Title: Build More Housing Near Transit Act
Policy area: Transportation and Public Works

Summary:
Build More Housing Near Transit Act
This bill revises requirements for the fixed guideway capital investment grant program.
Specifically, the bill

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4307 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4307

To amend title 49, United States Code, relating to certain requirements 
for the engineering phase of fixed guideway capital investment grants, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 12, 2019

  Mr. Peters (for himself, Mrs. Rodgers of Washington, Mr. Heck, Mr. 
   Payne, Ms. Hill of California, and Mr. Gallagher) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation 
                           and Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title 49, United States Code, relating to certain requirements 
for the engineering phase of fixed guideway capital investment grants, 
                        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 ``Build More Housing Near Transit 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) An underproduction in housing units relative to demand 
        has led to a national housing shortage.
            (2) The shortage of housing leaves 47 percent of households 
        cost-burdened, paying more than 30 percent of their income on 
        rent.
            (3) The number of housing units underproduced from 2000 
        through 2015 is equal to 7.3 million units in 23 States.
            (4) Lack of housing supply and rising rent costs exacerbate 
        inequality and reduce opportunity for many Americans.
            (5) Over half of all renters are cost-burdened, paying more 
        than 30 percent of their income for housing, and 71 percent of 
        extremely low-income households are severely cost-burdened, 
        paying more than half of their income for housing.
            (6) Low-income households often live far from their jobs 
        which may result in long commute times, increased cost burdens, 
        and limitations on the jobs they can access.
            (7) Low-income households who live near public transit have 
        lower cost burdens than those who live far from public transit.
            (8) Public transit system ridership is higher if more 
        housing is located within walking distance of transit stations.
            (9) Housing built around transit stops should target 
        middle-income families, particularly those with 60 to 100 
        percent area median income.

SEC. 3. ENGINEERING PHASE OF FIXED GUIDEWAY CAPITAL INVESTMENT GRANTS.

    (a) In General.--Section 5309(d)(2) of title 49, United States 
Code, is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (A)--
                    (A) by striking clause (iii) and inserting the 
                following:
                            ``(iii) is justified based on a 
                        comprehensive review of the project's mobility 
                        improvements, the project's environmental 
                        benefits, congestion relief associated with the 
                        project, economic development effects and real 
                        estate development associated with the project 
                        (as evidenced by a housing feasibility 
                        assessment conducted by the applicant), current 
                        and proposed land use policies and patterns of 
                        the project that support public transportation 
                        and ridership, and the project's cost-
                        effectiveness as measured by cost per rider; 
                        and''; and
                    (B) in clause (iv) by inserting before the period 
                the following: ``, and a commitment of local land use 
                policies to accommodate affordable and market-rate 
                housing development associated with the project''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(C) Proposed changes to land use policies.--
                Proposed changes to local land use policies for 
                purposes of the commitment to such policies under 
                subparagraph (A)(iv) shall be evaluated based on the 
                housing feasibility assessment for parcels in the 
                project station walkshed using standard real estate 
                financial models that consider, among other possible 
                factors, density, development certainty, market 
                interest, exemption of minimum parking requirements, 
                by-right development, agency ownership of land, and 
                regional growth goals.''.
    (b) Technical Correction.--Section 5309(f) of title 49, United 
States Code, is amended by striking ``subsection (d)(2)(A)(v)'' each 
place it appears and inserting ``subsection (d)(2)(A)(iv)''.
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