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(i) include a resident management cor-
poration or resident management organiza-
tion and, as determined by the Secretary, a
public or private nonprofit organization
sponsored by the public housing agency that
owns the development; and
(ii) not include the public housing
agency that owns the development.
(B) FOR-PROFIT ENTITY.—A for-profit en-
tity that has demonstrated experience in provid-
ing low-income housing.
(C) STATE
OR
LOCAL
GOVERNMENT.—A
State or local government, including an agency
or instrumentality thereof.
(D) PUBLIC
HOUSING
AGENCY.—A public
housing agency (other than the public housing
agency that owns the development).
The term does not include a resident council.
(2) MANAGER.—The term ‘‘manager’’ means any
eligible management entity that has entered into a
contract under this section with the Secretary for the
management of specified housing.
(3) NONPROFIT.—The term ‘‘nonprofit’’ means,
with respect to an organization, association, corpora-
tion, or other entity, that no part of the net earnings
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of the entity inures to the benefit of any member,
founder, contributor, or individual.
(4) PRIVATE
NONPROFIT
ORGANIZATION.—The
term ‘‘private nonprofit organization’’ means any
private organization (including a State or locally
chartered organization) that—
(A) is incorporated under State or local
law;
(B) is nonprofit in character;
(C) complies with standards of financial ac-
countability acceptable to the Secretary; and
(D) has among its purposes significant ac-
tivities related to the provision of decent housing
that is affordable to low-income families.
(5) PUBLIC HOUSING AGENCY.—The term ‘‘pub-
lic housing agency’’ has the meaning given such term
in section 103(a).
(6) PUBLIC
NONPROFIT
ORGANIZATION.—The
term ‘‘public nonprofit organization’’ means any pub-
lic entity that is nonprofit in character.
(7) SPECIFIED HOUSING.—The term ‘‘specified
housing’’ means a public housing development or de-
velopments, or a portion of a development or develop-
ments, for which the transfer of management is re-
quested under this section. The term includes one or
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more contiguous buildings and an area of contiguous
row houses, but in the case of a single building, the
building shall be sufficiently separable from the re-
mainder of the development of which it is part to
make transfer of the management of the building fea-
sible for purposes of this section.
SEC. 237. RESIDENT OPPORTUNITY PROGRAM.
(a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to en-
courage increased resident management of public housing
developments, as a means of improving existing living con-
ditions in public housing developments, by providing in-
creased flexibility for public housing developments that are
managed by residents by—
(1) permitting the retention, and use for certain
purposes, of any revenues exceeding operating and
project costs; and
(2) providing funding, from amounts otherwise
available, for technical assistance to promote forma-
tion and development of resident management enti-
ties.
For purposes of this section, the term ‘‘public housing devel-
opment’’ includes one or more contiguous buildings or an
area of contiguous row houses the elected resident councils
of which approve the establishment of a resident manage-
132
ment corporation and otherwise meet the requirements of
this section.
(b) PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.—
(1) RESIDENT COUNCIL.—As a condition of en-
tering into a resident opportunity program, the elect-
ed resident council of a public housing development
shall approve the establishment of a resident manage-
ment corporation that complies with the requirements
of section 234(b)(2). When such approval is made by
the elected resident council of a building or row house
area, the resident opportunity program shall not
interfere with the rights of other families residing in
the development or harm the efficient operation of the
development. The resident management corporation
and the resident council may be the same organiza-
tion, if the organization complies with the require-
ments applicable to both the corporation and council.
(2) PUBLIC
HOUSING
MANAGEMENT
SPECIAL-
IST.—The resident council of a public housing devel-
opment, in cooperation with the public housing agen-
cy, shall select a qualified public housing manage-
ment specialist to assist in determining the feasibility
of, and to help establish, a resident management cor-
poration and to provide training and other duties
agreed to in the daily operations of the development.
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(3) MANAGEMENT
RESPONSIBILITIES.—A resi-
dent management corporation that qualifies under
this section, and that supplies insurance and bonding
or equivalent protection sufficient to the Secretary
and the public housing agency, shall enter into a con-
tract with the agency establishing the respective man-
agement rights and responsibilities of the corporation
and the agency. The contract shall be treated as a
contracting out of services and shall be subject to the
requirements under section 235 for such contracts.
(4) ANNUAL AUDIT.—The books and records of a
resident management corporation operating a public
housing development shall be audited annually by a
certified public accountant. A written report of each
such audit shall be forwarded to the public housing
agency and the Secretary.
(c) COMPREHENSIVE IMPROVEMENT ASSISTANCE.—
Public housing developments managed by resident manage-
ment corporations may be provided with modernization as-
sistance from grant amounts under this title for purposes
of renovating such developments. If such renovation activi-
ties (including the planning and architectural design of the
rehabilitation) are administered by a resident management
corporation, the public housing agency involved may not
retain, for any administrative or other reason, any portion
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of the assistance provided pursuant to this subsection unless
otherwise provided by contract.
(d) WAIVER OF FEDERAL REQUIREMENTS.—
(1) WAIVER OF REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS.—
Upon the request of any resident management cor-
poration and public housing agency, and after notice
and an opportunity to comment is afforded to the af-
fected residents, the Secretary may waive (for both the
resident management corporation and the public
housing agency) any requirement established by the
Secretary (and not specified in any statute) that the
Secretary determines to unnecessarily increase the
costs or restrict the income of a public housing devel-
opment.
(2) WAIVER
TO
PERMIT
EMPLOYMENT.—Upon
the request of any resident management corporation,
the Secretary may, subject to applicable collective bar-
gaining agreements, permit residents of such develop-
ment to volunteer a portion of their labor.
(3) EXCEPTIONS.—The Secretary may not waive
under this subsection any requirement with respect to
income eligibility for purposes of section 222, family
rental payments under section 225, tenant or appli-
cant protections, employee organizing rights, or rights
of employees under collective bargaining agreements.
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(e) OPERATING ASSISTANCE AND DEVELOPMENT IN-
COME.—
(1) CALCULATION OF OPERATING SUBSIDY.—The
grant amounts received under this title by a public
housing agency used for operating fund activities
under section 203(a)(2) that are allocated to a public
housing development managed by a resident manage-
ment corporation shall not be less than per unit
monthly amount of such assistance used by the public
housing agency in the previous year, as determined
on an individual development basis.
(2) CONTRACT
REQUIREMENTS.—Any contract
for management of a public housing development en-
tered into by a public housing agency and a resident
management corporation shall specify the amount of
income expected to be derived from the development
itself (from sources such as rents and charges) and the
amount of income funds to be provided to the develop-
ment from the other sources of income of the agency
(such as assistance for operating activities under sec-
tion 203(a)(2), interest income, administrative fees,
and rents).
(f) RESIDENT MANAGEMENT TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
AND TRAINING.—