,,ii #aafth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #ccje ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,february #ac1 #bjbj,mr4 ,bennet introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,banking1 ,housing1 and ,urban ,affairs ,a ,,bill ,to establish a grant program to provide legal assistance to eligible tenants at risk of or subject to eviction1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,legal ,assistance to ,prevent ,evictions ,act of #bjbj4 #b4 ,evictions assistance grant program 7a7 ,definitions ,in this ,act3 7#a7 ,eligible recipient ,the term eligible recipient means any nonprofit or governmental entity that has experience providing no-cost legal assistance to low-income individuals4 7#b7 ,eligible tenant ,the term eligible tenant means an individual who has an annual household income of-- 7,a7 not more than #ace percent of the ,federal poverty guidelines issued by the ,secretary of ,health and ,human ,services2 or 7,b7 less than #ccc percent of the average fair market rent in the county in which the individual resides-- 7i7 in the case of a household comprised of #a individual1 for an efficiency2 and 7ii7 in the case of a household comprised of more than #a individual1 for a residence in which the number of bedrooms would not require-- 7,i7 more than #b members of the household to share a bedroom2 7,,ii7 children of different genders to share a bedroom with one another2 or 7,,iii7 a household member with a disability requiring medical equipment to share a bedroom4 7#c7 ,rural area ,the term rural area means a census tract that is-- 7,a7 outside of a metropolitan statistical area1 as designated by the ,office of ,management and ,budget2 or 7,b7 7i7 within a metropolitan statistical area1 as designated by the ,office of ,management and ,budget1 that is outside of the urbanized areas of the metropolitan statistical area as designated by the rural-urban commuting area code #a1 as determined by the ,secretary of ,agriculture2 and 7ii7 outside of tracts with a housing density of more than #fd housing units per square mile located in the rural-urban commuting area code #b1 as determined by the ,secretary of ,agriculture4 7#d7 ,secretary ,the term ,secretary means the ,secretary of ,housing and ,urban ,development4 7#e7 ,suburban area ,the term suburban area means a census tract with a population density of less than #b1ejj inhabitants per square mile that is not a rural area4 7#f7 ,urban area ,the term urban area means a census tract with a population density of not less than #b1ejj inhabitants per square mile4 7b7 ,establishment ,the ,secretary shall establish a competitive grant program to provide grants to eligible recipients to provide legal assistance1 including assistance related to pretrial activities1 trial activities1 post-trial activities1 and alternative dispute resolution1 at no cost to eligible tenants at risk of or subject to eviction4 7c7 ,application ,to be eligible to receive a grant under this section1 an applicant shall submit an application to the ,secretary at such time1 in such manner1 and containing such information as the ,secretary may reasonably require1 including evidence of the experience of the applicant providing legal assistance in residential eviction matters4 7d7 ,point system for preference factors ,in awarding grants under this section1 the ,secretary shall-- 7#a7 establish a system that awards points to applicants in accordance with the preference factors described in subsection 7e72 and 7#b7 give priority to applicants with the greatest number of points under the system established under paragraph 7#a74 7e7 ,preference factors ,the preference factors for which an applicant shall be awarded points under the system established pursuant to subsection 7d77#a7 are as follows3 7#a7 ,eviction rate preference 7,a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary shall award points if the applicant will use grant funds awarded under this section to provide services in census tracts with high rates of eviction4 7,b7 ,determination ,in making a determination under subparagraph 7,a71 the ,secretary shall use data determined by the ,secretary to be the best available1 or1 if no appropriate data is available1 shall make reasonable inferences to determine the rate of eviction in a census tract4 7,c7 ,limitations ,the ,secretary may not-- 7i7 require applicants to provide data on the rates of eviction in the census tract in which the applicant intends to provide services2 or 7ii7 award more points to applicants who provide the data described in clause 7i7 than to applicants who do not provide that data4 7#b7 ,capacity preference 7,a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary shall award points if the ,secretary determines that the applicant has a greater capacity to produce more favorable outcomes regarding eviction for eligible tenants4 7,b7 ,considerations ,in making a determination under subparagraph 7,a71 the ,secretary may consider the applicant's-- 7i7 past experience in producing favorable outcomes for households facing eviction2 7ii7 proposed use of grant funds to increase staff resources to provide legal assistance2 7iii7 demonstrated past effective use of resources to provide legal assistance2 7iv7 ability to provide services to eligible tenants with limited ,english proficiency2 and 7v7 ability to effectively communicate with eligible tenants with disabilities4 7#c7 ,preference for government entities that promote tenant rights 7,a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary shall award points to an applicant that is a governmental entity if the applicant has in effect laws or regulations that promote tenant rights4 7,b7 ,considerations ,in making a determination under subparagraph 7,a71 the ,secretary-- 7i7 shall consider laws or regulations establishing a tenant's right to-- 7,i7 counsel in evictions cases2 7,,ii7 withhold rent if a landlord fails to provide essential services to ensure habitability of the premises2 7,,iii7 deduct appliance repair costs from rent owed2 7,,iv7 notice of failure to pay rent or other lease violation with the right to cure2 7,v7 a maximum security deposit equal to #a month's rent2 and 7,,vi7 the expeditious return of any security deposit after terminating a lease2 and 7ii7 may consider1 with lesser weight given than the weight given to those rights described in clause 7i71 laws or regulations establishing a tenant's right to-- 7,i7 advance notice of rent increases2 7,,ii7 advance notice of landlord entry to the property2 or 7,,iii7 adequate time to recover abandoned property after eviction4 7,c7 ,limitation ,points awarded under this paragraph shall not result in an applicant governmental entity being awarded a grant that1 in the absence of this paragraph1 would have been awarded to either an applicant nonprofit entity or an applicant governmental entity lacking the legal authority to enact laws or regulations described in this paragraph because the entity is subject to legal restrictions enacted by another governmental entity4 7f7 ,rural equity ,in awarding grants under this section1 the ,secretary-- 7#a7 shall1 to the extent practicable1 ensure that the proportion of eligible tenants living in rural areas who will receive legal assistance with grant funds awarded under this section is not less than the overall proportion of eligible tenants who live in rural areas2 and 7#b7 may consider geographic diversity and the capacity of an applicant to serve eligible tenants living in rural areas4 7g7 ,supplement1 not supplant ,grant funds received under this section shall be used to supplement and not supplant other funds used by the grantee to provide the legal assistance described in subsection 7b74 7h7 ,report ,for each year that an eligible recipient receives grant funds under this section1 the eligible recipient shall submit to the ,secretary a report that-- 7#a7 maintains attorney-client confidentiality and excludes personally identifiable information about eligible tenants2 and 7#b7 contains-- 7,a7 the total number of eligible tenants that were provided legal assistance using the grant funds2 7,b7 the estimated number of evictions avoided1 delayed1 or resolved with other outcomes1 such as negotiated settlements1 that are more favorable to the eligible tenant than the outcomes that would have been expected in the absence of counsel1 and a brief description of the circumstances of each case2 7,c7 the number of eligible tenants that received legal assistance that reside in a dwelling unit for which any subsidy or assistance for occupancy in the dwelling unit is provided under a program administered by a ,federal1 ,state1 or local authority2 and 7,d7 demographic information about eligible tenants that received legal assistance1 including race1 national origin1 sex1 disability status1 household income1 household size1 household familial status1 age of the head of household1 and whether tenants live in an urban area1 suburban area1 or rural area4