A bill to require certain public housing agencies to absorb port-in housing choice vouchers, and for other purposes.
Bill: S.4028 | Sponsor: Sen. Ernst, Joni (R-IA)
Policy area: Housing and Community Development

Summary:
This bill requires a public housing agency that uses less than 95% of its budget authority in a given year to accept a housing choice voucher from a family that received the voucher from an agency in a different jurisdiction.

To require certain public housing agencies to absorb port-in housing 
                choice vouchers, 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. REQUIRING CERTAIN PUBLIC HOUSING AGENCIES TO ABSORB PORT-IN 
              VOUCHERS AND LIMITING BILLING INITIAL PUBLIC HOUSING 
              AGENCIES BEYOND 12 MONTHS.

    (a) In General.--Section 8(o) of the United States Housing Act of 
1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:
            ``(21) Portability of vouchers.--
                    ``(A) Definitions.--In this paragraph--
                            ``(i) the term `covered public housing 
                        agency' means a public housing agency that, in 
                        a given fiscal year, utilizes less than 95 
                        percent of the budget authority available to 
                        the public housing agency;
                            ``(ii) the term `initial public housing 
                        agency' has the meaning given the term `initial 
                        PHA' in section 982.4 of title 24, Code of 
                        Federal Regulations, or any successor 
                        regulation; and
                            ``(iii) the term `portable family' means a 
                        family holding a voucher under this subsection 
                        that seeks to rent a dwelling unit outside of 
                        the jurisdiction of the initial public housing 
                        agency.
                    ``(B) Requirement.--A covered public housing agency 
                that has jurisdiction over the area in which a portable 
                family is seeking to use the voucher received from an 
                initial public housing agency--
                            ``(i) shall notify the initial public 
                        housing agency whether the covered public 
                        housing agency will--
                                    ``(I) absorb the voucher by using 
                                funds of the covered public housing 
                                agency; or
                                    ``(II) bill the initial public 
                                housing agency for a period of not more 
                                than 12 months;
                            ``(ii) shall make assistance payments to 
                        the portable family under an annual 
                        contributions contract entered into between the 
                        covered public housing agency and the 
                        Secretary; and
                            ``(iii) may not bill the initial public 
                        housing agency for the assistance payments 
                        described in clause (ii) for a period of more 
                        than 12 months beginning on the effective date 
                        of the initial billing.''.
    (b) Technical Amendment.--Effective on December 27, 2022, paragraph 
(21) of section 8(o) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 
U.S.C. 1437f(o)), as added by section 101(b)(2)(B) of division Q of the 
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Public Law 116-260; 134 Stat. 
2462), is redesignated as paragraph (22).
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