and thereby contribute to the supply of affordable housing,
by—
(1) deregulating and decontrolling public hous-
ing agencies, thereby enabling them to perform as
property and asset managers;
(2) providing for more flexible use of Federal as-
sistance to public housing agencies, allowing the au-
thorities to leverage and combine assistance amounts
with amounts obtained from other sources;
(3) facilitating mixed income communities;
(4) increasing accountability and rewarding ef-
fective management of public housing agencies;
(5) creating incentives and economic opportuni-
ties for residents of dwelling units assisted by public
housing agencies to work, become self-sufficient, and
transition out of public housing and federally assisted
dwelling units;
(6) recreating the existing rental assistance
voucher program so that the use of vouchers and rela-
tionships between landlords and tenants under the
program operate in a manner that more closely re-
sembles the private housing market; and
(7) remedying troubled public housing agencies
and replacing or revitalizing severely distressed pub-
lic housing developments.
SEC. 102. DEFINITIONS.
For purposes of this Act, the following definitions shall
apply:
(1) ACQUISITION COST.—When used in reference
to public housing, the term ‘‘acquisition cost’’ means
the amount prudently expended by a public housing
agency in acquiring property for a public housing de-
velopment.
(2) DEVELOPMENT.—The terms ‘‘public housing
development’’ and ‘‘development’’ (when used in ref-
erence to public housing) mean—
(A) public housing; and
(B) the improvement of any such housing.
(3) DISABLED
FAMILY.—The term ‘‘disabled
family’’ means a family whose head (or his or her
spouse), or whose sole member, is a person with dis-
abilities. Such term includes 2 or more persons with
disabilities living together, and 1 or more such per-
sons living with 1 or more persons determined under
the regulations of the Secretary to be essential to their
care or well-being.
(4) DRUG-RELATED
CRIMINAL
ACTIVITY.—The
term ‘‘drug-related criminal activity’’ means the ille-
gal manufacture, sale, distribution, use, or possession
with intent to manufacture, sell, distribute, or use, of
a controlled substance (as such term is defined in sec-
tion 102 of the Controlled Substances Act).
(5) EFFECTIVE
DATE.—The term ‘‘effective
date’’, when used in reference to this Act, means the
effective date determined under section 601(a).
(6) ELDERLY
FAMILIES
AND
NEAR
ELDERLY
FAMILIES.—The terms ‘‘elderly family’’ and ‘‘near-el-
derly family’’ mean a family whose head (or his or
her spouse), or whose sole member, is an elderly per-
son or a near-elderly person, respectively. Such terms
include 2 or more elderly persons or near-elderly per-
sons living together, and 1 or more such persons liv-
ing with 1 or more persons determined under the reg-
ulations of the Secretary to be essential to their care
or well-being.
(7) ELDERLY PERSON.—The term ‘‘elderly per-
son’’ means a person who is at least 62 years of age.
(8) ELIGIBLE
PUBLIC
HOUSING
AGENCY.—The
term ‘‘eligible public housing agency’’ means, with re-
spect to a fiscal year, a public housing agency that
is eligible under section 202(d) for a grant under this
title.
(9) FAMILY.—The term ‘‘family’’ includes a fam-
ily with or without children, an elderly family, a
near-elderly family, a disabled family, and a single
person.
(10) GROUP
HOME
AND
INDEPENDENT
LIVING
FACILITY.—The terms ‘‘group home’’ and ‘‘independ-
ent living facility’’ have the meanings given such
terms in section 811(k) of the Cranston-Gonzalez Na-
tional Affordable Housing Act.
(11) INCOME.—The term ‘‘income’’ means, with
respect to a family, income from all sources of each
member of the household, as determined in accordance
with criteria prescribed by the applicable public hous-
ing agency and the Secretary, except that the follow-
ing amounts shall be excluded:
(A) Any amounts not actually received by
the family.
(B) Any amounts that would be eligible for
exclusion under section 1613(a)(7) of the Social
Security Act.
(12) LOCAL HOUSING MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The
term ‘‘local housing management plan’’ means, with
respect to any fiscal year, the plan under section 106
of a public housing agency for such fiscal year.
(13) LOW-INCOME FAMILY.—The term ‘‘low-in-
come family’’ means a family whose income does not
exceed 80 percent of the median income for the area,
as determined by the Secretary with adjustments for
smaller and larger families, except that the Secretary
may, for purposes of this paragraph, establish income
ceilings higher or lower than 80 percent of the median
for the area on the basis of the public housing agen-
cy’s findings that such variations are necessary be-
cause of unusually high or low family incomes.
(14) LOW-INCOME HOUSING.—The term ‘‘low-in-
come housing’’ means dwellings that comply with the
requirements—
(A) under title II for assistance under such
title for the dwellings; or
(B) under title III for rental assistance
payments under such title for the dwellings.
(15) NEAR-ELDERLY PERSON.—The term ‘‘near-
elderly person’’ means a person who is at least 55
years of age.
(16) OPERATION.—When used in reference to
public housing, the term ‘‘operation’’ means any or
all undertakings appropriate for management, oper-
ation, services, maintenance, security (including the
cost of security personnel), or financing in connection
with a public housing development, including the fi-
nancing of resident programs and services.
(17) PERSON
WITH
DISABILITIES.—The term
‘‘person with disabilities’’ means a person who—
(A) has a disability as defined in section
223 of the Social Security Act,
(B) is determined, pursuant to regulations
issued by the Secretary, to have a physical, men-
tal, or emotional impairment which (i) is ex-
pected to be of long-continued and indefinite du-
ration, (ii) substantially impedes his or her abil-
ity to live independently, and (iii) is of such a
nature that such ability could be improved by
more suitable housing conditions, or
(C) has a developmental disability as de-
fined in section 102 of the Developmental Dis-
abilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act.
Such term shall not exclude persons who have the dis-
ease of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome or any
conditions arising from the etiologic agent for ac-
quired immunodeficiency syndrome. Notwithstanding
any other provision of law, no individual shall be
considered a person with disabilities, for purposes of
eligibility for public housing under title II of this Act,
solely on the basis of any drug or alcohol dependence.
The Secretary shall consult with other appropriate
Federal agencies to implement the preceding sentence.