Title: Sustainable Communities Act of 2019
Policy area: Housing and Community Development

Summary:
Sustainable Communities Act of 2019
This bill requires the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), in coordination with the Department of Transportation, to create a Sustainable Communities Initiative to improve regional planning efforts that integrate housing and transportation decisions and improve land use and zoning.
As part of this initiative, HUD must administer two grant programs. Specifically, HUD must provide

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 927 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 927

    To authorize the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, in 
   conjunction with the Secretary of Transportation, to carry out a 
      Sustainable Communities Initiative, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 30, 2019

 Mrs. Torres of California (for herself and Mr. Blumenauer) introduced 
 the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial 
   Services, and in addition to the Committee on Transportation and 
   Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
  Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
           within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To authorize the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, in 
   conjunction with the Secretary of Transportation, to carry out a 
      Sustainable Communities Initiative, 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 ``Sustainable Communities Act of 
2019''.

SEC. 2. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES INITIATIVE.

    (a) Authority.--The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (in 
this section referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall, in coordination 
with the Secretary of Transportation, carry out a Sustainable 
Communities Initiative to improve regional planning efforts that 
integrate housing and transportation decisions, and increase the 
capacity to improve land use and zoning.
    (b) Regional Integrated Planning Grants.--
            (1) Authority.--Under the Sustainable Communities 
        Initiative under this section the Secretary shall, to the 
        extent amounts are made available for grants under this 
        subsection pursuant to subsection (f), provide Regional 
        Integrated Planning Grants to support improvements in and 
        coordination of metropolitan-wide housing, transportation, 
        energy, and land use planning activities.
            (2) Competition; grantees.--Grants under this subsection 
        shall be awarded on a competitive basis to regional, 
        multijurisdictional organizations and consortia in metropolitan 
        areas. The Secretary shall consult with the Secretary of 
        Transportation in evaluating applications for such grants.
    (c) Community Challenge Planning Grants.--
            (1) Authority.--Under the Sustainable Communities 
        Initiative under this section the Secretary shall, to the 
        extent amounts are made available for grants under this 
        subsection pursuant to subsection (f), provide Community 
        Challenge Planning Grants to foster reform and reduce barriers, 
        including through the reform of existing building codes and 
        zoning ordinances, to achieve affordable, economically vital, 
        and sustainable communities and discourage inefficient land use 
        patterns.
            (2) Competition; grantees.--Grants under this subsection 
        shall be awarded on a competitive basis to units of general 
        local government. The Secretary shall consult with the 
        Secretary of Transportation in evaluating applications for such 
        grants.
    (d) Plan.--The Secretary may not award any grant under subsection 
(b) or (c) before the Secretary, in coordination with the Secretary of 
Transportation, submits to the Congress a plan establishing grant 
criteria and performance measures by which to measure the success of 
grantees in achieving the goals of the grants, which plan shall be 
based on the requirements under the Department of Housing and Urban 
Development Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for Fiscal Year 2010 
Sustainable Communities Regional Planning Grant Program [Docket No. FR-
5396-03].
    (e) Research and Evaluation.--The Secretary and the Secretary of 
Transportation shall conduct a joint research effort to evaluate the 
grant programs under subsections (b) and (c) to quantify the benefits 
and costs of such programs. Amounts made available for activities under 
this subsection may be used to improve the technical capacities of 
regional organizations, local jurisdictions, community-based 
organizations, developers, and private sector lenders to carry out 
eligible activities under the grant programs under subsections (b) and 
(c).
    (f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $150,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2020 and 2021, of which for each such fiscal year--
            (1) $100,000,000 shall be for Regional Integrated Planning 
        Grants under subsection (b) and of which not less than 
        $25,000,000 for each such fiscal year shall be only for such 
        grants for metropolitan areas having populations of fewer than 
        500,000 persons;
            (2) $40,000,000 shall be for Community Challenge Planning 
        Grants under subsection (c); and
            (3) up to $10,000,000 shall be for carrying out activities 
        under subsection (e).
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