Public Housing Procurement Improvement Act of 2021
Bill: H.R.4901 | Sponsor: Rep. Torres, Ritchie (D-NY)
Policy area: Housing and Community Development

Summary:
Public Housing Procurement Improvement Act of 2021
This bill allows a public housing agency (PHA) to use any of the following contract arrangements in a federally funded low-income housing project for the development of dwelling units owned or operated by the PHA:

To authorize public housing agencies to utilize certain contractual 
   arrangements in undertaking development projects involving 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 Procurement 
Improvement Act of 2021''.

SEC. 2. PUBLIC HOUSING AGENCY PROJECT DELIVERY SYSTEM AUTHORITY.

    (a) In General.--Section 5 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 
(42 U.S.C. 1437c) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
subsection:
    ``(j) Project Delivery System Authority.--Notwithstanding any other 
provision of Federal, State, or local law, but not including 
requirements or standards of conduct covering conflicts of interest and 
governing the actions of public housing agency employees engaged in the 
selection, award, and administration of contracts and limiting 
noncompetitive contracts, the Secretary shall provide that, in 
undertaking any federally funded low-income housing project involving 
the development of dwelling units owned, operated, or maintained by a 
public housing agency, the public housing agency may utilize any of the 
following contractual arrangements:
            ``(1) Design-build.--Use of an engineering or construction 
        firm, or team of firms, having the capability of performing all 
        the engineering, design, procurement, and development by itself 
        to execute the total scope of the project.
            ``(2) Construction management.--Use of a construction 
        manager who is an independent contractor of the public housing 
        agency, but not its agent, and has responsibility for providing 
        analysis and advisory services related to value engineering, 
        constructability, pricing and project risks during the design 
        phase of the project, and complete responsibility for 
        supervision, coordination, and administration of the 
        construction phase of the project, including the responsibility 
        for performing and procuring construction work.
            ``(3) Best value.--Use of a selection and evaluation 
        process under which the public housing agency, or a panel 
        selected by the agency, considers qualitative factors, 
        including design solution, management, and schedule, and price, 
        on some formula basis.
            ``(4) Prequalification.--Use of a selection and evaluation 
        process under which the public housing agency, or a panel 
        selected by the agency, that prequalifies proposers based on 
        qualitative factors, including qualifications and experience, 
        and subsequently allows only prequalified proposers to 
        participate and bid in a best value selection and evaluation 
        process.
            ``(5) Guaranteed maximum price.--Use of a reasonable 
        contract pricing structure with safe harbors under which the 
        total price for construction-phase work under a design-build or 
        construction management at risk contract is established on a 
        cost-plus basis with a guaranteed maximum amount that may be 
        paid to the contractor, except for any adjustment under other 
        contract clauses providing for equitable adjustment or other 
        revision of the contract price under stated circumstance, after 
        95-percent completion of the project design.''.
    (b) Regulations.--The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development 
shall issue such regulations as may be necessary to carry out the 
provisions of this section 5(j) of the United States Housing Act of 
1937, as added by the amendment made by subsection (a) of this section.
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