Title: Housing Innovation Act of 2019
Policy area: Housing and Community Development

Summary:
Housing Innovation Act of 2019
This bill establishes the Office of Housing Innovation within the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The office must establish grant programs to support (1) planning efforts that address housing needs in urban areas; (2) research and studies to support, inform, and advise local governments on their plans for new housing and community development; and (3) outreach programs focused on issues related to housing, community development, and regional planning.
The Government Accountability Office must report on the effectiveness of the grant programs.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4756 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4756

   To establish an Office of Housing Innovation in the Department of 
Housing and Urban Development to assist in exploring and developing new 
 approaches for increasing and diversifying the supply of housing and 
for meeting the challenges of housing shortages, housing affordability, 
            and traffic congestion, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 18, 2019

Mr. DeSaulnier introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To establish an Office of Housing Innovation in the Department of 
Housing and Urban Development to assist in exploring and developing new 
 approaches for increasing and diversifying the supply of housing and 
for meeting the challenges of housing shortages, housing affordability, 
            and traffic congestion, 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 ``Housing Innovation Act of 2019''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds that--
            (1) housing should be considered a critical component of 
        our national infrastructure;
            (2) existing shortages of affordable housing options in 
        many regions are contributing to long commutes, financial 
        stress, environmental pollution, and public health risk;
            (3) new approaches in the planning, design, and 
        construction of housing need to be explored for diversifying 
        housing options available to the workforce; and
            (4) greater coordination of existing Federal resources 
        across agencies could significantly expand and diversify the 
        supply of housing.

SEC. 3. OFFICE OF HOUSING INNOVATION; ASSISTANT SECRETARY.

    (a) Assistant Secretary for Housing Innovation.--Section 4(a) of 
the Department of Housing and Urban Development Act (42 U.S.C. 3533(a)) 
is amended:
            (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``7 Assistant 
        Secretaries'' and inserting ``9 Assistant Secretaries''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(i) Office of Housing Innovation.--
            ``(1) Assistant secretary.--There shall be in the 
        Department an Assistant Secretary for Housing Innovation, who 
        shall be appointed by the President.
            ``(2) Establishment.--There is established in the 
        Department the Office of Housing Innovation, which shall be 
        headed by the Assistant Secretary for Housing Innovation.
            ``(3) Functions.--The Assistant Secretary of Housing 
        Innovation shall have primary responsibility within the 
        Department for--
                    ``(A) accumulating and disseminating information 
                regarding innovative practices and successful case 
                studies of new approaches for increasing and 
                diversifying the supply of housing, especially in urban 
                metropolitan regions and surrounding rural regions that 
                are facing challenges of housing shortages, housing 
                affordability, and traffic congestion;
                    ``(B) carrying out activities, including 
                administering the grant programs under the Housing 
                Innovation Act of 2019, to encourage partnerships in 
                exploring and developing innovative solutions to the 
                challenges to housing supply referred to in 
                subparagraph (A);
                    ``(C) coordinating with other offices within the 
                Department, including the Office of Housing, the Office 
                of Policy Development and Research, and the Office of 
                Community Planning and Development, and other Federal 
                agencies, including the Department of Transportation, 
                to recommend policies that address workforce housing 
                needs; and
                    ``(D) providing technical assistance to local 
                governments in undertaking or preparing for planning 
                and policy reforms to increase housing units and 
                housing supply diversity.
            ``(4) Detailees.--The Secretary shall ensure that the staff 
        of the Office of Housing Innovation includes, at all times--
                    ``(A) two detailees from the Department of 
                Transportation, who shall include--
                            ``(i) one having expertise in transit 
                        issues or active transportation issues, or 
                        both; and
                            ``(ii) one from the Build America Bureau 
                        having expertise on the Transportation 
                        Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act 
                        (TIFIA) program and the Railroad Rehabilitation 
                        and Improvement Financing (RRIF) program;
                    ``(B) one detailee from the Environmental 
                Protection Agency having expertise on the public health 
                impacts of housing and community development; and
                    ``(C) one detailee from the Department of Energy 
                having expertise on renewable energy and energy 
                efficiency upgrades for low- and moderate-income 
                communities.
        The Secretary shall consult with the heads of the agencies 
        referred to in this paragraph to provide for such details and 
        such details shall be made on a reimbursable basis.''.
    (b) Amendments to Title 5, United States Code.--
            (1) Positions at level iv of executive schedule.--Section 
        5315 of title 5, United States Code, is amended in the 
        undesignated item relating to Assistant Secretaries of Housing 
        and Urban Development by striking ``(8)'' and inserting 
        ``(9)''.
    (c) Conforming Amendment.--Paragraph (1) of section 4(a) of the 
Department of Housing and Urban Development Act (42 U.S.C. 3533(a)(1)) 
is amended by striking ``7'' and inserting ``8''.
    (d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated for necessary salaries and expenses of the Office of 
Housing Innovation of the Department of Housing and Urban Development 
$50,000,000 for fiscal year 2020 and each fiscal year thereafter.

SEC. 4. GRANTS FOR LOCAL PLANNING FOR HOUSING.

    (a) Authority.--The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (in 
this Act referred to as the ``Secretary''), acting through the 
Assistant Secretary of Housing Innovation, shall carry out a program to 
make grants under this section to eligible localities for undertaking 
planning efforts and associated regulatory reforms that address the 
housing needs of such areas.
    (b) Eligible Localities.--For purposes of this section, the term 
``eligible locality'' means a unit of general local government that is 
located within an urbanized area, as such term is defined by the United 
States Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce.
    (c) Goals.--Local plans developed using amounts from grants under 
this section shall address all of the following goals:
            (1) Increasing the supply of housing units within the 
        jurisdiction of the grantee or within certain defined areas 
        within such jurisdiction, including neighborhoods around 
        existing or planned transit facilities and job centers.
            (2) Improving the affordability of the housing supply 
        within the jurisdiction of the grantee or within certain 
        defined areas within such jurisdiction, including neighborhoods 
        around existing or planned transit facilities and job centers.
            (3) Diversifying the housing supply within the jurisdiction 
        of the grantee or within certain defined areas within such 
        jurisdiction to include more multifamily housing options or 
        newer and less common forms of housing, such as multifamily 
        housing focused on smaller private spaces and more shared 
        amenities, micro-unit housing, housing developments that 
        incorporate co-working spaces, and housing for students.
            (4) Improving commute times to job sites, reducing 
        congestion, or reducing vehicle miles traveled within the 
        region in which the locality is located.
    (d) Use.--The Secretary shall ensure that amounts from a grant 
under this section shall be used only for costs associated with a 
housing planning process that addresses the goals in subsection (c), 
including public outreach, community meetings, preparation of planning 
documents, and research and studies in support of such planning 
efforts.
    (e) Selection.--The Secretary shall award grants to eligible 
localities submitting applications under subsection (g) that are 
selected to receive grants under a competition based on criteria 
established by the Secretary, which shall include the following 
criteria:
            (1) The extent to which the eligible locality outlines a 
        planning process that will facilitate progress toward the goals 
        under subsection (c), including the potential changes or 
        updates to local policies and regulations (such as zoning 
        ordinances, parking requirements, general plans, and specific 
        plans) that such a planning process will aim to affect.
            (2) The extent to which the eligible locality demonstrates 
        how the planning process will address the needs of the 
        metropolitan region within which the eligible locality is 
        located by providing housing for the existing and projected 
        workforce demand.
            (3) The extent to which the eligible locality provides 
        details of the planning actions it intends to take, including 
        public outreach activities and actions for consideration for 
        formal policy adoption of planning elements and 
        recommendations.
            (4) The extent to which the eligible locality specifies a 
        timeline for completion of its planning process, including 
        potential dates for consideration for formal policy adoption by 
        the local governing body.
            (5) The extent to which the eligible locality demonstrates 
        collaboration with regional planning efforts and coordination 
        with the relevant metropolitan planning organization that 
        manages regional planning for the area within which the 
        locality is located.
    (f) Limitation on Amount.--A grant under this section for an 
eligible locality may not exceed $2,000,000.
    (g) Applications.--The Secretary shall provide for eligible 
localities to submit applications to the Secretary for grants under 
this section, which shall contain such information as the Secretary may 
require.

SEC. 5. GRANTS FOR RESEARCH AND PILOT PROJECTS.

    (a) Authority.--The Secretary, acting through the Assistant 
Secretary of Housing Innovation, shall carry out a program to make 
grants under this section to eligible partnerships for the purposes of 
carrying out research and pilot studies to support, inform, and advise 
local governments on their plans for new housing and community 
development.
    (b) Eligible Partnerships.--For purposes of this section, the term 
``eligible partnership'' means a partnership of entities and 
institutions that includes at least one of the following entities:
            (1) A unit of local government.
            (2) A college, university, or other research institution.
            (3) A nonprofit organization.
    (c) Use.--Amounts from a grant under this section may only be used 
for research and pilot studies that are designed to study and 
investigate activities and measures for improving housing and commuting 
for the workforce in a community, including--
            (1) measures to improve the commuting experience between 
        transit stations and homes (commonly referred to as the ``last 
        mile'');
            (2) programs for accommodating higher education students 
        within the community;
            (3) programs for facilitating home-sharing for elderly 
        residents;
            (4) plans and measures for integrating business and 
        commercial activity with residential neighborhoods;
            (5) plans and measures for increasing transportation 
        options improving mobility within residential neighborhoods;
            (6) programs for learning and disseminating information 
        about modular building techniques and other approaches to 
        reducing housing construction costs;
            (7) plans or programs for improving public health through 
        changes in the built environment, such as safer streets that 
        are more conducive and welcoming to pedestrian activity;
            (8) measures to evaluate the impact of housing development 
        in the community on the long-term social mobility and economic 
        prospects of residents; and
            (9) such other measures, plans, and activities as 
        applicants may propose, but only if the Secretary approves such 
        proposals as consistent with the goals under section 4(c).
    (d) Limitations on Amount.--A grant under this section for an 
eligible partnership may not exceed the lesser of--
            (1) $500,000; or
            (2) in the case only of an eligible partnership that has 
        previously received a grant under this section, the amount that 
        the eligible partnership certifies, as the Secretary shall 
        require, that the partnership will contribute from non-Federal 
        sources for activities described in subsection (c) that are 
        assisted with such grant amounts.

SEC. 6. GRANTS FOR EDUCATION ACTIVITIES.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary, acting through the Assistant 
Secretary of Housing Innovation, shall carry out a program under this 
section to make grants to partnerships that include at least one 
academic institution for providing support for educational and 
community outreach programs that are focused on issues related to 
housing, community development, and regional planning.
    (b) Limitations on Amount.--A grant under this section for a 
partnership may not exceed the lesser of--
            (1) $200,000; or
            (2) in the case only of a partnership that has previously 
        received a grant under this section, the amount that the 
        partnership certifies, as the Secretary shall require, that the 
        partnership will contribute from non-Federal sources for 
        educational and community outreach programs described in 
        subsection (a) that are assisted with such grant amounts.

SEC. 7. GAO REVIEW.

    Not later than the expiration of the 3-year period beginning on the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the 
United States shall conduct a review of grant programs under sections 
4, 5, and 6 of this Act to analyze the effectiveness of such programs 
and shall submit a report containing the results of such review and any 
conclusions resulting from such review to the Committee on Financial 
Services of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Banking, 
Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate.

SEC. 8. REGULATIONS.

    The Secretary may issue any regulations necessary to carry out this 
Act.

SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) Funding.--There are authorized to be appropriated to the 
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to carry out this Act 
$100,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 through 2026 of which, in 
each fiscal year--
            (1) 90 percent shall be available only for grants under 
        section 4;
            (2) 5 percent shall be available only for grants under 
        section 5; and
            (3) 5 percent shall be available only for grants under 
        section 6.
    (b) Source of Funding.--It is the sense of the Congress that the 
funding to carry out this Act provided pursuant to subsection (a) 
should not result in a reduction of Federal funding for any existing 
affordable housing program or programs.
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