I
107TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 4205
To authorize the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to permit
public housing agencies to transfer unused low-income rental assistance
amounts for use under the HOME investment partnerships program
or for activities eligible for assistance from the public housing Capital
Fund.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
APRIL 11, 2002
Mrs. MEEK of Florida introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Financial Services
A BILL
To authorize the Secretary of Housing and Urban Develop-
ment to permit public housing agencies to transfer un-
used low-income rental assistance amounts for use under
the HOME investment partnerships program or for ac-
tivities eligible for assistance from the public housing
Capital Fund.
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 ‘‘Affordable Housing
Improvements Act’’.
SEC. 2. PURPOSES.
The purposes of this Act are—
(1) to ensure that amounts provided under the
section 8 rental assistance program for low-income
families for use in communities having affordable
housing needs can be fully used within such commu-
nities to benefit low-income families needing afford-
able housing;
(2) to provide flexibility in the use of unused
amounts made available under the section 8 tenant-
based rental assistance program so that amounts
made available to public housing agencies in jurisdic-
tions having insufficient numbers of affordable hous-
ing dwelling units to exhaust their section 8 funds
can be used under the HOME investment partner-
ships program, or for activities eligible for assistance
under the public housing Capital Fund;
(3) to provide for development of affordable
housing in communities needing such housing, with-
out supplanting existing appropriations for the sec-
tion 8 program; and
(4) to promote and facilitate quality and afford-
able housing for low-income families.
SEC. 3. AUTHORITY TO TRANSFER UNUSED SECTION 8
RENTAL ASSISTANCE AMOUNTS.
Section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937
(42 U.S.C. 1437f) is amended by adding at the end the
following new subsection:
‘‘(ee) TRANSFER OF UNUSED TENANT-BASED AS-
SISTANCE AMOUNTS FOR USE UNDER HOME AND PUB-
LIC HOUSING CAPITAL FUND PROGRAMS.—
‘‘(1) AUTHORITY.—In lieu of reallocating the
unused tenant-based assistance of a public housing
agency, the Secretary may authorize the agency to
transfer all or a portion of such assistance, as pro-
vided in this subsection only—
‘‘(A) to the HOME Investment Trust
Fund for an applicable participating jurisdic-
tion of the agency for use only under section
212(a)(4) of the Cranston-Gonzalez National
Affordable 
Housing 
Act 
(42 
U.S.C.
12742(a)(4)); or
‘‘(B) for use for activities eligible for as-
sistance by such agency with amounts provided
from the Capital Fund under section 9(d).
‘‘(2) PERIOD
OF
USE.—Any amounts trans-
ferred under this subsection shall be available for
use as provided in paragraph (1) only until the expi-
ration of the 18-month period beginning upon ap-
proval of the request under paragraph (2) for such
transfer.
‘‘(3) REQUEST FOR TRANSFER.—The Secretary
may authorize transfer of unused tenant-based as-
sistance of a public housing agency pursuant to this
subsection only pursuant to a written request for
transfer of such amounts that complies with the fol-
lowing requirements:
‘‘(A) PREPARATION.—The request shall be
prepared, and submitted to the Secretary, by—
‘‘(i) in the case of a request for trans-
fer of amounts to the HOME Investment
Trust Fund, the applicable participating
jurisdiction of the agency, after consulta-
tion and agreement with the public housing
agency having such unused assistance
amounts; and
‘‘(ii) in the case of a request for
transfer of amounts for use for Capital
Fund activities, the public housing agency.
‘‘(B) 
CONTENTS.—The 
request 
shall
include—
‘‘(i) information on the affordable
housing needs, conditions, and availability
in the geographical area served by the
agency, which shall include information re-
garding vacancy rates, waiting lists for
rental assistance under this section, rates
for return of vouchers for such rental as-
sistance, and any other information the
agency considers appropriate;
‘‘(ii) a certification that the agency is
in compliance with applicable laws and reg-
ulations regarding management of the pro-
gram for tenant-based assistance under
this section and, because of circumstances
beyond the control of the agency, cannot
increase its rate of use of tenant-based as-
sistance amounts;
‘‘(iii) a detailed description of the
agency’s efforts to assist eligible families to
utilize the unused assistance;
‘‘(iv) a proposal describing how the
unused assistance will be used under title
II of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Af-
fordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 12721 et
seq.) or for activities eligible for assistance
with amounts provided from the Capital
Fund under section 9(d) of this Act (42
U.S.C. 1437g(d)), as applicable; and
‘‘(v) any other information or certifi-
cations that the Secretary considers appro-
priate.
‘‘(C) TIMING.—A request under this para-
graph shall be submitted to the Secretary dur-
ing the 60-day period ending upon the conclu-
sion of the fiscal year of the public housing
agency involved. The Secretary shall determine
whether to approve such request, and notify the
applicable participating jurisdiction and the
public housing agency involved of such deter-
mination, not later than 30 days after the re-
quest is submitted.
‘‘(4) DETERMINATION REGARDING USE OF AS-
SISTANCE.—The Secretary may authorize transfer of
unused tenant-based assistance of a public housing
agency pursuant to this subsection only if the Sec-
retary determines, on the basis of the request under
paragraph (3), that the unused assistance—
‘‘(A) if used under title II of the Cranston-
Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act, will
be used in accordance with sections 212(a)(4)
and 
214(b) 
of 
such 
Act 
(42 
U.S.C.
12742(a)(4), 12744(b));
‘‘(B) will be used to meet the needs de-
scribed in the request submitted pursuant to
paragraph (3)(B)(i);
‘‘(C) will be used consistent with the com-
prehensive housing affordability strategy of the
jurisdiction submitted under section 105 of
such Act (42 U.S.C. 12705) and, if applicable,
the public housing agency plan for the agency;
and
‘‘(D) can and will be used as provided in
this subsection within 18 months of the Sec-
retary’s determination to authorize use under
this subsection.
‘‘(5) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sub-
section, the following definitions shall apply:
‘‘(A) APPLICABLE
PARTICIPATING
JURIS-
DICTION.—The term ‘applicable participating
jurisdiction’ means, with respect to a public
housing agency, a participating jurisdiction (as
such term is defined in section 104 of the Cran-
ston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act
(42 U.S.C. 12704)) any part of which is located
within the geographical area served by such
agency.
‘‘(B) LEASING RATE.—The term ‘leasing
rate’ means, with respect to an amount of
budget authority made available for tenant-
based assistance, the ratio of the number of
dwelling units leased using such budget author-
ity to the number of reserved units for such
budget authority.
‘‘(C) RESERVED
UNITS.—The term ‘re-
served units’ means, with respect to an amount
of budget authority made available for tenant-
based assistance, the total number of dwelling
units that may be leased using such budget au-
thority.
‘‘(D) UNUSED
TENANT-BASED
ASSIST-
ANCE.—The term ‘unused tenant-based assist-
ance’ means any budget authority for tenant-
based assistance made available to a public
housing agency that remains unused and, under
the regulations and notices of the Secretary, is
subject to reallocation to other agencies based
upon the leasing rate of the agency.’’.
SEC. 4. USE OF TRANSFERRED AMOUNTS UNDER HOME IN-
VESTMENT PARTNERSHIPS PROGRAM.
(a) USE WITHIN JURISDICTION OF TRANSFERRING
PHA.—Section 212(a) of the Cranston-Gonzalez National
Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 12742(a)) is amended
by inserting after paragraph (3) the following new para-
graph:
‘‘(4) 
UNUSED
PUBLIC
HOUSING
AGENCY
AMOUNTS.—Any amounts in the HOME Investment
Trust Fund for a participating jurisdiction pursuant
to transfer under section 8(ee) of the United States
Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(ee)) may be
used, as provided in this section, to develop and sup-
port only affordable rental housing and affordable
housing for homeownership, that is located in a geo-
graphical area of the participating jurisdiction that
is within the area served by the public housing agen-
cy that transferred such amounts.’’.
(b) TARGETING REQUIREMENTS.—Section 214 of the
Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act (42
U.S.C. 12744) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘Each’’ and inserting ‘‘(a) IN
GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection (b),
each’’; and
(2) by adding at the end the following new sub-
section:
‘‘(b) 
UNUSED
PUBLIC
HOUSING
AGENCY
AMOUNTS.—In the case only of amounts in the HOME
Investment Trust Fund for a participating jurisdiction
pursuant to transfer under section 8(ee) of the United
States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(ee)), the
participating jurisdiction shall invest such amounts so
that—
‘‘(1) with respect to rental assistance and rental
units—
‘‘(A) not less than 75 percent of (i) the
families receiving such rental assistance are
families whose incomes do not exceed 30 per-
cent of the median family income for the area,
as determined by the Secretary with adjust-
ments for smaller and larger families (except
that the Secretary may establish income ceilings
higher or lower than 30 percent of the median
income for the area on the basis of the Sec-
retary’s findings that such variations are nec-
essary because of prevailing levels of construc-
tion cost or fair market rent, or unusually high
or low family income) at the time of occupancy
or at the time funds are invested, whichever is
later, or (ii) the dwelling units assisted with
such funds are occupied by families having such
incomes; and
‘‘(B) the remainder of (i) the families re-
ceiving such rental assistance are households
that qualify as low-income families (other than
families described in subparagraph (A)) at the
time of occupancy or at the time funds are in-
vested, whichever is later, or (ii) the dwelling
units assisted with such funds are occupied by
such households;
‘‘(2) with respect to homeownership assistance,
not less than 75 percent of such funds are invested
with respect to dwelling units that are occupied by
households having incomes described in paragraph
(1)(A)(i) and the remainder of such funds are in-
vested with respect to dwelling units that are occu-
pied by households that qualify as low-income fami-
lies; and
‘‘(3) all such funds are invested with respect to
housing that qualifies as affordable housing under
section 215.’’.
SEC. 5. APPLICABILITY.
The amendments made by this Act shall apply only
to tenant-based assistance under section 8 of the United
States Housing Act of 1937 that is appropriated for fiscal
year 2003 or any fiscal year thereafter.
SEC. 6. REGULATIONS.
Not later than 6 months after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the Secretary of Housing and Urban
Development shall issue final regulations to carry out the
amendments made by this Act.
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