FAIR HOUSING INITIATIVES PROGRAM

EXCERPT FROM HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ACT OF 1987

[Public Law 100-242; 101 Stat. 1942; 42 U.S.C. 3616 note]

SEC. 561. FAIR HOUSING INITIATIVES PROGRAM.

(a) IN GENERAL.-The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (in this section referred to as the "Secretary") may make grants to, or (to the extent of amounts provided in appropriation Acts) enter into contracts or cooperative agreements with, State or local governments or their agencies, public or private nonprofit organizations or institutions, or other public or private entities that are formulating or carry out programs to prevent or eliminate discriminatory housing practices, to develop, implement, carry out, or coordinate

(1) programs or activities designed to obtain enforcement of the rights granted by title VIII of the Act of April 11, 1968 (commonly referred to as the Civil Rights Act of 1968), or by State or local laws that provide rights and remedies for alleged discriminatory housing practices that are substantially equivalent to the rights and remedies provided in such title VIII, through such appropriate judicial or administrative proceedings (including informal methods of conference, conciliation, and persuasion) as are available therefore; and

(2) education and outreach programs designed to inform the public concerning rights and obligations under the laws referred to in paragraph (1).

(b) PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION.

(1) Not less than 30 days before providing a grant or entering into any contract or cooperative agreement to carry out activities authorized by this section, the Secretary shall submit notification of such proposed grant, contract, or cooperative agreement (including a description of the geographical distribution of such contracts) to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs of the House of Representatives.

(2) The Secretary shall provide to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs of the House of Represenatives a quarterly report that summarizes the activities funded under this section and describes the geographical distribution of grants contracts, or cooperative agreements funded under this section.

(c) REGULATIONS.

(1) The Secretary shall issue such regulations as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this section.

(2) The Secretray shall, for use during the demonstration authorized in this section, establish guidelines for testing activi

ties funded under the private enforcement initiative of the fair housing initiatives program. The purpose of such guidelines shall be to ensure that investigations in support of fair housing enforcement efforts described in subsection (a)(1) shall develop credible and objective evidence of discriminatory housing practices. Such guidelines shall apply only to activities funded under this section, shall not be construed to limit or otherwise restrict the use of facts secured through testing not funded under this section in any legal proceeding under Federal fair housing laws, and shall not be used to restrict individuals or entities, including those participating in the fair housing initiatives program, from pursuing any right or remedy guaranteed by Federal law. Not later than 6 months after the end of the demonstration period authorized in this section, the Secretary shall submit to Congress the evaluation of the Secretary of the effectiveness of such guidelines in achieving the purposes of this section.

(3) Such regulations shall include provisions governing applications for assistance under this section, and shall require each such application to contain

(A) a description of the assisted activities proposed to be undertaken by the applicant, together with the estimated costs and schedule for completion of such activities;

(B) a description of the experience of the applicant in formulating or carrying out programs to prevent or eliminate discriminatory housing practices;

(C) available information, including studies made by or available to the applicant, indicating the nature and extent of discriminatory housing practices occurring in the general location where the applicant proposes to conduct its assisted activities, and the relationship of such activities to such practices:

(D) an estimate of such other public or private resources as may be available to assist the proposed activities;

(E) a description of proposed procedures to be used by the applicant for monitoring conduct and evaluating results of the proposed activities; and

(F) any additional information required by the Secretary.

(4) Regulations issued under this subsection shall not become effective prior to the expiration of 90 days after the Secretary transmits such regulations, in the form such regulations are intended to be published, to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs of the House of Representatives.

(5) The Secretary shall not obligate or expend any amount under this section before the effective date of the regulations required under this subsection.

(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.-There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out the provisions of this section, including any program evaluations, $6,000,000 for fiscal year 1991 and $6,300,000 for fiscal year 1992, of which not more than $3,000,000

in each year shall be for the private enforcement initiative demonstration. Any amount appropriated under this section shall remain available until expended.

(e) SUNSET.-The demonstration period authorized in this section shall end on September 30, 1992. [42 U.S.C. 3616 note]

COLLECTION OF CERTAIN DATA

EXCERPT FROM HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ACT OF 1987

[Public Law 100-242; 101 Stat. 1944; 42 U.S.C. 3608a]

SEC. 562. COLLECTION OF CERTAIN DATA.

(a) IN GENERAL.-To assess the extent of compliance with Federal fair housing requirements (including the requirements established under title VI of Public Law 88-352 and title VIII of Public Law 90-284), the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and the Secretary of Agriculture shall each collect, not less than annually, data on the racial and ethnic characteristics of persons eligible for, assisted, or otherwise benefiting under each community development, housing assistance, and mortgage and loan insurance and guarantee program administered by such Secretary. Such data shall be collected on a building by building basis if the Secretary involved determines such collection to be appropriate.

(b) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.-The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and the Secretary of Agriculture shall each include in the annual report of such Secretary to the Congress a summary and evaluation of the data collected by such Secretary under subsection (a) during the preceding year. [42 U.S.C. 3608a]

MEDIAN AREA INCOME

EXCERPT FROM HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ACT OF 1987

[Public Law 100-242; 101 Stat. 1948; 42 U.S.C. 1437a note]

SEC. 567. MEDIAN AREA INCOME.

For purposes of calculating the median income for any area that is not within a metropolitan statistical area (as established by the Office of Management and Budget) for programs under title I of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, the United States Housing Act of 1937, the National Housing Act, or title V of the Housing Act of 1949, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development or the Secretary of Agriculture (as appropriate) shall use whichever of the following is higher:

(1) the median income of the county in which the area is located; or

(2) the median income of the entire nonmetropolitan area of the State. [42 U.S.C. 1437a note]