HR891-119

2. Local housing policy grant and loan pilot program Beginning not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary shall award grants on a competitive basis to eligible entities for the purpose of developing and evaluating housing policy plans. Beginning not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary shall award grants on a competitive basis to eligible entities for the purpose of implementing housing policy plans. Beginning not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary shall provide direct loans to eligible entities for the purpose of implementing housing policy plans. A direct loan provided under this section shall be subject to such terms and conditions as the Secretary determines appropriate. The interest rate on a direct loan provided under this section shall be less than the yield on United States Treasury obligations of a similar maturity to the maturity of the direct loan on the date of execution of the loan agreement, at a rate determined by the Secretary, for the purpose of providing low-cost credit to eligible entities. The Secretary shall provide not less than 20 percent of the amounts awarded or loaned under this section to eligible entities that plan to use them to assist an area that is rural or exurban, as determined by the Secretary in consultation the Director of the United States Census Bureau. An eligible entity seeking a planning grant, implementation grant, or direct loan provided under this section shall submit to the Secretary an application at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may require. In awarding a planning grant, implementation grant, or direct loan provided under this section, the Secretary shall give priority to eligible entities that— have developed or are likely to develop a housing policy plan that will— improve housing supply, affordability, and accessibility for all individuals of every race and income level; reduce barriers to affordable housing development; and avoid the displacement of residents by new housing developments in the area under the jurisdiction of the eligible entity; in developing or implementing a housing policy plan, intend to leverage and efficiently use amounts from— another Federal, State, or local assistance program relating to housing; or a private funding source; intend to— increase the supply and affordability of housing that is located— near local transit options; and in areas in which a significant or expanding supply of jobs or demand for employment is concentrated; coordinate with local transportation and workforce agencies in accomplishing the increase described in clause (i); leverage existing infrastructure by rehabilitating or converting existing properties when developing or implementing a housing policy plan; and where appropriate, coordinate policy development for, and analysis and implementation of, the housing policy plan of the eligible entity at a regional scale to achieve a more equitable distribution of affordable housing across jurisdictional boundaries; or are a coalition of States or political subdivisions of States. The Secretary shall base the degree of priority given to an eligible entity that satisfies 1 or more subparagraphs under paragraph (2) on a scoring system established by the Secretary. An eligible entity that receives a planning grant or implementation grant shall contribute non-Federal amounts for developing or implementing a housing policy plan financed using amounts provided in such grant in the following amounts: If the area under the jurisdiction of an eligible entity has a population of 15,000 or fewer, the eligible entity shall provide non-Federal contributions in an amount equal to 15 percent of the amount of the grant. If the area under the jurisdiction of an eligible entity has a population between 15,001 and 30,000, the eligible entity shall provide non-Federal contributions in an amount equal to 25 percent of the amount of the grant. If the area under the jurisdiction of an eligible entity has a population between 30,001 and 40,000, the eligible entity shall provide non-Federal contributions in an amount equal to 35 percent of the amount of the grant. If the area under the jurisdiction of an eligible entity has a population between 40,001 and 70,000, the eligible entity shall provide non-Federal contributions in an amount equal to 45 percent of the amount of the grant. If the area under the jurisdiction of an eligible entity has a population of 70,001 or more, the eligible entity shall provide non-Federal contributions in an amount equal to 45 percent of the amount of the grant. If an eligible entity uses amounts provided by the Federal Government not under this section to develop or implement a housing policy plan for which the eligible entity also receives a grant under this section, any non-Federal contribution made by the eligible entity as part of that Federal assistance program shall be counted towards the requirements under paragraph (1). Based on the available resources of an eligible entity, the Secretary may, at the discretion of the Secretary, reduce the amount of non-Federal contributions required to be provided by the eligible entity under paragraphs (1) and (2). An eligible entity that receives a planning grant, implementation grant, or direct loan provided under this section shall use a portion of the amounts from such grant or loan to submit the report required under subsection (j)(1). An eligible entity that receives a planning grant shall use amounts from such grant to finance activities to develop and evaluate a housing policy plan for the area under the jurisdiction of the eligible entity, including— quantifying existing and projected housing needs for households of every income level, including extremely low-income families, as defined in section 3(b) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a(b)); documenting the characteristics of— the housing in the area; the households of the area, including cost-burdened households; and housing underproduction in the area; developing strategies to increase the housing supply and the variety of housing types in the area to satisfy the housing needs of the population of the area; analyzing population and employment trends in the area and documenting projections of those trends; considering strategies to minimize displacement of low-income families, as defined in section 3(b) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a(b)), as a result of redevelopment in the area; providing for participation and input from community members, community groups, local builders, local realtors, nonprofit housing advocates, and local religious groups; and creating a schedule of programs and actions to implement the recommendations of the housing policy plan, including a plan for adopting actions through a local implementing ordinance or another regulatory process, such as a land use plan or a comprehensive plan. Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary shall issue guidance that includes recommended policies, strategies, and reforms for eligible entities to adopt in housing policy plans to— improve the elasticity of housing supply; expand the supply and affordability of housing; reduce barriers to housing development; and meaningfully reduce housing segregation by income and race. The guidance issued under paragraph (1) shall include recommendations for policies, strategies, and reforms to— encourage and support the repurposing of land or structures for housing development; allow for a greater variety of housing types; revise land use policies to allow for the development of more housing; streamline approval processes for housing development; provide financial incentives to support affordable housing development; and support inclusive engagement with community members relating to reforms to expand housing supply. The guidance issued under paragraph (1) shall include recommendations for policies, strategies, and reforms for urban, suburban, exurban, and rural areas. Not later than 1 year after the date on which the Secretary awards the first planning grant, implementation grant, or direct loan provided under this section, the Secretary shall establish a learning network to— facilitate problem solving relating to the development and implementation of housing policy plans; and disseminate best practices and effective strategies and policies to improve local housing supply and affordability. The learning network established under paragraph (1) shall be accessible to— eligible entities that receive a grant or loan under this section; and eligible entities that submit an application under subsection (e). Not later than 180 days after the date on which an eligible entity receives a planning grant, implementation grant, or direct loan provided under this section, and not less frequently than quarterly thereafter for a 3-year period, the eligible entity shall submit to the Secretary a report that includes— a description of the expenditures the eligible entity has made with amounts from such grant or loan; for an eligible entity receiving a planning grant, a summary of the progress of the eligibility entity towards finalizing a housing policy plan; and for an eligible entity receiving an implementation grant, data relating to the success of the implementation of the housing policy plan of the eligible entity. Not later than 5 years after the date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary shall conduct a study with respect to— the impact of implementation grants, planning grants, and direct loans provided under this section on the areas under the jurisdiction of eligible entities receiving those grants or loans; and successful strategies from housing policy plans that were impactful in— expanding the housing supply; and increasing the quantity of quality and affordable housing while avoiding the displacement of the residents of an area. Not later than 1 year after the date on which the Secretary completes the study required under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate committees of the Congress a report on the study. There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary $200,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2031 to carry out this section. The Secretary may use any amounts made available under paragraph (1) to pay the costs of providing direct loans under this section. In this section: The term cost-burdened household means a household that spends not less than 30 percent of the income of the household on housing. The term Department means the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The term direct loan has the meaning given the term in section 502 of the Federal Credit Reform Act (2 U.S.C. 661a). The term eligible entity means a State, a political subdivision of a State, a coalition of States or political subdivisions of States, an Indian Tribe, or a Native Hawaiian organization that— demonstrates, with respect to the area under the jurisdiction of the State, political subdivision, coalition, Indian Tribe, or organization— rising housing costs or a reasonable expectation that housing costs will rise in the area; and a housing supply shortage; if applying for a planning grant— intends to develop, or is in the process of developing, a housing policy plan; and demonstrates an intent to use a portion of the planning grant to engage with community stakeholders and housing practitioners in developing a housing policy plan; and if applying for an implementation grant or direct loan under this section— has adopted and plans to implement, or is in the process of implementing, a housing policy plan; and demonstrates the engagement of community stakeholders and housing practitioners in developing the housing policy plan. The term housing policy plan means a comprehensive plan of an eligible entity to, with respect to the area under the jurisdiction of the eligible entity— increase the housing supply in the area, while avoiding the displacement of the residents of the area; increase the affordability of housing in the area; and reduce barriers to housing development in the area. The term implementation grant means a grant awarded under subsection (b). The term Indian Tribe has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). The term Native Hawaiian organization has the meaning given the term in section 2 of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (25 U.S.C. 3001). The term planning grant means a grant awarded under subsection (a). The term Secretary means the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, acting through the Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development, in coordination with— the Office of Economic Resilience of the Office of Community Planning and Development of the Department; the Office of Policy Development and Research of the Department; the Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity of the Department; the Office of Housing of the Department; and the Office of Public and Indian Housing of the Department. The term State means any State of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and any possession of the United States.