Housing and Community Development Act of 1992/Title VIII/Subtitle A

. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AUTHORIZATIONS.

 * (a) COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANTS—
 * Section 103 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5303) is amended by striking the second and third sentences and inserting the following: `For purposes of assistance under section 106, there are authorized to be appropriated $4,000,000,000 for fiscal year 1993 and $4,168,000,000 for fiscal year 1994.


 * (b) LIMITATION ON LOAN GUARANTEES—
 * The fifth sentence of section 108(a) of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5308(a)) is amended to read as follows: `Notwithstanding any other provision of law and subject only to the absence of qualified applicants or proposed activities and to the authority provided in this section, to the extent approved or provided in appropriation Acts, the Secretary shall enter into commitments to guarantee notes and obligations under this section with an aggregate principal amount of $2,000,000,000 for fiscal year 1993 and $2,000,000,000 for fiscal year 1994.´.


 * (c) SPECIAL PURPOSE GRANTS—
 * (1) SET-ASIDE—
 * Section 107 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5307) is amended by striking `SEC. 107. (a)´ and all that follows through the end of subsection (a) and inserting the following:


 * ``SEC. 107. (a) SET-ASIDE—
 * ``(1) IN GENERAL— For each fiscal year (except as otherwise provided in this paragraph), of the total amount provided in appropriation Acts under section 103 for the fiscal year, $60,000,000 shall be set aside for grants under subsection (b) for such year for the following purposes:
 * ``(A) $7,000,000 shall be available for grants under subsection (b)(1);
 * ``(B) $6,500,000 shall be available for grants under subsection (b)(3);
 * ``(C) $6,000,000 shall be available for grants under subsection (b)(5);
 * ``(D) $6,000,000 shall be available in fiscal year 1993 for grants under subsection (b)(7);
 * ``(E) $3,000,000 shall be available for grants under subsection (c);
 * ``(F) such sums as may be necessary shall be available for grants under paragraphs (2), (4), and (6) of subsection (b);
 * ``(G) $2,000,000 shall be available in fiscal year 1993 for a grant to the City of Bridgeport, Connecticut, subject to the approval of sufficient amounts in an appropriation Act and to binding commitments made by the City of Bridgeport and the State of Connecticut that the city and State, respectively, will supplement such amount with $2,000,000 of additional funds;
 * ``(H) $15,000,000 shall be available for grants under the Removal of Regulatory Barriers to Affordable Housing Act of 1992; and
 * ``(I) $7,500,000 shall be available to carry out the Community Outreach Partnership Act of 1992.
 * ``(2) TREATMENT OF GRANTS— Any grants made under this section shall be in addition to any other grants that may be made under this title to the same entities for the same purposes.´´.


 * (2) OTHER PURPOSES—
 * Section 107(b) of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5307(b)) is amended—
 * (A) in paragraph (3), by striking `and´ at the end;
 * (B) in paragraph (4), by striking the period at the end and inserting a semicolon; and
 * (C) by adding at the end the following:


 * ``(5) to States and units of general local government and institutions of higher education having a demonstrated capacity to carry out eligible activities under this title, except that the Secretary may make a grant under this paragraph only to a State or unit of general local government that jointly, with an institution of higher education, has prepared and submitted to the Secretary an application for such grant, as the Secretary shall by regulation require;
 * ``(6) to units of general local government in nonentitlement areas for planning community adjustments and economic diversification activities, which may include any eligible activities under section 105, required—
 * ``(A) by the proposed or actual establishment, realignment, or closure of a military installation,
 * ``(B) by the cancellation or termination of a Department of Defense contract or the failure to proceed with an approved major weapon system program, or
 * ``(C) by a publicly announced planned major reduction in Department of Defense spending that would directly and adversely affect a unit of general local government and will result in the loss of 1,000 or more full-time Department of Defense and contractor employee positions over a 5-year period in the unit of general local government and the surrounding area, or if the Secretary (in consultation with the Secretary of Defense) determines that an action described in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) is likely to have a direct and significant adverse consequence on the unit of general local government; and
 * ``(7) for the purposes of rebuilding and revitalizing distressed areas of the Los Angeles metropolitan area.´´.


 * (3) REGULATIONS—
 * Not later than the expiration of the 60-day period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall issue proposed regulations to carry out section 107(b)(6) of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, as added by subsection (c)(2) of this section. The Secretary shall issue final regulations to carry out section 107(b)(6) not later than the expiration of the 120-day period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act and after notice and opportunity for public comment pursuant to the provisions of section 553 of title 5, United States Code (notwithstanding subsections (a)(2), (b)(B), and (d)(3) of such section). Such final regulations shall take effect 30 days after issuance.


 * (4) CONFORMING AMENDMENT—
 * Section 107(c) of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5307(c)) is amended by striking `to the extent´ and all that follows up to `grants to institutions´ and inserting `make´.


 * (d) GRANT ACTIVITIES—
 * The special purpose grant of the City of Dubuque, Iowa, under Public Law 102-139 may be used for land acquisition, new construction, relocation assistance payments, and rehabilitation for housing of low- and moderate-income families.

. UNITS OF GENERAL LOCAL GOVERNMENT.

 * (a) DEFINITION—
 * Section 102(a)(1) of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5302(a)(1)) is amended by striking `recognized by the Secretary´ and inserting the following: `that, except as provided in section 106(d)(4), is recognized by the Secretary´.


 * (b) GRANTS TO NONENTITLEMENT AREAS—
 * Section 106(d) of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5306(d)) is amended by inserting after paragraph (3) the following new paragraph:


 * ``(4) Any combination of units of general local governments may not be required to obtain recognition by the Secretary pursuant to section 102(a)(1) to be treated as a single unit of general local government for purposes of this subsection.´´.

. URBAN COUNTIES.

 * Section 102(a)(6)(D) of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5302(a)(6)(D)) is amended—
 * (1) in clause (iii), by striking `or´ at the end;
 * (2) in clause (iv), by striking the period at the end and inserting `; or´; and
 * (3) by adding at the end the following new clause:


 * ``(v)(I) has a population of 175,000 or more (including the population of metropolitan cities therein), (II) before January 1, 1975, was designated by the Secretary of Defense pursuant to section 608 of the Military Construction Authorization Act, 1975 (Public Law 93-552; 88 Stat. 1763), as a Trident Defense Impact Area, and (III) has located therein not less than 1 unit of general local government that was classified as a metropolitan city and (a) for which county each such unit of general local government therein has relinquished its classification as a metropolitan city under the 6th sentence of paragraph (4), or (b) that has entered into cooperative agreements with each metropolitan city therein to undertake or to assist in the undertaking of essential community development and housing assistance activities.´´.

. RETENTION OF PROGRAM INCOME.

 * The first sentence of section 104(j) of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5304(j)) is amended—
 * (1) by striking `while the unit of general local government is participating in a community development program under this title´; and
 * (2) by inserting before the period at the end the following: `; except that the Secretary may, by regulation, exclude from consideration as program income any amounts determined to be so small that compliance with this subsection creates an unreasonable administrative burden on the unit of general local government´.

. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.

 * (b) Section 105 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5305) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:


 * ``(d) TRAINING PROGRAM— The Secretary shall implement, using funds recaptured pursuant to section 119(o), an on-going education and training program for officers and employees of the Department, especially officers and employees of area and other field offices of the Department, who are responsible for monitoring and administering activities pursuant to paragraphs (14), (15), and (17) of subsection (a) for the purpose of ensuring that (A) such personnel possess a thorough understanding of such activities; and (B) regulations and guidelines are implemented in a consistent fashion.´´.

. EVALUATION, SELECTION, AND REVIEW OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS.

 * (a) GUIDELINES—
 * Section 105 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5305), as amended by section 805, is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:


 * ``(e) GUIDELINES FOR EVALUATING AND SELECTING ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS—
 * ``(1) ESTABLISHMENT— The Secretary shall establish, by regulation, guidelines to assist grant recipients under this title to evaluate and select activities described in section 105(a) (14), (15), and (17) for assistance with grant amounts. The Secretary shall not base a determination of eligibility of the use of funds under this title for such assistance solely on the basis that the recipient fails to achieve one or more of the guidelines' objectives as stated in paragraph (2).
 * ``(2) PROJECT COSTS AND FINANCIAL REQUIREMENTS— The guidelines established under this subsection shall include the following objectives:
 * ``(A) The project costs of such activities are reasonable.
 * ``(B) To the extent practicable, reasonable financial support has been committed for such activities from non-Federal sources prior to disbursement of Federal funds.
 * ``(C) To the extent practicable, any grant amounts to be provided for such activities do not substantially reduce the amount of non-Federal financial support for the activity.
 * ``(D) Such activities are financially feasible.
 * ``(E) To the extent practicable, such activities provide not more than a reasonable return on investment to the owner.
 * ``(F) To the extent practicable, grant amounts used for the costs of such activities are disbursed on a pro rata basis with amounts from other sources.
 * ``(3) PUBLIC BENEFIT— The guidelines established under this subsection shall provide that the public benefit provided by the activity is appropriate relative to the amount of assistance provided with grant amounts under this title.´´.


 * (b) ASSISTANCE TO FOR-PROFIT ENTITIES—
 * Section 105 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5305), as amended by subsection (a), is amended by inserting at the end the following new subsection:


 * ``(f) ASSISTANCE TO FOR-PROFIT ENTITIES— In any case in which an activity described in paragraph (17) of subsection (a) is provided assistance such assistance shall not be limited to activities for which no other forms of assistance are available or could not be accomplished but for that assistance.´´.


 * (c) GAO STUDY—
 * The Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct a study of the use of grant amounts under title I of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 for activities described in paragraphs (14), (15), and (17) of section 105(a) of such Act. The study shall evaluate whether the activities for which such amounts are being used under such paragraphs further the goals and objectives of such program, as established in section 101 of such Act. The Comptroller General shall submit a report to the Congress regarding the findings of the study not later than the expiration of the 18-month period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act. The report shall include recommendations of—
 * (1) any administrative or legislative actions that may be taken to ensure that such grant amounts are properly and efficiently used for economic development activities; and
 * (2) criteria by which to evaluate the effectiveness of activities assisted under paragraphs (14), (15), and (17) of such section 105(a).


 * (d) ENHANCING JOB QUALITY—
 * Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit to the Congress a report on the types and quality of jobs created or retained through assistance provided pursuant to title I of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 and the extent to which projects and activities assisted under that title enhance the upward mobility and future earning capacity of low- and moderate-income persons who are benefited by such projects and activities.


 * (e) REBUILDING DISTRESSED NEIGHBORHOODS—
 * Section 105(c) of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5305(c)) is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:


 * ``(4) For the purposes of subsection (c)(1)(C)—
 * ``(A) if an employee resides in, or the assisted activity through which he or she is employed, is located in a census tract that meets the Federal enterprise zone eligibility criteria, the employee shall be presumed to be a person of low- or moderate-income; or
 * ``(B) if an employee resides in a census tract where not less than 70 percent of the residents have incomes at or below 80 percent of the area median, the employee shall be presumed to be a person of low or moderate income.´´.

. ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.

 * (a) ADDITIONAL ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES—
 * Section 105(a) of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5305(a)) is amended—
 * (1) in paragraph (8), by inserting before the semicolon at the end the following: `, and except that of any amount of assistance under this title (including program income) in each of fiscal years 1993 through 1997 to the City of Los Angeles and County of Los Angeles, each such unit of general government may use not more than 25 percent in each such fiscal year for activities under this paragraph´;
 * (2) in paragraph (19), by striking `and' at the end;
 * (3) by redesignating paragraph (20) as paragraph (25); and
 * (4) by inserting after paragraph (19) the following new paragraphs:


 * ``(20) provision of technical assistance to public or nonprofit entities to increase the capacity of such entities to carry out eligible neighborhood revitalization or economic development activities, which assistance shall not be considered a planning cost as defined in paragraph (12) or administrative cost as defined in paragraph (13);
 * ``(21) housing services, such as housing counseling, energy auditing, preparation of work specifications, loan processing, inspections, tenant selection, management of tenant-based rental assistance, and other services related to assisting owners, tenants, contractors, and other entities, participating or seeking to participate in housing activities authorized under this section, or under title II of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act, except that activities under this paragraph shall be subject to any limitation on administrative expenses imposed by any law;
 * ``(22) provision of assistance by recipients under this title to institutions of higher education having a demonstrated capacity to carry out eligible activities under this subsection for carrying out such activities;
 * ``(23) provision of assistance to public and private organizations, agencies, and other entities (including nonprofit and for-profit entities) to enable such entities to facilitate economic development by—
 * ``(A) providing credit (including providing direct loans and loan guarantees, establishing revolving loan funds, and facilitating peer lending programs) for the establishment, stabilization, and expansion of microenterprises;
 * ``(B) providing technical assistance, advice, and business support services (including assistance, advice, and support relating to developing business plans, securing funding, conducting marketing, and otherwise engaging in microenterprise activities) to owners of microenterprises and persons developing microenterprises; and
 * ``(C) providing general support (such as peer support programs and counseling) to owners of microenterprises and persons developing microenterprises;
 * ``(24) activities necessary to make essential repairs and to pay operating expenses necessary to maintain the habitability of housing units acquired through tax foreclosure proceedings in order to prevent abandonment and deterioration of such housing in primarily low- and moderate-income neighborhoods; and´´.


 * (b) DIRECT HOMEOWNERSHIP ASSISTANCE—
 * Section 907(b)(2) of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 5305 note) is amended—
 * (1) by striking `October 1, 1992´ and inserting `October 1, 1994´;
 * (2) by striking `October 1, 1993´ and inserting `October 1, 1995´; and
 * (3) by striking `(18)´, `(19)´, and `(20)´ and inserting `(23)´, `(24)´, and `(25)´, respectively.


 * (c) MICROENTERPRISE AND SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE—
 * (1) IN GENERAL—
 * Section 105 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5305), as amended by section 806, is further amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:


 * ``(g) MICROENTERPRISE AND SMALL BUSINESS PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS— In developing program requirements and providing assistance pursuant to paragraph (17) of subsection (a) to a microenterprise or small business, the Secretary shall—
 * ``(1) take into account the special needs and limitations arising from the size of the entity; and
 * ``(2) not consider training, technical assistance, or other support services costs provided to small businesses or microenterprises or to grantees and subgrantees to develop the capacity to provide such assistance, as a planning cost pursuant to section 105(a)(12) or an administrative cost pursuant to section 105(a)(13).´´.


 * (2) DEFINITIONS—
 * Section 102(a) of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5302(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraphs:


 * ``(22) The term 'microenterprise' means a commercial enterprise that has 5 or fewer employees, 1 or more of whom owns the enterprise.
 * ``(23) The term 'small business' means a business that meets the criteria set forth in section 3(a) of the Small Business Act.´´.


 * (3) SENSE OF THE CONGRESS—
 * It is the sense of the Congress that each grantee under title I of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 should reserve 1 percent of any grant amounts the grantee receives in each fiscal year for the purpose of providing assistance under section 105(a)(23) of such Act to facilitate economic development through commercial microenterprises.


 * (4) REPORT—
 * Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Congress a report on the effectiveness of assistance provided through title I of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 in promoting development of microenterprises, including a review of any statutory or regulatory provision that impedes the development of microenterprises.


 * (d) LOANS OF CDBG FUNDS—
 * Section 105(a)(14) of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5305(a)(14)) is amended by inserting before `activities´ the following: `provision of assistance including loans (both interim and long-term) and grants for´.


 * (e) CDBG CODE ENFORCEMENT—
 * Section 105(a)(3) of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 is amended by striking `improvements and´ and inserting `or private improvements or´.


 * (f) NEIGHBORHOOD-BASED NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS—
 * Section 105(a)(15) of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5305(a)(15)) is amended by inserting after `corporations,´ the following: `nonprofit organizations serving the development needs of the communities in nonentitlement areas,´.

. REFERENCE TO FAIR HOUSING ACT.

 * Sections 104(b)(2), 106(d)(5)(B), and 107(e)(1) of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5304(b)(2), 5306(d)(5)(B), and 5307(e)(1)) are each amended by striking `Public Law 88-352 and Public Law 90-284´ and inserting `the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Fair Housing Act´.

. ELIGIBILITY OF ENTERPRISE ZONES.

 * Section 105(a)(13) of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 is amended by inserting immediately after `(13)´ the following: `payment of reasonable administrative costs related to establishing and administering federally approved enterprise zones and´.

. ASSISTANCE FOR COLONIAS.

 * (a) ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES—
 * Section 916 of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 5306 note) is amended—
 * (1) by adding at the end of subsection (b) the following new paragraph:


 * ``(3) OTHER IMPROVEMENTS- Other activities eligible under section 105 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 designed to meet the needs of residents of colonias.´´; and


 * (2) in subsection (f), by striking `and 1993´ and inserting `1993, and 1994´.


 * (b) DEFINITION OF COLONIA—
 * Section 916(e)(1) of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 5306 note) is amended—
 * (1) by striking subparagraph (C);
 * (2) by redesignating subparagraph (D) as subparagraph (C); and
 * (3) by striking subparagraph (E) and inserting the following new subparagraph:


 * ``(D) was in existence as a colonia before the date of the enactment of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act.´´.

. STATE SET-ASIDE FOR TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.

 * Section 106(d) of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5306(d)) is amended by inserting after paragraph (4), as added by section 802, the following:


 * ``(5) From the amounts received under paragraph (1) for distribution in nonentitlement areas, the State may deduct an amount, not to exceed 1 percent of the amount so received, to provide technical assistance to local governments and nonprofit program recipients.´´.

. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PLANS AND REPORTS.

 * (a) IN GENERAL—
 * Subsection (l) of section 104 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, as added by section 922 of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 5304(l)), is amended to read as follows:


 * ``(m) COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PLANS—
 * ``(1) IN GENERAL— Prior to the receipt in any fiscal year of a grant from the Secretary under subsection (b), (d)(1), or (d)(2)(B) of section 106, each recipient shall have prepared and submitted in accordance with this subsection and in such standardized form as the Secretary shall, by regulation, prescribe a description of its priority nonhousing community development needs eligible for assistance under this title.
 * ``(2) LOCAL GOVERNMENTS— In the case of a recipient that is a unit of general local government—
 * ``(A) prior to the submission required by paragraph (1), the recipient shall, to the extent practicable, notify adjacent units of general local government and solicit the views of citizens on priority nonhousing community development needs; and
 * ``(B) the description required under paragraph (1) shall be submitted to the Secretary, the State, and any other unit of general local government within which the recipient is located, in such standardized form as the Secretary shall, by regulation, prescribe.
 * ``(3) STATES— In the case of a recipient that is a State, the description required by paragraph (1)—
 * ``(A) shall include only the needs within the State that affect more than one unit of general local government and involve activities typically funded by such States under this title; and
 * ``(B) shall be submitted to the Secretary in such standard form as the Secretary, by regulation, shall prescribe.
 * ``(4) EFFECT OF SUBMISSION— A submission under this subsection shall not be binding with respect to the use or distribution of amounts received under section 106.´´.


 * (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS—
 * Section 104(b)(4) of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5304(b)(4)) is amended—
 * (1) by inserting `pursuant to subsection (m)´ before the first comma; and
 * (2) by striking `and housing´.

. DELAY USE OF 1990 CENSUS HOUSING DATA TO EXAMINE EFFECT ON TARGETING FOR CDBG FORMULA.

 * Notwithstanding any other provision of law, for fiscal year 1993, no data derived from the 1990 Decennial Census, except those relating to population and poverty, shall be taken into account for purposes of the allocation of amounts under section 106 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974.