Title: Affordable Housing and Area Median Income Fairness Act of 2019
Policy area: Housing and Community Development

Summary:
Affordable Housing and Area Median Income Fairness Act of 2019
This bill modifies the means by which eligibility for low-income housing assistance and tax credits is determined.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is prohibited from considering the New York counties of Westchester and Rockland as within the New York City metropolitan area when determining or establishing area median incomes and income ceilings and limits for the purposes of eligibility for low-income housing assistance.
HUD must also assess alternative methods for calculating area median income as well as alternative metrics for use in programs administered by HUD that would make housing more affordable for low-income families in urban areas nationwide.
HUD, for the purposes of low-income housing tax credits and exempt facilities bonds, may not apply high housing cost adjustments for any jurisdiction when calculating the area median income or any related metric. A jurisdiction may petition HUD to apply such an adjustment, however.
Qualified low-income buildings may not receive a low-income housing credit unless they provide to the relevant housing credit agency certain information required by HUD to determine program compliance.
The bill also authorizes through FY2029 certain assistance for jurisdictions for which HUD has applied, or would have applied in the absence of this bill, a high housing cost adjustment.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4984 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4984

To increase the supply of, and lower rents for, affordable housing and 
 to adjust calculations of area median income for purposes of Federal 
         low-income housing assistance, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            November 5, 2019

 Ms. Clarke of New York (for herself, Ms. Meng, Mr. Danny K. Davis of 
   Illinois, Mr. Serrano, Ms. Norton, Mr. Nadler, and Mr. Espaillat) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, 
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 increase the supply of, and lower rents for, affordable housing and 
 to adjust calculations of area median income for purposes of Federal 
         low-income housing assistance, 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 ``Affordable Housing and Area Median 
Income Fairness Act of 2019''.

SEC. 2. AREA MEDIAN INCOME FAIRNESS.

    Subparagraph (D) of section 3(b)(2) of the United States Housing 
Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a(b)(2)(D)) is amended--
            (1) in the second sentence, by inserting ``(in this 
        subparagraph referred to as the `covered jurisdictions')'' 
        before the fifth comma;
            (2) in the third sentence--
                    (A) by striking ``Westchester or Rockland 
                Counties'' and inserting ``the covered jurisdictions''; 
                and
                    (B) by striking ``included Westchester and Rockland 
                Counties'' and inserting ``does not include the covered 
                jurisdictions''; and
            (3) in the fourth sentence, by striking ``include 
        Westchester and Rockland Counties, New York, in'' and inserting 
        ``exclude the covered jurisdictions from''.

SEC. 3. HIGH HOUSING COST ADJUSTMENT FAIRNESS.

    Subparagraph (D) of section 3(b)(2) of the United States Housing 
Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a(b)(2)(D)), as amended by the preceding 
provisions of this Act, is further amended by adding at the end the 
following: ``For purposes of the low-income housing tax credit program 
under section 42 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and the exempt 
facilities bond program under section 142 of such Code, the Secretary 
may not apply, for any city, county, and other such jurisdiction, for 
the purposes of calculating the area median income or any related 
metric, in the instances where it is used to derive the income limits 
or rent amounts for such programs for a given area, a high housing cost 
adjustment, unless such jurisdiction petitions the Secretary to apply 
such adjustment to such city, county, or other such jurisdiction. The 
Secretary shall review and grant such petitions made by any legal and 
proper authority within the relevant jurisdiction, including petitions 
enacted by popular referendum. The preceding two sentences may not be 
construed to affect housing vouchers under section 8 or to carry out 
any other purpose than those specifically stated in such sentences.''.

SEC. 4. LOW-INCOME HOUSING TAX CREDIT DISCLOSURES.

    (a) In General.--Section 42 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 
amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(o) Annual Reporting.--No credit shall be allowed under 
subsection (a) with respect to a qualified low-income building for a 
taxable year unless the following information is submitted (in such 
manner and at such time as the Secretary requires) to the relevant 
housing credit agency:
            ``(1) All expenditures after the date of the allocation 
        under subsection (h) that substantially affect the basis of 
        such building.
            ``(2) The projected rents of the affordable units in such 
        building during the 5-year period following such submission.
            ``(3) The annual profits attributable to such building.
            ``(4) The annual expenditures attributable to tax credit 
        syndication.
            ``(5) Any other information required by the Secretary that 
        is reasonably necessary to determine program compliance.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply to taxable years beginning after the date of the enactment of 
this Act.

SEC. 5. URGENT SUPPORT FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING INFRASTRUCTURE.

    (a) Home Investment Partnerships Program.--
            (1) Authorization of appropriations.--There is authorized 
        to be appropriated to carry out title II of the Cranston-
        Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 1721 et 
        seq.) $2,500,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 through 
        2029.
            (2) Limitation.--Any amounts appropriated pursuant to 
        paragraph (1) shall be used only for assistance for any area 
        within a participating jurisdiction for which the Secretary has 
        applied, or would have applied prior to the enactment of this 
        Act, a high housing cost adjustment.
    (b)  Community Development Block Grants.--
            (1) Authorization of appropriations.--There is authorized 
        to be appropriated for community development block grant 
        assistance under section 106 of the Housing and Community 
        Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5306) $2,500,000,000 for 
        each of fiscal years 2020 through 2029.
            (2) Limitation.--Any amounts appropriated pursuant to 
        paragraph (1) shall be used only for assistance for any area 
        within a metropolitan city or urban county for which the 
        Secretary has applied, or would have applied prior to the 
        enactment of this Act, a high housing cost adjustment.
    (c)  Housing Trust Fund.--
            (1) Authorization of appropriations.--There is authorized 
        to be appropriated to the Housing Trust Fund established under 
        section 1338(a) of the Federal Housing Enterprises Financial 
        Safety and Soundness Act of 1992 (12 U.S.C. 4568(a)) 
        $2,500,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 through 2029.
            (2) Limitation.--Any amounts appropriated pursuant to 
        paragraph (1) shall be used only for assistance to be used 
        within any area within a unit of general local government for 
        which the Secretary has applied, or would have applied prior to 
        the enactment of this Act, a high housing cost adjustment.

SEC. 6. ASSESSMENT REGARDING OPTIMIZING USE OF AREA MEDIAN INCOME TO 
              SUPPORT AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN URBAN AREAS.

    (a) Assessment of Alternative Calculation Methods.--Not later than 
180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 
shall commence an assessment of alternative methods for calculating 
area median income, and the use of alternative metrics, for programs 
administered by the Secretary that would make housing more affordable 
for low-income families residing in urban areas nationwide, which shall 
include analysis of the topics identified in subsection (b).
    (b) Report.--Not later than two years after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on 
Financial Services of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 
Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate, and make publicly 
available, a report setting forth the results of the assessment 
conducted pursuant to subsection (a), which shall include--
            (1) a review and summarization of significant findings and 
        recommendations from any related previous reports regarding 
        area median income;
            (2) an assessment of the extent and impacts of the 
        affordable housing crisis in urban areas nationwide, 
        particularly within jurisdictions for which the Secretary has 
        applied a high housing cost adjustment;
            (3) an analysis and assessment of the effects that high 
        housing cost adjustments have had on income limits and rent 
        prices in jurisdictions for which the Secretary has applied 
        such an adjustment;
            (4) an assessment of the potential impacts to affordable 
        housing, particularly on income limits and rent prices, of 
        calculating area median income on a zip-code level basis and 
        using other localized methodologies;
            (5) assess and propose a process through which State 
        housing authorities may designate area median income 
        jurisdictions within that State;
            (6) an assessment of alternative metrics to area median 
        income for the purposes of setting income levels and related 
        thresholds for affordable housing programs administered by the 
        Secretary;
            (7) recommendations for how the Secretary could reform or 
        eliminate use of area median income for the purposes of making 
        housing more affordable for low-income and middle class 
        families in urban areas; and
            (8) any further recommendations for how the Secretary could 
        make housing more affordable for low-income and middle class 
        families in urban areas.
    (c) Methodology.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit a report to the 
Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives and the 
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate 
describing the methodology that will be used to conduct the assessment 
under this section.

SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.

    For purposes of this Act, the following definitions shall apply:
            (1) Area median income.--The term ``area median income'' 
        means median income for an area, as such term is used in 
        section 3(b) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 
        U.S.C. 1437a(b)), median family income, and any other 
        substantively similar metric that the Secretary uses to refer 
        to the median income level for a given area or jurisdiction for 
        purposes of any program administered by the Secretary.
            (2) High housing cost adjustment.--The term ``high housing 
        cost adjustment'' means an adjustment for high housing costs or 
        high construction costs, or any substantively similar 
        adjustment that the Secretary may use to increase income limits 
        for areas where the cost of housing is abnormally high compared 
        to the median income for such area, for purposes of any program 
        administered by the Secretary.
            (3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Housing and Urban Development.
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