,i  #aafth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #ibg  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of   
,,representatives  ,january #cj1        
#bjai,mrs4 ,torres of ,california 7for  
herself and ,mr4 ,blumenauer7 introduced
 the following bill2 which was referred 
to the ,committee on ,financial         
,services1 and in addition to the       
,committee on ,transportation and       
,infrastructure1 for a period to be     
subsequently determined by the ,speaker1
 in each case for consideration of such 
provisions as fall within the           
jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
,a ,,bill  ,to authorize the ,secretary 
of ,housing and ,urban ,development1 in 
conjunction with the ,secretary of      
,transportation1 to carry out a         
,sustainable ,communities ,initiative1  
and for other purposes4  #a4 ,short     
title ,this ,act may be cited as the    
,sustainable ,communities ,act of #bjai4
  #b4 ,sustainable communities          
initiative  7a7 ,authority ,the         
,secretary of ,housing and ,urban       

,development 7in this section referred  
to as the ,secretary7 shall1 in         
coordination with the ,secretary of     
,transportation1 carry out a            
,sustainable ,communities ,initiative to
 improve regional planning efforts that 
integrate housing and transportation    
decisions1 and increase the capacity to 
improve land use and zoning4  7b7       
,regional integrated planning grants    
7#a7 ,authority ,under the ,sustainable 
,communities ,initiative under this     
section the ,secretary shall1 to the    
extent amounts are made available for   
grants under this subsection pursuant to
 subsection 7f71 provide ,regional      
,integrated ,planning ,grants to support
 improvements in and coordination of    
metropolitan-wide housing1              
transportation1 energy1 and land use    
planning activities4  7#b7 ,competition2
 grantees ,grants under this subsection 
shall be awarded on a competitive basis 
to regional1 multijurisdictional        
organizations and consortia in          

metropolitan areas4 ,the ,secretary     
shall consult with the ,secretary of    
,transportation in evaluating           
applications for such grants4  7c7      
,community challenge planning grants    
7#a7 ,authority ,under the ,sustainable 
,communities ,initiative under this     
section the ,secretary shall1 to the    
extent amounts are made available for   
grants under this subsection pursuant to
 subsection 7f71 provide ,community     
,challenge ,planning ,grants to foster  
reform and reduce barriers1 including   
through the reform of existing building 
codes and zoning ordinances1 to achieve 
affordable1 economically vital1 and     
sustainable communities and discourage  
inefficient land use patterns4  7#b7    
,competition2 grantees ,grants under    
this subsection shall be awarded on a   
competitive basis to units of general   
local government4 ,the ,secretary shall 
consult with the ,secretary of          
,transportation in evaluating           
applications for such grants4  7d7 ,plan

 ,the ,secretary may not award any grant
 under subsection 7b7 or 7c7 before the 
,secretary1 in coordination with the    
,secretary of ,transportation1 submits  
to the ,congress a plan establishing    
grant criteria and performance measures 
by which to measure the success of      
grantees in achieving the goals of the  
grants1 which plan shall be based on the
 requirements under the ,department of  
,housing and ,urban ,development ,notice
 of ,funding ,availability 7,,nofa7 for 
,fiscal ,year #bjaj ,sustainable        
,communities ,regional ,planning ,grant 
,program ,docket ,no4 ,,fr-#ecif-jc4    
7e7 ,research and evaluation ,the       
,secretary and the ,secretary of        
,transportation shall conduct a joint   
research effort to evaluate the grant   
programs under subsections 7b7 and 7c7  
to quantify the benefits and costs of   
such programs4 ,amounts made available  
for activities under this subsection may
 be used to improve the technical       
capacities of regional organizations1   

local jurisdictions1 community-based    
organizations1 developers1 and private  
sector lenders to carry out eligible    
activities under the grant programs     
under subsections 7b7 and 7c74  7f7     
,authorization of appropriations ,there 
is authorized to be appropriated to     
carry out this section #aej1jjj1jjj for 
each of fiscal years #bjbj and #bjba1 of
 which for each such fiscal year--  7#a7
 #ajj1jjj1jjj shall be for ,regional    
,integrated ,planning ,grants under     
subsection 7b7 and of which not less    
than #be1jjj1jjj for each such fiscal   
year shall be only for such grants for  
metropolitan areas having populations of
 fewer than #ejj1jjj persons2  7#b7     
#dj1jjj1jjj shall be for ,community     
,challenge ,planning ,grants under      
subsection 7c72 and  7#c7 up to         
#aj1jjj1jjj shall be for carrying out   
activities under subsection 7e74