,i  #aaith ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #afjg  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,february #bf1       
#bjbe,mrs4 ,fletcher 7for herself1 ,mr4 
,cleaver1 ,ms4 ,williams of ,georgia1   
,mr4 ,thompson of ,mississippi1 ,ms4    
,norton1 ,mr4 ,soto1 ,ms4 ,tlaib1 ,mrs4 
,beatty1 and ,mr4 ,veasey7 introduced   
the following bill2 which was referred  
to the ,committee on ,financial         
,services  ,a ,,bill  ,to assist        
applicants for community development    
block grant recovery assistance not     
having traditionally accepted forms of  
documentation of ownership of property  
to prove such ownership1 and for other  
purposes4  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act  
may be cited as the ,heirs ,empowerment 
and ,inheritance ,rights ,act of #bjbe  
or the ,,heir ,act of #bjbe4  #b4       
,,cdbg-,disaster ,recovery and          
,,cdbg-,mitigation programs  7a7        
,documentation of property ownership    
7#a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary of     
,housing and ,urban ,development shall  

amend the regulations at part #egj of   
title #bd1 ,code of ,federal            
,regulations1 to ensure that in         
providing assistance for the ,community 
,development ,block ,grant program for  
,disaster ,recovery 7,,cdbg-,,dr7 and   
the ,community ,development ,block      
,grant program for ,mitigation          
7,,cdbg-,,mit71 in connection with a    
,presidentially declared disaster1 in a 
case in which a homeowner is required to
 demonstrate ownership of a property    
heir property owners and any other      
owners not having traditionally accepted
 forms of documentation of ownership of 
property are provided resources and     
options for proving ownership for       
purposes of receiving assistance under  
such ,disaster ,recovery and ,mitigation
 programs4  7#b7 ,acceptable            
,documentation ,acceptable documentation
 for purposes paragraph 7#a7 shall      
include-- 7,a7 a signed affidavit of    
ownership form developed pursuant to    
subsection 7b72 or  7,b7 letters from   

local public or private schools1        
,federal or ,state benefit providers1   
and social service organizations1       
including community assistance programs 
and nonprofit organizations4  7#c7      
,definition ,for purposes of this       
subsection1 the term heir property means
 residential property for which title   
passed by operation of law through      
intestacy and is held by two or more    
heirs as tenants in common4  7b7        
,affidavit of ownership  7#a7           
,development and use ,the ,secretary of 
,housing and ,urban ,development shall  
amend the regulations at part #egj of   
title #bd1 ,code of ,federal            
,regulations1 to provide for the use of 
a standardized affidavit of ownership   
form1 to be developed by the ,secretary1
 by grantees of the ,community          
,development ,block ,grant program for  
,disaster ,recovery 7,,cdbg-,,dr7 and   
the ,community ,development ,block      
,grant program for ,mitigation          
7,,cdbg-,,mit7 in coordination with     

appropriate authorities of the          
applicable jurisdiction4 ,each grantee  
shall ensure that1 at the time of       
application for housing repair and      
reconstruction assistance or mitigation 
assistance under such programs-- 7,a7   
each applicant is informed of the       
existence of the affidavit of ownership 
and provided a copy at the time of      
application2 and  7,b7 copies of the    
form in ,english1 ,spanish1 and any     
other locally predominant languages of  
the ,presidentially-declared disaster   
area are accessible to the applicant4   
7#b7 ,prohibition ,a grantee may not    
require that the signed affidavit of    
ownership form of an applicant be       
notarized4  7c7 ,exemption ,an affidavit
 of ownership form shall be exempt from 
any public comment periods or           
publication notices under part #egj of  
title #bd1 ,code of ,federal            
,regulations4