HR5798-119

What This Bill Does

The HOME Reform Act rewrites multiple operating rules for the HOME Investment Partnerships Program. It raises several HOME income references from low-income households to households up to 100 percent of area median income, defines infill housing projects, and protects participating jurisdictions' choice of rehabilitation, construction, acquisition, and other eligible housing uses unless Congress expressly authorizes HUD to restrict them. It lets certain nonentitlement jurisdictions use HOME funds for infrastructure such as water lines, sewer lines, sidewalks, roads, and utility connections when the work is directly related to HOME-assisted or Low-Income Housing Tax Credit housing. It raises the affordable homeownership purchase-price cap from 95 percent to 110 percent, preserves long-term affordability through shared equity, community land trusts, limited equity cooperatives, community development corporations, and similar mechanisms, and lets jurisdictions waive qualifications for deployed military owners or heirs of deceased owners. The bill also removes the right-to-draw expiration, frees unused CHDO set-asides after 24 months, expands the Davis-Bacon small-project threshold from 12 units to 24 units, creates categorical NEPA exemptions for infill, acquisition, rehab, and new construction of 15 units or fewer, bars duplicative environmental reviews, exempts HOME activities from Build America, Buy America, and exempts small HOME-assisted housing work from Section 3 in specified jurisdictions.

Who Benefits and How

Participating HOME jurisdictions benefit because they gain broader discretion over rehabilitation, construction, acquisition, infrastructure, and small-project rules. Moderate-income homebuyers benefit because eligibility expands to households up to 100 percent of area median income in several HOME provisions. Community land trusts and shared-equity housing sponsors benefit because the bill expressly recognizes long-term affordability mechanisms. Nonentitlement jurisdictions benefit because HOME funds can support infrastructure directly tied to HOME or tax-credit housing. Small affordable housing developers benefit from NEPA, Build America Buy America, Section 3, and Davis-Bacon relief for covered smaller projects.

Who Bears the Burden and How

HUD HOME program staff must issue infrastructure and environmental-review regulations and administer broader eligibility rules. Environmental review offices lose some project review authority because several HOME activity categories become statutorily exempt. Domestic material suppliers may lose demand from HOME-assisted work because Build America Buy America requirements would not apply. Section 3 workers and contractors lose a hiring preference on covered small HOME-assisted housing activities. Federal taxpayers bear any increased HOME spending velocity as unused set-asides become available for broader eligible uses.

Key Provisions

• Expands several HOME income thresholds to families with household income up to 100 percent of area median income.
• Authorizes HOME infrastructure uses for water, sewer, sidewalks, roads, and utility connections tied to assisted housing in certain jurisdictions.
• Raises the affordable homeownership value cap to 110 percent and recognizes shared-equity, community land trust, limited equity cooperative, and similar long-term affordability models.
• Removes the expiration of right to draw HOME investment trust funds and redirects unused CHDO set-asides after 24 months.
• Expands the Davis-Bacon small-project threshold from 12 units to 24 units.
• Provides NEPA categorical exemptions and anti-duplication rules for specified HOME projects.
• Exempts HOME activities from Build America Buy America and exempts specified small projects from Section 3 requirements.