,,ii #aafth ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #bdhf ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,september #ag1 #bjai ,ms4 ,hassan 7for herself1 ,mr4 ,kaine1 and ,mr4 ,van ,hollen7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,banking1 ,housing1 and ,urban ,affairs ,a ,,bill ,to authorize the ,secretary of ,housing and ,urban ,development to award grants for landlord-tenant mediation programs4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,prevent ,evictions ,act of #bjai4 #b4 ,definitions ,in this ,act3 7#a7 ,covered grant ,the term covered grant means an implementation grant or program expansion grant4 7#b7 ,eligible entity ,the term eligible entity means a ,state or a court thereof1 a political subdivision of a ,state or a court thereof1 a ,tribal government1 or any other appropriate public or nonprofit entity as determined by the ,secretary1 that is formulating or carrying out a program that primarily involves meditation between landlords and tenants4 7#c7 ,implementation grant ,the term implementation grant means a grant awarded under section #e7;b74 7#d7 ,program expansion grant ,the term program expansion grant means a grant awarded under section #e7;c74 7#e7 ,secretary ,the term ,secretary means the ,secretary of ,housing and ,urban ,development4 7#f7 ,small-dollar eviction ,the term small-dollar eviction means an eviction resulting from an eviction case brought against a tenant for nonpayment of rent in which the unpaid amount is less than #a month's rent4 #c4 ,findings ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,landlords often make their largest profit margins in low-income neighborhoods4 ,this is in part due to the difference between the perceived risk of low-income tenants defaulting on their rent and the actual risk4 7#b7 ,a significant proportion of eviction money judgments--in some jurisdictions1 potentially more than #dj percent--are for less than #a month's rent1 based on median rent per census tract4 7#c7 ,according to the book ,evicted3 ,poverty and ,profit in the ,american ,city by ,matthew ,desmond1 families and individuals who are evicted are more likely to experience a decline in mental and physical health1 have poor attendance in school1 and have more trouble holding a job4 #d4 ,sense of ,congress ,it is the sense of ,congress that-- 7#a7 landlord-tenant mediation is a valuable and cost-effective way to keep tenants in their homes1 and more investment in that type of mediation is warranted2 7#b7 there is a lack of research on the potential for certain types of insurance to be cost-effective interventions that keep tenants in their homes1 which warrants future study2 7#c7 eviction should be a last resort2 and 7#d7 reducing the number of small-dollar evictions will produce a substantial return on investment for individuals and families and for society as a whole4 #e4 ,landlord-tenant mediation competitive grant program 7a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary shall award competitive grants under subsections 7b7 and 7c7 to eligible entities to assist those entities in establishing and administering1 or continuing1 landlord-tenant mediation programs4 7b7 ,implementation grants 7#a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary shall award competitive grants to eligible entities to assist the entities in establishing and administering landlord-tenant mediation programs4 7#b7 ,term ,the term of an implementation grant shall be #b years4 7#c7 ,amount ,the amount of an implementation grant shall be not more than #a1ejj1jjj4 7#d7 ,use of funds ,an eligible entity may use an implementation grant to establish-- 7,a7 a statewide mediation program2 or 7,b7 a mediation program in a political subdivision of a ,state or in the jurisdiction of an ,indian ,tribe that demonstrates a high need for such a program due to-- 7i7 the rate of evictions in the political subdivision or ,tribal jurisdiction2 or 7ii7 other characteristics of the political subdivision or ,indian ,tribe that contribute to the rate of evictions in the political subdivision or ,tribal jurisdiction4 7#e7 ,federal share ,the ,federal share of the cost of a mediation program established using an implementation grant may not exceed #ej percent4 7c7 ,program expansion grants 7#a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary shall award competitive grants to eligible entities to assist the entities in continuing activities related to landlord-tenant mediation4 7#b7 ,term ,the term of a program expansion grant shall be #c years4 7#c7 ,amount ,the amount of a program expansion grant shall be not more than #a1jjj1jjj4 7#d7 ,maintenance of effort ,amounts made available to an eligible entity under a program expansion grant shall be used to supplement1 and not supplant1 contributions made by the eligible entity for existing landlord-tenant mediation activities4 7d7 ,general rules for covered grants 7#a7 ,use of funds ,an eligible entity may use a covered grant to pay for operating costs1 staff salaries1 mediator compensation1 information technology1 interpreters1 outreach services1 and recruitment4 7#b7 ,good faith participation ,an eligible entity that receives a covered grant shall encourage each party participating in the landlord-tenant mediation program funded by the grant to make a good faith effort to discuss potential resolutions4 7#c7 ,geographic and population diversity ,the ,secretary shall ensure1 to the maximum extent practicable1 that recipients of covered grants represent-- 7,a7 diverse geographical areas of the ,united ,states2 and 7,b7 ,states1 political subdivisions of ,states1 and ,indian ,tribes of varying population sizes4 7#d7 ,free to tenants ,a tenant may not be charged for participating in landlord-tenant mediation funded by a covered grant4 7e7 ,oversight requirements ,for each year of a covered grant received by an eligible entity1 the eligible entity shall submit to the ,secretary a report that-- 7#a7 describes how the eligible entity used the grant funds during that year2 and 7#b7 includes any performance data1 relating to programs funded by the covered grant1 that the eligible entity submitted to a ,state or political subdivision thereof1 if applicable4 7f7 ,authorization of appropriations ,there are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year #bjbj and each fiscal year thereafter4 #f4 ,study and demonstration of eviction-preventing insurance models 7a7 ,in general ,not later than #ah months after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary shall study1 and submit to ,congress a report on-- 7#a7 insurance models designed to reduce evictions or expand access to rental opportunities for tenants1 such as rental payment insurance2 7#b7 the cost of various insurance models described in paragraph 7#a72 and 7#c7 the effects of various insurance models described in paragraph 7#a7 on tenants1 landlords1 and housing markets4 7b7 ,objectives ,in conducting the study under subsection 7a71 the ,secretary shall seek to-- 7#a7 better understand insurance models described in that subsection that are not widely available in the ,united ,states2 7#b7 assess the viability of the insurance models in ,united ,states markets and how the insurance models could be implemented through private1 public1 or subsidized programs2 7#c7 determine whether insurance models in which the insurance policy is purchased by the tenant1 the landlord1 or a public entity would be most effective in achieving the objectives under this subsection2 7#d7 study any existing relevant insurance programs and the effectiveness of those programs1 both domestically and internationally2 7#e7 study how ,federal mortgage insurance programs could help inform the structure or breadth of the insurance models2 7#f7 study how the insurance models could be structured in order to best prevent evictions1 particularly small-dollar evictions2 7#g7 study how to structure the insurance models in order to prevent moral hazard2 7#h7 study the potential for the insurance models to serve as a bridge for tenants between-- 7,a7 participating in more cost-intensive1 longer-term housing programs1 such as public housing under the ,united ,states ,housing ,act of #aicg 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #adcg et seq47 or rental assistance under section #h of that ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #adcg;f72 and 7,b7 leaving the programs described in subparagraph 7,a7 entirely2 7#i7 study how the insurance models could be tailored to target or benefit lower-income families or vulnerable renters2 and 7#aj7 study the extent to which the insurance models could be paired with landlord-tenant mediation efforts4 7c7 ,results of study 7#a7 ,report ,the ,secretary shall include in the report under subsection 7a7-- 7,a7 a description of any insurance models that-- 7i7 have the strongest potential to achieve the objectives under subsection 7b72 and 7ii7 could be tested through a demonstration project2 and 7,b7 a proposal for a demonstration project to test the most promising insurance model described in subparagraph 7,a74 7#b7 ,demonstration project priority for grant recipients ,in selecting the jurisdiction in which to conduct the demonstration project proposed under paragraph 7#a77;,b71 the ,secretary shall give priority to jurisdictions served by a recipient of a covered grant4 7#c7 ,budget request ,after submitting the report under subsection 7a71 the ,secretary shall include in the first annual budget request that the ,secretary submits to ,congress under section #aaje of title #ca1 ,united ,states ,code1 a request for funds for the demonstration proposal described in paragraph 7#a77;,b74