I 
112TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3325 
To create livable communities through coordinated public investment and 
streamlined requirements, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 2, 2011 
Mr. PERLMUTTER (for himself, Mr. MORAN, Mr. AL GREEN of Texas, Ms. 
WATERS, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mrs. CAPPS, Mr. SIRES, Mr. BLU-
MENAUER, Mr. LARSON of Connecticut, Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. FILNER, and 
Mr. QUIGLEY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committees on 
Transportation and Infrastructure and Energy and Commerce, for a pe-
riod to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for con-
sideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the com-
mittee concerned 
A BILL 
To create livable communities through coordinated public 
investment and streamlined requirements, and for other 
purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Livable Communities 
Act of 2011’’. 
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) When rural, suburban, and urban commu-
nities plan transportation, housing, and water infra-
structure strategically it is estimated that these com-
munities could save nearly $122,000,000,000 in in-
frastructure costs over the next 25 years. 
(2) Key Federal programs are missing a vital 
opportunity to boost economic growth at the local 
and regional level through better coordination of 
housing, transportation, and related infrastructure 
investments. 
(3) Federal regulations and policies should sup-
port community efforts to implement and sustain 
progress toward the achievement of locally defined 
development goals, in terms of— 
(A) geographic location and proximity to 
existing resources; and 
(B) maintaining structural and indoor en-
vironmental quality and minimizing health haz-
ards. 
(4) Greater coordination of public investment 
will provide direct support for immediate job cre-
ation and lay the groundwork for long-term resil-
ience and prosperity by leveraging significant private 
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sector and philanthropic investment to make the 
most of Federal funding. 
SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 
The purposes of this Act are— 
(1) to strengthen rural, suburban, and urban 
economies by enabling communities to establish 
goals for the future and to chart a course for achiev-
ing such goals; 
(2) to promote local leadership by encouraging 
communities to develop innovative solutions that re-
flect the unique economic assets and needs of the 
communities; 
(3) to maximize returns on Federal funding of 
housing, transportation, and other infrastructure 
projects through the coordination of Federal grant 
programs, regulations, and requirements, by reduc-
ing the number of duplicative Federal programs and 
improving the efficiency and effectiveness of pro-
grams and policies of the Department of Housing 
and Urban Development, the Department of Trans-
portation, the Environmental Protection Agency, 
and other Federal agencies, as appropriate; and 
(4) to ensure that Federal funding supports lo-
cally defined long range development goals. 
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SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act, the following definitions shall apply: 
(1) AFFORDABLE HOUSING.—The term ‘‘afford-
able housing’’ means housing, the cost of which does 
not exceed 30 percent of the income of a family. 
(2) COMPREHENSIVE
REGIONAL
PLAN.—The 
term ‘‘comprehensive regional plan’’ means a plan 
that— 
(A) uses a cooperative, locally controlled 
and inclusive public engagement process to 
identify needs and goals across a region and to 
integrate related planning processes; 
(B) prioritizes projects for implementation, 
including healthy housing projects; and 
(C) is tied to short-term capital improve-
ment programs and annual budgets. 
(3) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 
means the Department of Housing and Urban De-
velopment. 
(4) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 
the Director of the Office of Sustainable Housing 
and Communities established under section 5. 
(5) EXTREMELY
LOW-INCOME
FAMILY.—The 
term ‘‘extremely low-income family’’ means a family 
that has an income that does not exceed— 
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