H. R. 2684—55
Sec. 522. Grants for conversion of elderly housing to assisted living facilities.
Sec. 523. Use of section 8 assistance for assisted living facilities.
Sec. 524. Size limitation for projects for persons with disabilities.
Sec. 525. Commission on Affordable Housing and Health Care Facility Needs in the
21st Century.
Subtitle C—Renewal of Expiring Rental Assistance Contracts and Protection of
Residents
Sec. 531. Renewal of expiring contracts and enhanced vouchers for project
residents.
Sec. 532. Section 236 assistance.
Sec. 533. Rehabilitation of assisted housing.
Sec. 534. Technical assistance.
Sec. 535. Termination of section 8 contract and duration of renewal contract.
Sec. 536. Eligibility of residents of flexible subsidy projects for enhanced vouchers.
Sec. 537. Enhanced disposition authority.
Sec. 538. Unified enhanced voucher authority.
SEC. 502. REGULATIONS.
The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall issue
any regulations to carry out this title and the amendments made
by this title that the Secretary determines may or will affect tenants
of federally assisted housing only after notice and opportunity for
public comment in accordance with the procedure under section
553 of title 5, United States Code, applicable to substantive rules
(notwithstanding subsections (a)(2), (b)(B), and (d)(3) of such sec-
tion). Notice of such proposed rulemaking shall be provided by
publication in the Federal Register. In issuing such regulations,
the Secretary shall take such actions as may be necessary to ensure
that such tenants are notified of, and provided an opportunity
to participate in, the rulemaking, as required by such section 553.
SEC. 503. EFFECTIVE DATE.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The provisions of this title and the amend-
ments made by this title are effective as of the date of the enactment
of this Act, unless such provisions or amendments specifically pro-
vide for effectiveness or applicability upon another date certain.
(b) EFFECT OF REGULATORY AUTHORITY.—Any authority in this
title or the amendments made by this title to issue regulations,
and any specific requirement to issue regulations by a date certain,
may not be construed to affect the effectiveness or applicability
of the provisions of this title or the amendments made by this
title under such provisions and amendments and subsection (a)
of this section.
Subtitle A—Authorization of Appropria-
tions for Supportive Housing for the
Elderly and Persons With Disabilities
SEC. 511. SUPPORTIVE HOUSING FOR ELDERLY PERSONS.
Section 202 of the Housing Act of 1959 (12 U.S.C. 1701q)
is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
‘‘(m) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is authorized
to be appropriated for providing assistance under this section
$710,000,000 for fiscal year 2000.’’.
SEC. 512. SUPPORTIVE HOUSING FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES.
Section 811 of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable
Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 8013) is amended—
H. R. 2684—56
(1) by redesignating subsection (m) as subsection (n); and
(2) by inserting after subsection (l) the following new sub-
section:
‘‘(m) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is authorized
to be appropriated for providing assistance under this section
$201,000,000 for fiscal year 2000.’’.
SEC. 513. SERVICE COORDINATORS AND CONGREGATE SERVICES FOR
ELDERLY AND DISABLED HOUSING.
(a) 
AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS
FOR
FEDERALLY
ASSISTED HOUSING.—There is authorized to be appropriated to the
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development $50,000,000 for fiscal
year 2000 for the following purposes:
(1) GRANTS
FOR
SERVICE
COORDINATORS
FOR
CERTAIN
FEDERALLY ASSISTED MULTIFAMILY HOUSING.—For grants under
section 676 of the Housing and Community Development Act
of 1992 (42 U.S.C. 13632) for providing service coordinators.
(2) CONGREGATE
SERVICES
FOR
FEDERALLY
ASSISTED
HOUSING.—For contracts under section 802 of the Cranston-
Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 8011)
to provide congregate services programs for eligible residents
of eligible housing projects under subparagraphs (B) through
(D) of subsection (k)(6) of such section.
(b) PUBLIC HOUSING.—There is authorized to be appropriated
to the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development such sums
as may be necessary for fiscal year 2000 for grants for use only
for activities described in paragraph (2) of section 34(b) of the
United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437z–6(b)(2)) for
renewal of all grants made in prior fiscal years for providing service
coordinators and congregate services for the elderly and disabled
in public housing.
Subtitle B—Expanding Housing Opportuni-
ties for the Elderly and Persons With
Disabilities
SEC. 521. STUDY OF DEBT FORGIVENESS FOR SECTION 202 LOANS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Housing and Urban Develop-
ment shall conduct an analysis of the net impact on the Federal
budget deficit or surplus of making available, on a one-time basis,
to sponsors of projects assisted under section 202 of the Housing
Act of 1959 (as in effect before the enactment of the Cranston-
Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act), forgiveness of any
indebtedness to the Secretary relating to any remaining principal
and interest under loans made under such section, together with
a dollar-for-dollar reduction in the amount of rental assistance
under section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 or other
rental assistance provided for such project. Such analysis shall
take into consideration the full cost of future appropriations for
rental assistance under such section 8 expected to be provided
if such debt forgiveness does not take place, notwithstanding current
budgetary treatment of such actions pursuant to the Congressional
Budget Act of 1974.
(b) REPORT.—Not later than the expiration of the 3-month
period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, the
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Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall submit a report
to the Congress containing the quantitative results of the analysis
and an enumeration of any project or administrative benefits of
such actions.
SEC. 522. GRANTS FOR CONVERSION OF ELDERLY HOUSING TO
ASSISTED LIVING FACILITIES.
Title II of the Housing Act of 1959 is amended by inserting
after section 202a (12 U.S.C. 1701q–1) the following new section:
‘‘SEC. 202b. GRANTS FOR CONVERSION OF ELDERLY HOUSING TO
ASSISTED LIVING FACILITIES.
‘‘(a) GRANT AUTHORITY.—The Secretary of Housing and Urban
Development may make grants in accordance with this section
to owners of eligible projects described in subsection (b) for one
or both of the following activities:
‘‘(1) REPAIRS.—Substantial capital repairs to projects that
are needed to rehabilitate, modernize, or retrofit aging struc-
tures, common areas, or individual dwelling units.
‘‘(2) CONVERSION.—Activities designed to convert dwelling
units in the eligible project to assisted living facilities for elderly
persons.
‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE PROJECTS.—An eligible project described in this
subsection is a multifamily housing project that is—
‘‘(1)(A) described in subparagraph (B), (C), (D), (E), (F),
or (G) of section 683(2) of the Housing and Community Develop-
ment Act of 1992 (42 U.S.C. 13641(2)), or (B) only to the
extent amounts of the Department of Agriculture are made
available to the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
for such grants under this section for such projects, subject
to a loan made or insured under section 515 of the Housing
Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1485);
‘‘(2) owned by a private nonprofit organization (as such
term is defined in section 202); and
‘‘(3) designated primarily for occupancy by elderly persons.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this subsection or this sec-
tion, an unused or underutilized commercial property may be
considered an eligible project under this subsection, except that
the Secretary may not provide grants under this section for more
than three such properties. For any such projects, any reference
under this section to dwelling units shall be considered to refer
to the premises of such properties.
‘‘(c) APPLICATIONS.—Applications for grants under this section
shall be submitted to the Secretary in accordance with such proce-
dures as the Secretary shall establish. Such applications shall
contain—
‘‘(1) a description of the substantial capital repairs or the
proposed conversion activities for which a grant under this
section is requested;
‘‘(2) the amount of the grant requested to complete the
substantial capital repairs or conversion activities;
‘‘(3) a description of the resources that are expected to
be made available, if any, in conjunction with the grant under
this section; and
‘‘(4) such other information or certifications that the
Secretary determines to be necessary or appropriate.
‘‘(d) FUNDING FOR SERVICES.—The Secretary may not make
a grant under this section for conversion activities unless the
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application contains sufficient evidence, in the determination of
the Secretary, of firm commitments for the funding of services
to be provided in the assisted living facility, which may be provided
by third parties.
‘‘(e) SELECTION CRITERIA.—The Secretary shall select applica-
tions for grants under this section based upon selection criteria,
which shall be established by the Secretary and shall include—
‘‘(1) in the case of a grant for substantial capital repairs,
the extent to which the project to be repaired is in need of
such repair, including such factors as the age of improvements
to be repaired, and the impact on the health and safety of
residents of failure to make such repairs;
‘‘(2) in the case of a grant for conversion activities, the
extent to which the conversion is likely to provide assisted
living facilities that are needed or are expected to be needed
by the categories of elderly persons that the assisted living
facility is intended to serve, with a special emphasis on very
low-income elderly persons who need assistance with activities
of daily living;
‘‘(3) the inability of the applicant to fund the repairs or
conversion activities from existing financial resources, as evi-
denced by the applicant’s financial records, including assets
in the applicant’s residual receipts account and reserves for
replacement account;
‘‘(4) the extent to which the applicant has evidenced
community support for the repairs or conversion, by such indica-
tors as letters of support from the local community for the
repairs or conversion and financial contributions from public
and private sources;
‘‘(5) in the case of a grant for conversion activities, the
extent to which the applicant demonstrates a strong commit-
ment to promoting the autonomy and independence of the
elderly persons that the assisted living facility is intended
to serve;
‘‘(6) in the case of a grant for conversion activities, the
quality, completeness, and managerial capability of providing
the services which the assisted living facility intends to provide
to elderly residents, especially in such areas as meals, 24-
hour staffing, and on-site health care; and
‘‘(7) such other criteria as the Secretary determines to
be appropriate to ensure that funds made available under this
section are used effectively.
‘‘(f ) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this section—
‘‘(1) the term ‘assisted living facility’ has the meaning given
such term in section 232(b) of the National Housing Act (12
U.S.C. 1715w(b)); and
‘‘(2) the definitions in section 202(k) shall apply.
‘‘(g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is authorized
to be appropriated for providing grants under this section such
sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 2000.’’.
SEC. 523. USE OF SECTION 8 ASSISTANCE FOR ASSISTED LIVING
FACILITIES.
(a) VOUCHER ASSISTANCE.—Section 8(o) of the United States
Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)) is amended by adding
at the end the following new paragraph:
‘‘(18) RENTAL ASSISTANCE FOR ASSISTED LIVING FACILITIES.—