘(B) shall, not later than 30 days after

8 submission to the clearinghouse of any new

9 strategy or plan, be updated to include the new

10 strategy or plan submitted.’’; and

11 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub12 sections:

13 ‘‘(c) ORGANIZATION.—The clearinghouse under this

14 section shall be established within the Office of Policy De15 velopment of the Department of Housing and Urban De16 velopment and shall be under the direction of the Assist17 ant Secretary for Policy Development and Research.

18 ‘‘(d) TIMING.—The clearinghouse under this section

19 (as amended by section 105 of the Housing Affordability

20 Barrier Removal Act of 1999) shall be established and

21 commence carrying out the functions of the clearinghouse

22 under this section not later than 1 year after the date of

23 the enactment of such Act. The Secretary of Housing and

24 Urban Development may comply with the requirements

25 under this section by reestablishing the clearinghouse that
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1 was originally established to comply with this section and

2 updating and improving such clearinghouse to the extent

3 necessary to comply with the requirements of this section

4 as in effect pursuant to the enactment of such Act.’’.

5 TITLE II—HOMEOWNERSHIP

6 THROUGH MORTGAGE INSUR7 ANCE AND LOAN GUARAN8 TEES

9 SEC. 201. STUDY OF MANDATORY INSPECTION REQUIRE10 MENT UNDER SINGLE FAMILY HOUSING

11 MORTGAGE INSURANCE PROGRAM.

12 The Comptroller General of the United States shall

13 conduct a study regarding the inspection of properties

14 purchased with loans insured under section 203 of the Na15 tional Housing Act. The study shall evaluate the following

16 issues:

17 (1) The feasibility of requiring inspections of all

18 properties purchased with loans insured under such

19 section.

20 (2) The level of financial losses or savings to

21 the Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund that are likely

22 to occur if inspections are required on properties

23 purchased with loans insured under such section.

24 (3) The potential impact on the process of buy25 ing a home if inspections of properties purchased
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1 with loans insured under such section are required,

2 including the process of buying a home in under3 served areas where losses to the Mutual Mortgage

4 Insurance Fund are greatest.

5 (4) The difference, if any, in the quality of

6 homes purchased with loans insured under such sec7 tion that are inspected before purchase and such

8 homes that are not inspected before purchase.

9 (5) The cost to homebuyers of requiring inspec10 tions before purchase of properties with loans in11 sured under such section.

12 (6) The extent, if any, to which requiring in13 spections of properties purchased with loans insured

14 under such section will result in adverse selection of

15 loans insured under such section.

16 (7) The extent of homebuyer knowledge regard17 ing property inspections and the extent to which

18 such knowledge affects the decision of homebuyers

19 to opt for or against having a property inspection

20 before purchasing a home.

21 Not later than the expiration of the 1-year period be22 ginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, the

23 Comptroller General shall submit to the Congress a report

24 containing the results of the study and any recommenda-
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1 tions with respect to the issues specified under this sec2 tion.

3 SEC. 202. EXTENSION OF LOAN TERM FOR MANUFACTURED

4 HOME LOTS.

5 Section 2(b)(3)(E) of the National Housing Act (12

6 U.S.C. 1703(b)(3)(E)) is amended by striking ‘‘fifteen’’

7 and inserting ‘‘twenty’’.

8 SEC. 203. NEIGHBORHOOD TEACHER PROGRAM.

9 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This section may be cited as the

10 ‘‘Neighborhood Teachers Act’’.

11 (b) CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS.—The Congress finds

12 that—

13 (1) teachers are an integral part of our commu14 nities;

15 (2) other than families, teachers are often the

16 most important mentors to children, providing them

17 with the values and skills for self-fulfillment in adult

18 life; and

19 (3) the Neighborhood Teachers Act recognizes

20 the value teachers bring to community and family

21 life and is designed to encourage and reward teach22 ers that serve in our most needy communities.

23 (c) DISCOUNT AND DOWNPAYMENT ASSISTANCE FOR

24 TEACHERS.—Section 204(h) of the National Housing Act

25 (12 U.S.C. 1710(h)) is amended—
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1 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (7) through

2 (10) as paragraphs (8) through (11), respectively;

3 and

4 (2) by inserting after paragraph (6) the fol5 lowing new paragraph:

6 ‘‘(7) 50 PERCENT DISCOUNT FOR TEACHERS

7 PURCHASING PROPERTIES THAT ARE ELIGIBLE AS8 SETS.—

9 ‘‘(A) DISCOUNT.—A property that is an el10 igible asset and is sold, during fiscal years 2000

11 through 2004, to a teacher for use in accord12 ance with subparagraph (B) shall be sold at a

13 price that is equal to 50 percent of the ap14 praised value of the eligible property (as deter15 mined in accordance with paragraph (6)(B)). In

16 the case of a property eligible for both a dis17 count under this paragraph and a discount

18 under paragraph (6), the discount under para19 graph (6) shall not apply.

20 ‘‘(B) PRIMARY RESIDENCE.—An eligible

21 property sold pursuant to a discount under this

22 paragraph shall be used, for not less than the

23 3-year period beginning upon such sale, as the

24 primary residence of a teacher.
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1 ‘‘(C) SALE METHODS.—The Secretary may

2 sell an eligible property pursuant to a discount

3 under this paragraph—

4 ‘‘(i) to a unit of general local govern5 ment or nonprofit organization (pursuant

6 to paragraph (4) or otherwise), for resale

7 or transfer to a teacher; or

8 ‘‘(ii) directly to a purchaser who is a

9 teacher.

10 ‘‘(D) RESALE.—In the case of any pur11 chase by a unit of general local government or

12 nonprofit organization of an eligible property

13 sold at a discounted price under this paragraph,

14 the sale agreement under paragraph (8) shall—

15 ‘‘(i) require the purchasing unit of

16 general local government or nonprofit or17 ganization to provide the full benefit of the

18 discount to the teacher obtaining the prop19 erty; and

20 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a purchase involv21 ing multiple eligible assets, any of which is

22 such an eligible property, designate the

23 specific eligible property or properties to be

24 subject to the requirements of subpara25 graph (B).
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1 ‘‘(E) MORTGAGE DOWNPAYMENT ASSIST2 ANCE.—If a teacher purchases an eligible prop3 erty pursuant to a discounted sale price under

4 this paragraph and finances such purchase

5 through a mortgage insured under this title,

6 notwithstanding any provision of section 203

7 the downpayment on such mortgage shall be

8 $100.

9 ‘‘(F) PREVENTION OF UNDUE PROFIT.—

10 The Secretary shall issue regulations to prevent

11 undue profit from the resale of eligible prop12 erties in violation of the requirement under sub13 paragraph (B).

14 ‘‘(G) AWARENESS PROGRAM.—From funds

15 made available for salaries and expenses for the

16 Office of Policy Support of the Department of

17 Housing and Urban Development, each field of18 fice of the Department shall make available to

19 elementary schools and secondary schools with20 in the jurisdiction of the field office and to the

21 public—

22 ‘‘(i) a list of eligible properties located

23 within the jurisdiction of the field office

24 that are available for purchase by teachers

25 under this paragraph; and
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1 ‘‘(ii) other information designed to

2 make such teachers and the public aware

3 of the discount and downpayment assist4 ance available under this paragraph.

5 ‘‘(H) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of

6 this paragraph, the following definitions shall

7 apply:

8 ‘‘(i) The terms ‘elementary school’

9 and ‘secondary school’ have the meaning

10 given such terms in section 14101 of the

11 Elementary and Secondary Education Act

12 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 8801).

13 ‘‘(ii) The term ‘eligible property’

14 means an eligible asset described in para15 graph (2)(A) of this subsection.

16 ‘‘(iii) The term ‘teacher’ means an in17 dividual who is employed on a full-time

18 basis as a teacher in an elementary or sec19 ondary school.’’.

20 (d) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 204(h) of

21 the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1710(h)) is

22 amended—

23 (1) in paragraph (4)(B)(ii), by striking ‘‘para24 graph (7)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph (8)’’;
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1 (2) in paragraph (5)(B)(i), by striking ‘‘para2 graph (7)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph (8)’’; and

3 (3) in paragraph (6)(A), by striking ‘‘paragraph

4 (8)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph (9)’’.

5 (e) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 90 days after the

6 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall issue

7 regulations to implement the amendments made by this

8 section.

9 SEC. 204. INSURANCE FOR MORTGAGES TO REFINANCE EX10 ISTING HOME EQUITY CONVERSION MORT11 GAGES.

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 255 of the National

13 Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1715z–20) is amended—

14 (1) by redesignating subsection (k) as sub15 section (l); and

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

18 ‘‘(k) INSURANCE AUTHORITY FOR REFINANCINGS.—

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may, upon

20 application by a mortgagee, insure under this sub21 section any mortgage given to refinance an existing

22 home equity conversion mortgage insured under this

23 section.

24 ‘‘(2) APPLICABILITY OF REQUIREMENTS.—The

25 provisions of this section shall apply to the insurance
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1 of mortgages under this subsection, except that the

2 requirements under subsection (d)(2)(B) (relating to

3 third party counseling) shall not apply to mortgages

4 insured under this subsection.

5 ‘‘(3) REDUCED UP-FRONT PREMIUM.—Notwith6 standing section 203(c)(2)(A), the single premium

7 payment collected at the time of insurance of a

8 mortgage under this subsection shall be an amount

9 not exceeding 2.0 percent of the difference

10 between—

11 ‘‘(A) the maximum amount of insurance

12 benefits payable under subsection (i)(1)(C)

13 under the mortgage insured under this sub14 section; and

15 ‘‘(B) the maximum amount of insurance

16 benefits payable under subsection (i)(1)(C)

17 under the home equity conversion mortgage

18 that is refinanced and insured under this sub19 section.

20 ‘‘(4) REFUND OF ORIGINAL UP-FRONT PRE21 MIUM.—If, in insuring a mortgage under this sub22 section, the Secretary provides to the mortgagor a

23 refund of the full amount of any premium paid in

24 connection with the existing home equity mortgage

25 refinanced under the insured mortgage, paragraph
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1 (3) shall not apply and the Secretary shall collect at

2 the time of insurance a single premium payment in

3 accordance with the procedures otherwise applicable

4 to mortgage insurance under this section.’’.

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

6 final regulations necessary to implement the amendments

7 made by subsection (a), which shall take effect not later

8 than the expiration of the 90-day period beginning on the

9 date of the enactment of this Act. The regulations shall

10 be issued after notice and opportunity for public comment

11 in accordance with the procedure under section 553 of title

12 5, United States Code, applicable to substantive rules

13 (notwithstanding subsections (a)(2), (b)(B), and (d)(3) of

14 such section).

15 SEC. 205. REPORT ON TITLE I HOME IMPROVEMENT LOAN

16 PROGRAM.

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

18 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Hous19 ing and Urban Development shall submit a report to the

20 Congress containing recommendations for improvements

21 to the property improvement loan insurance program

22 under title I of the National Housing Act, including im23 provements designed to address problems relating to home

24 improvement contractors obtaining loans on behalf of

25 homeowners.
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1 (b) CONSULTATION.—In developing and determining

2 recommendations for inclusion in the report under this

3 section and in preparing the report, the Secretary shall

4 consult with interested persons, organizations, and enti5 ties, including representatives of the lending industry and

6 consumer organizations.

7 TITLE III—SECTION 8

8 HOMEOWNERSHIP OPTION

9 SEC. 301. DOWNPAYMENT ASSISTANCE.

10 (a) AMENDMENTS.—Section 8(y) of the United

11 States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(y)) is

12 amended—

13 (1) by redesignating paragraph (7) as para14 graph (8); and

15 (2) by inserting after paragraph (6) the fol16 lowing new paragraph:

17 ‘‘(7) DOWNPAYMENT ASSISTANCE.—

18 ‘‘(A) AUTHORITY.—A public housing agen19 cy may, in lieu of providing monthly assistance

20 payments under this subsection on behalf of a

21 family eligible for such assistance and at the

22 discretion of the public housing agency, provide

23 assistance for the family in the form of a single

24 grant to be used only as a contribution toward

25 the downpayment required in connection with
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1 the purchase of a dwelling for fiscal year 2000

2 and each fiscal year thereafter to the extent

3 provided in advance in appropriations Acts.

4 ‘‘(B) AMOUNT.—The amount of a down5 payment grant on behalf of an assisted family

6 may not exceed the amount that is equal to the

7 sum of the assistance payments that would be

8 made during the first year of assistance on be9 half of the family, based upon the income of the

10 family at the time the grant is to be made.’’.

11 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

12 subsection (a) shall take effect immediately after the

13 amendments made by section 555(c) of the Quality Hous14 ing and Work Responsibility Act of 1998 take effect pur15 suant to such section.

16 TITLE IV—COMMUNITY

17 DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANTS

18 SEC. 401. REAUTHORIZATION.

19 The last sentence of section 103 of the Housing and

20 Community Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5303)

21 is amended to read as follows: ‘‘For purposes of assistance

22 under section 106, there is authorized to be appropriated

23 $4,750,000,000 for fiscal year 2000 and such sums as

24 may be necessary for each of fiscal years 2001, 2002,

25 2003, and 2004.’’.
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1 SEC. 402. PROHIBITION OF SET-ASIDES.

2 Section 103 of the Housing and Community Develop3 ment Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5303), as amended by sec4 tion 401 of this Act, is further amended—

5 (1) by inserting after ‘‘SEC. 103.’’ the fol6 lowing: ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—’’; and

7 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub8 section:‘‘

9 ‘‘(b) PROHIBITION OF SET-ASIDES.—Except as pro10 vided in paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 106(a) and sec11 tion 107, amounts appropriated pursuant to subsection (a)

12 of this section or otherwise to carry out this title (other

13 than section 108) shall be used only for formula-based

14 grants allocated pursuant to section 106 and may not be

15 otherwise used unless the provision of law providing for

16 such other use specifically refers to this subsection and

17 specifically states that such provision modifies or super18 sedes the provisions of this subsection.’’.

19 SEC. 403. HOMEOWNERSHIP FOR MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES.

20 (a) ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.—Section 105(a) of the

21 Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (42

22 U.S.C. 5305(a)) is amended—

23 (1) in paragraph (22)(C), by striking ‘‘and’’ at

24 the end;

25 (2) in paragraph (23), by striking the period at

26 the end and inserting a semicolon; and
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1 (3) by inserting after paragraph (23) the fol2 lowing new paragraph:

3 ‘‘(24) provision of direct assistance to facilitate

4 and expand homeownership among uniformed em5 ployees (including policemen, firemen, and sanitation

6 and other maintenance workers) of, and teachers

7 who are employees of, the metropolitan city or urban

8 county (or an agency or school district serving such

9 city or county) receiving grant amounts under this

10 title pursuant to section 106(b) or the unit of gen11 eral local government (or an agency or school dis12 trict serving such unit) receiving such grant

13 amounts pursuant to section 106(d); except that,

14 notwithstanding section 102(a)(20)(B) or any other

15 provision of this title, such assistance may be pro16 vided on behalf of such employees whose family in17 comes do not exceed 115 percent of the median in18 come of the area involved, as determined by the Sec19 retary with adjustments for smaller and larger fami20 lies; and except that such assistance shall be used

21 only for acquiring principal residences for such em22 ployees by—

23 ‘‘(A) providing amounts for downpayments

24 on mortgages;
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1 ‘‘(B) paying reasonable closing costs nor2 mally associated with the purchase of a resi3 dence;

4 ‘‘(C) obtaining pre- or post-purchase coun5 seling relating to the financial and other obliga6 tions of homeownership; or

7 ‘‘(D) subsidizing mortgage interest rates;’’.

8 (b) PRIMARY OBJECTIVES.—Section 105(c) of the

9 Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (42

10 U.S.C. 5305(c)) is amended by adding at the end the fol11 lowing new paragraph:

12 ‘‘(5) HOMEOWNERSHIP ASSISTANCE FOR MUNICIPAL

13 EMPLOYEES.—Notwithstanding any other provision of this

14 title, any assisted activity described in subsection (a)(24)

15 of this section shall be considered, for purposes of this

16 title, to benefit persons of low and moderate income and

17 to be directed toward the objective under section

18 101(c)(3).’’.

19 SEC. 404. TECHNICAL AMENDMENT RELATING TO

20 BROWNFIELDS.

21 Section 105(a) of the Housing and Community De22 velopment Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5305(a)), as amended

23 by section 403 of this Act, is further amended—

24 (1) in paragraph (25), by striking the period

25 and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and
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1 (2) by adding at the end the following new

2 paragraph:

3 ‘‘(26) environmental cleanup and economic de4 velopment activities related to Brownfields projects

5 in conjunction with the appropriate environmental

6 regulatory agencies.’’.

7 SEC. 405. HOUSING OPPORTUNITIES FOR PERSONS WITH

8 AIDS.

9 Section 863 of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Af10 fordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 12912) is amended to

11 read as follows:

12 ‘‘SEC. 863. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

13 ‘‘There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out

14 this subtitle $215,000,000 for fiscal year 2000 and such

15 sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 2001,

16 2002, 2003, and 2004.’’.

17 TITLE V—HOME INVESTMENT

18 PARTNERSHIPS PROGRAM

19 SEC. 501. REAUTHORIZATION.

20 Section 205 of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Af21 fordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 12724) is amended to

22 read as follows:

23 ‘‘SEC. 205. AUTHORIZATION.

24 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro25 priated to carry out this title $1,600,000,000 for fiscal
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1 year 2000 and such sums as may be necessary for each

2 of fiscal years 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2004, of which—

3 ‘‘(1) not more than $25,000,000 in each such

4 fiscal year shall be for community housing partner5 ship activities authorized under section 233; and

6 ‘‘(2) not more than $15,000,000 in each such

7 fiscal year shall be for activities in support of State

8 and local housing strategies authorized under sub9 title C.

10 ‘‘(b) PROHIBITION OF SET-ASIDES.—Except as pro11 vided in subsection (a) of this section and section

12 217(a)(3), amounts appropriated pursuant to subsection

13 (a) of this section or otherwise to carry out this title shall

14 be used only for formula-based grants allocated pursuant

15 to section 217 and may not be otherwise used unless the

16 provision of law providing for such other use specifically

17 refers to this subsection and specifically states that such

18 provision modifies or supersedes the provisions of this sub19 section.’’.

20 SEC. 502. ELIGIBILITY OF LIMITED EQUITY COOPERATIVES

21 AND MUTUAL HOUSING ASSOCIATIONS.

22 (a) CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS.—Section 202(10) of

23 the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act

24 (42 U.S.C. 12721(10)) is amended by inserting ‘‘mutual

25 housing associations,’’ after ‘‘limited equity cooperatives,’’.
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1 (b) DEFINITIONS.—Section 104 of the Cranston2 Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C.

3 12704) is amended—

4 (1) by redesignating paragraph (23) as para5 graph (22);

6 (2) by redesignating paragraph (24) (relating to

7 the definition of ‘‘insular area’’) as paragraph (23);

8 and

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

10 paragraphs:

11 ‘‘(26) The term ‘limited equity cooperative’

12 means a cooperative housing corporation which, in a

13 manner determined by the Secretary to be accept14 able, restricts income eligibility of purchasers of

15 membership shares of stock in the cooperative cor16 poration or the initial and resale price of such

17 shares, or both, so that the shares remain available

18 and affordable to low-income families.

19 ‘‘(27) The term ‘mutual housing association’

20 means a private entity that—

21 ‘‘(A) is organized under State law;

22 ‘‘(B) is described in section 501(c) of the

23 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt

24 from taxation under section 501(a) of such

25 Code;
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1 ‘‘(C) owns, manages, and continuously de2 velops affordable housing by providing long3 term housing for low- and moderate-income

4 families;

5 ‘‘(D) provides that eligible families who

6 purchase membership interests in the associa7 tion shall have a right to residence in a dwelling

8 unit in the housing during the period that they

9 hold such membership interest; and

10 ‘‘(E) provides for the residents of such

11 housing to participate in the ongoing manage12 ment of the housing.’’.

13 (c) ELIGIBILITY.—Section 215 of the Cranston-Gon14 zalez National Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 12745)

15 is amended—

16 (1) in subsection (b), by adding after and below

17 paragraph (4) the following:

18 ‘‘Housing that is owned by a limited equity cooperative

19 or a mutual housing association may be considered by a

20 participating jurisdiction to be housing for homeownership

21 for purposes of this title to the extent that ownership or

22 membership in such a cooperative or association, respec23 tively, constitutes homeownership under State or local

24 laws.’’; and
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1 (2) in subsection (a), by adding at the end the

2 following new paragraph:

3 ‘‘(6) LIMITED EQUITY COOPERATIVES AND MU4 TUAL HOUSING ASSOCIATIONS.—Housing that is

5 owned by a limited equity cooperative or a mutual

6 housing association may be considered by a partici7 pating jurisdiction to be rental housing for purposes

8 of this title to the extent that ownership or member9 ship in such a cooperative or association, respec10 tively, constitutes rental of a dwelling under State or

11 local laws.’’.

12 SEC. 503. LEVERAGING AFFORDABLE HOUSING INVEST13 MENT THROUGH LOCAL LOAN POOLS.

14 (a) ELIGIBLE INVESTMENTS.—Section 212(b) of the

15 Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act (42

16 U.S.C. 12742(b)) is amended by inserting after ‘‘interest

17 subsidies’’ the following: ‘‘, advances to provide reserves

18 for loan pools or to provide partial loan guarantees,’’.

19 (b) TIMELY INVESTMENT OF TRUST FUNDS.—Sec20 tion 218(e) of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable

21 Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 12748) is amended to read as

22 follows:

23 ‘‘(e) INVESTMENT WITHIN 15 DAYS.——

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The participating jurisdic25 tion shall, not later than 15 days after funds are
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1 drawn from the jurisdiction’s HOME Investment

2 Trust Fund, invest such funds, together with any in3 terest earned thereon, in the affordable housing for

4 which the funds were withdrawn.

5 ‘‘(2) LOAN POOLS.—In the case of a partici6 pating jurisdiction that withdraws Trust Fund

7 amounts for investment in the form of an advance

8 for reserves or partial loan guarantees under a pro9 gram providing such credit enhancement for loans

10 for affordable housing, the amounts shall be consid11 ered to be invested for purposes of paragraph (1)

12 upon the completion of both of the following actions:

13 ‘‘(A) Control of the amounts is transferred

14 to the program.

15 ‘‘(B) The jurisdiction and the entity oper16 ating the program enter into a written agree17 ment that—

18 ‘‘(i) provides that such funds may be

19 used only in connection with such program;

20 ‘‘(ii) defines the terms and conditions

21 of the loan pool reserve or partial loan

22 guarantees; and

23 ‘‘(iii) provides that such entity shall

24 ensure that amounts from non-Federal

25 sources have been contributed, or are com-
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1 mitted for contribution, to the pool avail2 able for loans for affordable housing that

3 will be backed by such reserves or loan

4 guarantees in an amount equal to 10 times

5 the amount invested from Trust Fund

6 amounts.’’.

7 (c) EXPIRATION OF RIGHT TO WITHDRAW FUNDS.—

8 Section 218(g) of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Afford9 able Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 12748(g)) is amended to

10 read as follows:

11 ‘‘(g) EXPIRATION OF RIGHT TO DRAW FUNDS.—

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If any funds becoming

13 available to a participating jurisdiction under this

14 title are not placed under binding commitment to af15 fordable housing within 24 months after the last day

16 of the month in which such funds are deposited in

17 the jurisdiction’s HOME Investment Trust Fund,

18 the jurisdiction’s right to draw such funds from the

19 HOME Investment Trust Fund shall expire. The

20 Secretary shall reduce the line of credit in the par21 ticipating jurisdiction’s HOME Investment Trust

22 Fund by the expiring amount and shall reallocate

23 the funds by formula in accordance with section

24 217(d).
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1 ‘‘(2) LOAN POOLS.—In the case of a partici2 pating jurisdiction that withdraws Trust Fund

3 amounts for investment in the manner provided

4 under subsection (e)(2), the amounts shall be consid5 ered to be placed under binding commitment to af6 fordable housing for purposes of paragraph (1) of

7 this subsection at the time that the amounts are ob8 ligated for use under, and are subject to, a written

9 agreement described in subsection (e)(2)(B).’’.

10 (d) TREATMENT OF MIXED INCOME LOAN POOLS AS

11 AFFORDABLE HOUSING.—

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 215 of the Cran13 ston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act (42

14 U.S.C. 12745) is amended by adding at the end the

15 following new subsection:

16 ‘‘(c) LOAN POOLS.—Notwithstanding subsections (a)

17 and (b), housing financed using amounts invested as pro18 vided in section 218(e)(2) shall qualify as affordable hous19 ing only if the housing complies with the following require20 ments:

21 ‘‘(1) In the case of housing that is for

22 homeownership—

23 ‘‘(A) of the units financed with amounts so

24 invested—
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1 ‘‘(i) not less than 75 percent are prin2 cipal residences of owners whose families

3 qualify as low-income families—

4 ‘‘(I) in the case of a contract to

5 purchase existing housing, at the time

6 of purchase;

7 ‘‘(II) in the case of a lease-pur8 chase agreement for existing housing

9 or for housing to be constructed, at

10 the time the agreement is signed; or

11 ‘‘(III) in the case of a contract to

12 purchase housing to be constructed, at

13 the time the contract is signed;

14 ‘‘(ii) all are principal residences of

15 owners whose families qualify as moderate16 income families—

17 ‘‘(I) in the case of a contract to

18 purchase existing housing, at the time

19 of purchase;

20 ‘‘(II) in the case of a lease-pur21 chase agreement for existing housing

22 or for housing to be constructed, at

23 the time the agreement is signed; or
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1 ‘‘(III) in the case of a contract to

2 purchase housing to be constructed, at

3 the time the contract is signed; and

4 ‘‘(iii) all comply with paragraphs (3)

5 and (4) of subsection (b), except that para6 graph (3) shall be applied for purposes of

7 this clause by substituting ‘subsection

8 (c)(2)(B)’ and ‘low- and moderate-income

9 homebuyers’ for ‘paragraph (2)’ and ‘low10 income homebuyers’, respectively; and

11 ‘‘(B) units made available for purchase

12 only by families who qualify as low-income fam13 ilies shall have an initial purchase price that

14 complies with the requirements of subsection

15 (b)(1).

16 ‘‘(2) In the case of housing that is for rental,

17 the housing—

18 ‘‘(A) complies with subparagraphs (D)

19 through (F) of subsection (a)(1);

20 ‘‘(B)(i) has not less than 75 percent of the

21 units occupied by households that qualify as

22 low-income families and is occupied only by

23 households that qualify as moderate-income

24 families; or
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1 ‘‘(ii) temporarily fails to comply with

2 clause (i) only because of increases in the in3 comes of existing tenants and actions satisfac4 tory to the Secretary are being taken to ensure

5 that all vacancies in the housing are being filled

6 in accordance with clause (i) until such non7 compliance is corrected; and

8 ‘‘(C) bears rents, in the case of units made

9 available for occupancy only by households that

10 qualify as low-income families, that comply with

11 the requirements of subsection (a)(1)(A).

12 Paragraphs (4) and (5) of subsection (a) shall apply

13 to housing that is subject to this subsection.’’.

14 (2) DEFINITION.—Section 104 of the Cranston15 Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act (42

16 U.S.C. 12704), as amended by section 502 of this

17 Act, is further amended by adding at the end the

18 following new paragraph:

19 ‘‘(28) The term ‘moderate income families’

20 means families whose incomes do not exceed the me21 dian income for the area, as determined by the Sec22 retary with adjustments for smaller and larger fami23 lies, except that the Secretary may establish income

24 ceilings higher or lower than the median income for

25 the area on the basis of the Secretary’s findings that
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1 such variations are necessary because of prevailing

2 levels of construction costs or fair market rents, or

3 unusually high or low family incomes.’’.

4 SEC. 504. LOAN GUARANTEES.

5 Subtitle A of title II of the Cranston-Gonzalez Na6 tional Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 12741 et seq.)

7 is amended by adding at the end the following new section:

8 ‘‘SEC. 227. LOAN GUARANTEES.

9 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY.—The Secretary may, upon such

10 terms and conditions as the Secretary may prescribe,

11 guarantee and make commitments to guarantee, only to

12 such extent or in such amounts as provided in appropria13 tions Acts, the notes or other obligations issued by eligible

14 participating jurisdictions or by public agencies designated

15 by and acting on behalf of eligible participating jurisdic16 tions for purposes of financing (including credit enhance17 ments and debt service reserves) the acquisition, new con18 struction, reconstruction, or moderate or substantial reha19 bilitation of affordable housing (including real property ac20 quisition, site improvement, conversion, and demolition),

21 and other related expenses (including financing costs and

22 relocation expenses of any displaced persons, families,

23 businesses, or organizations). Housing funded under this

24 section shall meet the requirements of this subtitle.
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1 ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS.—Notes or other obligations

2 guaranteed under this section shall be in such form and

3 denominations, have such maturities, and be subject to

4 such conditions as may be prescribed by the Secretary.

5 The Secretary may not deny a guarantee under this sec6 tion on the basis of the proposed repayment period for

7 the note or other obligation, unless the period is more than

8 20 years or the Secretary determines that the period oth9 erwise causes the guarantee to constitute an unacceptable

10 financial risk.

11 ‘‘(c) LIMITATION ON TOTAL NOTES AND OBLIGA12 TIONS.—The Secretary may not guarantee or make a com13 mitment to guarantee any note or other obligation if the

14 total outstanding notes or obligations guaranteed under

15 this section on behalf of the participating jurisdiction

16 issuing the note or obligation (excluding any amount

17 defeased under a contract entered into under subsection

18 (e)(1)) would thereby exceed an amount equal to 5 times

19 the amount of the participating jurisdiction’s latest alloca20 tion under section 217.

21 ‘‘(d) USE OF PROGRAM FUNDS.—Notwithstanding

22 any other provision of this subtitle, funds allocated to the

23 participating jurisdiction under this subtitle (including

24 program income derived therefrom) are authorized for use

25 in the payment of principal and interest due on the notes
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1 or other obligations guaranteed pursuant to this section

2 and the payment of such servicing, underwriting, or other

3 issuance or collection charges as may be specified by the

4 Secretary.

5 ‘‘(e) SECURITY.—To assure the full repayment of

6 notes or other obligations guaranteed under this section,

7 and payment of the issuance or collection charges specified

8 by the Secretary under subsection (d), and as a prior con9 dition for receiving such guarantees, the Secretary shall

10 require the participating jurisdiction (and its designated

11 public agency issuer, if any) to—

12 ‘‘(1) enter into a contract, in a form acceptable

13 to the Secretary, for repayment of such notes or

14 other obligations and the other specified charges;

15 ‘‘(2) pledge as security for such repayment any

16 allocation for which the participating jurisdiction

17 may become eligible under this subtitle; and

18 ‘‘(3) furnish, at the discretion of the Secretary,

19 such other security as may be deemed appropriate

20 by the Secretary in making such guarantees, which

21 may include increments in local tax receipts gen22 erated by the housing assisted under this section or

23 disposition proceeds from the sale of land or hous24 ing.
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1 ‘‘(f) REPAYMENT AUTHORITY.—The Secretary may,

2 notwithstanding any other provision of this subtitle or any

3 other Federal, State, or local law, apply allocations

4 pledged pursuant to subsection (e) to any repayments due

5 the United States as a result of such guarantees.

6 ‘‘(g) FULL FAITH AND CREDIT.—The full faith and

7 credit of the United States is pledged to the payment of

8 all guarantees made under this section. Any such guar9 antee made by the Secretary shall be conclusive evidence

10 of the eligibility of the notes or other obligations for such

11 guarantee with respect to principal and interest, and the

12 validity of any such guarantee so made shall be incontest13 able in the hands of a holder of the guaranteed obligations.

14 ‘‘(h) TAX STATUS.—With respect to any obligation

15 guaranteed pursuant to this section, the guarantee and

16 the obligation shall be designed in a manner such that the

17 interest paid on such obligation shall be included in gross

18 income for purposes of the Internal Revenue Code of

19 1986.

20 ‘‘(i) MONITORING.—The Secretary shall monitor the

21 use of guarantees under this section by eligible partici22 pating jurisdictions. If the Secretary finds that 50 percent

23 of the aggregate guarantee authority for any fiscal year

24 has been committed, the Secretary may impose limitations
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1 on the amount of guarantees any 1 participating jurisdic2 tion may receive during that fiscal year.

3 ‘‘(j) GUARANTEE OF TRUST CERTIFICATES.—

4 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY.—The Secretary may, upon

5 such terms and conditions as the Secretary deems

6 appropriate, guarantee the timely payment of the

7 principal of and interest on such trust certificates or

8 other obligations as may—

9 ‘‘(A) be offered by the Secretary or by any

10 other offeror approved for purposes of this sub11 section by the Secretary; and

12 ‘‘(B) be based on and backed by a trust or

13 pool composed of notes or other obligations

14 guaranteed or eligible for guarantee by the Sec15 retary under this section.

16 ‘‘(2) FULL FAITH AND CREDIT.—To the same

17 extent as provided in subsection (g), the full faith

18 and credit of the United States is pledged to the

19 payment of all amounts which may be required to be

20 paid under any guarantee by the Secretary under

21 this subsection.

22 ‘‘(3) SUBROGATION.—In the event the Sec23 retary pays a claim under a guarantee issued under

24 this section, the Secretary shall be subrogated fully

25 to the rights satisfied by such payment.
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1 ‘‘(4) OTHER POWERS AND RIGHTS.—No State

2 or local law, and no Federal law, shall preclude or

3 limit the exercise by the Secretary of—

4 ‘‘(A) the power to contract with respect to

5 public offerings and other sales of notes, trust

6 certificates, and other obligations guaranteed

7 under this section, upon such terms and condi8 tions as the Secretary deems appropriate;

9 ‘‘(B) the right to enforce, by any means

10 deemed appropriate by the Secretary, any such

11 contract; and

12 ‘‘(C) the Secretary’s ownership rights, as

13 applicable, in notes, certificates or other obliga14 tions guaranteed under this section, or consti15 tuting the trust or pool against which trust cer16 tificates or other obligations guaranteed under

17 this section are offered.

18 ‘‘(k) AGGREGATE LIMITATION.—The total amount of

19 outstanding obligations guaranteed on a cumulative basis

20 by the Secretary under this section shall not at any time

21 exceed $2,000,000,000.’’.

22 SEC. 505. HOMEOWNERSHIP FOR MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES.

23 (a) ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.—Paragraph (2) of section

24 215(b) of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable
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1 Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 12745(b)(2)) is amended to read

2 as follows:

3 ‘‘(2) is the principal residence of an owner

4 who—

5 ‘‘(A) is a member of a family that qualifies

6 as a low-income family—

7 ‘‘(i) in the case of a contract to pur8 chase existing housing, at the time of pur9 chase;

10 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a lease-purchase

11 agreement for existing housing or for hous12 ing to be constructed, at the time the

13 agreement is signed; or

14 ‘‘(iii) in the case of a contract to pur15 chase housing to be constructed, at the

16 time the contract is signed; or

17 ‘‘(B)(i) is a uniformed employee (which

18 shall include policemen, firemen, and sanitation

19 and other maintenance workers) or a teacher

20 who is an employee, of the participating juris21 diction (or an agency or school district serving

22 such jurisdiction) that is investing funds made

23 available under this subtitle to support home24 ownership of the residence; and
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1 ‘‘(ii) is a member of a family whose in2 come, at the time referred to in clause (i), (ii),

3 or (iii) of subparagraph (A), as appropriate,

4 and as determined by the Secretary with ad5 justments for smaller and larger families, does

6 not exceed 115 percent of the median income of

7 the area;’’.

8 (b) INCOME TARGETING.—Section 214(2) of the

9 Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act (42

10 U.S.C. 12744(2)) is amended by inserting before the semi11 colon the following: ‘‘or families described in section

12 215(b)(2)(B)’’.

13 (c) ELIGIBLE INVESTMENTS.—Section 212(b) of the

14 Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act (42

15 U.S.C. 12742(b)) is amended by adding at the end the

16 following new sentence: ‘‘Notwithstanding the preceding

17 sentence, in the case of homeownership assistance for resi18 dences of owners described in section 215(b)(2)(B), funds

19 made available under this subtitle may only be invested

20 (A) to provide amounts for downpayments on mortgages,

21 (B) to pay reasonable closing costs normally associated

22 with the purchase of a residence, (C) to obtain pre- or

23 post-purchase counseling relating to the financial and

24 other obligations of homeownership, or (D) to subsidize

25 mortgage interest rates.’’.
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1 TITLE VI—LOCAL

2 HOMEOWNERSHIP INITIATIVES

3 SEC. 601. REAUTHORIZATION OF NEIGHBORHOOD REIN4 VESTMENT CORPORATION.

5 Section 608(a)(1) of the Neighborhood Reinvestment

6 Corporation Act (42 U.S.C. 8107(a)(1)) is amended by

7 striking the first sentence and inserting the following new

8 sentence: ‘‘There is authorized to be appropriated to the

9 corporation to carry out this title $90,000,000 for each

10 of fiscal years 2000 through 2004.’’.

11 SEC. 602. HOMEOWNERSHIP ZONES.

12 Section 186 of the Housing and Community Develop13 ment Act of 1992 (42 U.S.C. 12898a) is amended to read

14 as follows:

15 ‘‘SEC. 186. HOMEOWNERSHIP ZONE GRANTS.

16 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY.—The Secretary of Housing and

17 Urban Development may make grants to units of general

18 local government to assist homeownership zones. Home19 ownership zones are contiguous, geographically defined

20 areas, primarily residential in nature, in which large-scale

21 development projects are designed to reclaim distressed

22 neighborhoods by creating homeownership opportunities

23 for low- and moderate-income families. Projects in home24 ownership zones are intended to serve as a catalyst for
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1 private investment, business creation, and neighborhood

2 revitalization.

3 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.—Amounts made avail4 able under this section may be used for projects that in5 clude any of the following activities in the homeownership

6 zone:

7 ‘‘(1) Acquisition, construction, and rehabilita8 tion of housing.

9 ‘‘(2) Site acquisition and preparation, including

10 demolition, construction, reconstruction, or installa11 tion of public and other site improvements and utili12 ties directly related to the homeownership zone.

13 ‘‘(3) Direct financial assistance to homebuyers.

14 ‘‘(4) Homeownership counseling.

15 ‘‘(5) Relocation assistance.

16 ‘‘(6) Marketing costs, including affirmative

17 marketing activities.

18 ‘‘(7) Other project-related costs.

19 ‘‘(8) Reasonable administrative costs (up to 5

20 percent of the grant amount).

21 ‘‘(9) Other housing-related activities proposed

22 by the applicant as essential to the success of the

23 homeownership zone and approved by the Secretary.

24 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION.—To be eligible for a grant under

25 this section, a unit of general local government shall sub-
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1 mit an application for a homeownership zone grant in such

2 form and in accordance with such procedures as the Sec3 retary shall establish.

4 ‘‘(d) SELECTION CRITERIA.—The Secretary shall se5 lect applications for funding under this section through

6 a national competition, using selection criteria established

7 by the Secretary, which shall include—

8 ‘‘(1) the degree to which the proposed activities

9 will result in the improvement of the economic, so10 cial, and physical aspects of the neighborhood and

11 the lives of its residents through the creation of new

12 homeownership opportunities;

13 ‘‘(2) the levels of distress in the homeownership

14 zone as a whole, and in the immediate neighborhood

15 of the project for which assistance is requested;

16 ‘‘(3) the financial soundness of the plan for fi17 nancing homeownership zone activities;

18 ‘‘(4) the leveraging of other resources; and

19 ‘‘(5) the capacity to successfully carry out the

20 plan.

21 ‘‘(e) GRANT APPROVAL AMOUNTS.—The Secretary

22 may establish a maximum amount for any grant for any

23 funding round under this section. A grant may not be

24 made in an amount that exceeds the amount that the Sec-
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1 retary determines is necessary to fund the project for

2 which the application is made.

3 ‘‘(f) PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.—A homeownership

4 zone proposal shall—

5 ‘‘(1) provide for a significant number of new

6 homeownership opportunities that will make a visible

7 improvement in an immediate neighborhood;

8 ‘‘(2) not be inconsistent with such planning and

9 design principles as may be prescribed by the Sec10 retary;

11 ‘‘(3) be designed to stimulate additional invest12 ment in that area;

13 ‘‘(4) provide for partnerships with persons or

14 entities in the private and nonprofit sectors;

15 ‘‘(5) incorporate a comprehensive approach to

16 revitalization of the neighborhood;

17 ‘‘(6) establish a detailed time-line for com18 mencement and completion of construction activities;

19 and

20 ‘‘(7) provide for affirmatively furthering fair

21 housing.

22 ‘‘(g) INCOME TARGETING.—At least 51 percent of

23 the homebuyers assisted with funds under this section

24 shall have household incomes at or below 80 percent of
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1 median income for the area, as determined by the Sec2 retary.

3 ‘‘(h) ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW.—For purposes of

4 environmental review, decisionmaking, and action pursu5 ant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and

6 other provisions of law that further the purposes of such

7 Act, a grant under this section shall be treated as assist8 ance under the HOME Investment Partnerships Act and

9 shall be subject to the regulations issued by the Secretary

10 to implement section 288 of such Act.

11 ‘‘(i) REVIEW, AUDIT, AND REPORTING.—The Sec12 retary shall make such reviews and audits and establish

13 such reporting requirements as may be necessary or ap14 propriate to determine whether the grantee has carried out

15 its activities in a timely manner and in accordance with

16 the requirements of this section. The Secretary may ad17 just, reduce, or withdraw amounts made available, or take

18 other action as appropriate, in accordance with the Sec19 retary’s performance reviews and audits under this sec20 tion.

21 ‘‘(j) AUTHORIZATION.—There is authorized to be ap22 propriated to carry out this section $25,000,000 for fiscal

23 year 2000 and such sums as may be necessary for fiscal

24 year 2001, to remain available until expended.’’.
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1 SEC. 603. LEASE-TO-OWN.

2 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of the Con3 gress that residential tenancies under lease-to-own provi4 sions can facilitate homeownership by low- and moderate5 income families and provide opportunities for homeowner6 ship for such families who might not otherwise be able

7 to afford homeownership.

8 (b) REPORT.—Not later than the expiration of the

9 3-month period beginning on the date of the enactment

10 of this Act, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Develop11 ment shall submit a report to the Congress—

12 (1) analyzing whether lease-to-own provisions

13 can be effectively incorporated within the HOME in14 vestment partnerships program, the public housing

15 program, the tenant-based rental assistance program

16 under section 8 of the United States Housing Act of

17 1937, or any other programs of the Department to

18 facilitate homeownership by low- or moderate-income

19 families; and

20 (2) any legislative or administrative changes

21 necessary to alter or amend such programs to allow

22 the use of lease-to-own options to provide home23 ownership opportunities.

24 SEC. 604. LOCAL CAPACITY BUILDING.

25 Section 4 of the HUD Demonstration Act of 1993

26 (42 U.S.C. 9816 note) is amended—
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1 (1) in subsection (a), by inserting ‘‘National

2 Association of Housing Partnerships,’’ after ‘‘Hu3 manity,’’; and

4 (2) in subsection (e), by striking ‘‘$25,000,000’’

5 and all that follows and inserting ‘‘, for each fiscal

6 year, such sums as may be necessary to carry out

7 this section.’’.

8 SEC. 605. CONSOLIDATED APPLICATION AND PLANNING

9 REQUIREMENT AND SUPER-NOFA.

10 (a) CONSOLIDATED APPLICATION.—Section 106 of

11 the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act

12 (42 U.S.C. 12706) is amended to read as follows:

13 ‘‘SEC. 106. CONSOLIDATED APPLICATION FOR COMMUNITY

14 PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS.

15 ‘‘(a) REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary shall, by regula16 tion, provide for jurisdictions to comply with the planning

17 and application requirements under the covered programs

18 under subsection (b) by submitting to the Secretary, for

19 a program year, a single consolidated submission under

20 this section that complies with the requirements for plan21 ning and application submissions under the laws relating

22 to the covered programs and shall serve, for the jurisdic23 tion, as the planning document and an application for

24 funding under the covered programs.
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•HR 1776 IH

1 ‘‘(b) COVERED PROGRAMS.—The covered programs

2 under this subsection are the following programs:

3 ‘‘(1) The HOME investment partnerships pro4 gram under title II of this Act (42 U.S.C. 12721 et

5 seq.).

6 ‘‘(2) The community development block grant

7 program under title I of the Housing and Commu8 nity Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5301 et

9 seq.).

10 ‘‘(3) The economic development initiative pro11 gram under section 108(q) of the Housing and Com12 munity Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C.

13 5308(q)).

14 ‘‘(4) The emergency shelter grants program

15 under subtitle B of title IV of the Stewart B.

16 McKinney Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C.

17 11371 et seq.).

18 ‘‘(5) The housing opportunities for persons with

19 AIDS program under subtitle D of title VIII of the

20 Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act

21 (42 U.S.C. 12901 et seq.).

22 ‘‘(c) PROGRAM YEAR.—In establishing requirements

23 for a consolidated submission under this section, the Sec24 retary shall provide for a consolidated program year,
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1 which shall comply with the various application and review

2 deadlines under the covered programs.

3 ‘‘(d) ADEQUACY OF EXISTING REGULATIONS.—The

4 regulations of the Secretary relating to consolidated sub5 missions for community planning and development pro6 grams, part 91 of title 24, Code of Federal Regulations,

7 as in effect on March 1, 1999, shall be considered to be

8 sufficient to comply with this section, except to the extent

9 that the program referred to in paragraph (3) of sub10 section (b) is not covered by such regulations.

11 ‘‘(e) CONSISTENCY.—The Secretary shall, by regula12 tion or otherwise, as deemed by the Secretary to be appro13 priate, require any application for housing assistance

14 under title II of this Act, assistance under the Housing

15 and Community Development Act of 1974, or assistance

16 under the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act,

17 to contain or be accompanied by a certification by an ap18 propriate State or local public official that the proposed

19 housing activities are consistent with the housing strategy

20 of the jurisdiction to be served.’’.

21 (b) SUPER-NOFA.—The Department of Housing

22 and Urban Development Act is amended by inserting after

23 section 12 (42 U.S.C. 3537a) the following new section:
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1 ‘‘SEC. 13. NOTICE OF FUNDING AVAILABILITY.

2 ‘‘(a) REQUIREMENT.—In making amounts for a fiscal

3 year under the covered programs under subsection (b)

4 available to applicants, the Secretary shall issue a consoli5 dated notice of funding availability that—

6 ‘‘(1) applies to as many of the covered pro7 grams as the Secretary determines is practicable;

8 ‘‘(2) simplifies the application process for fund9 ing under such programs by providing for applica10 tion under various covered programs through a sin11 gle, unified application;

12 ‘‘(3) promotes comprehensive approaches to

13 housing and community development by providing

14 for applicants to identify coordination of efforts

15 under various covered programs; and

16 ‘‘(4) clearly informs prospective applicants of

17 the general and specific requirements under law for

18 applying for funding under such programs.

19 ‘‘(b) COVERED PROGRAMS.—The covered programs

20 under this subsection are the programs that are adminis21 tered by the Secretary and identified by the Secretary for

22 purposes of this section, in the following areas:

23 ‘‘(1) Housing and community development pro24 grams.

25 ‘‘(2) Economic development and empowerment

26 programs.
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1 ‘‘(3) Targeted housing assistance and homeless

2 assistance programs.’’.

3 TITLE VII—MANUFACTURED

4 HOUSING IMPROVEMENT

5 SEC. 701. SHORT TITLE AND REFERENCES.

6 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This title may be cited as the

7 ‘‘Manufactured Housing Improvement Act’’.

8 (b) REFERENCES.—Whenever in this title an amend9 ment is expressed in terms of an amendment to, or repeal

10 of, a section or other provision, the reference shall be con11 sidered to be made to that section or other provision of

12 the National Manufactured Housing Construction and

13 Safety Standards Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5401 et seq.).

14 SEC. 702. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

15 Section 602 (42 U.S.C. 5401) is amended to read as

16 follows:

17 ‘‘FINDINGS AND PURPOSES

18 ‘‘SEC. 602. (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds

19 that—

20 ‘‘(1) manufactured housing plays a vital role in

21 meeting the housing needs of the Nation; and

22 ‘‘(2) manufactured homes provide a significant

23 resource for affordable homeownership and rental

24 housing accessible to all Americans.

25 ‘‘(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this title are—
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1 ‘‘(1) to facilitate the acceptance of the quality,

2 durability, safety, and affordability of manufactured

3 housing within the Department of Housing and

4 Urban Development;

5 ‘‘(2) to facilitate the availability of affordable

6 manufactured homes and to increase homeownership

7 for all Americans;

8 ‘‘(3) to provide for the establishment of prac9 tical, uniform, and, to the extent possible, perform10 ance-based Federal construction standards;

11 ‘‘(4) to encourage innovative and cost-effective

12 construction techniques;

13 ‘‘(5) to protect owners of manufactured homes

14 from unreasonable risk of personal injury and prop15 erty damage;

16 ‘‘(6) to establish a balanced consensus process

17 for the development, revision, and interpretation of

18 Federal construction and safety standards for manu19 factured homes and related regulations for the en20 forcement of such standards;

21 ‘‘(7) to ensure uniform and effective enforce22 ment of Federal construction and safety standards

23 for manufactured homes; and

24 ‘‘(8) to ensure that the public interest in, and

25 need for, affordable manufactured housing is duly
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1 considered in all determinations relating to the Fed2 eral standards and their enforcement.’’.

3 SEC. 703. DEFINITIONS.

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 603 (42 U.S.C. 5402) is

5 amended—

6 (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘dealer’’ and

7 inserting ‘‘retailer’’;

8 (2) in paragraph (12), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the

9 end;

10 (3) in paragraph (13), by striking the period at

11 the end and inserting a semicolon; and

12 (4) by adding at the end the following new

13 paragraphs:

14 ‘‘(14) ‘administering organization’ means the

15 recognized, voluntary, private sector, consensus

16 standards body with specific experience in developing

17 model residential building codes and standards in18 volving all disciplines regarding construction and

19 safety that administers the consensus standards de20 velopment process;

21 ‘‘(15) ‘consensus committee’ means the com22 mittee established under section 604(a)(3);

23 ‘‘(16) ‘consensus standards development proc24 ess’ means the process by which additions, revisions,

25 and interpretations to the Federal manufactured
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1 home construction and safety standards and enforce2 ment regulations shall be developed and rec3 ommended to the Secretary by the consensus com4 mittee;

5 ‘‘(17) ‘primary inspection agency’ means a

6 State agency or private organization that has been

7 approved by the Secretary to act as a design ap8 proval primary inspection agency or a production in9 spection primary inspection agency, or both;

10 ‘‘(18) ‘design approval primary inspection agen11 cy’ means a State agency or private organization

12 that has been approved by the Secretary to evaluate

13 and either approve or disapprove manufactured

14 home designs and quality control procedures;

15 ‘‘(19) ‘production inspection primary inspection

16 agency’ means a State agency or private organiza17 tion that has been approved by the Secretary to

18 evaluate the ability of manufactured home manufac19 turing plants to comply with approved quality con20 trol procedures and with the Federal manufactured

21 home construction and safety standards promulgated

22 hereunder; and

23 ‘‘(20) ‘monitoring’—

24 ‘‘(A) means the process of periodic review

25 of the primary inspection agencies, by the Sec-
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1 retary or by a State agency under an approved

2 State plan pursuant to section 623, in accord3 ance with regulations recommended by the con4 sensus committee and promulgated in accord5 ance with section 604(b), which process shall be

6 for the purpose of ensuring that the primary in7 spection agencies are discharging their duties

8 under this title; and

9 ‘‘(B) may include the periodic inspection of

10 retail locations for transit damage, label tam11 pering, and retailer compliance with this title.’’.

12 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—The National

13 Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Stand14 ards Act of 1974 is amended—

15 (1) in section 613 (42 U.S.C. 5412), by striking

16 ‘‘dealer’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘re17 tailer’’;

18 (2) in section 614(f) (42 U.S.C. 5413(f)), by

19 striking ‘‘dealer’’ each place it appears and inserting

20 ‘‘retailer’’;

21 (3) in section 615 (42 U.S.C. 5414)—

22 (A) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ‘‘deal23 er’’ and inserting ‘‘retailer’’;
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1 (B) in subsection (b)(3), by striking ‘‘deal2 er or dealers’’ and inserting ‘‘retailer or retail3 ers’’; and

4 (C) in subsections (d) and (f), by striking

5 ‘‘dealers’’ each place it appears and inserting

6 ‘‘retailers’’;

7 (4) in section 616 (42 U.S.C. 5415), by striking

8 ‘‘dealer’’ and inserting ‘‘retailer’’; and

9 (5) in section 623(c)(9), by striking ‘‘dealers’’

10 and inserting ‘‘retailers’’.

11 SEC. 704. FEDERAL MANUFACTURED HOME CONSTRUC12 TION AND SAFETY STANDARDS.

13 Section 604 (42 U.S.C. 5403) is amended—

14 (1) by striking subsections (a) and (b) and in15 serting the following new subsections:

16 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—

17 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY.—The Secretary shall estab18 lish, by order, appropriate Federal manufactured

19 home construction and safety standards, each of

20 which—

21 ‘‘(A) shall—

22 ‘‘(i) be reasonable and practical;

23 ‘‘(ii) meet high standards of protec24 tion consistent with the enumerated pur25 poses of this title; and
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1 ‘‘(iii) where appropriate, be perform2 ance-based and objectively stated; and

3 ‘‘(B) except as provided in subsection (b),

4 shall be established in accordance with the con5 sensus standards development process.

6 ‘‘(2) CONSENSUS STANDARDS AND REGU7 LATORY DEVELOPMENT PROCESS.—

8 ‘‘(A) INITIAL AGREEMENT.—Not later

9 than 180 days after the date of enactment of

10 the Manufactured Housing Improvement Act,

11 the Secretary shall enter into a contract with

12 an administering organization. The contractual

13 agreement shall—

14 ‘‘(i) terminate on the date on which a

15 contract is entered into under subpara16 graph (B); and

17 ‘‘(ii) require the administering organi18 zation to—

19 ‘‘(I) appoint the initial members

20 of the consensus committee under

21 paragraph (3);

22 ‘‘(II) administer the consensus

23 standards development process until

24 the termination of that agreement;

25 and
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1 ‘‘(III) administer the consensus

2 development and interpretation proc3 ess for procedural and enforcement

4 regulations and regulations specifying

5 the permissible scope and conduct of

6 monitoring until the termination of

7 that agreement.

8 ‘‘(B) COMPETITIVELY PROCURED CON9 TRACT.—Upon the expiration of the 4-year pe10 riod beginning on the date on which all mem11 bers of the consensus committee are appointed

12 under paragraph (3), the Secretary shall, using

13 competitive procedures (as such term is defined

14 in section 4 of the Office of Federal Procure15 ment Policy Act), enter into a competitively

16 awarded contract with an administering organi17 zation. The administering organization shall ad18 minister the consensus process for the develop19 ment and interpretation of the Federal stand20 ards, the procedural and enforcement regula21 tions and regulations specifying the permissible

22 scope and conduct of monitoring in accordance

23 with this title.

24 ‘‘(C) PERFORMANCE REVIEW.—The

25 Secretary—
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1 ‘‘(i) shall periodically review the per2 formance of the administering organiza3 tion; and

4 ‘‘(ii) may replace the administering

5 organization with another qualified tech6 nical or building code organization, pursu7 ant to competitive procedures, if the Sec8 retary determines in writing that the ad9 ministering organization is not fulfilling

10 the terms of the agreement or contract to

11 which the administering organization is

12 subject or upon the expiration of the

13 agreement or contract.

14 ‘‘(3) CONSENSUS COMMITTEE.—

15 ‘‘(A) PURPOSE.—There is established a

16 committee to be known as the ‘consensus com17 mittee’, which shall, in accordance with this

18 title—

19 ‘‘(i) provide periodic recommendations

20 to the Secretary to adopt, revise, and inter21 pret the Federal manufactured housing

22 construction and safety standards in ac23 cordance with this subsection;

24 ‘‘(ii) provide periodic recommenda25 tions to the Secretary to adopt, revise, and
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1 interpret the procedural and enforcement

2 regulations, including regulations speci3 fying the permissible scope and conduct of

4 monitoring in accordance with this sub5 section; and

6 ‘‘(iii) be organized and carry out its

7 business in a manner that guarantees a

8 fair opportunity for the expression and

9 consideration of various positions and for

10 public participation.

11 ‘‘(B) MEMBERSHIP.—The consensus com12 mittee shall be composed of—

13 ‘‘(i) 25 voting members appointed,

14 subject to approval by the Secretary, by

15 the administering organization from among

16 individuals who are qualified by back17 ground and experience to participate in the

18 work of the consensus committee; and

19 ‘‘(ii) 1 member appointed by the Sec20 retary to represent the Secretary on the

21 consensus committee, who shall be a non22 voting member.

23 ‘‘(C) DISAPPROVAL.—The Secretary may

24 disapprove, in writing with the reasons set
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1 forth, the appointment of an individual under

2 subparagraph (B)(i).

3 ‘‘(D) SELECTION PROCEDURES AND RE4 QUIREMENTS.—Each member shall be ap5 pointed in accordance with the selection proce6 dures, which shall be established by the Sec7 retary and which shall be based on the proce8 dures for consensus committees promulgated by

9 the American National Standards Institute (or

10 successor organization), except that the Amer11 ican National Standards Institute interest cat12 egories shall be modified for purposes of this

13 paragraph to ensure equal representation on

14 the consensus committee of the following inter15 est categories:

16 ‘‘(i) HOME PRODUCERS.—Five per17 sons representing manufacturers of manu18 factured homes.

19 ‘‘(ii) OTHER BUSINESS INTERESTS.—

20 Five persons representing other business

21 interests involved in the manufactured

22 housing industry such as retailers, install23 ers, lenders, insurers, suppliers of prod24 ucts, and community owners. The business

25 interests represented in this category shall
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•HR 1776 IH

1 not be owned or controlled by manufactur2 ers represented under clause (i).

3 ‘‘(iii) CONSUMERS.—Five persons rep4 resenting homeowners and consumer inter5 ests, such as consumer organizations, com6 munity organizations, recognized consumer

7 leaders, and owners and occupants of man8 ufactured homes.

9 ‘‘(iv) PUBLIC OFFICIALS.—Five per10 sons who are State or local officials such

11 as building code enforcement or inspection

12 officials, fire marshals, and including rep13 resentatives of State administrative agen14 cies.

15 ‘‘(v) GENERAL INTEREST.—Five per16 sons representing the public such as archi17 tects, engineers, homebuilders, academi18 cians, and developers.

19 ‘‘(E) ADDITIONAL QUALIFICATIONS.—An

20 individual appointed under clause (iii), (iv), or

21 (v) of subparagraph (D) shall not have—

22 ‘‘(i) a significant financial interest in

23 any segment of the manufactured housing

24 industry; or
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1 ‘‘(ii) a significant relationship to any

2 person engaged in the manufactured hous3 ing industry.

4 ‘‘(F) MEETINGS.—

5 ‘‘(i) NOTICE; OPEN TO PUBLIC.—The

6 consensus committee shall provide advance

7 notice of each meeting of the consensus

8 committee to the Secretary and publish ad9 vance notice of each such meeting in the

10 Federal Register. All meetings of the con11 sensus committee shall be open to the pub12 lic.

13 ‘‘(ii) REIMBURSEMENT.—Members of

14 the consensus committee in attendance at

15 the meetings shall be reimbursed for their

16 actual expenses as authorized by section

17 5703 of title 5, United States Code, for

18 persons employed intermittently in Govern19 ment service.

20 ‘‘(G) INAPPLICABILITY OF OTHER LAWS.—

21 ‘‘(i) ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT.—The

22 consensus committee shall not be consid23 ered to be an advisory committee for pur24 poses of the Federal Advisory Committee

25 Act.
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1 ‘‘(ii) TITLE 18.—The members of the

2 consensus committee shall not be subject

3 to section 203, 205, 207, or 208 of title

4 18, United States Code, to the extent of

5 their proper participation as members of

6 the consensus committee.

7 ‘‘(iii) ETHICS IN GOVERNMENT ACT

8 OF 1978.—The Ethics in Government Act

9 of 1978 shall not apply to members of the

10 consensus committee to the extent of their

11 proper participation as members of the

12 consensus committee.

13 ‘‘(H) ADMINISTRATION.—The consensus

14 committee and the administering organization

15 shall—

16 ‘‘(i) operate in conformance with the

17 procedures established by the American

18 National Standards Institute for the devel19 opment and coordination of American Na20 tional Standards; and

21 ‘‘(ii) apply to the American National

22 Standards Institute and take such other

23 actions as may be necessary to obtain ac24 creditation from the American National

25 Standards Institute.
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•HR 1776 IH

1 ‘‘(I) STAFF.—The administering organiza2 tion shall, upon the request of the consensus

3 committee, provide reasonable staff resources to

4 the consensus committee. Upon a showing of

5 need, the Secretary shall furnish technical sup6 port to any of the various interest categories on

7 the consensus committee.

8 ‘‘(J) DATE OF INITIAL APPOINTMENTS.—

9 The initial appointments of all of the members

10 of the consensus committee shall be completed

11 not later than 90 days after the date on which

12 an administration agreement under paragraph

13 (2)(A) is completed with the administering or14 ganization.

15 ‘‘(4) REVISIONS OF STANDARDS.—

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Beginning on the date

17 on which all members of the consensus com18 mittee are appointed under paragraph (3), the

19 consensus committee shall, not less than once

20 during each 2-year period—

21 ‘‘(i) consider revisions to the Federal

22 manufactured home construction and safe23 ty standards; and

24 ‘‘(ii) submit proposed revised stand25 ards and regulations to the Secretary in
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1 the form of a proposed rule, including an

2 economic analysis.

3 ‘‘(B) PUBLICATION OF PROPOSED REVISED

4 STANDARDS.—

5 ‘‘(i) PUBLICATION BY SECRETARY.—

6 The consensus committee shall provide a

7 proposed revised standard under subpara8 graph (A)(ii) to the Secretary who shall,

9 not later than 30 days after receipt, pub10 lish such proposed revised standard in the

11 Federal Register for notice and comment.

12 Unless clause (ii) applies, the Secretary

13 shall provide an opportunity for public

14 comment on such proposed revised stand15 ard and any such comments shall be sub16 mitted directly to the consensus committee

17 without delay.

18 ‘‘(ii) PUBLICATION OF REJECTED

19 PROPOSED REVISED STANDARD.—If the

20 Secretary rejects the proposed revised

21 standard, the Secretary shall publish the

22 rejected proposed revised standard in the

23 Federal Register with the reasons for re24 jection and any recommended modifica25 tions set forth.
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1 ‘‘(C) PRESENTATION OF PUBLIC COM2 MENTS; PUBLICATION OF RECOMMENDED REVI3 SIONS.—

4 ‘‘(i) PRESENTATION.—Any public

5 comments, views, and objections to a pro6 posed revised standard published under

7 subparagraph (B) shall be presented by

8 the Secretary to the consensus committee

9 upon their receipt and in the manner re10 ceived, in accordance with procedures es11 tablished by the American National Stand12 ards Institute.

13 ‘‘(ii) PUBLICATION BY THE SEC14 RETARY.—The consensus committee shall

15 provide to the Secretary any revisions pro16 posed by the consensus committee, which

17 the Secretary shall, not later than 7 cal18 endar days after receipt, cause to be pub19 lished in the Federal Register as a notice

20 of the recommended revisions of the con21 sensus committee to the standard, a notice

22 of the submission of the recommended re23 visions to the Secretary, and a description

24 of the circumstances under which the pro-
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•HR 1776 IH

1 posed revised standards could become ef2 fective.

3 ‘‘(iii) PUBLICATION OF REJECTED

4 PROPOSED REVISED STANDARD.—If the

5 Secretary rejects the proposed revised

6 standard, the Secretary shall publish the

7 rejected proposed revised standard in the

8 Federal Register with the reasons for re9 jection and any recommended modifica10 tions set forth.

11 ‘‘(5) REVIEW BY THE SECRETARY.—

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall

13 either adopt, modify, or reject a standard, as

14 submitted by the consensus committee under

15 paragraph (4)(A).

16 ‘‘(B) TIMING.—Not later than 12 months

17 after the date on which a standard is submitted

18 to the Secretary by the consensus committee,

19 the Secretary shall take action regarding such

20 standard under subparagraph (C).

21 ‘‘(C) PROCEDURES.—If the Secretary—

22 ‘‘(i) adopts a standard recommended

23 by the consensus committee, the Secretary

24 shall—
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•HR 1776 IH

1 ‘‘(I) issue a final order without

2 further rulemaking; and

3 ‘‘(II) cause the final order to be

4 published in the Federal Register;

5 ‘‘(ii) determines that any standard

6 should be rejected, the Secretary shall—

7 ‘‘(I) reject the standard; and

8 ‘‘(II) cause to be published in the

9 Federal Register a notice to that ef10 fect, together with the reason or rea11 sons for rejecting the proposed stand12 ard; or

13 ‘‘(iii) determines that a standard rec14 ommended by the consensus committee

15 should be modified, the Secretary shall—

16 ‘‘(I) cause the proposed modified

17 standard to be published in the Fed18 eral Register, together with an expla19 nation of the reason or reasons for the

20 determination of the Secretary; and

21 ‘‘(II) provide an opportunity for

22 public comment in accordance with

23 section 553 of title 5, United States

24 Code.
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•HR 1776 IH

1 ‘‘(D) FINAL ORDER.—Any final standard

2 under this paragraph shall become effective

3 pursuant to subsection (c).

4 ‘‘(6) FAILURE TO ACT.—If the Secretary fails

5 to take final action under paragraph (5) and to pub6 lish notice of the action in the Federal Register be7 fore the expiration of the 12-month period beginning

8 on the date on which the proposed standard is sub9 mitted to the Secretary under paragraph (4)(A)—

10 ‘‘(A) the recommendations of the con11 sensus committee—

12 ‘‘(i) shall be considered to have been

13 adopted by the Secretary; and

14 ‘‘(ii) shall take effect upon the expira15 tion of the 180-day period that begins

16 upon the conclusion of such 12-month pe17 riod; and

18 ‘‘(B) not later than 10 days after the expi19 ration of such 12-month period, the Secretary

20 shall cause to be published in the Federal Reg21 ister a notice of the failure of the Secretary to

22 act, the revised standard, and the effective date

23 of the revised standard, which notice shall be

24 deemed to be an order of the Secretary approv-
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•HR 1776 IH

1 ing the revised standards proposed by the con2 sensus committee.

3 ‘‘(b) OTHER ORDERS.—

4 ‘‘(1) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary may issue

5 procedural and enforcement regulations as necessary

6 to implement the provisions of this title. The con7 sensus committee may submit to the Secretary pro8 posed procedural and enforcement regulations and

9 recommendations for the revision of such regula10 tions.

11 ‘‘(2) INTERPRETATIVE BULLETINS.—The Sec12 retary may issue interpretative bulletins to clarify

13 the meaning of any Federal manufactured home

14 construction and safety standard or procedural and

15 enforcement regulation. The consensus committee

16 may submit to the Secretary proposed interpretative

17 bulletins to clarify the meaning of any Federal man18 ufactured home construction and safety standard or

19 procedural and enforcement regulation.

20 ‘‘(3) REVIEW BY CONSENSUS COMMITTEE.—Be21 fore issuing a procedural or enforcement regulation

22 or an interpretative bulletin—

23 ‘‘(A) the Secretary shall—
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•HR 1776 IH

1 ‘‘(i) submit the proposed procedural

2 or enforcement regulation or interpretative

3 bulletin to the consensus committee; and

4 ‘‘(ii) provide the consensus committee

5 with a period of 120 days to submit writ6 ten comments to the Secretary on the pro7 posed procedural or enforcement regulation

8 or the interpretative bulletin; and

9 ‘‘(B) if the Secretary rejects any signifi10 cant comment provided by the consensus com11 mittee under subparagraph (A), the Secretary

12 shall provide a written explanation of the rea13 sons for the rejection to the consensus com14 mittee; and

15 ‘‘(C) following compliance with subpara16 graphs (A) and (B), the Secretary shall—

17 ‘‘(i) cause the proposed regulation or

18 interpretative bulletin and the consensus

19 committee’s written comments along with

20 the Secretary’s response thereto to be pub21 lished in the Federal Register; and

22 ‘‘(ii) provide an opportunity for public

23 comment in accordance with section 553 of

24 title 5, United States Code.
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•HR 1776 IH

1 ‘‘(4) REQUIRED ACTION.—The Secretary shall

2 act on any proposed regulation or interpretative bul3 letin submitted by the consensus committee by ap4 proving or rejecting the proposal within 120 days

5 from the date the proposal is received by the Sec6 retary. The Secretary shall either—

7 ‘‘(A) approve the proposal and cause the

8 proposed regulation or interpretative bulletin to

9 be published for public comment in accordance

10 with section 553 of title 5, United States Code;

11 or

12 ‘‘(B) reject the proposed regulation or in13 terpretative bulletin and—

14 ‘‘(i) provide a written explanation of

15 the reasons for rejection to the consensus

16 committee; and

17 ‘‘(ii) cause the proposed regulation

18 and the written explanation for the rejec19 tion to be published in the Federal Reg20 ister.

21 ‘‘(5) EMERGENCY ORDERS.—If the Secretary

22 determines, in writing, that such action is necessary

23 in order to respond to an emergency which jeopard24 izes the public health or safety, or to address an

25 issue on which the Secretary determines that the
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•HR 1776 IH

1 consensus committee has not made a timely rec2 ommendation, following a request by the Secretary,

3 the Secretary may issue an order that is not devel4 oped under the procedures set forth in subsection

5 (a) or in this subsection, if the Secretary—

6 ‘‘(A) provides to the consensus committee

7 a written description and sets forth the reasons

8 why emergency action is necessary and all sup9 porting documentation; and

10 ‘‘(B) issues and publishes the order in the

11 Federal Register.

12 ‘‘(6) CHANGES.—Any statement of policies,

13 practices, or procedures relating to construction and

14 safety standards, inspections, monitoring, or other

15 enforcement activities which constitutes a statement

16 of general or particular applicability and future off17 set and decisions to implement, interpret, or pre18 scribe law of policy by the Secretary is subject to the

19 provisions of subsection (a) or (b) of this subsection.

20 Any change adopted in violation of the provisions of

21 subsection (a) or (b) of this subsection is void.

22 ‘‘(7) TRANSITION.—Until the date that the con23 sensus committee is appointed pursuant to section

24 704(a)(3), the Secretary may issue proposed orders
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1 that are not developed under the procedures set

2 forth in this section for new and revised standards.’’;

3 (2) in subsection (d), by adding at the end the

4 following: ‘‘Federal preemption under this subsection

5 shall be broadly and liberally construed to ensure

6 that disparate State or local requirements or stand7 ards do not affect the uniformity and comprehen8 siveness of the standards promulgated hereunder.

9 (3) by striking subsection (e);

10 (4) in subsection (f), by striking the subsection

11 designation and all of the matter that precedes para12 graph (1) and inserting the following:

13 ‘‘(e) CONSIDERATIONS IN ESTABLISHING AND IN14 TERPRETING STANDARDS AND REGULATIONS.—The con15 sensus committee, in recommending standards, regula16 tions, and interpretations, and the Secretary, in estab17 lishing standards or regulations, or issuing interpretations

18 under this section, shall—’’;

19 (5) by striking subsection (g);

20 (6) in the first sentence of subsection (j), by

21 striking ‘‘subsection (f)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection

22 (e)’’; and

23 (7) by redesignating subsections (h), (i), and

24 (j), as subsections (f), (g), and (h), respectively.
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1 SEC. 705. ABOLISHMENT OF NATIONAL MANUFACTURED

2 HOME ADVISORY COUNCIL.

3 Section 605 (42 U.S.C. 5404) is hereby repealed.

4 SEC. 706. PUBLIC INFORMATION.

5 Section 607 (42 U.S.C. 5406) is amended—

6 (1) in subsection (a)—

7 (A) by inserting ‘‘to the Secretary’’ after

8 ‘‘submit’’; and

9 (B) by adding at the end the following:

10 ‘‘The Secretary shall submit such cost and

11 other information to the consensus committee

12 for evaluation.’’;

13 (2) in subsection (d), by inserting ‘‘, the con14 sensus committee,’’ after ‘‘public’’; and

15 (3) by striking subsection (c) and redesignating

16 subsections (d) and (e) as subsections (c) and (d),

17 respectively.

18 SEC. 707. RESEARCH, TESTING, DEVELOPMENT, AND TRAIN19 ING.

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 608(a) (42 U.S.C.

21 5407(a)) is amended—

22 (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the

23 end;

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

25 the end and inserting a semicolon; and
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1 (3) by adding at the end the following new

2 paragraphs:

3 ‘‘(4) encouraging the government sponsored

4 housing entities to actively develop and implement

5 secondary market securitization programs for FHA

6 manufactured home loans and those of other loan

7 programs, as appropriate, thereby promoting the

8 availability of affordable manufactured homes to in9 crease homeownership for all people in the United

10 States; and

11 ‘‘(5) reviewing the programs for FHA manufac12 tured home loans and developing any changes to

13 such programs to promote the affordability of manu14 factured homes, including changes in loan terms,

15 amortization periods, regulations, and procedures.’’.

16 (b) DEFINITIONS.—Section 608 (42 U.S.C. 5407) is

17 amended by adding at the end the following new sub18 section:

19 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section, the

20 following definitions shall apply:

21 ‘‘(1) GOVERNMENT SPONSORED HOUSING ENTI22 TIES.—The term ‘government sponsored housing en23 tities’ means the Government National Mortgage As24 sociation of the Department of Housing and Urban

25 Development, the Federal National Mortgage Asso-
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•HR 1776 IH

1 ciation, and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Cor2 poration.

3 ‘‘(2) FHA MANUFACTURED HOME LOANS.—The

4 term ‘FHA manufactured home loan’ means a loan

5 that—

6 ‘‘(A) is insured under title I of the Na7 tional Housing Act and is made for the purpose

8 of financing alterations, repairs, or improve9 ments on or in connection with an existing

10 manufactured home, the purchase of a manu11 factured home, the purchase of a manufactured

12 home and a lot on which to place the home, or

13 the purchase only of a lot on which to place a

14 manufactured home; or

15 ‘‘(B) otherwise insured under the National

16 Housing Act and made for or in connection

17 with a manufactured home.’’.

18 SEC. 708. FEES.

19 Section 620 (42 U.S.C. 5419) is amended to read as

20 follows:

21 ‘‘AUTHORITY TO ESTABLISH FEES

22 ‘‘SEC. 620. (a) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out in23 spections under this title, in developing standards and reg24 ulations pursuant to section 604, and in facilitating the

25 acceptance of the affordability and availability of manufac-
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1 tured housing within the Department, the Secretary

2 may—

3 ‘‘(1) establish and collect from manufactured

4 home manufacturers such reasonable fees as may be

5 necessary to offset the expenses incurred by the Sec6 retary in connection with carrying out the respon7 sibilities of the Secretary under this title,

8 including—

9 ‘‘(A) conducting inspections and moni10 toring;

11 ‘‘(B) providing funding to States for the

12 administration and implementation of approved

13 State plans under section 623, including rea14 sonable funding for cooperative educational and

15 training programs designed to facilitate uniform

16 enforcement under this title; these funds may

17 be paid directly to the States or may be paid

18 or provided to any person or entity designated

19 to receive and disburse such funds by coopera20 tive agreements among participating States,

21 provided that such person or entity is not other22 wise an agent of the Secretary under this title;

23 ‘‘(C) providing the funding for a noncareer

24 administrator and Federal staff personnel for

25 the manufactured housing program;
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1 ‘‘(D) administering the consensus com2 mittee as set forth in section 604; and

3 ‘‘(E) facilitating the acceptance of the

4 quality, durability, safety, and affordability of

5 manufactured housing within the Department;

6 and

7 ‘‘(2) use any fees collected under paragraph (1)

8 to pay expenses referred to in paragraph (1), which

9 shall be exempt and separate from any limitations

10 on the Department of Housing and Urban Develop11 ment regarding full-time equivalent positions and

12 travel.

13 ‘‘(b) CONTRACTORS.—When using fees under this

14 section, the Secretary shall ensure that separate and inde15 pendent contractors are retained to carry out monitoring

16 and inspection work and any other work that may be dele17 gated to a contractor under this title.

18 ‘‘(c) PROHIBITED USE.—Fees collected under sub19 section (a) shall not be used for any purpose or activity

20 not specifically authorized by this title unless such activity

21 was already engaged in by the Secretary prior to the date

22 of enactment of this title.

23 ‘‘(d) MODIFICATION.—Any fee established by the

24 Secretary under this section shall only be modified pursu-
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1 ant to rulemaking in accordance with section 553 of title

2 5, United States Code.

3 ‘‘(e) APPROPRIATION AND DEPOSIT OF FEES.—

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is established in the

5 Treasury of the United States a fund to be known

6 as the ‘Manufactured Housing Fees Trust Fund’ for

7 deposit of all fees collected pursuant to subsection

8 (a). These fees shall be held in trust for use only as

9 provided in this title.

10 ‘‘(2) APPROPRIATION.—Such fees shall be avail11 able for expenditure only to the extent approved in

12 an annual appropriation Act.’’.

13 SEC. 709. ELIMINATION OF ANNUAL REPORT REQUIRE14 MENT.

15 The National Manufactured Housing Construction

16 and Safety Standards Act of 1974 is amended—

17 (1) by striking section 626 (42 U.S.C. 5425);

18 and

19 (2) by redesignating sections 627 and 628 (42

20 U.S.C. 5426, 5401 note) as sections 626 and 627,

21 respectively.

22 SEC. 710. EFFECTIVE DATE.

23 The amendments made by this title shall take effect

24 on the date of enactment of this Act, except that the

25 amendments shall have no effect on any order or interpre-
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1 tative bulletin that is published as a proposed rule pursu2 ant to section 553 of title 5, United States Code, on or

3 before such date.

4 SEC. 711. SAVINGS PROVISION.

5 (a) STANDARDS AND REGULATIONS.—The Federal

6 manufactured home construction and safety standards (as

7 such term is defined in section 603 of the National Manu8 factured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act

9 of 1974) and all regulations pertaining thereto in effect

10 immediately before the date of the enactment of this Act

11 shall apply until the effective date of a standard or regula12 tion modifying or superseding the existing standard or

13 regulation which is promulgated under subsection (a) or

14 (b) of section 604 of the National Manufactured Housing

15 Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974, as

16 amended by this title.

17 (b) CONTRACTS.—Any contract awarded pursuant to

18 a Request for Proposal issued before the date of enact19 ment of this Act shall remain in effect for a period of 2

20 years from the date of enactment of this Act or for the

21 remainder of the contract term, whichever period is short22 er.
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1 TITLE VIII—INDIAN HOUSING

2 HOMEOWNERSHIP

3 SEC. 801. LANDS TITLE REPORT COMMISSION.

4 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Subject to sums being pro5 vided in advance in appropriations Acts, there is estab6 lished a Commission to be known as the Lands Title Re7 port Commission (hereafter in this section referred to as

8 the ‘‘Commission’’) to facilitate home loan mortgages on

9 Indian trust lands. The Commission will be subject to

10 oversight by the Committee on Banking and Financial

11 Services of the House of Representatives and the Com12 mittee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the

13 Senate.

14 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—

15 (1) APPOINTMENT.—The Commission shall be

16 composed of 12 members, appointed not later than

17 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act

18 as follows:

19 (A) 4 members shall be appointed by the

20 President.

21 (B) 4 members shall be appointed by the

22 Chairperson of the Committee on Banking and

23 Financial Services of the House of Representa24 tives.
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1 (C) 4 members shall be appointed by the

2 Chairperson of the Committee on Banking,

3 Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate.

4 (2) QUALIFICATIONS.—

5 (A) MEMBERS OF TRIBES.—At all times,

6 not less than 8 of the members of the Commis7 sion shall be members of federally recognized

8 Indian tribes.

9 (B) EXPERIENCE IN LAND TITLE MAT10 TERS.—All members of the Commission shall

11 have experience in and knowledge of land title

12 matters relating to Indian trust lands.

13 (3) CHAIRPERSON.—The Chairperson of the

14 Commission shall be one of the members of the

15 Commission appointed under paragraph (1)(C), as

16 elected by the members of the Commission.

17 (4) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy on the Commis18 sion shall not affect its powers, but shall be filled in

19 the manner in which the original appointment was

20 made.

21 (5) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Members of the Com22 mission shall serve without pay, but each member

23 shall receive travel expenses, including per diem in

24 lieu of subsistence, in accordance with sections 5702

25 and 5703 of title 5, United States Code.
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1 (c) INITIAL MEETING.—The Chairperson of the Com2 mission shall call the initial meeting of the Commission.

3 Such meeting shall be held within 30 days after the Chair4 person of the Commission determines that sums sufficient

5 for the Commission to carry out its duties under this Act

6 have been appropriated for such purpose.

7 (d) DUTIES.—The Commission shall analyze the sys8 tem of the Bureau of Indian Affairs of the Department

9 of the Interior for maintaining land ownership records and

10 title documents and issuing certified title status reports

11 relating to Indian trust lands and, pursuant to such anal12 ysis, determine how best to improve or replace the

13 system—

14 (1) to ensure prompt and accurate responses to

15 requests for title status reports;

16 (2) to eliminate any backlog of requests for title

17 status reports; and

18 (3) to ensure that the administration of the sys19 tem will not in any way impair or restrict the ability

20 of Native Americans to obtain conventional loans for

21 purchase of residences located on Indian trust lands,

22 including any actions necessary to ensure that the

23 system will promptly be able to meet future demands

24 for certified title status reports, taking into account
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1 the anticipated complexity and volume of such re2 quests.

3 (e) REPORT.—Not later than the date of the termi4 nation of the Commission under subsection (h), the Com5 mission shall submit a report to the Committee on Bank6 ing and Financial Services of the House of Representa7 tives and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban

8 Affairs of the Senate describing the analysis and deter9 minations made pursuant to subsection (d).

10 (f) POWERS.—

11 (1) HEARINGS AND SESSIONS.—The Commis12 sion may, for the purpose of carrying out this sec13 tion, hold hearings, sit and act at times and places,

14 take testimony, and receive evidence as the Commis15 sion considers appropriate.

16 (2) STAFF OF FEDERAL AGENCIES.—Upon re17 quest of the Commission, the head of any Federal

18 department or agency may detail, on a reimbursable

19 basis, any of the personnel of that department or

20 agency to the Commission to assist it in carrying out

21 its duties under this section.

22 (3) OBTAINING OFFICIAL DATA.—The Commis23 sion may secure directly from any department or

24 agency of the United States information necessary

25 to enable it to carry out this section. Upon request
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1 of the Chairperson of the Commission, the head of

2 that department or agency shall furnish that infor3 mation to the Commission.

4 (4) MAILS.—The Commission may use the

5 United States mails in the same manner and under

6 the same conditions as other departments and agen7 cies of the United States.

8 (5) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT SERVICES.—

9 Upon the request of the Commission, the Adminis10 trator of General Services shall provide to the Com11 mission, on a reimbursable basis, the administrative

12 support services necessary for the Commission to

13 carry out its duties under this section.

14 (6) STAFF.—The Commission may appoint per15 sonnel as it considers appropriate, subject to the

16 provisions of title 5, United States Code, governing

17 appointments in the competitive service, and shall

18 pay such personnel in accordance with the provisions

19 of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of

20 that title relating to classification and General

21 Schedule pay rates.

22 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To carry

23 out this section, there is authorized to be appropriated

24 $500,000. Such sums shall remain available until ex25 pended.
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1 (h) TERMINATION.—The Commission shall terminate

2 1 year after the date of the initial meeting of the Commis3 sion.

4 SEC. 802. LOAN GUARANTEES FOR INDIAN HOUSING.

5 Section 184(i) of the Housing and Community Devel6 opment Act of 1992 (12 U.S.C. 1715z–13a(i)) is

7 amended—

8 (1) in paragraph (5), by striking subparagraph

9 (C) and inserting the following new subparagraph:

10 ‘‘(C) LIMITATION ON OUTSTANDING AG11 GREGATE PRINCIPAL AMOUNT.—Subject to the

12 limitations in subparagraphs (A) and (B), the

13 Secretary may enter into commitments to guar14 antee loans under this section in each fiscal

15 year with an aggregate outstanding principal

16 amount not exceeding such amount as may be

17 provided in appropriation Acts for such fiscal

18 year.’’; and

19 (2) in paragraph (7), by striking ‘‘each of fiscal

20 years 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, and 2001’’ and in21 serting ‘‘each fiscal year’’.
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1 TITLE IX—TRANSFER OF UNOC2 CUPIED AND SUBSTANDARD

3 HUD-HELD HOUSING TO

4 LOCAL GOVERNMENTS AND

5 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

6 CORPORATIONS

7 SEC. 901. TRANSFER OF UNOCCUPIED AND SUBSTANDARD

8 HUD-HELD HOUSING TO LOCAL GOVERN9 MENTS AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

10 CORPORATIONS.

11 Section 204 of the Departments of Veterans Affairs

12 and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent

13 Agencies Appropriations Act, 1997 (12 U.S.C. 1715z–

14 11a) is amended—

15 (1) by striking ‘‘FLEXIBLE AUTHORITY’’ and

16 inserting ‘‘DISPOSITION OF HUD-OWNED PROP17 ERTIES. (a) FLEXIBLE AUTHORITY FOR MULTI18 FAMILY PROJECTS.—’’; and

19 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub20 section:

21 ‘‘(b) TRANSFER OF UNOCCUPIED AND SUBSTANDARD

22 HOUSING TO LOCAL GOVERNMENTS AND COMMUNITY

23 DEVELOPMENT CORPORATIONS.—

24 ‘‘(1) TRANSFER AUTHORITY.—Notwithstanding

25 the authority under subsection (a) and the last sen-
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1 tence of section 204(g) of the National Housing Act

2 (12 U.S.C. 1710(g)), the Secretary of Housing and

3 Urban Development shall transfer ownership of any

4 qualified HUD property to a unit of general local

5 government having jurisdiction for the area in which

6 the property is located or to a community develop7 ment corporation which operates within such a unit

8 of general local government in accordance with this

9 subsection, but only to the extent that units of gen10 eral local government and community development

11 corporations consent to transfer and the Secretary

12 determines that such transfer is practicable.

13 ‘‘(2) QUALIFIED HUD PROPERTIES.—For pur14 poses of this subsection, the term ‘qualified HUD

15 property’ means any property that is owned by the

16 Secretary and is—

17 ‘‘(A) an unoccupied multifamily housing

18 project;

19 ‘‘(B) a substandard multifamily housing

20 project; or

21 ‘‘(C) an unoccupied single family property

22 that—

23 ‘‘(i) has been determined by the Sec24 retary not to be an eligible property under
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1 section 204(h) of the National Housing

2 Act (12 U.S.C. 1710(h)); or

3 ‘‘(ii) is an eligible property under such

4 section 204(h), but—

5 ‘‘(I) is not subject to a specific

6 sale agreement under such section;

7 and

8 ‘‘(II) has been determined by the

9 Secretary to be inappropriate for con10 tinued inclusion in the program under

11 such section 204(h) pursuant to para12 graph (10) of such section.

13 ‘‘(3) TIMING.—The Secretary shall establish

14 procedures that provide for—

15 ‘‘(A) time deadlines for transfers under

16 this subsection;

17 ‘‘(B) notification to units of general local

18 government and community development cor19 porations of qualified HUD properties in their

20 jurisdictions;

21 ‘‘(C) such units and corporations to ex22 press interest in the transfer under this sub23 section of such properties;

24 ‘‘(D) a right of first refusal for transfer of

25 qualified HUD properties to such units and cor-
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1 porations, under which the Secretary shall ac2 cept an offer to purchase such a property made

3 by such a unit or corporation during a period

4 established by the Secretary, but in the case of

5 an offer made by a community development cor6 poration only if the offer provides for purchase

7 on a cost recovery basis; and

8 ‘‘(E) a written explanation, to any unit of

9 general local government or community develop10 ment corporation making an offer to purchase

11 a qualified HUD property under this subsection

12 that is not accepted, of the reason that such

13 offer was not acceptable.

14 ‘‘(4) OTHER DISPOSITION.—With respect to

15 any qualified HUD property, if the Secretary does

16 not receive an acceptable offer to purchase the prop17 erty pursuant to the procedure established under

18 paragraph (3), the Secretary shall dispose of the

19 property to the unit of general local government in

20 which property is located or to community develop21 ment corporations located in such unit of general

22 local government on a negotiated, competitive bid, or

23 other basis, on such terms as the Secretary deems

24 appropriate.
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1 ‘‘(5) SATISFACTION OF INDEBTEDNESS.—Be2 fore transferring ownership of any qualified HUD

3 property pursuant to this subsection, the Secretary

4 shall satisfy any indebtedness incurred in connection

5 with the property to be transferred, by canceling the

6 indebtedness.

7 ‘‘(6) DETERMINATION OF STATUS OF PROP8 ERTIES.—To ensure compliance with the require9 ments of this subsection, the Secretary shall take the

10 following actions:

11 ‘‘(A) UPON ENACTMENT.—Upon the enact12 ment of the American Homeownership and Eco13 nomic Opportunity Act of 1999, the Secretary

14 shall promptly assess each residential property

15 owned by the Secretary to determine whether

16 such property is a qualified HUD property.

17 ‘‘(B) UPON ACQUISITION.—Upon acquiring

18 any residential property, the Secretary shall

19 promptly determine whether the property is a

20 qualified HUD property.

21 ‘‘(C) UPDATES.—The Secretary shall peri22 odically reassess the residential properties

23 owned by the Secretary to determine whether

24 any such properties have become qualified

25 HUD properties.
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1 ‘‘(7) TENANT LEASES.—This subsection shall

2 not affect the terms or the enforceability of any con3 tract or lease entered into with respect to any resi4 dential property before the date that such property

5 becomes a qualified HUD property.

6 ‘‘(8) USE OF PROPERTY.—Property transferred

7 under this subsection shall be used only for appro8 priate neighborhood revitalization efforts, including

9 homeownership, rental units, commercial space, and

10 parks, consistent with local zoning regulations, local

11 building codes, and subdivision regulations and re12 strictions of record.

13 ‘‘(9) INAPPLICABILITY TO PROPERTIES MADE

14 AVAILABLE FOR HOMELESS.—Notwithstanding any

15 other provision of this subsection, this subsection

16 shall not apply to any properties that the Secretary

17 determines are to be made available for use by the

18 homeless pursuant to subpart E of part 291 of title

19 24, Code of Federal Regulations, during the period

20 that the properties are so available.

21 ‘‘(10) PROTECTION OF EXISTING CONTRACTS.—

22 This subsection may not be construed to alter, af23 fect, or annul any legally binding obligations entered

24 into with respect to a qualified HUD property before

25 the property becomes a qualified HUD property.
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1 ‘‘(11) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sub2 section, the following definitions shall apply:

3 ‘‘(A) COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COR4 PORATION.—The term ‘community development

5 corporation’ means a nonprofit organization

6 whose primary purpose is to promote commu7 nity development by providing housing opportu8 nities for low-income families.

9 ‘‘(B) COST RECOVERY BASIS.—The term

10 ‘cost recovery basis’ means, with respect to any

11 sale of a residential property by the Secretary,

12 that the purchase price paid by the purchaser

13 is equal to or greater than or equal to the costs

14 incurred by the Secretary in connection with

15 such property during the period beginning on

16 the date on which the Secretary acquires title to

17 the property and ending on the date on which

18 the sale is consummated.

19 ‘‘(C) MULTIFAMILY HOUSING PROJECT.—

20 The term ‘multifamily housing project’ has the

21 meaning given the term in section 203 of the

22 Housing and Community Development Amend23 ments of 1978.

24 ‘‘(D) RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY.—The term

25 ‘residential property’ means a property that is
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1 a multifamily housing project or a single family

2 property.

3 ‘‘(E) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’

4 means the Secretary of Housing and Urban De5 velopment.

6 ‘‘(F) SEVERE PHYSICAL PROBLEMS.—The

7 term ‘severe physical problems’ means, with re8 spect to a dwelling unit, that the unit—

9 ‘‘(i) lacks hot or cold piped water, a

10 flush toilet, or both a bathtub and a show11 er in the unit, for the exclusive use of that

12 unit;

13 ‘‘(ii) on not less than 3 separate occa14 sions during the preceding winter months,

15 was uncomfortably cold for a period of

16 more than 6 consecutive hours due to a

17 malfunction of the heating system for the

18 unit;

19 ‘‘(iii) has no functioning electrical

20 service, exposed wiring, any room in which

21 there is not a functioning electrical outlet,

22 or has experienced 3 or more blown fuses

23 or tripped circuit breakers during the pre24 ceding 90-day period;
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1 ‘‘(iv) is accessible through a public

2 hallway in which there are no working

3 light fixtures, loose or missing steps or

4 railings, and no elevator; or

5 ‘‘(v) has severe maintenance problems,

6 including water leaks involving the roof,

7 windows, doors, basement, or pipes or

8 plumbing fixtures, holes or open cracks in

9 walls or ceilings, severe paint peeling or

10 broken plaster, and signs of rodent infesta11 tion.

12 ‘‘(G) SINGLE FAMILY PROPERTY.—The

13 term ‘single family property’ means a 1- to 4-

14 family residence.

15 ‘‘(H) SUBSTANDARD.—The term ‘sub16 standard’ means, with respect to a multifamily

17 housing project, that 25 percent or more of the

18 dwelling units in the project have severe phys19 ical problems.

20 ‘‘(I) UNIT OF GENERAL LOCAL GOVERN21 MENT.—The term ‘unit of general local govern22 ment’ has the meaning given such term in sec23 tion 102(a) of the Housing and Community De24 velopment Act of 1974.
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1 ‘‘(J) UNOCCUPIED.—The term ‘unoccu2 pied’ means, with respect to a residential prop3 erty, that the unit of general local government

4 having jurisdiction over the area in which the

5 project is located has certified in writing that

6 the property is not inhabited.

7 ‘‘(12) REGULATIONS.—

8 ‘‘(A) INTERIM.—Not later than 30 days

9 after the date of the enactment of the American

10 Homeownership and Economic Opportunity Act

11 of 1999, the Secretary shall issue such interim

12 regulations as are necessary to carry out this

13 subsection.

14 ‘‘(B) FINAL.—Not later than 60 days after

15 the date of the enactment of the American

16 Homeownership and Economic Opportunity Act

17 of 1999, the Secretary shall issue such final

18 regulations as are necessary to carry out this

19 subsection.’’.

20 SEC. 902. TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS TO THE MULTIFAMILY

21 ASSISTED HOUSING REFORM AND AFFORD22 ABILITY ACT OF 1997.

23 (a) SECTION 8 CONTRACT RENEWAL POLICY FOR

24 FISCAL YEAR 2000 AND SUBSEQUENT YEARS.—Section

25 524 of the Multifamily Assisted Housing Reform and Af-
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1 fordability Act of 1997 (42 U.S.C. 1437 note; 111 Stat.

2 1408–1409) is amended—

3 (1) in subsection (a)(2), by inserting after

4 ‘‘Notwithstanding paragraph (1)’’ the following:

5 ‘‘and subject to section 516 of this subtitle’’;

6 (2) in subsection (a)(2)(B), by striking ‘‘and fi7 nancing’’ and inserting ‘‘and the primary financing’’;

8 and

9 (3) by inserting at the end the following new

10 subsections:

11 ‘‘(b) INAPPLICABILITY TO PROJECTS SUBJECT TO

12 RESTRUCTURING.—This section shall not apply to

13 projects restructured under this subtitle.

14 ‘‘(c) SAVINGS PROVISIONS.—Upon the repeal of this

15 subtitle pursuant to section 579, the provisions of sections

16 512(2) and 516 (as in effect immediately before such re17 peal) shall apply with respect to this section.’’.

18 (b) REPEAL OF CONTRACT RENEWAL AUTHORITY

19 UNDER SECTION 405(a).—Section 405(a) of the Balanced

20 Budget Downpayment Act, I (42 U.S.C. 1437f note; 110

21 Stat. 44–45), is hereby repealed.

22 (c) EXEMPTIONS FROM RESTRUCTURING.—Section

23 514(h)(1) of the Multifamily Assisted Housing Reform

24 and Affordability Act of 1997 (42 U.S.C. 1437 note; 111

25 Stat. 1396) is amended to read as follows:
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1 ‘‘(1) the primary financing for the project was

2 provided by a unit of State government or a unit of

3 general local government (or an agency or instru4 mentality of either) and the primary financing in5 volves mortgage insurance under the National Hous6 ing Act, such that implementation of a mortgage re7 structuring and rental assistance sufficiency plan

8 under this Act would be in conflict with applicable

9 law or agreements governing such financing;’’.

10 (d) MANDATORY RENEWAL OF PROJECT-BASED AS11 SISTANCE.—Section 515(c)(1) of the Multifamily Assisted

12 Housing Reform and Affordability Act of 1997 (42 U.S.C.

13 1437 note; 111 Stat. 1397) is amended by inserting ‘‘or’’

14 after the semicolon at the end of subparagraph (B).

15 (e) PARTIAL PAYMENTS OF CLAIMS.—Section 541 of

16 the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1735f–19) is

17 amended—

18 (1) by striking ‘‘1978 or’’ and inserting ‘‘1978)

19 or’’; and

20 (2) by striking ‘‘)))’’ and inserting ‘‘))’’.
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1 TITLE X—PRIVATE MORTGAGE

2 INSURANCE CANCELLATION

3 AND TERMINATION

4 SEC. 1001. TREATMENT OF ADJUSTABLE RATE MORT5 GAGES.

6 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 2 of the Homeowners

7 Protection Act of 1998 (12 U.S.C. 4901) is amended—

8 (1) in paragraph (2)(B), by striking clause (i)

9 and inserting the following new clause:

10 ‘‘(i) is scheduled to reach 80 percent

11 of the original value of the property secur12 ing the loan, based solely on the amortiza13 tion schedule then in effect and irrespec14 tive of the outstanding balance for that

15 mortgage on that date; or’’;

16 (2) in paragraph (12), by striking ‘‘primary’’

17 and inserting ‘‘principal’’;

18 (3) in paragraph (13), by striking ‘‘primary’’

19 and inserting ‘‘principal’’;

20 (4) in paragraph (16), by striking subpara21 graph (B) and inserting the following new subpara22 graph:

23 ‘‘(B) with respect to an adjustable rate

24 mortgage, the date on which the principal bal25 ance of the mortgage is scheduled to reach 78
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1 percent of the original value of the property se2 curing the loan, based solely on the amortiza3 tion schedule then in effect and irrespective of

4 the outstanding balance for that mortgage on

5 that date.’’;

6 (5) by redesignating paragraphs (2) through

7 (16), as amended by the preceding provisions of this

8 subsection, as paragraphs (3) through (17), respec9 tively; and

10 (6) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol11 lowing new paragraph:

12 ‘‘(2) AMORTIZATION SCHEDULE.—The term

13 ‘amortization schedule’ means, with respect to an

14 adjustable rate mortgage, the schedule that is cre15 ated at the time a residential mortgage transaction

16 is consummated and the schedule established with

17 respect to each subsequent change date, which the

18 mortgagee uses to determine the amount of principal

19 and interest that is due at regular intervals to retire

20 the balance and accrued interest over the remaining

21 amortization period of the loan. Such amortization

22 schedules shall be prepared at such times as the

23 mortgagor’s interest rate or payment is calculated or

24 recalculated under, and in accordance with, the cal25 culation methodology set forth in the credit terms to
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1 which the parties to the mortgage are legally bound,

2 and taking into account, if applicable under such

3 credit terms, the actual outstanding balance of the

4 mortgage (including any prepayments of or additions

5 to principal) at the time of the recalculation. The

6 amortization schedule developed at the time of the

7 most recent interest rate change or payment recal8 culation will be the only amortization schedule used

9 to determine whether the loan will reach the can10 cellation date, termination date, or the date estab11 lished in section 3(g)(1)(B)(ii) before the next pay12 ment recalculation or interest rate change date.’’.

13 (b) EXCEPTIONS FOR HIGH RISK LOANS.—Section

14 3(f)(1)(B) of the Homeowners Protection Act of 1998 (12

15 U.S.C. 4902(f)(1)(B)) is amended by striking clause (ii)

16 and inserting the following new clause:

17 ‘‘(ii) with respect to an adjustable

18 rate mortgage, on the date on which the

19 principal balance of the mortgage is sched20 uled to reach 77 percent of the original

21 value of the property securing the loan,

22 based solely on the amortization schedule

23 then in effect and irrespective of the out24 standing balance for that mortgage on that

25 date.’’.
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1 SEC. 1002. TREATMENT OF CERTAIN MODIFICATIONS.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3 of the Homeowners

3 Protection Act of 1998 (12 U.S.C. 4902) is amended—

4 (1) by redesignating subsections (d) through (f)

5 as subsections (e) through (g), respectively; and

6 (2) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol7 lowing new subsection:

8 ‘‘(d) TREATMENT OF MODIFICATIONS.—The termi9 nation date, cancellation date, and date upon which final

10 termination is reached with regard to residential mortgage

11 transactions may be reset, at the option of the mortgagee,

12 if the mortgagor and mortgagee agree to a modification

13 to the terms of the note or mortgage. The mortgagee will

14 reset the termination date, cancellation date, and final ter15 mination according to subsections (a), (b), and (c) using

16 the modified terms of the note. A recording of the modified

17 mortgage or note is not required under this subsection.’’.

18 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 4(a) of

19 the Homeowners Protection Act of 1998 (12 U.S.C.

20 4903(a)) is amended—

21 (1) in paragraph (1)—

22 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph

23 (A), by striking ‘‘section 3(f)(1)’’ and inserting

24 ‘‘section 3(g)(1)’’;
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1 (B) in subparagraph (A)(ii)(IV), by strik2 ing ‘‘section 3(f)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 3(g)’’;

3 and

4 (C) in subparagraph (B)(iii), by striking

5 ‘‘section 3(f)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 3(g)’’; and

6 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘section

7 3(f)(1)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 3(g)(1)’’.

8 SEC. 1003. RESIDENTIAL MORTGAGES AND RESIDENTIAL

9 MORTGAGE TRANSACTIONS.

10 (a) TERMINATION OF PRIVATE MORTGAGE INSUR11 ANCE.—Section 3 of the Homeowners Protection Act of

12 1998 (12 U.S.C. 4902) is amended—

13 (1) in subsection (c), by inserting ‘‘on residen14 tial mortgage transactions’’ after ‘‘imposed’’; and

15 (2) in subsection (g) (as so redesignated by sec16 tion 1002(a)(1) of this Act)—

17 (A) in paragraph (1), in the matter pre18 ceding subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘mort19 gage or’’;

20 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘mort21 gage or’’; and

22 (C) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘mort23 gage or’’ and inserting ‘‘residential mortgage or

24 residential’’.
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1 (b) DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS.—Section 4(a) of

2 the Homeowners Protection Act of 1998 (12 U.S.C.

3 4903(a)) is amended—

4 (1) in paragraph (1)—

5 (A) by striking ‘‘mortgage or’’ the first

6 place it appears; and

7 (B) by striking ‘‘mortgage or’’ the second

8 place it appears and inserting ‘‘residential’’;

9 and

10 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘mortgage or’’

11 and inserting ‘‘residential’’.

12 (c) DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS FOR LENDER-PAID

13 MORTGAGE INSURANCE.—Section 6 of the Homeowners

14 Protection Act of 1998 (12 U.S.C. 4905) is amended—

15 (1) in subsection (c)—

16 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1),

17 by striking ‘‘a residential mortgage or’’;

18 (B) in paragraph (1)(B), by inserting

19 ‘‘transaction’’ after ‘‘residential mortgage’’ each

20 place it appears; and

21 (C) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘trans22 action’’ after ‘‘residential mortgage’’; and

23 (2) in subsection (d), by inserting ‘‘transaction’’

24 after ‘‘residential mortgage’’.
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1 SEC. 1004. CLARIFICATION OF STATUS OF BALLOON MORT2 GAGE FINANCING.

3 Section 2(1) of the Homeowners Protection Act of

4 1998 (12 U.S.C. 4901(1)) is amended by adding at the

5 end the following new sentence: ‘‘A residential mortgage

6 that does not fully amortize over the term of the obligation

7 and contains a conditional right to refinance the

8 unamortized principal at the end of the term shall be con9 sidered to be an adjustable rate mortgage for purposes

10 of this Act on the basis of the rate change that may occur

11 at the end of the term if the borrower exercises the condi12 tional right to refinance.’’.

13 SEC. 1005. DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS.

14 (a) INCLUSION IN OTHER ANNUAL NOTICES.—Sec15 tion 4(c) of the Homeowners Protection Act of 1998 (12

16 U.S.C. 4903(c)) is amended by striking ‘‘subsection (b)

17 and paragraphs (1)(B) and (3) of subsection (a)’’ and in18 serting ‘‘subsections (a)(3) and (b)’’.

19 (b) STANDARDIZED FORMS.—Section 4(d) of the

20 Homeowners Protection Act of 1998 (12 U.S.C. 4903(d))

21 is amended by inserting before the period at the end the

22 following: ‘‘, which disclosures shall relate to the mortga23 gor’s rights under this Act’’.

Æ