Legislative Agenda
Build More Housing Near Transit Act of 2021 (BMHNTA)
Bill Name: S.3216; H.R.6199
Congressional sponsors: Sen. Braun, Mike (R-IN)* Sen. Schatz, Brian (D-HI) House Sponsors: Rep. Peters, Scott H. (D-CA50) Rep. McMorris Rodgers, Cathy (R-WA5)
Background
- As of 2021, the U.S. was 3.89M homes short of meeting housing need.1
- All 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia have a gap between the housing they have and the housing they need.
- One-third of U.S. households are cost-burdened.
The U.S. DOT Federal Transit Administration (FTA) allocates around $2.3 billion each year to fixed-guideway transit projects, which include light, rapid, and commuter rail and street cars. These transit areas are often underdeveloped and, consequently, have sub-optimized ridership potential. This underdevelopment means that transit areas are unable to fulfill the promise of affordability benefits, particularly to low-income households.
Legislative Solution
To ensure that FTA transit investments fulfill the original promise of a federal transit capital program that would “help shape as well as serve urban growth, the Build More Housing Near Transit Act would direct the Secretary of the Department of Transportation to:
- Provide a scoring benefit within the project justification evaluation to project sponsors that provide housing feasibility assessments and demonstrate substantial efforts to align land use and zoning policies to encourage more affordable housing near the proposed transit project.
- Allow federal funding used for affordable housing planning and development within one-half of a mile of a project station to count toward total project cost when determining government cost-share.
