To nullify certain regulations and notices of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and for other purposes.
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMr. Lee introduced the following bill; which was read twice …
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Local Zoning Decisions Protection Act of 2025 nullifies several Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) regulations related to "Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing" (AFFH) - rules that required communities receiving federal housing funds to analyze and address patterns of segregation. The bill also prohibits federal funding for databases tracking racial disparities or affordable housing access, and requires HUD to consult with state and local officials before developing any future fair housing recommendations.
Who Benefits and How
State and local governments benefit significantly from this bill. They gain greater autonomy over local zoning and housing decisions without federal oversight requiring them to address historical segregation patterns. Local officials would no longer face requirements to complete AFFH assessments or modify zoning policies to receive HUD funding. The bill also gives state and local officials veto power over future fair housing regulations through the required consensus-based consultation process.
Who Bears the Burden and How
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) loses its primary enforcement tools for promoting fair housing integration. The agency cannot implement existing AFFH rules or build data systems to track housing disparities. Any future fair housing initiatives require consensus with state and local officials, significantly constraining federal action. Communities facing housing discrimination may have fewer federal protections, as localities would no longer be required to proactively address segregation to receive federal housing funds.
Key Provisions
- Nullifies the 2015 AFFH final rule, the 2021 interim rule, and the 2023 proposed rule, along with any substantially similar successor regulations
- Prohibits federal funds from being used to create, maintain, or access geospatial databases on community racial disparities or affordable housing access
- Requires HUD to consult with state, local, and public housing agency officials to develop Fair Housing Act recommendations, with a 12-month timeline
- Mandates that any HUD recommendations require consensus among all consulted parties before inclusion in reports
- Establishes a 180-day public comment period on draft recommendations before finalizing
Evidence Chain:
This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
Primary Purpose
The bill aims to nullify specific regulations and notices related to fair housing initiatives by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, while also promoting federalism through consultation with state and local officials on Fair Housing Act recommendations.
Policy Domains
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
- "state_officials"
- → Elected or professional officials of state governments or representatives.
- "local_government_officials"
- → Elected or professional officials of local governments or their representatives.
- "public_housing_agency_officials"
- → Officials from public housing agencies.
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
No federal funds can be used to create, maintain, or access a database related to community racial disparities and affordable housing.
This section specifies the proposed rule, interim final rule, and final rule related to Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing that shall have no force or effect.
The Secretary is required to consult with state, local, and public housing officials to develop recommendations for the Fair Housing Act. The process includes notice, participation, collaboration, transparency, and exploring alternative means to achieve federal objectives.
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology