Dive Brief:
- The U.S. Senate on Thursday passed the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, a largely policy-oriented bill that retools existing federal housing programs and reduces some federal barriers to new housing development. The bill now moves back to the House for approval.
- The bipartisan legislation does not preempt local zoning regulations. It was supported by municipal organizations such as the U.S. Conference of Mayors and National League of Cities, according to a fact sheet issued March 2 by bill sponsor Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C.
- The legislation comes as local governments struggle with a housing affordability crisis. “In our cities, mayors are doing everything we can to increase supply and support affordability,” USCM President and Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt said in a statement. “But we cannot solve this challenge alone. We need a federal partner.”
Dive Insight:
The Act combines a number of provisions from separate bills introduced in the House and Senate last year, containing 84% of the House bill’s approved housing provisions, according to Scott.
The legislation would update the HOME Investment Partnership Program, the federal government’s largest affordable housing construction program, by streamlining funds for workforce housing and initiating a pilot program to convert vacant buildings into residential housing. It would also expand the annual grant to cover eligible infrastructure priorities for new housing.
The Community Development Block Program — once limited to affordable housing repairs and refurbishments — would also be expanded under the bill to include new housing construction for low- and moderate-income residents, according to NLC.
The bill avoids any unfunded mandates for local governments, Michael Wallace, NLC’s legislative director for community and economic development, wrote in a March 6 blog post.
The bill also targets some regulatory requirements, which U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner says account for approximately 25% of the cost of a new single-family home and 40% of the cost of a multifamily development. One such provision streamlines National Environmental Policy Act reviews by deferring to state and local government environmental reviews that meet federal standards.
The bill also lifts some costly requirements for certain housing types, such as manufactured housing and modular homes, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center.
The Democratic Mayors Association lauded the legislation’s passage and stressed the need for a strong federal partnership in addressing the housing crisis.
“Passing the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act is an important step forward in addressing the need for affordable housing, which is among the most urgent challenges facing our communities,” the organization stated.
