,i #aaith ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #efja ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,september #bf1 #bjbe,mr4 ,peters 7for himself and ,mr4 ,edwards7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,financial ,services ,a ,,bill ,to preempt ,state and local laws that prevent the construction of affordable housing on faith lands1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,faith in ,housing ,act of #bjbe4 #b4 ,findings ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,an underproduction in housing units relative to demand has led to a housing shortage of millions of homes in the ,united ,states4 7#b7 ,lack of housing supply and rising rent costs exacerbate inequality and reduce opportunity for many people in the ,united ,states4 7#c7 ,people in the ,united ,states who are unable to afford rising housing costs can fall into homelessness1 causing both personal tragedy and challenges to public and charitable social services4 7#d7 ,houses of worship from every major faith tradition are involved in charitable activities to support low-income people in the ,united ,states facing housing insecurity4 7#e7 ,the efforts of houses of worship to shelter homeless people in the ,united ,states1 provide affordable or supportive housing1 and serve the poor are obstructed by land use regulation that prohibits or curtails the ability of the house of worship to meet this mission4 7#f7 ,the ability of houses of worship to serve their mission would be enhanced by allowing them the discretion to provide for the construction of affordable homes and homeless shelters4 7#g7 ,the construction of housing is a form of interstate commerce that affects the economy and social welfare of the ,united ,states4 ,state and local land use regulation has national and interstate effects on the housing shortage1 level of housing insecurity and homelessness1 and need for social services4 #c4 ,preemption of ,state and local laws preventing affordable housing construction on faith lands 7a7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 ,affordable housing ,the term affordable housing means-- 7,a7 housing that complies with-- 7i7 ,state or local building codes at the site of construction2 7ii7 ,the ,international ,residential ,code or ,international ,building ,code of the ,international ,code ,council1 as applicable to the type of structure2 or 7iii7 ,the ,manufactured ,home ,construction and ,safety ,standards and other regulations applicable to manufactured homes adopted under the ,manufactured ,housing ,construction and ,safety ,standards ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #edja et seq472 7,b7 housing that is deed-restricted to be affordable as rental units or for homeownership to residents at a range of percentages of area median income1 provided that-- 7i7 the average cost among all housing units is affordable to low-income families as determined under section #c7;b77#b7 of the ,united ,states ,housing ,act of #aicg 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #adcg;a7b77#b772 and 7ii7 all units are affordable at or below #adj percent of the area median income2 7,c7 housing that will remain affordable1 according to binding commitments1 for #cj years from construction or substantial rehabilitation1 without regard to the term of the mortgage or to transfer of ownership2 7,d7 housing that may include preexisting or limited non-residential uses1 including-- 7i7 ground-floor facilities1 such as childcare centers1 operated by nonprofit community-based organizations for the provision of educational1 recreational1 or social services for use by the residents of the affordable housing and residents of the local community in which the housing is located2 and 7ii7 any preexisting religious institutional use1 if such use is limited to the preexisting total square footage2 7,e7 housing that may set aside not more than #e percent of units for employees of the house of worship1 or not more than one unit if the total number of units is at least five units1 and shall otherwise comply with the ,fair ,housing ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #cfja et seq47 without regard to #db ,u4,s4,c4 #cfjg2 and 7,f7 for affordable rental housing1 housing that is managed by a nonprofit property manager with experience managing affordable housing1 that has entered into an agreement for such purpose with the house of worship4 7#b7 ,faith land ,the term faith land means real estate-- 7,a7 owned on or before ,january #a1 #bjbc1 by a house of worship2 or 7,b7 owned for a period of not less than #e years by a house of worship4 7#c7 ,house of worship ,the term house of worship means a church or a convention or association of churches as described in section #agj7;b77#a77;,a77i7 of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf and exempt from tax under section #eja7;a7 of such ,code4 7#d7 ,site-specific hazard ,the term site-specific hazard means a flood1 landslide1 wildfire1 or similar severe disaster hazard1 on the site of construction4 7b7 ,protection of land use for affordable housing 7#a7 ,authority to use faith land for affordable housing ,the owner of faith land shall1 upon notifying in writing any applicable ,state or local zoning authority of its election to invoke the terms of this ,act1 have sole discretion to construct or substantially rehabilitate affordable housing on such land1 if such affordable housing-- 7,a7 is in or affects interstate or foreign commerce2 or 7,b7 is constructed using ,federal assistance4 7#b7 ,relation to ,state law 7,a7 ,in general ,any law1 regulation1 or other requirement of a ,state or political subdivision of a ,state that is inconsistent with this section is preempted by the requirements under paragraph 7#a71 but only to the extent of such inconsistency4 ,any provision of such law1 regulation1 or other requirement that is narrowly tailored to prevent site-specific hazards1 and applies on equal terms to housing constructed under paragraph 7#a7 and to all other residential construction in the jurisdiction1 is not preempted4 7,b7 ,inspection ,a ,state or political subdivision of a ,state shall have the right to reasonably inspect affordable housing described in paragraph 7#a7 to confirm that the housing conforms to the requirements described in subsection 7a77#a74 7#c7 ,cause of action ,a person may assert a violation of this section as a claim or defense in a judicial proceeding and obtain injunctive or declaratory relief4 7#d7 ,attorneys' fees ,section #gbb7;b7 of the ,revised ,statutes 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #aihh7;b77 is amended--7#a7 by inserting ,faith in ,housing ,act of #bjbe1 after ,religious ,land ,use and ,institutionalized ,persons ,act of #bjjj4 7#e7 ,applicability ,this ,act shall not apply to the construction or substantial rehabilitation of affordable housing on faith land unless the owner submits written notice of its intention to invoke the terms of this ,act in accordance with paragraph 7b77#a7 of this section4