Title: Local Solutions to End Homelessness Act of 2019
Policy area: Housing and Community Development

Summary:
Local Solutions to End Homelessness Act of 2019
This bill reallocates to urban counties, under certain circumstances, Emergency Solutions Grant funds to help individuals and families regain permanent housing after experiencing a housing crisis or homelessness.
Currently, if such funds going to a metropolitan city or an urban county are less than a specified amount, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) typically reallocates the funds to the state in which the city or county is located. The bill generally maintains this reallocation arrangement but also establishes certain circumstances when such funds shall go directly to the recipient or be reallocated elsewhere.
Generally, under the bill, if such aid going to a metropolitan city is less than a specified amount, HUD must reallocate the funds to the urban county in which the city is located if the county elects to receive, and has previously administered, such aid. However, the bill maintains an existing provision whereby a metropolitan city shall receive the funds directly if (1) the state does not have counties as local governments, (2) the city has a specified population, and (3) the city has previously received a certain amount of such funds.
Similarly, HUD must distribute these funds directly to an urban county receiving less than a specified amount if the county has previously received and administered such funds.
An urban county receiving reallocated funds must spend such funds for the benefit of the metropolitan cities located within the county.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 812 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 812

    To modify the minimum allocation requirement for the emergency 
                       solutions grants program.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 14, 2019

 Mr. Menendez introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
    referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To modify the minimum allocation requirement for the emergency 
                       solutions grants program.

    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 ``Local Solutions to End Homelessness 
Act of 2019''.

SEC. 2. MINIMUM ALLOCATION REQUIREMENT FOR EMERGENCY SOLUTIONS GRANTS 
              PROGRAM.

    Section 414(b) of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 
U.S.C. 11373(b)) is amended to read as follows:
    ``(b) Minimum Allocation Requirement.--
            ``(1) In general.--If, under the allocation provisions 
        applicable under this subtitle, a metropolitan city or an urban 
        county would receive a grant of less than .05 percent of the 
        amounts appropriated under section 408 and made available to 
        carry out this subtitle for any fiscal year, such amount shall 
        be reallocated to the State in which the metropolitan city or 
        urban county, as applicable, is located, except that--
                    ``(A) in the case of the metropolitan city, such 
                amount shall be reallocated to the urban county in 
                which the metropolitan city is located, if the urban 
                county--
                            ``(i) has previously received and 
                        administered assistance under this section; and
                            ``(ii) agrees to receive such amount; and
                    ``(B) in the case of the urban county, such amount 
                shall be provided to the urban county if the urban 
                county has previously received and administered 
                assistance under this section.
            ``(2) Exception.--Notwithstanding paragraph (1), a 
        metropolitan city shall receive the grant amount described such 
        paragraph if the metropolitan city--
                    ``(A) is located in a State that does not have 
                counties as local governments;
                    ``(B) has a population greater than 40,000 but less 
                than 50,000 as used in determining the fiscal year 1987 
                community development block grant program allocation; 
                and
                    ``(C) was allocated in excess of $1,000,000 in 
                community development block grant funds in fiscal year 
                1987.
            ``(3) Amounts reallocated to urban counties.--An urban 
        county that receives amounts reallocated under paragraph (1)(A) 
        shall expend those amounts for the benefit of metropolitan 
        cities located in the urban county.''.
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