H. R. 4194—24
to the Treasury, and such amounts of budget authority or cash
recaptured and not rescinded or remitted to the Treasury shall
be used by State housing finance agencies or local governments
or local housing agencies with projects approved by the Secretary
of Housing and Urban Development for which settlement occurred
after January 1, 1992, in accordance with such section. Notwith-
standing the previous sentence, the Secretary may award up to
15 percent of the budget authority or cash recaptured and not
rescinded or remitted to the Treasury to provide project owners
with incentives to refinance their project at a lower interest rate.
FAIR HOUSING AND FREE SPEECH
SEC. 204. None of the amounts made available under this
Act may be used during fiscal year 1999 to investigate or prosecute
under the Fair Housing Act any otherwise lawful activity engaged
in by one or more persons, including the filing or maintaining
of a nonfrivolous legal action, that is engaged in solely for the
purpose of achieving or preventing action by a government official
or entity, or a court of competent jurisdiction.
BROWNFIELDS AS ELIGIBLE CDBG ACTIVITY
SEC. 205. For fiscal years 1998, 1999, and all fiscal years
thereafter, States and entitlement communities may use funds allo-
cated under the community development block grants program
under title I of the Housing and Community Development Act
of 1974 for environmental cleanup and economic development activi-
ties related to Brownfields projects in conjunction with the appro-
priate environmental regulatory agencies, as if such activities were
eligible under section 105(a) of such Act.
ENHANCED DISPOSITION AUTHORITY
SEC. 206. Section 204 of the Departments of Veterans Affairs
and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies
Appropriations Act, 1997, is amended by striking ‘‘fiscal years 1997
and 1998’’ and inserting ‘‘fiscal years 1997, 1998, and 1999’’.
HOUSING OPPORTUNITIES FOR PERSONS WITH AIDS GRANTS
SEC. 207. (a) ELIGIBILITY.—Notwithstanding section 854(c)(1)(A)
of the AIDS Housing Opportunity Act (42 U.S.C. 12903(c)(1)(A)),
from any amounts made available under this title for fiscal year
1999 that are allocated under such section, the Secretary of Housing
and Urban Development shall allocate and make a grant, in the
amount determined under subsection (b), for any State that—
(1) received an allocation in a prior fiscal year under clause
(ii) of such section; and
(2) is not otherwise eligible for an allocation for fiscal
year 1999 under such clause (ii) because the areas in the
State outside of the metropolitan statistical areas that qualify
under clause (i) in fiscal year 1999 do not have the number
of cases of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome required under
such clause.
(b) AMOUNT.—The amount of the allocation and grant for any
State described in subsection (a) shall be an amount based on
the cumulative number of AIDS cases in the areas of that State
that are outside of metropolitan statistical areas that qualify under
H. R. 4194—25
clause (i) of such section 854(c)(1)(A) in fiscal year 1999 in propor-
tion to AIDS cases among cities and States that qualify under
clauses (i) and (ii) of such section and States deemed eligible under
subsection (a).
(c) ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW.—For purposes of environmental
review, pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969
and other provisions of law that further the purposes of such
Act, a grant under the AIDS Housing Opportunity Act (42 U.S.C.
12901 et seq.) from amounts provided under this or prior Acts
shall be treated as assistance for a special project that is subject
to section 305(c) of the Multifamily Housing Property Disposition
Reform Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 3547), and shall be subject to the
regulations issued by the Secretary to implement such section.
Where the grantee under the AIDS Housing Opportunity Act is
a nonprofit organization and the activity is proposed to be carried
out within the jurisdiction of an Indian tribe or the community
of an Alaska native village, the role of the State or unit of general
local government under sections 305(c)(1)–(3) of such Act may be
carried out by the Indian tribe or Alaska native village instead.
DRAWDOWN OF FUNDS
SEC. 208. Section 14(q)(1) of the United States Housing Act
of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437l(q)(1)) is amended by inserting after the
first sentence the following sentence: ‘‘Such assistance may involve
the drawdown of funds on a schedule commensurate with construc-
tion draws for deposit into an interest earning escrow account
to serve as collateral or credit enhancement for bonds issued by
a public agency for the construction or rehabilitation of the develop-
ment.’’.
ELIMINATION OF SHOPPING INCENTIVE FOR VOUCHER FAMILIES WHO
REMAIN IN SAME UNIT UPON INITIAL RECEIPT OF ASSISTANCE
SEC. 209. (a) Section 8(o)(2) of the United States Housing
Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)(2)) is amended by inserting the
following new sentence at the end: ‘‘Notwithstanding the preceding
sentence, for families being admitted to the voucher program who
remain in the same unit or complex, where the rent (including
the amount allowed for utilities) does not exceed the payment
standard, the monthly assistance payment for any family shall
be the amount by which such rent exceeds the greater of 30 percent
of the family’s monthly adjusted income or 10 percent of the family’s
monthly income.’’.
(b) This section shall take effect 60 days after the later of
October 1, 1998 or the date of the enactment of this Act.
RENEGOTIATION OF PERFORMANCE FUNDING SYSTEM
SEC. 210. Section 9(a)(3)(A) of the United States Housing Act
of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437g(a)(3)(A)) is amended—
(1) by inserting after the third sentence the following new
sentence to read as follows:
‘‘Notwithstanding the preceding sentences, the Secretary may revise
the performance funding system in a manner that takes into account
equity among public housing agencies and that includes appropriate
incentives for sound management.’’; and
H. R. 4194—26
(2) in the last sentence, by inserting after ‘‘vacant public
housing units’’ the following: ‘‘, or any substantial change under
the preceding sentence,’’.
FHA MULTIFAMILY MORTGAGE CREDIT DEMONSTRATIONS
SEC. 211. Section 542 of the Housing and Community Develop-
ment Act of 1992 is amended—
(1) in subsection (b)(5) by adding before the period at
the end of the first sentence ‘‘, and not more than an additional
25,000 units during fiscal year 1999’’, and
(2) in the first sentence of subsection (c)(4) by striking
‘‘1996 and’’ and inserting ‘‘1996,’’ and by inserting after ‘‘fiscal
year 1997’’ the following: ‘‘and not more than an additional
25,000 units during fiscal year 1999’’.
CALCULATION OF DOWNPAYMENT
SEC. 212. Section 203(b)(10) of the National Housing Act is
amended by—
(1) striking out ‘‘ALASKA AND HAWAII’’ and inserting in
lieu thereof ‘‘CALCULATION OF DOWNPAYMENT’’; and
(2) striking out in subparagraph (A) ‘‘originated in the
State of Alaska or the State of Hawaii and endorsed for insur-
ance in fiscal years 1997 and 1998,’’ and inserting in lieu
thereof ‘‘executed for insurance in fiscal years 1998, 1999, and
2000’’.
STATE CDBG IDIS FUNDING
SEC. 213. During fiscal year 1999, from amounts received by
a State under section 106(d)(1) of the Housing and Community
Development Act of 1974 for distribution in nonentitlement areas,
the State may deduct an amount, not to exceed the greater of
0.25 percent of the amount so received or $50,000, for implementa-
tion of the integrated disbursement and information system estab-
lished by the Secretary, in addition to any amounts used for this
purpose from amounts retained by the State for administrative
expenses under section 106(d)(3)(A).
NURSING HOME LEASE TERMS
SEC. 214. (a) TECHNICAL CORRECTION.—Section 216 of the
Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Develop-
ment, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998, is
amended by striking out ‘‘fifty years from the date’’ and inserting
in lieu thereof ‘‘fifty years to run from the date’’.
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by subsection (a)
shall be construed to have taken effect on October 27, 1997.
TECHNICAL FOR EMERGENCY CDBG PROGRAM
SEC. 215. For purposes of eligibility for funding under the
heading ‘‘Community Development Block Grants’’ in the 1998
Supplemental Appropriations and Rescissions Act (Public Law 105–
174; May 1, 1998) the term ‘‘States’’ shall be deemed to include
‘‘Indian tribes’’ as defined under section 102(a)(17) of the Housing
and Community Development Act of 1974 and Guam, the Northern
H. R. 4194—27
Mariana Islands, the Virgin Islands, and American Samoa: Pro-
vided, That amounts made available by this section are designated
by the Congress as an emergency requirement pursuant to section
251(b)(2)(A) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control
Act of 1985, as amended.
USE OF HOME FUNDS FOR PUBLIC HOUSING MODERNIZATION
SEC. 216. Notwithstanding section 212(d)(5) of the Cranston-
Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act, amounts made available
to the City of Bismarck, North Dakota, under subtitle A of title
II of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act for
fiscal years 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 or 2002, may be used to carry
out activities authorized under section 14 of the United States
Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 14371) for the purpose of moderniz-
ing the Crescent Manor public housing project located at 107 East
Bowen Avenue, in Bismarck, North Dakota, if—
(1) the Burleigh County Housing Authority (or any succes-
sor public housing agency that owns or operates the Crescent
Manor public housing project) has obligated all other Federal
assistance made available to that public housing agency for
that fiscal year; or
(2) the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
authorizes the use of those amounts for the purpose of mod-
ernizing that public housing project, which authorization may
be made with respect to one or more of those fiscal years.
CDBG AND HOME EXEMPTION
SEC. 217. The City of Oxnard, California may use amounts
available to the City under title I of the Housing and Community
Development Act of 1974 and under subtitle A of title II of the
Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act to reimburse
the city for its cost in purchasing 19.89 acres of land, more or
less, located at the northwest corner of Lombard Street and Camino
del Sol in the city, on the north side of the 2100 block of Camino
del Sol, for the purpose of providing affordable housing. The proce-
dures set forth in sections 104(g)(2) and (3) of the Housing and
Community Development Act of 1974 and sections 288(b) and (c)
of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act shall
not apply to any release of funds for such reimbursement.
CDBG PUBLIC SERVICES CAP
SEC. 218. Section 105(a)(8) of the Housing and Community
Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5305(a)(8)) is amended by
striking ‘‘1998’’ and inserting ‘‘1999’’.
CLARIFICATION OF OWNER’S RIGHT TO PREPAY
SEC. 219. (a) PREPAYMENT RIGHT.—Notwithstanding section 211
of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1987 or section
221 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1987 (as
in effect pursuant to section 604(c) of the Cranston-Gonzalez
National Affordable Housing Act), subject to subsection (b), with
respect to any project that is eligible low-income housing (as that
term is defined in section 229 of the Housing and Community
Development Act of 1987)—