,i  #aaeth ,,congress  #b;d ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #fidb  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,september #bg1      
#bjah,ms4 ,de,lauro introduced the      
following bill2 which was referred to   
the ,committee on the ,judiciary  ,a    
,,bill  ,to authorize the ,attorney     
,general to make grants to ,states to   
provide the right to counsel in civil   
actions related to eviction1 and for    
other purposes4  #a4 ,short title ,this 
,act may be cited as the ,eviction      
,prevention ,act of #bjah4  #b4 ,grants 
for ,states to provide access to counsel
 in civil actions related to eviction   
7a7 ,authorization ,the ,attorney       
,general1 acting through the ,office for
 ,access to ,justice1 is authorized to  
make grants to ,states to provide       
eligible individuals with access to     
counsel in civil actions related to     
eviction4  7b7 ,use of funds ,a ,state  
that receives a grant under this section
 shall use such funds to hire attorneys 
in positions that are dedicated solely  

to providing counsel described in       
subsection 7a74  7c7 ,application ,a    
,state seeking an application under this
 section shall submit an application to 
the ,attorney ,general at such time1 in 
such manner1 and containing such        
information as the ,attorney ,general   
may reasonably require1 including--     
7#a7 the rate of eviction for that      
,state2 and  7#b7 during the previous   
year1 the number of individuals subject 
to eviction in that ,state who were not 
represented by an attorney in eviction  
proceedings4  7d7 ,amount of grant      
,subject to the availability of         
appropriations1 a grant under this      
section shall be in an amount that is   
not less than #a1jjj1jjj1 and which     
amount is determined based on the rate  
of eviction in that ,state1 compared to 
the national average rate of eviction1  
as determined by the rates of eviction  
included with each application under    
subsection 7c74  7e7 ,eligible          
individual ,in this section1 the term   

eligible individual means an individual 
whose income is less than the area      
median income1 as calculated by the     
,department of ,housing and ,urban      
,development1 for the area in which the 
individual resides4  7f7 ,authorization 
of appropriations ,there is authorized  
to be appropriated to carry out this    
section #abe1jjj1jjj for each of fiscal 
years #bjai through #bjbc4  #c4 ,,gao   
,study ,not later than one year after   
the date of the enactment of this ,act1 
the ,comptroller ,general of the ,united
 ,states shall conduct a study and      
submit a report to ,congress on         
evictions in the ,united ,states1       
including an analysis of ways in which  
the legal system fails to provide       
sufficient protections from eviction for
 tenants1 the rate of representation of 
tenants and landlords1 the effect of    
full representation on default rates1   
case outcomes1 and eviction dockets as  
compared to cases where the tenant lacks
 representation or has pro se           

assistance1 and the potential cost      
savings from providing representation4