I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4756 
To establish an Office of Housing Innovation in the Department of Housing 
and Urban Development to assist in exploring and developing new ap-
proaches for increasing and diversifying the supply of housing and for 
meeting the challenges of housing shortages, housing affordability, and 
traffic congestion, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 18, 2019 
Mr. DESAULNIER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Financial Services 
A BILL 
To establish an Office of Housing Innovation in the Depart-
ment of Housing and Urban Development to assist in 
exploring and developing new approaches for increasing 
and diversifying the supply of housing and for meeting 
the challenges of housing shortages, housing afford-
ability, and traffic congestion, 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 ‘‘Housing Innovation 
Act of 2019’’. 
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds that— 
(1) housing should be considered a critical com-
ponent of our national infrastructure; 
(2) existing shortages of affordable housing op-
tions in many regions are contributing to long com-
mutes, financial stress, environmental pollution, and 
public health risk; 
(3) new approaches in the planning, design, and 
construction of housing need to be explored for di-
versifying housing options available to the workforce; 
and 
(4) greater coordination of existing Federal re-
sources across agencies could significantly expand 
and diversify the supply of housing. 
SEC. 3. OFFICE OF HOUSING INNOVATION; ASSISTANT SEC-
RETARY. 
(a) ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR HOUSING INNOVA-
TION.—Section 4(a) of the Department of Housing and 
Urban Development Act (42 U.S.C. 3533(a)) is amended: 
(1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘7 Assistant 
Secretaries’’ and inserting ‘‘9 Assistant Secretaries’’; 
and 
(2) by adding at the end the following new sub-
section: 
‘‘(i) OFFICE OF HOUSING INNOVATION.— 
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‘‘(1) ASSISTANT SECRETARY.—There shall be in 
the Department an Assistant Secretary for Housing 
Innovation, who shall be appointed by the President. 
‘‘(2) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in 
the Department the Office of Housing Innovation, 
which shall be headed by the Assistant Secretary for 
Housing Innovation. 
‘‘(3) FUNCTIONS.—The Assistant Secretary of 
Housing Innovation shall have primary responsibility 
within the Department for— 
‘‘(A) accumulating and disseminating in-
formation regarding innovative practices and 
successful case studies of new approaches for 
increasing and diversifying the supply of hous-
ing, especially in urban metropolitan regions 
and surrounding rural regions that are facing 
challenges of housing shortages, housing afford-
ability, and traffic congestion; 
‘‘(B) carrying out activities, including ad-
ministering the grant programs under the 
Housing Innovation Act of 2019, to encourage 
partnerships in exploring and developing inno-
vative solutions to the challenges to housing 
supply referred to in subparagraph (A); 
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‘‘(C) coordinating with other offices within 
the Department, including the Office of Hous-
ing, the Office of Policy Development and Re-
search, and the Office of Community Planning 
and Development, and other Federal agencies, 
including the Department of Transportation, to 
recommend policies that address workforce 
housing needs; and 
‘‘(D) providing technical assistance to local 
governments in undertaking or preparing for 
planning and policy reforms to increase housing 
units and housing supply diversity. 
‘‘(4) DETAILEES.—The Secretary shall ensure 
that the staff of the Office of Housing Innovation 
includes, at all times— 
‘‘(A) two detailees from the Department of 
Transportation, who shall include— 
‘‘(i) one having expertise in transit 
issues or active transportation issues, or 
both; and 
‘‘(ii) one from the Build America Bu-
reau having expertise on the Transpor-
tation Infrastructure Finance and Innova-
tion Act (TIFIA) program and the Rail-
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road Rehabilitation and Improvement Fi-
nancing (RRIF) program; 
‘‘(B) one detailee from the Environmental 
Protection Agency having expertise on the pub-
lic health impacts of housing and community 
development; and 
‘‘(C) one detailee from the Department of 
Energy having expertise on renewable energy 
and energy efficiency upgrades for low- and 
moderate-income communities. 
The Secretary shall consult with the heads of the 
agencies referred to in this paragraph to provide for 
such details and such details shall be made on a re-
imbursable basis.’’. 
(b) AMENDMENTS
TO TITLE 5, UNITED STATES 
CODE.— 
(1) POSITIONS
AT
LEVEL
IV
OF
EXECUTIVE 
SCHEDULE.—Section 5315 of title 5, United States 
Code, is amended in the undesignated item relating 
to Assistant Secretaries of Housing and Urban De-
velopment by striking ‘‘(8)’’ and inserting ‘‘(9)’’. 
(c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Paragraph (1) of 
section 4(a) of the Department of Housing and Urban De-
velopment Act (42 U.S.C. 3533(a)(1)) is amended by 
striking ‘‘7’’ and inserting ‘‘8’’. 
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(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 
authorized to be appropriated for necessary salaries and 
expenses of the Office of Housing Innovation of the De-
partment 
of 
Housing 
and 
Urban 
Development 
$50,000,000 for fiscal year 2020 and each fiscal year 
thereafter. 
SEC. 4. GRANTS FOR LOCAL PLANNING FOR HOUSING. 
(a) AUTHORITY.—The Secretary of Housing and 
Urban Development (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Sec-
retary’’), acting through the Assistant Secretary of Hous-
ing Innovation, shall carry out a program to make grants 
under this section to eligible localities for undertaking 
planning efforts and associated regulatory reforms that 
address the housing needs of such areas. 
(b) ELIGIBLE LOCALITIES.—For purposes of this 
section, the term ‘‘eligible locality’’ means a unit of gen-
eral local government that is located within an urbanized 
area, as such term is defined by the United States Census 
Bureau of the Department of Commerce. 
(c) GOALS.—Local plans developed using amounts 
from grants under this section shall address all of the fol-
lowing goals: 
(1) Increasing the supply of housing units with-
in the jurisdiction of the grantee or within certain 
defined areas within such jurisdiction, including 
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neighborhoods around existing or planned transit fa-
cilities and job centers. 
(2) Improving the affordability of the housing 
supply within the jurisdiction of the grantee or with-
in certain defined areas within such jurisdiction, in-
cluding neighborhoods around existing or planned 
transit facilities and job centers. 
(3) Diversifying the housing supply within the 
jurisdiction of the grantee or within certain defined 
areas within such jurisdiction to include more multi-
family housing options or newer and less common 
forms of housing, such as multifamily housing fo-
cused on smaller private spaces and more shared 
amenities, micro-unit housing, housing developments 
that incorporate co-working spaces, and housing for 
students. 
(4) Improving commute times to job sites, re-
ducing congestion, or reducing vehicle miles traveled 
within the region in which the locality is located. 
(d) USE.—The Secretary shall ensure that amounts 
from a grant under this section shall be used only for costs 
associated with a housing planning process that addresses 
the goals in subsection (c), including public outreach, com-
munity meetings, preparation of planning documents, and 
research and studies in support of such planning efforts. 
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(e) SELECTION.—The Secretary shall award grants 
to eligible localities submitting applications under sub-
section (g) that are selected to receive grants under a com-
petition based on criteria established by the Secretary, 
which shall include the following criteria: 
(1) The extent to which the eligible locality out-
lines a planning process that will facilitate progress 
toward the goals under subsection (c), including the 
potential changes or updates to local policies and 
regulations (such as zoning ordinances, parking re-
quirements, general plans, and specific plans) that 
such a planning process will aim to affect. 
(2) The extent to which the eligible locality 
demonstrates how the planning process will address 
the needs of the metropolitan region within which 
the eligible locality is located by providing housing 
for the existing and projected workforce demand. 
(3) The extent to which the eligible locality pro-
vides details of the planning actions it intends to 
take, including public outreach activities and actions 
for consideration for formal policy adoption of plan-
ning elements and recommendations. 
(4) The extent to which the eligible locality 
specifies a timeline for completion of its planning 
process, including potential dates for consideration 
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for formal policy adoption by the local governing 
body. 
(5) The extent to which the eligible locality 
demonstrates collaboration with regional planning 
efforts and coordination with the relevant metropoli-
tan planning organization that manages regional 
planning for the area within which the locality is lo-
cated. 
(f) LIMITATION ON AMOUNT.—A grant under this 
section for an eligible locality may not exceed $2,000,000. 
(g) APPLICATIONS.—The Secretary shall provide for 
eligible localities to submit applications to the Secretary 
for grants under this section, which shall contain such in-
formation as the Secretary may require. 
SEC. 5. GRANTS FOR RESEARCH AND PILOT PROJECTS. 
(a) AUTHORITY.—The Secretary, acting through the 
Assistant Secretary of Housing Innovation, shall carry out 
a program to make grants under this section to eligible 
partnerships for the purposes of carrying out research and 
pilot studies to support, inform, and advise local govern-
ments on their plans for new housing and community de-
velopment. 
(b) ELIGIBLE PARTNERSHIPS.—For purposes of this 
section, the term ‘‘eligible partnership’’ means a partner-
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ship of entities and institutions that includes at least one 
of the following entities: 
(1) A unit of local government. 
(2) A college, university, or other research insti-
tution. 
(3) A nonprofit organization. 
(c) USE.—Amounts from a grant under this section 
may only be used for research and pilot studies that are 
designed to study and investigate activities and measures 
for improving housing and commuting for the workforce 
in a community, including— 
(1) measures to improve the commuting experi-
ence between transit stations and homes (commonly 
referred to as the ‘‘last mile’’); 
(2) programs for accommodating higher edu-
cation students within the community; 
(3) programs for facilitating home-sharing for 
elderly residents; 
(4) plans and measures for integrating business 
and commercial activity with residential neighbor-
hoods; 
(5) plans and measures for increasing transpor-
tation options improving mobility within residential 
neighborhoods; 
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(6) programs for learning and disseminating in-
formation about modular building techniques and 
other approaches to reducing housing construction 
costs; 
(7) plans or programs for improving public 
health through changes in the built environment, 
such as safer streets that are more conducive and 
welcoming to pedestrian activity; 
(8) measures to evaluate the impact of housing 
development in the community on the long-term so-
cial mobility and economic prospects of residents; 
and 
(9) such other measures, plans, and activities 
as applicants may propose, but only if the Secretary 
approves such proposals as consistent with the goals 
under section 4(c). 
(d) LIMITATIONS ON AMOUNT.—A grant under this 
section for an eligible partnership may not exceed the less-
er of— 
(1) $500,000; or 
(2) in the case only of an eligible partnership 
that has previously received a grant under this sec-
tion, the amount that the eligible partnership cer-
tifies, as the Secretary shall require, that the part-
nership will contribute from non-Federal sources for 
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activities described in subsection (c) that are as-
sisted with such grant amounts. 
SEC. 6. GRANTS FOR EDUCATION ACTIVITIES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through the 
Assistant Secretary of Housing Innovation, shall carry out 
a program under this section to make grants to partner-
ships that include at least one academic institution for 
providing support for educational and community out-
reach programs that are focused on issues related to hous-
ing, community development, and regional planning. 
(b) LIMITATIONS ON AMOUNT.—A grant under this 
section for a partnership may not exceed the lesser of— 
(1) $200,000; or 
(2) in the case only of a partnership that has 
previously received a grant under this section, the 
amount that the partnership certifies, as the Sec-
retary shall require, that the partnership will con-
tribute from non-Federal sources for educational 
and community outreach programs described in sub-
section (a) that are assisted with such grant 
amounts. 
SEC. 7. GAO REVIEW. 
Not later than the expiration of the 3-year period be-
ginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct 
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a review of grant programs under sections 4, 5, and 6 
of this Act to analyze the effectiveness of such programs 
and shall submit a report containing the results of such 
review and any conclusions resulting from such review to 
the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Rep-
resentatives and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 
Urban Affairs of the Senate. 
SEC. 8. REGULATIONS. 
The Secretary may issue any regulations necessary 
to carry out this Act. 
SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
(a) FUNDING.—There are authorized to be appro-
priated to the Secretary of Housing and Urban Develop-
ment to carry out this Act $100,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2020 through 2026 of which, in each fiscal year— 
(1) 90 percent shall be available only for grants 
under section 4; 
(2) 5 percent shall be available only for grants 
under section 5; and 
(3) 5 percent shall be available only for grants 
under section 6. 
(b) SOURCE OF FUNDING.—It is the sense of the 
Congress that the funding to carry out this Act provided 
pursuant to subsection (a) should not result in a reduction 
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of Federal funding for any existing affordable housing 
program or programs. 
Æ 
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