118th CONGRESS 1st Session |
To require the Department of Housing and Urban Development to conduct an annual risk assessment of properties receiving tenant-based or project-based rental assistance for lead-based hazards, and for other purposes.
March 3, 2023
Mr. Rutherford (for himself and Mr. García of Illinois) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services
To require the Department of Housing and Urban Development to conduct an annual risk assessment of properties receiving tenant-based or project-based rental assistance for lead-based hazards, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
This Act may be cited as the “Keep Children and Families Safe from Lead Hazards Act of 2023”.
(a) Definitions.—In this section—
(1) the term “covered housing” means a dwelling unit receiving project-based rental assistance or tenant-based rental assistance under section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f); and
(2) the term “Department” means the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
(b) Annual risk assessment and report.—Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, and every year thereafter, the Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of Multifamily Housing Programs of the Department, in collaboration with the Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes of the Department, shall—
(1) conduct a risk assessment of covered housing to identify properties with the greatest risk of exposing children under the age of 6 years old to lead hazards, including lead-based paint and lead service lines;
(2) develop an action plan relating to remediation, control, and safeguards to address lead hazards, including lead-based paint and lead-service lines, in covered housing identified in the risk assessment conducted under paragraph (1), with priority given to those properties with children under the age of 6 years old; and
(3) submit to Congress a report on properties with covered housing that have lead-based paint or lead service lines, including the number of children under the age of 6 years old living at these properties.
(c) Uniform physical condition standard inspections.—In conducting uniform physical condition inspections in accordance with part 5 of title 24, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor regulation, the Secretary shall include lead-based paint and lead service lines in the graded scoring as an exigent health and safety deficiency to ensure that—
(1) lead-based paint and lead service lines are tracked at each applicable property; and
(2) the owners of those properties are held accountable for remediating deficiencies.