,i  #aafth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #ebih  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,december #d1        
#bjai,ms4 ,de,lauro 7for herself1 ,mr4  
,grijalva1 ,mr4 ,evans1 ,ms4 ,norton1   
,mr4 ,payne1 ,mr4 ,blumenauer1 and ,ms4 
,jackson ,lee7 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 and localities 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 #bjai4  #b4 ,grants 
for ,states and units of general local  
government to provide access to counsel 
in civil actions related to eviction    
7a7 ,authorization ,the ,attorney       
,general is authorized to make grants to
 ,states and units of general local     
government to provide eligible          
individuals access to counsel in civil  
actions related to eviction4  7b7 ,use  

of funds ,a ,state or unit of general   
local government 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 or unit of       
general local government 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 ,state or unit of     
general local government2  7#b7 during  
the previous year1 the number of        
individuals subject to eviction in that 
,state or unit of general local         
government who were not represented by  
an attorney in eviction proceedings2    
7#c7 a plan for how the ,state or unit  
of general local government will use    
amounts from a grant under this section 
to increase access to counsel2 and  7#d7

 the status with respect of the right to
 counsel in civil actions related to    
eviction in the ,state or unit of       
general local government and1 if the    
,state or unit of general local         
government does not have in effect laws 
providing a right to counsel1 such      
evidence as the ,attorney ,general may  
require that is sufficient to           
demonstrate that substantial progress   
has been made to enact laws providing   
such a right4  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--  7#a7   
the rate of eviction in the applicant   
,state or unit of general local         
government1 compared to the national    
average rate of eviction1 as determined 
by the rates of eviction included with  
each application under subsection 7c72  
7#b7 the plan submitted by the applicant
 ,state or unit of general local        

government in accordance with subsection
 7c77#c72  7#c7 the status of right to  
counsel in applicant ,state or unit of  
general local government2 and  7#d7     
during the previous year1 the number of 
individuals subject to eviction in the  
applicant ,state or unit of general     
local government who were not           
represented by an attorney in eviction  
proceedings4  7e7 ,definitions ,in this 
section1 the following definitions shall
 apply3 7#a7 ,access to counsel ,the    
term access to counsel means full       
representation by an attorney4  7#b7    
,eligible individual ,the term eligible 
individual means an individual whose    
income is less than #abe percent of the 
,federal poverty level4  7#c7 ,state    
,the term ,state means the ,states of   
the ,united ,states1 the ,district of   
,columbia1 the ,commonwealth of ,puerto 
,rico1 the ,commonwealth of the         
,northern ,mariana ,islands1 ,guam1 the 
,virgin ,islands1 ,american ,samoa1 and 
any other territory or possession of the

 ,united ,states4  7#d7 ,unit of general
 local government ,the term unit of     
general local government means any city1
 town1 township1 county1 parish1        
village1 or other general purpose       
political subdivision of a ,state4  7#e7
 ,rate of eviction ,the term rate of    
eviction means the number of judgments  
of eviction entered in that jurisdiction
 per capita during the previous fiscal  
year4  7f7 ,authorization of            
appropriations ,there is authorized to  
be appropriated to carry out this       
section #abe1jjj1jjj for each of fiscal 
years #bjba through #bjbe4  #c4 ,grants 
for collection of eviction data  7a7    
,authorization ,the ,attorney ,general  
is authorized to make grants to ,states 
and units of local government to collect
 and provide to the ,attorney ,general  
eviction data described in subsection   
7b74  7b7 ,eviction data described ,the 
eviction data described in this         
subsection is the eviction data for the 
applicable jurisdiction during the most 

recent #c years1 which shall include the
 #c-year eviction filing rate1 number of
 eviction filings at a given property1  
the name of the current owner1 the name 
of the lead plaintiff1 the race of the  
lead plaintiff and defendant1 the type  
of property 7single-family residential1 
two-family residential1 or multi-family 
residential71 whether the unit's rent   
was assisted or subsidized1 the number  
of units1 the nature of the eviction1   
the reason for eviction 7including      
nonpayment of rent and breach of lease71
 the number of days the tenant is given 
to vacate1 the status of representation 
of the lead plaintiff and defendant1 the
 outcome of the eviction 7including     
whether the tenant remains in           
possession1 whether an order of eviction
 is officially placed on the record1    
whether the landlord is ordered to make 
repairs1 and whether the landlord or    
tenant are ordered to pay any amount of 
money to the other71 the date of any    
rescission of such eviction1 and if an  

eviction was ordered1 how many days from
 such order until termination of the    
lease4  7c7 ,publication of data ,the   
,attorney ,general shall make the       
information reported under subsection   
7a7 publicly available online4  7d7     
,authorization of appropriations ,there 
is authorized to be appropriated        
#e1jjj1jjj for each of fiscal years     
#bjba through #bjbe4  #d4 ,,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