PRIA Logo™
119-s-3970119th CongressWALLET

Rural Housing Regulatory Relief Act

Sponsored By: Senator Ricketts, Pete [R-NE]

Introduced

Summary

Narrowing NEPA review for rural infill housing. This bill would exempt certain USDA housing assistance for constructing or modifying homes on infill sites from being treated as a major federal action under the National Environmental Policy Act, to speed approvals and reduce administrative hurdles.

Show full summary
  • Rural families and communities: May speed the delivery of affordable housing on infill sites so households can move in sooner and projects clear local bottlenecks faster.
  • USDA applicants and administrators: Could reduce time and administrative costs for the specific programs named in the Housing Act of 1949, and requires the Agriculture Secretary to report to Congress within 5 years on time and cost changes, impacts on rural affordable housing, and recommended next steps.
  • Environmental and planning limits: The exemption applies only to sites served by existing infrastructure and specifically excludes greenfields and census tracts with very high or relatively high FEMA National Risk Index ratings for wildfire or flooding.

Personalized for You

How does this bill affect your finances?

Personalize government policy and PRIA will tell you what this bill means for your household, plus every other piece of legislation we track. PRIA reads each provision against your financial profile to show you exactly what matters to your wallet.

Free to download

Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

1 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.

Faster USDA rural infill housing approvals

If enacted, this bill would say certain USDA housing help for building or fixing homes on qualifying infill sites would not be a "major Federal action" under NEPA. It would apply to assistance under sections 501, 502, 504, 515, 533, and 538 of the Housing Act of 1949. An infill site would be one already served by water, sewer, and roads. The bill would not cover greenfields, sites served only by a road, or census tracts FEMA marks as very high or relatively high risk for wildfire, coastal flooding, or riverine flooding. The change would not affect laws other than NEPA. The Agriculture Secretary would report to Congress within five years on review time, administrative costs, effects on rural affordable housing, and any recommendations. The change would take effect upon enactment.

Sponsors & CoSponsors

Sponsor

Ricketts, Pete [R-NE]

NE • R

Cosponsors

There are no cosponsors for this bill.

Roll Call Votes

No roll call votes available for this bill.

View on Congress.gov
Back to Legislation