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Councilmember Robert C. White, Jr. 3
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A BILL 7
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IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 10
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To amend, on an emergency basis, due to congressional review, the District of Columbia 13
Housing Authority Act of 1999 to require the District of Columbia Housing Authority to 14
report certain financial and operating information, revise the training requirements for 15
commissioners, and establish training requirements for the executive director; and to 16
amend chapter 39 of Title 28 of the District of Columbia Official Code to confirm the 17
applicability of landlord-tenant consumer protections to the District of Columbia Housing 18
Authority. 19
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this 21
Act may be cited as the “Housing Authority Accountability Congressional Review Emergency 22
Amendment Act of 2023”. 23
Sec. 2. The District of Columbia Housing Authority Act of 1999, effective May 9, 2000 24
(D.C. Law 13-105; D.C. Official Code § 6-201 et seq. ), is amended as follows: 25
(a) Section 3 (D.C. Official Code § 6-202) is amended by adding a new subsection (b-1) 26
to read as follows: 27
“(b-1)(1) No later than December 1, 2022, the Authority shall submit a report to the 28
Mayor, Attorney General, and each Councilmember that details: 29
“(A) The sum of all requested repayment amounts HUD has requested; 30
“(B) The sources of the funds the Authority intends to use in making the 31
repayments referenced in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph; 32 “(C) The total amount of security deposit interest owed to residents who 33
have moved out of Housing Properties in the 3 years preceding December 1, 2022; 34
“(D) The total amount of overcharging and undercharging rent and 35
housing assistance payments identified through HUD’s required review of tenant files and the 36
percentage of tenant files reviewed or corrected; and 37
“(E) A date certain by which the Authority will deliver a protocol for 38
assessing properties for rent reasonableness, as required by the HUD rules. 39
“(2)(A) Beginning on December 1, 2022, and monthly thereafter, the Authority 40
shall submit a report to the Mayor, Attorney General, and each Councilmember that details: 41
“(i) The amount of operating reserves, expressed in dollars and in 42
months of expenses, for its public housing program, Housing Choice Voucher Program, and the 43
Authority’s operations overall; 44
“(ii) The number of vacant public housing units classified by repair 45
status, such as move-in ready, repairs in progress, and offline due to major repair needs; 46
“(iii) The average length of time that Public-Housing- Assisted 47
Units have been vacant in the prior year, by repair status; and 48
“(iv) A detailed accounting of expenses paid for with District funds 49
in the prior month and the expenses budgeted for payment with District funds in the remainder of 50
the fiscal year. 51
“(B) In lieu of the monthly reports required by subparagraph (A) of this 52
paragraph (“reports”), the Authority may provide the Mayor, Attorney General, and each 53
Councilmember with access to an online database through which the reports can be generated. 54 “(3) If HUD designates the Authority as a Standard Performer or High Performer 55
in HUD’s Public Housing Assessment System or if the Authority demonstrates that the lack of 56
such a designation is solely due to the presence of HUD's Moving to Work agreement with the 57
Authority, the requirements of paragraph (2) of this subsection shall be waived for 12 months 58
from the date the designation was received from HUD or documented by the Authority.”. 59
(b) Section 12 (D.C. Official Code § 6- 211) is amended as follows: 60
(1) Subsection (h) is amended to read as follows: 61
“(h)(1) Within 60 days after a Commissioner's appointment and on an annual basis 62
thereafter, each Commissioner shall complete training offered by or in connection with HUD 63
covering the following topics: 64
“(A) The role of a public housing agency board; 65
“(B) Ethics for public housing agencies and board members or 66
commissioners; 67
“(C) Background on major housing authority programs, including public 68
housing, the Housing Choice Voucher Program, and the rental assistance demonstration; 69
“(D) Fair housing and reasonable accommodations; 70
“(E) Public housing authority budgets, financial oversight, and financial 71
reporting; and 72
“(F) Federal procurement requirements. 73
“(2) Within 90 days after a Commissioner’s appointment and on an annual basis 74
thereafter, each Commissioner shall complete training offered by or in connection with HUD 75
covering the following topics: 76 “(A) Public housing authority performance monitoring and risk 77
management; 78
“(B) HUD reporting requirements; 79
“(C) Public housing asset management, development, redevelopment, 80
disposition, and repositioning; 81
“(D) Objectives and requirements of HUD’s Moving to Work program; 82
and 83
“(E) Resident opportunity, including HUD’s Section 3 requirements for 84
economic and employment opportunities. 85
“(3) In addition to the training required in paragraphs (1) and (2) of this 86
subsection, each Commissioner shall spend at least 4 hours per quarter in training or educational 87
seminars on corporate governance, public housing law and regulations, federal or local language 88
access guidelines, labor and personnel, real estate and construction, or other subjects related to 89
public housing development, operation, and management, the maximum reimbursable cost of 90
which shall be established by the Board and paid by the Authority. 91
“(4) A Commissioner appointed or re-appointed before October 15, 2022, shall 92
complete training on federal procurement requirements within 30 days after the effective date of 93
the Housing Authority Accountability Emergency Amendment Act of 2022, passed on 94
emergency basis on October 18, 2022 (D.C. Act 24-629; 69 DCR 14026) (“Accountability Act”), 95
the remainder of the trainings required in paragraph (1) of this subsection within 60 days after 96
the effective date of the Accountability Act, and the trainings required in paragraph (2) of this 97
subsection within 90 days after the effective date of the Accountability Act. 98 “(5) The Board shall monitor Commissioners’ compliance with the training 99
requirements of this subsection and provide a Commissioner a warning notice if the 100
Commissioner is out of compliance with the requirements. 101
“(6) If a Commissioner has not completed the training requirements within 15 102
days after the conclusion of the timeline specified in the applicable paragraph in this subsection, 103
he or she shall be suspended from the Board until he or she is in compliance.”. 104
(c) Section 14 (D.C. Official Code § 6-213) is amended by adding a new subsection (d) to 105
read as follows: 106
“(d)(1) Within 30 days after the Executive Director's appointment and on an annual basis 107
thereafter, the Executive Director shall complete training offered by or in connection with HUD 108
covering the following topics: 109
“(A) Background on major housing authority programs, including public 110
housing, the Housing Choice Voucher Program, and the rental assistance demonstration; 111
“(B) Ethics for public housing agencies; 112
“(C) Fair housing and reasonable accommodations; 113
“(D) Housing authority budgets and financial reporting: 114
“(E) Federal procurement requirements; 115
“(F) Housing authority performance monitoring and risk management; 116
“(G) HUD reporting requirements; 117
“(H) Public housing asset management, development, redevelopment, 118
disposition, and repositioning; 119
“(I) Objectives and requirements of HUD’s Moving to Work program; and 120 “(J) Resident opportunity, including HUD’s Section 3 requirements for 121
economic and employment opportunities. 122
“(2) In addition to the training in paragraph (1) of this subsection, the Executive 123
Director shall complete other trainings that the Board requires, such as labor and personnel 124
management, language access, public housing law and regulations, real estate and construction, 125
or other subjects related to public housing development, operation, and management. 126
“(3) An Executive Director appointed or re-appointed before October 15, 2022, 127
shall complete the trainings required in paragraph (1) within 30 days after the effective date of 128
the Housing Authority Accountability Emergency Amendment Act of 2022, passed on 129
emergency basis on October 18, 2022 (D.C. Act 24-629; 69 DCR 14026).”. 130
Sec. 3. Section 28- 3901 of the District of Columbia Official Code is amended by adding 131
a new subsection (e) to read as follows: 132
“(e) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, this chapter’s application to 133
landlord-tenant relations shall include the District of Columbia Housing Authority's activities as 134
a landlord; provided, that this subsection shall not be construed to otherwise apply this chapter to 135
the District of Columbia or any agency thereof.”. 136
Sec. 4. Applicability. 137
(a) Section 2 shall apply as of February 1, 2023. 138
(b) Section 3 shall apply as of December 19, 2016. 139
Sec. 5. Fiscal impact statement. 140
The Council adopts the fiscal impact statement of the Budget Director as the fiscal impact 141
statement required by section 4aof the General Legislative Procedures Act of 1975, approved 142
October 16, 2006 (120 Stat. 2038; D.C. Official Code § 1- 301.47a). 143 Sec. 6. Effective date. 144
This act shall take effect following approval by the Mayor (or, in the event of veto by the 145
Mayor, action by the Council to override the veto) and shall remain in effect for no longer than 146
90 days, as provided for emergency acts of the Council of the District of Columbia in section 147
412(a) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, approved December 24, 1973 (87 Stat. 788; 148
D.C. Official Code § 1- 204.12(a)). 149