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U.S. Code as of:
01/19/04
Section 3616a. 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 carrying 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 [42
U.S.C. 3601 et seq.] (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
therefor; and
(2) education and outreach programs designed to inform the
public concerning rights and obligations under the laws referred
to in paragraph (1).
(b) Private enforcement initiatives
(1) In general
The Secretary shall use funds made available under this
subsection to conduct, through contracts with private nonprofit
fair housing enforcement organizations, investigations of
violations of the rights granted under title VIII of the Civil
Rights Act of 1968 [42 U.S.C. 3601 et seq.], and such enforcement
activities as appropriate to remedy such violations. The
Secretary may enter into multiyear contracts and take such other
action as is appropriate to enhance the effectiveness of such
investigations and enforcement activities.
(2) Activities
The Secretary shall use funds made available under this
subsection to conduct, through contracts with private nonprofit
fair housing enforcement organizations, a range of investigative
and enforcement activities designed to -
(A) carry out testing and other investigative activities in
accordance with subsection (b)(1) of this section, including
building the capacity for housing investigative activities in
unserved or underserved areas;
(B) discover and remedy discrimination in the public and
private real estate markets and real estate-related
transactions, including, but not limited to, the making or
purchasing of loans or the provision of other financial
assistance sales and rentals of housing and housing
advertising;
(C) carry out special projects, including the development of
prototypes to respond to new or sophisticated forms of
discrimination against persons protected under title VIII of
the Civil Rights Act of 1968 [42 U.S.C. 3601 et seq.];
(D) provide technical assistance to local fair housing
organizations, and assist in the formation and development of
new fair housing organizations; and
(E) provide funds for the costs and expenses of litigation,
including expert witness fees.
(c) Funding of fair housing organizations
(1) In general
The Secretary shall use funds made available under this section
to enter into contracts or cooperative agreements with qualified
fair housing enforcement organizations, other private nonprofit
fair housing enforcement organizations, and nonprofit groups
organizing to build their capacity to provide fair housing
enforcement, for the purpose of supporting the continued
development or implementation of initiatives which enforce the
rights granted under title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968
[42 U.S.C. 3601 et seq.], as amended. Contracts or cooperative
agreements may not provide more than 50 percent of the operating
budget of the recipient organization for any one year.
(2) Capacity enhancement
The Secretary shall use funds made available under this section
to help establish, organize, and build the capacity of fair
housing enforcement organizations, particularly in those areas of
the country which are currently underserved by fair housing
enforcement organizations as well as those areas where large
concentrations of protected classes exist. For purposes of
meeting the objectives of this paragraph, the Secretary may enter
into contracts or cooperative agreements with qualified fair
housing enforcement organizations. The Secretary shall establish
annual goals which reflect the national need for private fair
housing enforcement organizations.
(d) Education and outreach
(1) In general
The Secretary, through contracts with one or more qualified
fair housing enforcement organizations, other fair housing
enforcement organizations, and other nonprofit organizations
representing groups of persons protected under title VIII of the
Civil Rights Act of 1968 [42 U.S.C. 3601 et seq.], shall
establish a national education and outreach program. The national
program shall be designed to provide a centralized, coordinated
effort for the development and dissemination of fair housing
media products, including -
(A) public service announcements, both audio and video;
(B) television, radio and print advertisements;
(C) posters; and
(D) pamphlets and brochures.
The Secretary shall designate a portion of the amounts provided
in subsection (g)(4) of this section for a national program
specifically for activities related to the annual national fair
housing month. The Secretary shall encourage cooperation with
real estate industry organizations in the national education and
outreach program. The Secretary shall also encourage the
dissemination of educational information and technical assistance
to support compliance with the housing adaptability and
accessibility guidelines contained in the Fair Housing Act
Amendments of 1988.
(2) Regional and local programs
The Secretary, through contracts with fair housing enforcement
organizations, other nonprofit organizations representing groups
of persons protected under title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of
1968 [42 U.S.C. 3601 et seq.], State and local agencies certified
by the Secretary under section 810(f) of the Fair Housing Act [42
U.S.C. 3610(f)], or other public or private entities that are
formulating or carrying out programs to prevent or eliminate
discriminatory housing practices, shall establish or support
education and outreach programs at the regional and local levels.
(3) Community-based programs
The Secretary shall provide funding to fair housing
organizations and other nonprofit organizations representing
groups of persons protected under title VIII of the Civil Rights
Act of 1968, or other public or private entities that are
formulating or carrying out programs to prevent or eliminate
discriminatory housing practices, to support community-based
education and outreach activities, including school, church, and
community presentations, conferences, and other educational
activities.
(e) 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) Repealed. Pub. L. 104-66, title I, Sec. 1071(d), Dec. 21,
1995, 109 Stat. 720.
(f) Regulations
(1) The Secretary shall issue such regulations as may be
necessary to carry out the provisions of this section.
(2) The Secretary shall, for use during the demonstration
authorized in this section, establish guidelines for testing
activities 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) of this section
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,)1(! 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.
(g) Authorization of appropriations
There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out the
provisions of this section,)2(! $21,000,000 for fiscal year 1993
and $26,000,000 for fiscal year 1994, of which -
(1) not less than $3,820,000 for fiscal year 1993 and
$8,500,000 for fiscal year 1994 shall be for private enforcement
initiatives authorized under subsection (b) of this section,
divided equally between activities specified under subsection
(b)(1) of this section and those specified under subsection
(b)(2) of this section;
(2) not less than $2,230,000 for fiscal year 1993 and
$8,500,000 for fiscal year 1994 shall be for qualified fair
housing enforcement organizations authorized under subsection
(c)(1) of this section;
(3) not less than $2,010,000 for fiscal year 1993 and
$4,000,000 for fiscal year 1994 shall be for the creation of new
fair housing enforcement organizations authorized under
subsection (c)(2) of this section; and
(4) not less than $2,540,000 for fiscal year 1993 and
$5,000,000 for fiscal year 1994 shall be for education and
outreach programs authorized under subsection (d) of this
section, to be divided equally between activities specified under
subsection (d)(1) of this section and those specified under
subsections (d)(2) and (d)(3) of this section.
Any amount appropriated under this section shall remain available
until expended.
(h) Qualified fair housing enforcement organization
(1) The term "qualified fair housing enforcement organization"
means any organization that -
(A) is organized as a private, tax-exempt, nonprofit,
charitable organization;
(B) has at least 2 years experience in complaint intake,
complaint investigation, testing for fair housing violations and
enforcement of meritorious claims; and
(C) is engaged in all the activities listed in paragraph (1)(B)
at the time of application for assistance under this section.
An organization which is not solely engaged in fair housing
enforcement activities may qualify as a qualified fair housing
enforcement organization, provided that the organization is
actively engaged in each of the activities listed in subparagraph
(B).
(2) The term "fair housing enforcement organization" means any
organization that -
(A) meets the requirements specified in paragraph (1)(A);
(B) is currently engaged in the activities specified in
paragraph (1)(B);
(C) upon the receipt of funds under this section will become
engaged in all of the activities specified in paragraph (1)(B);
and
(D) for purposes of funding under subsection (b) of this
section, has at least 1 year of experience in the activities
specified in paragraph (1)(B).
(i) Prohibition on use of funds
None of the funds authorized under this section may be used by
the Secretary for purposes of settling claims, satisfying judgments
or fulfilling court orders in any litigation action involving
either the Department or housing providers funded by the
Department. None of the funds authorized under this section may be
used by the Department for administrative costs.
(j) Reporting requirements
Not later than 180 days after the close of each fiscal year in
which assistance under this section is furnished, the Secretary
shall prepare and submit to the Congress a comprehensive report
which shall contain -
(1) a description of the progress made in accomplishing the
objectives of this section;
(2) a summary of all the private enforcement activities carried
out under this section and the use of such funds during the
preceding fiscal year;
(3) a list of all fair housing enforcement organizations funded
under this section during the preceding fiscal year, identified
on a State-by-State basis;
(4) a summary of all education and outreach activities funded
under this section and the use of such funds during the preceding
fiscal year; and
(5) any findings, conclusions, or recommendations of the
Secretary as a result of the funded activities.
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