I

107TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1221

To expand the Officer Next Door and Teacher Next Door initiatives of

the Department of Housing and Urban Development to include fire

fighters and rescue personnel, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 27, 2001

Mr. BACA introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee

on Financial Services

A BILL

To expand the Officer Next Door and Teacher Next Door

initiatives of the Department of Housing and Urban

Development to include fire fighters and rescue personnel, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Community Partners

5 Neighborhood Preservation Act of 2001’’.

6 SEC. 2. COMMUNITY PARTNERS NEXT DOOR PROGRAM.

7 (a) CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS.—The Congress finds

8 that—
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1 (1) teachers, law enforcement officers, fire

2 fighters, and rescue personnel help form the back3 bones of communities and are integral components

4 in the social capital of neighborhoods in the United

5 States; and

6 (2) providing a discounted purchase price on

7 HUD-owned properties for teachers, law enforce8 ment officers, fire fighters, and rescue personnel rec9 ognizes the intrinsic value of the services provided by

10 such employees to their communities and to family

11 life and encourages and rewards those who are dedi12 cated to providing public service in our most needy

13 communities.

14 (b) DISCOUNT AND DOWNPAYMENT ASSISTANCE FOR

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

16 (12 U.S.C. 1710(h)) is amended—

17 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (7) through

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

19 and

20 (2) by inserting after paragraph (6) the fol21 lowing new paragraph:

22 ‘‘(7) 50 PERCENT DISCOUNT FOR TEACHERS

23 AND PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICERS PURCHASING PROP24 ERTIES THAT ARE ELIGIBLE ASSETS.—
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1 ‘‘(A) DISCOUNT.—A property that is an el2 igible asset and is sold, during fiscal years 2000

3 through 2004, to a teacher or public safety offi4 cer for use in accordance with subparagraph

5 (B) shall be sold at a price that is equal to 50

6 percent of the appraised value of the eligible

7 property (as determined in accordance with

8 paragraph (6)(B)). In the case of a property el9 igible for both a discount under this paragraph

10 and a discount under paragraph (6), the dis11 count under paragraph (6) shall not apply.

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

13 property sold pursuant to a discount under this

14 paragraph shall be used, for not less than the

15 3-year period beginning upon such sale, as the

16 primary residence of a teacher or public safety

17 officer.

18 ‘‘(C) SALE METHODS.—The Secretary may

19 sell an eligible property pursuant to a discount

20 under this paragraph—

21 ‘‘(i) to a unit of general local govern22 ment or nonprofit organization (pursuant

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

24 or transfer to a teacher or public safety of25 ficer; or
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1 ‘‘(ii) directly to a purchaser who is a

2 teacher or public safety officer.

3 ‘‘(D) RESALE.—In the case of any pur4 chase by a unit of general local government or

5 nonprofit organization of an eligible property

6 sold at a discounted price under this paragraph,

7 the sale agreement under paragraph (8) shall—

8 ‘‘(i) require the purchasing unit of

9 general local government or nonprofit or10 ganization to provide the full benefit of the

11 discount to the teacher or public safety of12 ficer obtaining the property; and

13 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a purchase involv14 ing multiple eligible assets, any of which is

15 such an eligible property, designate the

16 specific eligible property or properties to be

17 subject to the requirements of subpara18 graph (B).

19 ‘‘(E) MORTGAGE DOWNPAYMENT ASSIST20 ANCE.—If a teacher or public safety officer pur21 chases an eligible property pursuant to a dis22 counted sale price under this paragraph and fi23 nances such purchase through a mortgage in24 sured under this title, notwithstanding any pro-
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1 vision of section 203 the downpayment on such

2 mortgage shall be $100.

3 ‘‘(F) PREVENTION OF UNDUE PROFIT.—

4 The Secretary shall issue regulations to prevent

5 undue profit from the resale of eligible prop6 erties in violation of the requirement under sub7 paragraph (B).

8 ‘‘(G) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of

9 this paragraph, the following definitions shall

10 apply:

11 ‘‘(i) The terms ‘elementary school’

12 and ‘secondary school’ have the meanings

13 given such terms in section 14101 of the

14 Elementary and Secondary Education Act

15 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 8801), except that, for

16 purposes of this paragraph, elementary

17 education (as used in such section) shall

18 include pre-Kindergarten education.

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

20 means an eligible asset described in para21 graph (2)(A) of this subsection.

22 ‘‘(iii) The term ‘public safety officer’

23 means an individual who is employed on a

24 full-time basis as a public safety officer, as

25 such term is defined in section 1204 of the
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1 Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets

2 Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796b).

3 ‘‘(iv) The term ‘teacher’ means an in4 dividual who is employed on a full-time

5 basis, in an elementary or secondary

6 school, as a State-certified or State-li7 censed classroom teacher or as an adminis8 trator.’’.

9 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 204(h) of

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

11 amended—

12 (1) in paragraph (4)(B)(ii), by striking ‘‘para13 graph (7)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph (8)’’;

14 (2) in paragraph (5)(B)(i), by striking ‘‘para15 graph (7)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph (8)’’; and

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

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

18 (d) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 90 days after the

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

20 regulations to implement the amendments made by this

21 section.
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1 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING INCLUSION OF

2 OTHER FEDERAL PROPERTIES IN COMMU3 NITY PARTNERS NEXT DOOR PROGRAM.

4 It is the sense of the Congress that the Secretary of

5 Housing and Urban Development should consult with the

6 heads of other agencies of the Federal Government that

7 own or hold properties appropriate for use as housing to

8 determine the possibility and effectiveness of including

9 such properties in the program pursuant to section

10 204(h)(7) of the National Housing Act, and other pro11 grams that make housing available for law enforcement

12 officers, teachers, or fire fighters.

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