District Of Columbia 2023-2024 Regular Session

District Of Columbia Council Bill B25-0014 Compare Versions

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1- ENROLLED ORIGINAL
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61 1
7-
8-AN ACT
9-
10-__________
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12-IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
13-
14-____________________
15-
16-
17-To amend, on an emergency basis, due to congressional review, the District of Columbia
18-Housing Authority Act of 1999 to require the District of Columbia Housing Authority to
19-report certain financial and operating information, revise the training requirements for
20-commissioners, and establish training requirements for the executive director; and to
21-amend chapter 39 of Title 28 of the District of Columbia Official Code to confirm the
22-applicability of landlord- tenant consumer protections to the District of Columbia Housing
23-Authority.
24-
25-BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this
26-act may be cited as the “Housing Authority Accountability Congressional Review Emergency
27-Amendment Act of 2023”.
28-
29-Sec. 2. The District of Columbia Housing Authority Act of 1999, effective May 9, 2000
30-(D.C. Law 13- 105; D.C. Official Code § 6- 201 et seq.), is amended as follows:
31-(a) Section 3 (D.C. Official Code § 6- 202) is amended by adding a new subsection (b- 1)
32-to read as follows:
33-“(b-1)(1) No later than December 1, 2022, the Authority shall submit a report to the
34-Mayor, Attorney General, and each Councilmember that details:
35-“(A) The sum of all repayment amounts HUD has requested;
36-“(B) The sources of the funds the Authority intends to use in making the
37-repayments referenced in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph;
38-“(C) The total amount of security deposit interest owed to residents who
39-have moved out of Housing Properties in the 3 years preceding December 1, 2022;
40-“(D) The total amount of overcharging and undercharging rent and
41-housing assistance payments identified through HUD’s required review of tenant files and the
42-percentage of tenant files reviewed or corrected; and
43-“(E) A date certain by which the Authority will deliver a protocol for
44-assessing properties for rent reasonableness, as required by the HUD rules.
45-“(2)(A) Beginning on December 1, 2022, and monthly thereafter, the Authority
46-shall submit a report to the Mayor, Attorney General, and each Councilmember that details: ENROLLED ORIGINAL
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48-
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512 2
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53-“(i) The amount of operating reserves, expressed in dollars and in
54-months of expenses, for its public housing program, Housing Choice Voucher Program, and the
55-Authority’s operations overall;
56-“(ii) The number of vacant public housing units classified by repair
57-status, such as move-in ready, repairs in progress, and offline due to major repair needs;
58-“(iii) The average length of time that Public-Housing- Assisted
59-Units have been vacant in the prior year, by repair status; and
60-“(iv) A detailed accounting of expenses paid for with District funds
61-in the prior month and the expenses budgeted for payment with District funds in the remainder of
62-the fiscal year.
63-“(B) In lieu of the monthly reports required by subparagraph (A) of this
64-paragraph (“reports”), the Authority may provide the Mayor, Attorney General, and each
65-Councilmember with access to an online database through which the reports can be generated.
66-“(3) If HUD designates the Authority as a Standard Performer or High Performer
67-in HUD’s Public Housing Assessment System or if the Authority demonstrates that the lack of
68-such a designation is solely due to the presence of HUD's Moving to Work agreement with the
69-Authority, the requirements of paragraph (2) of this subsection shall be waived for 12 months
70-from the date the designation was received from HUD or documented by the Authority.”.
71-(b) Section 12 (D.C. Official Code § 6- 211) is amended as follows:
72-(1) Subsection (h) is amended to read as follows:
73-“(h)(1) Within 60 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) The role of a public housing agency board;
77-“(B) Ethics for public housing agencies and board members or
78-commissioners;
79-“(C) Background on major housing authority programs, including public
80-housing, the Housing Choice Voucher Program, and the rental assistance demonstration;
81-“(D) Fair housing and reasonable accommodations;
82-“(E) Public housing authority budgets, financial oversight, and financial
83-reporting; and
84-“(F) Federal procurement requirements.
85-“(2) Within 90 days after a Commissioner’s appointment and on an annual basis
86-thereafter, each Commissioner shall complete training offered by or in connection with HUD
87-covering the following topics:
88-“(A) Public housing authority performance monitoring and risk
89-management;
90-“(B) HUD reporting requirements; ENROLLED ORIGINAL
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92-
93-
94-
95-3
96-
97-“(C) Public housing asset management, development, redevelopment,
98-disposition, and repositioning;
99-“(D) Objectives and requirements of HUD’s Moving to Work program;
100-and
101-“(E) Resident opportunity, including HUD’s Section 3 requirements for
102-economic and employment opportunities.
103-“(3) In addition to the training required in paragraphs (1) and (2) of this
104-subsection, each Commissioner shall spend at least 4 hours per quarter in training or educational
105-seminars on corporate governance, public housing law and regulations, federal or local language
106-access guidelines, labor and personnel, real estate and construction, or other subjects related to
107-public housing development, operation, and management, the maximum reimbursable cost of
108-which shall be established by the Board and paid by the Authority.
109-“(4) A Commissioner appointed or re-appointed before October 15, 2022, shall
110-complete training on federal procurement requirements within 30 days after the effective date of
111-the Housing Authority Accountability Emergency Amendment Act of 2022, effective November
112-3, 2022 ( D.C. Act 24- 629; 69 DCR 14026) (“Accountability Act”), the remainder of the trainings
113-required in paragraph (1) of this subsection within 60 days after the effective date of the
114-Accountability Act, and the trainings required in paragraph (2) of this subsection within 90 days
115-after the effective date of the Accountability Act.
116-“(5) The Board shall monitor Commissioners’ compliance with the training
117-requirements of this subsection and provide a Commissioner a warning notice if the
118-Commissioner is out of compliance with the requirements.
119-“(6) If a Commissioner has not completed the training requirements within 15
120-days after the conclusion of the timeline specified in the applicable paragraph in this subsection,
121-he or she shall be suspended from the Board until he or she is in compliance.”.
122-(c) Section 14 (D.C. Official Code § 6- 213) is amended by adding a new subsection (d) to
123-read as follows:
124-“(d)(1) Within 30 days after the Executive Director's appointment and on an annual basis
125-thereafter, the Executive Director shall complete training offered by or in connection with HUD
126-covering the following topics:
127-“(A) Background on major housing authority programs, including public
128-housing, the Housing Choice Voucher Program, and the rental assistance demonstration;
129-“(B) Ethics for public housing agencies;
130-“(C) Fair housing and reasonable accommodations;
131-“(D) Housing authority budgets and financial reporting:
132-“(E) Federal procurement requirements;
133-“(F) Housing authority performance monitoring and risk management;
134-“(G) HUD reporting requirements; ENROLLED ORIGINAL
135-
136-
137-
138-
3+ Councilmember Robert C. White, Jr. 3
1394 4
140-
141-“(H) Public housing asset management, development, redevelopment,
142-disposition, and repositioning;
143-“(I) Objectives and requirements of HUD’s Moving to Work program; and
144-“(J) Resident opportunity, including HUD’s Section 3 requirements for
145-economic and employment opportunities.
146-“(2) In addition to the training in paragraph (1) of this subsection, the Executive
147-Director shall complete other trainings that the Board requires, such as labor and personnel
148-management, language access, public housing law and regulations, real estate and construction,
149-or other subjects related to public housing development, operation, and management.
150-“(3) An Executive Director appointed or re-appointed before October 15, 2022,
151-shall complete the trainings required in paragraph (1) within 30 days after the effective date of
152-the Housing Authority Accountability Emergency Amendment Act of 2022, effective November
153-2, 2022 ( D.C. Act 24- 629; 69 DCR 14026).”.
154-
155-Sec. 3. Section 28- 3901 of the District of Columbia Official Code is amended by adding
156-a new subsection (e) to read as follows:
157-“(e) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, this chapter’s application to
158-landlord- tenant relations shall include the District of Columbia Housing Authority's activities as
159-a landlord; provided, that this subsection shall not be construed to otherwise apply this chapter to
160-the District of Columbia or any agency thereof.”.
161-
162-Sec. 4. Applicability.
163-(a) Section 2 shall apply as of February 1, 2023.
164-(b) Section 3 shall apply as of December 19, 2016.
165-
166-Sec. 5. Fiscal impact statement.
167-The Council adopts the fiscal impact statement of the Budget Director as the fiscal impact
168-statement required by section 4aof the General Legislative Procedures Act of 1975, approved
169-October 16, 2006 (120 Stat. 2038; D.C. Official Code § 1- 301.47a).
170-
171-Sec. 6. Effective date.
172-This act shall take effect following approval by the Mayor (or, in the event of veto by the
173-Mayor, action by the Council to override the veto) and shall remain in effect for no longer than
174-90 days, as provided for emergency acts of the Council of the District of Columbia in section
175-
176-
177-
178- ENROLLED ORIGINAL
179-
180-
181-
182-
1835 5
184-
185-412(a) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, approved December 24, 1973 (87 Stat. 788;
186-D.C. Official Code § 1- 204.12(a)).
187-
188-
189-
190-
191-______________________________
192-Chairman
193-Council of the District of Columbia
194-
195-
196-
197-
198-_________________________________
199-Mayor
200-District of Columbia
201-
6+ 6
7+A BILL 7
8+__________ 8
9+ 9
10+IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 10
11+____________________ 11
12+ 12
13+To amend, on an emergency basis, due to congressional review, the District of Columbia 13
14+Housing Authority Act of 1999 to require the District of Columbia Housing Authority to 14
15+report certain financial and operating information, revise the training requirements for 15
16+commissioners, and establish training requirements for the executive director; and to 16
17+amend chapter 39 of Title 28 of the District of Columbia Official Code to confirm the 17
18+applicability of landlord-tenant consumer protections to the District of Columbia Housing 18
19+Authority. 19
20+ 20
21+BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this 21
22+Act may be cited as the “Housing Authority Accountability Congressional Review Emergency 22
23+Amendment Act of 2023”. 23
24+Sec. 2. The District of Columbia Housing Authority Act of 1999, effective May 9, 2000 24
25+(D.C. Law 13-105; D.C. Official Code § 6-201 et seq. ), is amended as follows: 25
26+(a) Section 3 (D.C. Official Code § 6-202) is amended by adding a new subsection (b-1) 26
27+to read as follows: 27
28+“(b-1)(1) No later than December 1, 2022, the Authority shall submit a report to the 28
29+Mayor, Attorney General, and each Councilmember that details: 29
30+“(A) The sum of all requested repayment amounts HUD has requested; 30
31+“(B) The sources of the funds the Authority intends to use in making the 31
32+repayments referenced in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph; 32 “(C) The total amount of security deposit interest owed to residents who 33
33+have moved out of Housing Properties in the 3 years preceding December 1, 2022; 34
34+“(D) The total amount of overcharging and undercharging rent and 35
35+housing assistance payments identified through HUD’s required review of tenant files and the 36
36+percentage of tenant files reviewed or corrected; and 37
37+“(E) A date certain by which the Authority will deliver a protocol for 38
38+assessing properties for rent reasonableness, as required by the HUD rules. 39
39+“(2)(A) Beginning on December 1, 2022, and monthly thereafter, the Authority 40
40+shall submit a report to the Mayor, Attorney General, and each Councilmember that details: 41
41+“(i) The amount of operating reserves, expressed in dollars and in 42
42+months of expenses, for its public housing program, Housing Choice Voucher Program, and the 43
43+Authority’s operations overall; 44
44+“(ii) The number of vacant public housing units classified by repair 45
45+status, such as move-in ready, repairs in progress, and offline due to major repair needs; 46
46+“(iii) The average length of time that Public-Housing- Assisted 47
47+Units have been vacant in the prior year, by repair status; and 48
48+“(iv) A detailed accounting of expenses paid for with District funds 49
49+in the prior month and the expenses budgeted for payment with District funds in the remainder of 50
50+the fiscal year. 51
51+“(B) In lieu of the monthly reports required by subparagraph (A) of this 52
52+paragraph (“reports”), the Authority may provide the Mayor, Attorney General, and each 53
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
54+in HUD’s Public Housing Assessment System or if the Authority demonstrates that the lack of 56
55+such a designation is solely due to the presence of HUD's Moving to Work agreement with the 57
56+Authority, the requirements of paragraph (2) of this subsection shall be waived for 12 months 58
57+from the date the designation was received from HUD or documented by the Authority.”. 59
58+(b) Section 12 (D.C. Official Code § 6- 211) is amended as follows: 60
59+(1) Subsection (h) is amended to read as follows: 61
60+“(h)(1) Within 60 days after a Commissioner's appointment and on an annual basis 62
61+thereafter, each Commissioner shall complete training offered by or in connection with HUD 63
62+covering the following topics: 64
63+“(A) The role of a public housing agency board; 65
64+“(B) Ethics for public housing agencies and board members or 66
65+commissioners; 67
66+“(C) Background on major housing authority programs, including public 68
67+housing, the Housing Choice Voucher Program, and the rental assistance demonstration; 69
68+“(D) Fair housing and reasonable accommodations; 70
69+“(E) Public housing authority budgets, financial oversight, and financial 71
70+reporting; and 72
71+“(F) Federal procurement requirements. 73
72+“(2) Within 90 days after a Commissioner’s appointment and on an annual basis 74
73+thereafter, each Commissioner shall complete training offered by or in connection with HUD 75
74+covering the following topics: 76 “(A) Public housing authority performance monitoring and risk 77
75+management; 78
76+“(B) HUD reporting requirements; 79
77+“(C) Public housing asset management, development, redevelopment, 80
78+disposition, and repositioning; 81
79+“(D) Objectives and requirements of HUD’s Moving to Work program; 82
80+and 83
81+“(E) Resident opportunity, including HUD’s Section 3 requirements for 84
82+economic and employment opportunities. 85
83+“(3) In addition to the training required in paragraphs (1) and (2) of this 86
84+subsection, each Commissioner shall spend at least 4 hours per quarter in training or educational 87
85+seminars on corporate governance, public housing law and regulations, federal or local language 88
86+access guidelines, labor and personnel, real estate and construction, or other subjects related to 89
87+public housing development, operation, and management, the maximum reimbursable cost of 90
88+which shall be established by the Board and paid by the Authority. 91
89+“(4) A Commissioner appointed or re-appointed before October 15, 2022, shall 92
90+complete training on federal procurement requirements within 30 days after the effective date of 93
91+the Housing Authority Accountability Emergency Amendment Act of 2022, passed on 94
92+emergency basis on October 18, 2022 (D.C. Act 24-629; 69 DCR 14026) (“Accountability Act”), 95
93+the remainder of the trainings required in paragraph (1) of this subsection within 60 days after 96
94+the effective date of the Accountability Act, and the trainings required in paragraph (2) of this 97
95+subsection within 90 days after the effective date of the Accountability Act. 98 “(5) The Board shall monitor Commissioners’ compliance with the training 99
96+requirements of this subsection and provide a Commissioner a warning notice if the 100
97+Commissioner is out of compliance with the requirements. 101
98+“(6) If a Commissioner has not completed the training requirements within 15 102
99+days after the conclusion of the timeline specified in the applicable paragraph in this subsection, 103
100+he or she shall be suspended from the Board until he or she is in compliance.”. 104
101+(c) Section 14 (D.C. Official Code § 6-213) is amended by adding a new subsection (d) to 105
102+read as follows: 106
103+“(d)(1) Within 30 days after the Executive Director's appointment and on an annual basis 107
104+thereafter, the Executive Director shall complete training offered by or in connection with HUD 108
105+covering the following topics: 109
106+“(A) Background on major housing authority programs, including public 110
107+housing, the Housing Choice Voucher Program, and the rental assistance demonstration; 111
108+“(B) Ethics for public housing agencies; 112
109+“(C) Fair housing and reasonable accommodations; 113
110+“(D) Housing authority budgets and financial reporting: 114
111+“(E) Federal procurement requirements; 115
112+“(F) Housing authority performance monitoring and risk management; 116
113+“(G) HUD reporting requirements; 117
114+“(H) Public housing asset management, development, redevelopment, 118
115+disposition, and repositioning; 119
116+“(I) Objectives and requirements of HUD’s Moving to Work program; and 120 “(J) Resident opportunity, including HUD’s Section 3 requirements for 121
117+economic and employment opportunities. 122
118+“(2) In addition to the training in paragraph (1) of this subsection, the Executive 123
119+Director shall complete other trainings that the Board requires, such as labor and personnel 124
120+management, language access, public housing law and regulations, real estate and construction, 125
121+or other subjects related to public housing development, operation, and management. 126
122+“(3) An Executive Director appointed or re-appointed before October 15, 2022, 127
123+shall complete the trainings required in paragraph (1) within 30 days after the effective date of 128
124+the Housing Authority Accountability Emergency Amendment Act of 2022, passed on 129
125+emergency basis on October 18, 2022 (D.C. Act 24-629; 69 DCR 14026).”. 130
126+Sec. 3. Section 28- 3901 of the District of Columbia Official Code is amended by adding 131
127+a new subsection (e) to read as follows: 132
128+“(e) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, this chapter’s application to 133
129+landlord-tenant relations shall include the District of Columbia Housing Authority's activities as 134
130+a landlord; provided, that this subsection shall not be construed to otherwise apply this chapter to 135
131+the District of Columbia or any agency thereof.”. 136
132+Sec. 4. Applicability. 137
133+(a) Section 2 shall apply as of February 1, 2023. 138
134+(b) Section 3 shall apply as of December 19, 2016. 139
135+Sec. 5. Fiscal impact statement. 140
136+The Council adopts the fiscal impact statement of the Budget Director as the fiscal impact 141
137+statement required by section 4aof the General Legislative Procedures Act of 1975, approved 142
138+October 16, 2006 (120 Stat. 2038; D.C. Official Code § 1- 301.47a). 143 Sec. 6. Effective date. 144
139+This act shall take effect following approval by the Mayor (or, in the event of veto by the 145
140+Mayor, action by the Council to override the veto) and shall remain in effect for no longer than 146
141+90 days, as provided for emergency acts of the Council of the District of Columbia in section 147
142+412(a) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, approved December 24, 1973 (87 Stat. 788; 148
143+D.C. Official Code § 1- 204.12(a)). 149