I
103D CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 4165
To amend the United States Housing Act of 1937 to authorize the Secretary
of Housing and Urban Development to enter into contracts with high-
performing public housing agencies to provide for the development of
public housing in a manner that eliminates time-consuming interim re-
view procedures otherwise required.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
APRIL 12, 1994
Mr. BEREUTER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs
A BILL
To amend the United States Housing Act of 1937 to author-
ize the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
to enter into contracts with high-performing public hous-
ing agencies to provide for the development of public
housing in a manner that eliminates time-consuming in-
terim review procedures otherwise required.
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 ‘‘Public Housing Devel-
opment Reform Amendments’’.
SEC. 2. AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE BY CONTRACT FOR ELIMI-
NATION OF REVIEW PROCESS.
Section 6 of the United States Housing Act of 1937
(42 U.S.C. 1437d) is amended by inserting after sub-
section (e) the following new subsection:
‘‘(f) AUTHORITY TO ELIMINATE INTERIM REVIEW IN
DEVELOPMENT
PROCESS
FOR
HIGH-PERFORMING
PHA’S.—
‘‘(1) AUTHORITY.—In any contract for con-
tributions to cover the development or acquisition
cost of a public housing project by a public housing
agency that the Secretary determines is complying
with the management performance standards estab-
lished under subsection (j) in an exemplary manner,
the Secretary may include provisions described
under paragraph (2).
‘‘(2) EXEMPTION FROM QUALIFIED DEVELOP-
MENT REQUIREMENTS.—The contract provisions re-
ferred to in paragraph (1) are provisions that ex-
empt the public housing project assisted under the
contract from review (by the Secretary or any field
or area office of the Department of Housing and
Urban Development) for compliance with qualified
development requirements or from any requirement
for approval (by the Secretary or any such office)
with such requirements, only during the period that
ends upon completion of the development or acquisi-
tion or at such other time occurring before comple-
tion, as may be agreed to by the Secretary and the
public housing agency.
‘‘(3) REMEDIES.—Each contract for contribu-
tions that includes provisions described under para-
graph (2) shall include such additional provisions as
the Secretary considers necessary to ensure that,
upon completion of development or acquisition, the
public housing project assisted under the contract
complies with the qualified development require-
ments, which may include provisions—
‘‘(A) authorizing the imposition of civil
monetary penalties against the public housing
agency if the Secretary determines, on the
record after notice and opportunity for a hear-
ing in accordance with section 553 of title 5,
United States Code, that the public housing
project does not comply with the qualified devel-
opment requirements regarding site or neigh-
borhood standards or environmental require-
ments, except that the amount of such penalties
may not exceed $10,000 for each such failure
to comply and the sum of the penalties imposed
against any public housing agency with respect
to public housing developed or acquired pursu-
ant to any single contract for contributions may
not exceed $1,000,000;
‘‘(B) requiring specific performance suffi-
cient to correct any noncompliance and estab-
lishing deadlines for such specific performance;
‘‘(C) authorizing the Secretary to withhold
payments (or portions of payments) to be made
under the contract upon completion of develop-
ment or acquisition (or after the expiration of
the period established under the contract pursu-
ant to paragraph (2)) to cover the actual devel-
opment cost of the project until the project
complies with qualified development require-
ments;
‘‘(D) authorizing the Secretary to withhold
assistance for the operation of the project until
the project complies with qualified development
requirements; and
‘‘(E) specifying any other lawful remedy
agreed to by the Secretary and the public hous-
ing agency.
‘‘(4) DEFINITION
OF ‘QUALIFIED
DEVELOP-
MENT REQUIREMENTS’.—For purposes of this sub-
section, the term ‘qualified development require-
ments’ means requirements or standards under law,
or established pursuant to law by the Secretary, re-
garding the development or acquisition of public
housing, which shall include site and neighborhood
standards, design and construction standards, cost
guidelines, environmental requirements, zoning com-
pliance, selection of utilities, and such other require-
ments or standards as the Secretary may provide.
‘‘(5) RULE
OF
CONSTRUCTION.—This sub-
section may not be construed to waive, alter, annul,
exempt, or affect the applicability of any qualified
development requirements to any public housing
project after the expiration of the period established
under the contract for the project pursuant to para-
graph (2).’’.
SEC. 3. CONSTRUCTION COMMENCEMENT REQUIREMENTS.
Section 5(k) of the United States Housing Act of
1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437c(k)) is amended by adding at the
end the following new sentence: ‘‘A contract for contribu-
tions for development or acquisition of a public housing
project that includes provisions authorized under sub-
section 6(f) may waive or alter the applicability of the re-
quirements under this subsection with respect to the pub-
lic housing project.’’.
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