Public Housing Fire Safety Act
Bill: S.265 | Sponsor: Sen. Smith, Tina (D-MN)
Policy area: Housing and Community Development

Summary:
Public Housing Fire Safety Act
This bill creates a grant program, to be administered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, for public housing agencies to install automatic sprinkler systems in certain public housing projects.

To establish a grant program to provide amounts to public housing 
agencies to install automatic sprinkler systems in public housing, and 
                          for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Public Housing Fire Safety Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act--
            (1) the term ``automatic sprinkler system'' has the meaning 
        given the term in section 31(a) of the Federal Fire Prevention 
        and Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2227(a));
            (2) the term ``Capital Fund'' means the Capital Fund 
        established under section 9(d) of the United States Housing Act 
        of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437g(d));
            (3) the term ``exempted public housing project'' means a 
        public housing project that--
                    (A) is not a newly constructed multifamily 
                property, as defined in section 31(c)(2)(A)(ii) of the 
                Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (15 
                U.S.C. 2227(c)(2)(A)(ii)); and
                    (B) is not subject to the requirements under 
                section 31(c) of the Federal Fire Prevention and 
                Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2227(c));
            (4) the terms ``public housing'' and ``public housing 
        agency'' have the meanings given those terms in section 3(b) of 
        the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a(b)); and
            (5) the term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of Housing 
        and Urban Development.

SEC. 3. INSPECTIONS OF PUBLIC HOUSING.

    (a) In General.--With respect to inspections of public housing 
conducted by the Secretary, including through the Real Estate 
Assessment Center, the Secretary shall report on the presence or 
absence of automatic sprinkler systems in the public housing.
    (b) Report.--Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of 
this Act, the Secretary shall, based on inspections of public housing 
conducted during the 3-year period beginning on the date of enactment 
of this Act, submit to Congress a report on the presence or absence of 
automatic sprinkler systems in public housing, in particular in 
exempted public housing projects, which shall include recommendations 
to improve fire safety in exempted public housing projects.
    (c) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be 
construed to require a public housing agency to install an automatic 
sprinkler system in an exempted public housing project.

SEC. 4. GRANT PROGRAM TO RETROFIT PUBLIC HOUSING WITH AUTOMATIC 
              SPRINKLER SYSTEMS.

    (a) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish a competitive 
grant program under which the Secretary shall award grants to public 
housing agencies to install automatic sprinkler systems in exempted 
public housing projects.
    (b) Limitation.--A public housing agency may not use amounts 
received under this section to install automatic sprinkler systems in a 
rebuilt multifamily property, as defined in section 31(c)(2)(B)(iii) of 
the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 
2227(c)(2)(B)(iii)).
    (c) Authorization of Appropriations.--In addition to amounts 
appropriated to the Capital Fund under any other provision of law, 
there is authorized to be appropriated to the Capital Fund $25,000,000 
for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2031 to carry out this section.
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