Legislation Introduced to Neutralize HUD's AFFH Rule

Representative Paul Gosar (R-AZ) recently introduced H.R. 482, as Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) introduced S. 103, an identical piece of companion legislation in the Senate. While the Fair Housing Act has been in place since 1968, it wasn’t until the Obama administration when a rule was put in place enforcing affirmative action by local communities to assess fair housing issues through collected geospatial data. The proposed legislation would void the 2015 AFFH rule and 2015 AFFH Notice relating to the Assessment Tool. The legislation also prohibits federal funds from being used to “design, build, maintain, utilize, or provide access to a Federal database of geospatial information on community racial disparities or disparities in access in affordable housing.”

The bills direct the HUD Secretary to consult with a group composed of state officials, local government officials, and public housing officials representing various regional, economic, and geographic perspectives within the United States to develop recommendations in line with Supreme Court rulings on how to appropriately further the Fair Housing Act. The bills discuss this process, including minimum timelines for public comments and processes for dealing with absence of consensus, the end result being a published report of recommendations released by the HUD Secretary made in consultation with the aforementioned officials.