247
the board with the appropriate qualifications and ex-
perience may satisfy the requirements of a subpara-
graph of paragraph (1) and a subparagraph of this
paragraph.
(c) POLITICAL AFFILIATION.—Not more than 6 mem-
bers of the Board may be of the same political party.
(d) TERMS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Each member of the Board
shall be appointed for a term of 4 years, except as
provided in paragraphs (2) and (3).
(2) TERMS
OF
INITIAL
APPOINTEES.—As des-
ignated by the President at the time of appointment,
of the members first appointed—
(A) 3 shall be appointed for terms of 1 year;
(B) 3 shall be appointed for terms of 2
years;
(C) 3 shall be appointed for terms of 3
years; and
(D) 3 shall be appointed for terms of 4
years.
(3) VACANCIES.—Any member appointed to fill a
vacancy occurring before the expiration of the term
for which the member’s predecessor was appointed
shall be appointed only for the remainder of that
term. A member may serve after the expiration of that
248
member’s term until a successor has taken office. A
vacancy in the Board shall be filled in the manner
in which the original appointment was made.
(e) CHAIRPERSON.—The Board shall elect a chair-
person from among members of the Board.
(f) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of the Board
shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.
(g) VOTING.—Each member of the Board shall be enti-
tled to 1 vote, which shall be equal to the vote of every other
member of the Board.
(h) PROHIBITION ON ADDITIONAL PAY.—Members of
the Board shall serve without compensation, but shall be
reimbursed for travel, subsistence, and other necessary ex-
penses incurred in the performance of their duties as mem-
bers of the Board.
SEC. 523. FUNCTIONS.
The purpose of this subtitle is to establish the Board
as a nonpolitical entity to carry out, not later than the
expiration of the 12-month period beginning upon the ap-
pointment under section 522 of all of the initial members
of the Board (or such other date as may be provided by
law), the following functions:
(1) ESTABLISHMENT OF PERFORMANCE BENCH-
MARKS.—The Board shall establish standards and
guidelines for use by the Board in measuring the per-
249
formance and efficiency of public housing agencies
and other owners and providers of federally assisted
housing in carrying out operational and financial
functions. The standards and guidelines shall be de-
signed to replace the public housing management as-
sessment program under section 6(j) of the United
States Housing Act of 1937 (as in effect before the en-
actment of this Act) and improve the evaluation of
the performance of housing providers relative to such
program. In establishing such standards and guide-
lines, the Board shall consult with the Secretary, the
Inspector General of the Department of Housing and
Urban Development, and such other persons and enti-
ties as the Board considers appropriate.
(2) ESTABLISHMENT OF ACCREDITATION PROCE-
DURE AND ACCREDITATION.—The Board shall—
(A) establish a procedure for the Board to
accredit public housing agencies to receive block
grants under title II for the operation, mainte-
nance, and production of public housing and
amounts for housing assistance under title III,
based on the performance of agencies, as meas-
ured by the performance benchmarks established
under paragraph (1) and any audits and re-
views of agencies; and
250
(B) commence the review and accreditation
of public housing agencies under the procedures
established under subparagraph (A).
In carrying out the functions under this section, the Board
shall take into consideration the findings and recommenda-
tions contained in the report issued under section 506(b).
SEC. 524. POWERS.
(a) HEARINGS.—The Board may, for the purpose of
carrying out this subtitle, hold such hearings and sit and
act at such times and places as the Board determines appro-
priate.
(b) RULES
AND REGULATIONS.—The Board may
adopt such rules and regulations as may be necessary to
establish its procedures and to govern the manner of its op-
erations, organization, and personnel.
(c) ASSISTANCE FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.—
(1) INFORMATION.—The Board may secure di-
rectly from any department or agency of the Federal
Government such information as the Board may re-
quire for carrying out its functions, including public
housing agency plans submitted to the Secretary by
public housing agencies under title I. Upon request of
the Board, any such department or agency shall fur-
nish such information.
251
(2) GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION.—The
Administrator of General Services shall provide to the
Board, on a reimbursable basis, such administrative
support services as the Board may request.
(3) DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DE-
VELOPMENT.—Upon the request of the chairperson of
the Board, the Secretary of Housing and Urban De-
velopment shall, to the extent possible and subject to
the discretion of the Secretary, detail any of the per-
sonnel of the Department of Housing and Urban De-
velopment, on a nonreimbursable basis, to assist the
Board in carrying out its functions under this sub-
title.
(4) HUD INSPECTOR GENERAL.—The Inspector
General of the Department of Housing and Urban
Development shall serve the Board as a principal ad-
viser with respect to all aspects of audits of public
housing agencies. The Inspector General may advise
the Board with respect to other activities and func-
tions of the Board.
(d) MAILS.—The Board may use the United States
mails in the same manner and under the same conditions
as other Federal agencies.
(e) CONTRACTING.—The Board may, to such extent
and in such amounts as are provided in appropriation
252
Acts, enter into contracts with private firms, institutions,
and individuals for the purpose of conducting evaluations
of public housing agencies, audits of public housing agen-
cies, and research and surveys necessary to enable the Board
to discharge its functions under this subtitle.
(f) STAFF.—
(1) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.—The Board shall ap-
point an executive director of the Board, who shall be
compensated at a rate fixed by the Board, but which
shall not exceed the rate established for level V of the
Executive Schedule under title 5, United States Code.
(2) OTHER PERSONNEL.—In addition to the ex-
ecutive director, the Board may appoint and fix the
compensation of such personnel as the Board consid-
ers necessary, in accordance with the provisions of
title 5, United States Code, governing appointments
to the competitive service, and the provisions of chap-
ter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of such title,
relating to classification and General Schedule pay
rates.
(g) ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS.—The Board shall have
access for the purposes of carrying out its functions under
this subtitle to any books, documents, papers, and records
of a public housing agency to which the Secretary has access
under this Act.
253
SEC. 525. FEES.
(a) ACCREDITATION FEES.—The Board may establish
and charge reasonable fees for the accreditation of public
housing agencies as the Board considers necessary to cover
the costs of the operations of the Board relating to its func-
tions under section 523.
(b) FUND.—Any fees collected under this section shall
be deposited in an operations fund for the Board, which
is hereby established in the Treasury of the United States.
Amounts in such fund shall be available, to the extent pro-
vided in appropriation Acts, for the expenses of the Board
in carrying out its functions under this subtitle.
SEC. 526. GAO AUDIT.
The activities and transactions of the Board shall be
subject to audit by the Comptroller General of the United
States under such rules and regulations as may be pre-
scribed by the Comptroller General. The representatives of
the General Accounting Office shall have access for the pur-
pose of audit and examination to any books, documents,
papers, and records of the Board that are necessary to fa-
cilitate an audit.
254
Subtitle C—Interim Applicability of
Public Housing Management As-
sessment Program
SEC. 531. INTERIM APPLICABILITY.
This subtitle shall be effective only during the period
that begins on the effective date of this Act and ends upon
the date of the effectiveness of the standards and procedures
required under section 523.
SEC. 532. MANAGEMENT ASSESSMENT INDICATORS.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall develop
and publish in the Federal Register indicators to assess the
management performance of public housing agencies and
other entities managing public housing (including resident
management corporations, independent managers pursuant
to section 236, and management entities pursuant to sub-
title D). The indicators shall be established by rule under
section 553 of title 5, United States Code. Such indicators
shall enable the Secretary to evaluate the performance of
public housing agencies and such other managers of public
housing in all major areas of management operations.
(b) CONTENT.—The management assessment indica-
tors shall include the following indicators:
(1) The number and percentage of vacancies
within an agency’s or manager’s inventory, including
255
the progress that an agency or manager has made
within the previous 3 years to reduce such vacancies.
(2) The amount and percentage of funds obli-
gated to the public housing agency or manager from
the capital fund or under section 14 of the United
States Housing Act of 1937 (as in effect before the ef-
fective date of the repeal under section 601(b) of this
Act), which remain unexpended after 3 years.
(3) The percentage of rents uncollected.
(4) The energy consumption (with appropriate
adjustments to reflect different regions and unit
sizes).
(5) The average period of time that an agency or
manager requires to repair and turn-around vacant
dwelling units.
(6) The proportion of maintenance work orders
outstanding, including any progress that an agency
or manager has made during the preceding 3 years
to reduce the period of time required to complete
maintenance work orders.
(7) The percentage of dwelling units that an
agency or manager fails to inspect to ascertain main-
tenance or modernization needs within such period of
time as the Secretary deems appropriate (with appro-
256
priate adjustments, if any, for large and small agen-
cies or managers).
(8) The extent to which the rent policies of any
public housing agency establishing rental amounts in
accordance with section 225(b) comply with the re-
quirement under section 225(c).
(9) Whether the agency is providing acceptable
basic housing conditions, as determined by the Sec-
retary.
(10) Any other factors as the Secretary deems
appropriate.
(c) CONSIDERATIONS IN EVALUATION.—The Secretary
shall—
(1) administer the system of evaluating public
housing agencies and managers flexibly to ensure that
agencies and managers are not penalized as result of
circumstances beyond their control;
(2) reflect in the weights assigned to the various
management assessment indicators the differences in
the difficulty of managing individual developments
that result from their physical condition and their
neighborhood environment; and
(3) determine a public housing agency’s or man-
ager’s status as ‘‘troubled with respect to moderniza-
tion’’ under section 533(b) based upon factors solely
257
related to its ability to carry out modernization ac-
tivities.
SEC. 533. DESIGNATION OF PHA’S.
(a) TROUBLED PHA’S.—The Secretary shall, under
the rulemaking procedures under section 553 of title 5,
United States Code, establish procedures for designating
troubled public housing agencies and managers, which pro-
cedures shall include identification of serious and substan-
tial failure to perform as measured by (1) the performance
indicators specified under section 532 and such other fac-
tors as the Secretary may deem to be appropriate; or (2)
such other evaluation system as is determined by the Sec-
retary to assess the condition of the public housing agency
or other entity managing public housing, which system may
be in addition to or in lieu of the performance indicators
established under section 532. Such procedures shall provide
that an agency that does not provide acceptable basic hous-
ing conditions shall be designated a troubled public housing
agency.
(b) AGENCIES TROUBLED WITH RESPECT TO CAPITAL
ACTIVITIES.—The Secretary shall designate, by rule under
section 553 of title 5, United States Code, agencies and
managers that are troubled with respect to capital activi-
ties.
258
(c) AGENCIES AT RISK OF BECOMING TROUBLED.—
The Secretary shall designate, by rule under section 553
of title 5, United States Code, agencies and managers that
are at risk of becoming troubled.
(d) EXEMPLARY AGENCIES.—The Secretary may also,
in consultation with national organizations representing
public housing agencies and managers and public officials
(as the Secretary determines appropriate), identify and
commend public housing agencies and managers that meet
the performance standards established under section 532 in
an exemplary manner.
(e) APPEAL OF DESIGNATION.—The Secretary shall es-
tablish procedures for public housing agencies and man-
agers to appeal designation as a troubled agency or man-
ager (including designation as a troubled agency or man-
ager for purposes of capital activities), to petition for re-
moval of such designation, and to appeal any refusal to
remove such designation.
SEC. 534. ON-SITE INSPECTION OF TROUBLED PHA’S.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Upon designating a public housing
agency or manager as troubled pursuant to section 533 and
determining that an assessment under this section will not
duplicate any other review previously conducted or required
to be conducted of the agency or manager, the Secretary
259
shall provide for an on-site, independent assessment of the
management of the agency or manager.
(b) CONTENT.—To the extent the Secretary deems ap-
propriate (taking into consideration an agency’s or man-
ager’s performance under the indicators specified under sec-
tion 532, the assessment team shall also consider issues re-
lating to the agency’s or manager’s resident population and
physical inventory, including the extent to which—
(1) the public housing agency plan for the agen-
cy or manager adequately and appropriately address-
es the rehabilitation needs of the public housing in-
ventory;
(2) residents of the agency or manager are in-
volved in and informed of significant management
decisions; and
(3) any developments in the agency’s or man-
ager’s inventory are severely distressed (as such term
is defined under section 262.
(c) INDEPENDENT ASSESSMENT TEAM.—An independ-
ent assessment under this section shall be carried out by
a team of knowledgeable individuals selected by the Sec-
retary (referred to in this title as the ‘‘assessment team’’)
with expertise in public housing and real estate manage-
ment. In conducting an assessment, the assessment team
shall consult with the residents and with public and private