Livable Communities Act of 2011

Bill: 112-s-1621
Sponsor: Sen. Menendez, Robert [D-NJ]
Introduced: 2011-09-22 in the Senate
Policy area: Housing and Community Development
Subjects: Agricultural conservation and pollution
Building construction
Department of Housing and Urban Development
Economic development
Energy efficiency and conservation
Environmental health
Executive agency funding and structure
Farmland
Government lending and loan guarantees
Government studies and investigations
Hazardous wastes and toxic substances
Housing and community development funding
Housing supply and affordability
Land use and conservation
Low- and moderate-income housing
Public transit
Regional and metropolitan planning
Rural conditions and development
Urban and suburban affairs and development

Summary:
action_date: 2011-09-22
text: 
Livable Communities Act of 2011 - Establishes in the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) an Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities (OSHC). 
 
Requires the OSHC Director to establish a program to make comprehensive planning grants to eligible entities (partnerships between a consortium of units of general local government and an eligible partner or an Indian tribe that meets specified requirements). Defines "eligible partner" as a metropolitan planning organization, a rural planning organization, or a regional council, or one of these and a state, an Indian tribe, a state and an Indian tribe, or an institution of higher education.
 
Requires the use of a comprehensive planning grant to carry out a project to: (1) coordinate locally defined planning processes, across jurisdictions and agencies; (2) identify regional partnerships for developing and implementing a comprehensive regional plan; (3) conduct or update assessments to determine regional needs and promote economic and community development; (4) develop or update a comprehensive regional plan or goals and strategies to implement an existing comprehensive regional plan and other related activities; and (5) identify local zoning and other code changes necessary to implement a comprehensive regional plan and promote sustainable development.
 
Requires the use of a community challenge grant to: (1) promote integrated planning and investments across policy and governmental jurisdictions, and (2) implement projects identified in a comprehensive regional plan.
 
Authorizes the Secretary of HUD to make or guarantee (up to 75% of) loans to eligible governmental, corporate, or partnership borrowers for infrastructure development projects used to support transit-oriented development.
 
Requires the Director of the Office of Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Control to lead the federal initiative to support healthy housing and eradicate housing-related health hazards.
 
Requires the Secretary to study how sustainable building features in housing, such as energy efficiency, affect: (1) the quality of the indoor environment, (2) the prevalence of housing-related health hazards, and (3) the health of such occupants. 
 
States that no housing assisted using a grant under this Act may be made available to an individual who is not lawfully present in the United States. 
 
 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2011-09-22
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. (text of measure as introduced: CR S5914-5919)
action_date: 2011-09-22
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S5913-5914)
action_date: 2011-09-22
text: Introduced in Senate