# 119-hr-3459: Empty Lots to Housing Act

119-hr-3459, Empty Lots to Housing Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Mullin, Kevin [D-CA-15] (D-CA); status in_committee; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-11-01).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3459
- As of: 2026-11-01
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-3459
- Congress: 119
- Title: Empty Lots to Housing Act
- Status: in_committee
- Introduced: 2025-05-15
- Sponsor: Rep. Mullin, Kevin [D-CA-15] (D-CA)
- Cosponsors: 15
- Policy area: Transportation and Public Works
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-11-01

## Summary

**Allows surplus federal highway‑acquired land to be transferred to create long‑term affordable, transit‑oriented housing.** This bill would tie those transfers to strict 30‑year affordability covenants and Secretary review to ensure public benefit. - Families and low‑income renters: Housing created on transferred parcels must reserve at least 40% of units for households at or below 60% of area median income (AMI), and at least 20% of those reserved units must serve households at or below 30% of AMI. Rents for the reserved units must not exceed 30% of a household's adjusted income for 30 years. - Local governments and nonprofits: Local authorities and nonprofits would be prioritized as transferees to develop transit‑oriented dwelling units when the recipient determines the property is no longer needed. - Private developers and third parties: Third‑party entities could receive property only if no local government or nonprofit can, and if they show a satisfactory track record in building or operating affordable housing. - Federal oversight and value protection: The Secretary must find transfers advance transit‑oriented affordability, weigh fair market value and other factors, and confirm there is no continuing federal obligation beyond the transfer.

## Cosponsors (15)

- Rep. Edwards, Chuck [R-NC-11] (R-NC), 2025-05-15T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Fitzpatrick, Brian K. [R-PA-1] (R-PA), 2025-05-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Peters, Scott H. [D-CA-50] (D-CA), 2025-05-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Thanedar, Shri [D-MI-13] (D-MI), 2025-05-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Garcia, Robert [D-CA-42] (D-CA), 2025-06-04T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Auchincloss, Jake [D-MA-4] (D-MA), 2025-06-12T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Goodlander, Maggie [D-NH-2] (D-NH), 2025-07-10T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Bresnahan, Robert P. [R-PA-8] (R-PA), 2025-08-19T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Davids, Sharice [D-KS-3] (D-KS), 2025-08-19T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Nunn, Zachary [R-IA-3] (R-IA), 2025-09-30T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Harder, Josh [D-CA-9] (D-CA), 2025-10-24T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Horsford, Steven [D-NV-4] (D-NV), 2025-12-11T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Friedman, Laura [D-CA-30] (D-CA), 2026-01-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Wasserman Schultz, Debbie [D-FL-25] (D-FL), 2026-05-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. McDonald Rivet, Kristen [D-MI-8] (D-MI), 2026-06-11T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Affordable transit homes for low-income renters: benefit, medium. This bill would let the Secretary approve transfers of land bought with federal highway funds when it is no longer needed. Local governments or nonprofits could get the land to build homes near transit. Private developers could only get it if added tests are met and the public benefit is greater th…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-9877: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026
- 119-hr-2048: Metastatic Breast Cancer Access to Care Act
- 119-hr-4206: CONNECT for Health Act of 2025
- 119-hr-1262: Mikaela Naylon Give Kids a Chance Act
- 119-hr-1065: Protect Our Letter Carriers Act of 2025
- 119-hr-909: Crime Victims Fund Stabilization Act of 2025

## Sources
- [119-hr-3459 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/3459)

## Related
- [119-hr-9877: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9877)
- [119-hr-2048: Metastatic Breast Cancer Access to Care Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2048)
- [119-hr-4206: CONNECT for Health Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4206)
- [119-hr-1262: Mikaela Naylon Give Kids a Chance Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1262)
- [119-hr-1065: Protect Our Letter Carriers Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1065)
- [119-hr-909: Crime Victims Fund Stabilization Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-909)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3459 (as of 2026-11-01).