§ 501 EXCERPTS FROM HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT ACT OF 1970 [Public Law 91-609, 84 Stat. 1784; 12 U.S.C. 1701z-1] TITLE V-RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH AND DEMONSTRATIONS SEC. 501. The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development is authorized and directed to undertake such programs of research, studies, testing, and demonstration relating to the mission and programs of the Department as he determines to be necessary and appropriate. There1 are authorized to be appropriated for activities under this title not to exceed $65,000,000 for the fiscal year 1977. All funds so appropriated shall remain available until expended unless specifically limited. GENERAL PROVISIONS SEC. 502. (a) The Secretary shall require, to the greatest extent feasible, the employment of new and improved technologies, methods, and materials in housing construction, rehabilitation, and maintenance under programs administered by him with a view to reducing costs, and shall encourage and promote the acceptance and application of such advanced technology, methods, and materials by all segments of the housing industry, communities, industries engaged in urban development activities, and the general public. To the extent feasible, in connection with the construction, major rehabilitation, or maintenance of any housing assisted under section 501, the Secretary shall assure that there is no restraint by contract, building code, zoning ordinance, or practice against the employment of new or improved technologies, techniques, materials, and methods or of preassembled products which may reduce the cost or improve the quality of such construction, rehabilitation, and maintenance, and therefore stimulate expanded production of housing, except where such restraint is necessary to insure safe and healthful working and living conditions. (b) To encourage large-scale experimentation in the use of new technologies, methods, and materials, with a view toward the ultimate mass production of housing and related facilities, the Secretary shall wherever feasible conduct programs under section 501 in which qualified organizations, public and private, will submit plans for development and production of housing and related facilities using such new advances on Federal land which has been made available or acquired by the Secretary for the purpose of this subsection or on other land where (1) local building regulations permit such experimental con 1 Sec. 23(a) of the Housing Authorization Act of 1976, Public Law 94-375, approved August 3, 1976, 90 Stat. 1067, amended section 501 of the Housing and Redevelopment Act of 1970, by deleting the second sentence and inserting in lieu thereof the following: "There are authorized to be appropriated for activities under this title not to exceed $65,000,000 for the fiscal year 1977". Prior to this amendment, this sentence read as follows: "In order to carry out activities under this section there are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary". struction, or (2) necessary variances from building regulations can be granted. The Secretary may utilize the funds and authority available to him under the provisions of section 501 to assist in the implementation of plans which he approves. (c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary is authorized, in connection with projects under this title, to acquire, use and dispose of any land and other property required for the project as he deems necessary. Notwithstanding the provisions of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949, any land which is excess property within the meaning of such Act and which is determined by the Secretary to be suitable in furtherance of the purposes of subsection (b) may be transferred to the Secretary upon his request. (d) In order to effectively carry out his activities under section 501, the Secretary is authorized to provide such advice and technical assistance as may be required and to pay for the cost of writing and publishing reports on activities and undertakings financed under section 501, as well as reports on similar activities and undertakings, not so financed, which are of significant value in furthering the purposes of that section. He may disseminate (without regard to the provisions of section 3204 of title 39, United States Code, or section 4154 of such title with respect to any period before the effective date of such section 3204 as provided in section 15(a) of the Postal Reorganization Act) any reports, data, or information acquired or held under this title, including related data and information otherwise available to the Secretary through the operation of the programs and activities of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, in such form as he determines to be most useful to departments, establishments, and agencies of Federal, State, and local governments, to industry, and to the general public. (e) The Secretary is authorized to carry out the functions authorized in section 501 either directly or, without regard to section 3709 of the Revised Statutes, by contract or by grant. Advance and progress payments may be made under such contracts or grants without regard to the provisions of section 3648 of the Revised Statutes and such contracts or grants may be made for work to continue for not more than four years from the date thereof. (f) In carrying out activities under section 501, the Secretary shall utilize to the fullest extent feasible the available facilities of other Federal departments and agencies, and shall consult with, and make recommendations to, such departments and agencies. The Secretary may enter into working agreements with such departments and agencies and contract or make grants on their behalf or have such departments and agencies contract or make grants on his behalf and such departments and agencies are hereby authorized to execute such contracts and grants. The Secretary is authorized to make or accept reimbursement for the cost of such activities. The Secretary is further authorized to undertake activities under this title under cooperative agreements with industry and labor, agencies of State or local governments, educational institutions, and other organizations. He may enter 1 Sec. 23 (c) of the Housing Authorization Act of 1976. Public Law 94-375, approved August 3, 1976, 90 Stat. 1067, amended section 502(f) of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1970 by striking the period at the end of the second sentence and adding the following: "and such departments and agencies are hereby authorized to execute such contracts and grants". into contracts with and receive funds from such agencies, institutions, and organizations, and may exercise any of the other powers vested in him by section 502 (c) of the Housing Act of 1948. (g) The Secretary is authorized to request and receive such information or data as he deems appropriate from private individuals and organizations, and from public agencies. Any such information or data shall be used only for the purposes for which it is supplied, and no publication shall be made by the Secretary whereby the information or data furnished by any particular person or establishment can be identified, except with the consent of such person or establishment. REPEAL OF EXISTING RESEARCH AUTHORITIES SEC. 503. Effective July 1, 1971, the following provisions of law are repealed; except that such repeal shall not affect contracts, commitments, reservations, or other obligations entered into pursuant to such provisions prior to that date: (1) title III of the Housing Act of 1948; (5) section 301 of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1965; (6) sections 1010 and 1011 of the Demonstration Cities and Metropolitan Development Act of 1966; and (7) section 1714(b) of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968. HOUSING ALLOWANCES SEC. 504. (a) The Secretary is authorized to undertake on an experimental basis programs to demonstrate the feasibility of providing housing allowance payments to assist families in meeting rental or homeownership expenses. (b) 1 No housing allowance payments shall be made after July 1, 1985. After January 1, 1975, the Secretary shall not enter into contracts under the United States Housing Act of 1937 to carry out the purposes of this section. The Secretary may contract with public or private agencies for the performance of administrative functions in connection with the programs authorized by this section. (c) The Secretary shall report to the Congress on his findings pursuant to this section not later than eighteen months after the enactment of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974.2 DEMONSTRATION WITH RESPECT TO ABANDONED PROPERTIES SEC. 505. (a) In carrying out activities under section 501, the Secretary may undertake programs to demonstrate the most feasible means of providing assistance to localities in which a substantial num 1 Sec. 23(b) of the Housing Authorization Act of 1976, Public Law 94-375, approved Sec. 804 of Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, Public Law 93-383, 88 Stat. 633, approved August 22, 1974, amended sec. 504. 81-793 77 - 30 ber of structures are abandoned or are threatened with abandonment for the purpose of arresting the process of housing abandonment in its incipiency or in restoring viability to blighted areas in which abandonment is pervasive. For this purpose, the Secretary is authorized to make grants, subject to the limitations of this section, to assist local public bodies in planning and implementing demonstration projects for prompt and effective action in alleviating and preventing such abandonment in designated demonstration areas. (b) In administering this section, the Secretary shall give preference to those demonstration projects which in his judgment can reasonably be expected to arrest the process of abandonment in the demonstration area within a period of two years and which provide for innovative approaches to combating the problem of housing abandonment. Such projects may include, but shall not be limited to (1) acquisition by negotiated purchase, lease, receivership, tax lien proceedings, or other means authorized by law and satisfactory to the Secretary, of real property within the demonstration area or areas which is abandoned, deteriorated, or in violation of applicable code standards; (2) the repair of streets, sidewalks, parks, playgrounds, publicly owned utilities, public buildings to meet needs consistent with the revitalization and continued use of the area; (3) the demolition of structures determined to be structurally unsound or unfit for human habitation or which contribute adversely to the physical or social environment of the locality involved; (4) the establishment of recreational or community facilities including public playgrounds; (5) the improvement of garbage and trash collection, street cleaning and other essential services necessary to the revitalization and maintenance of the area; (6) the rehabilitation of privately and publicly owned real property by the locality; and (7) the establishment and operation of locally controlled, nonprofit housing management corporations and municipal repair programs. (c) Subject to such conditions as the Secretary may prescribe, real property held as part of a project assisted under this section may be made available to (1) a limited dividend corporation, nonprofit corporation, or association, cooperative or public body or agency, or other approved purchaser or lessee, or (2) a purchaser who would be eligible for a mortgage insured under section 221 (d)(3) or (d)(4), section 221 (h) (1), section 235 (i) or (i) (1), or section 236 of the National Housing Act, for purchase or lease at fair market value for use by such purchaser or lessee, as, or in the provision of, new or rehabilitated housing for occupancy by families or individuals of low or moderate income. (d) Grants under this section shall be in amounts which do not exceed 90 per centum of the net project cost as determined by the Secretary. There are authorized to be appropriated for demonstration grants under this section not to exceed $20,000,000 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1971. Any amounts appropriated shall remain available until expended and any amount authorized but not appropriated may be appropriated for any succeeding fiscal year commencing prior to July 1, 1972. Not more than one-third of the aggregate amount of grants made in any fiscal year under this section shall be made with respect to projects undertaken by one locality. (e) The provisions of sections 106, 114, and 115 of Title I of the Housing Act of 1949, and section 312 of the Housing Act of 1964, may apply to projects assisted under this Act as if such projects were being carried out in urban renewal areas as part of urban renewal projects within the meaning of section 110 of the Housing Act of 1949. (f) The Secretary shall report annually to the Congress with respect to the status of demonstration projects funded by him and shall make such recommendations to the Congress as he deems necessary to further the purposes of this section. SOLAR ENERGY SEC. 506.1 (a) In carrying out activities under section 501, the Secretary may, after consultation with the National Science Foundation, undertake demonstrations to determine the economic and technical feasibility of utilizing solar energy for heating or cooling residential housing (including demonstrations of new housing design or structure involving the use of solar energy). Demonstrations carried out under this section should involve both single family and multifamily housing located in areas having distinguishable climatic characteristics in urban as well as rural environments. To carry out the purpose of this section the Secretary is authorized (1) to enter into contracts with, to make grants to, and to provide other types of assistance to individuals and entities with special competence and knowledge to contribute to the planning, design, development, and operation of such housing; (2) to utilize the contract, loan, or mortgage insurance authority of any federally assisted housing program in the actual planning, development, and occupancy of such housing; and (3) to set aside any development, construction, design, or occupancy requirements for the purpose of any demonstration under this section if he determines that such requirements inhibit such demonstration. (b) The Secretary shall include in any demonstration under this section an evaluation of the demonstration to cover the full experience involved in all stages of the demonstration. (c) The Secretary shall transmit to the Congress not later than 6 months following the close of any year in which he carries out a demonstration under this section a full report on such demonstration. Such report may include an evaluation of the economic and technological feasibility of the widespread application of solar energy to residential housing. ADDITIONAL RESEARCH AUTHORITY SEC. 507.2 (a) In carrying out activities under section 501, the Secretary may undertake special demonstrations to determine the housing design, the housing structure, and the housing-related facilities, and amenities most effective or appropriate to meet the needs of groups with special housing needs including the elderly, the handicapped, the displaced, single individuals, broken families, and large households. For this purpose, the Secretary is authorized to enter into contracts with, to make grants to, and to provide other types of assistance to individuals and entities with special competence and knowledge to contribute 1 Sec. 814 of Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, Public Law 93-383, 88 Stat. 633, approved August 22, 1974, added this new section 506. Sec. 815 of Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, Public Law 93-383, 88 Stat. 633, approved August 22, 1974, added this new section 507. |