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119-s-5579119th CongressWALLET

Mapping Housing Discrimination Act

Sponsored By: Senator Smith, Tina [D-MN]

Introduced

Summary

Creates a national, publicly accessible map and database of historic housing discrimination records. It would fund competitive HUD grants to digitize deeds and laws from about 1850 onward, standardize geospatial datasets, and require submission of datasets and metadata so communities, researchers, and governments can find evidence of racially restrictive covenants and discriminatory ordinances.

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  • Families and communities: Makes local evidence of past housing discrimination searchable and free to access, helping residents understand historical patterns in their neighborhoods.
  • Local governments and jurisdictions: Can be paid to digitize deeds and records and must make those records publicly available at no cost if paid with grant funds.
  • Researchers, educators, and colleges: Eligible higher education institutions, with preference for minority‑serving institutions, can win competitive grants for projects up to 5 years to create standardized spatial datasets and methodology documentation for a national HUD database.

*Would increase federal spending if enacted by authorizing $5.0 million per year for grants and $750,000 per year for program costs for fiscal years 2027 through 2036, subject to annual appropriations.*

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

4 provisions identified: 4 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.

Annual funding for mapping grants

If enacted, the bill would authorize $5 million each year from fiscal years 2027 through 2036 to award grants for mapping historic housing discrimination. It would also authorize $750,000 each year from 2027 through 2036 for HUD program costs, and those program-cost funds could remain available until spent. These amounts would support the grant program and its administration rather than provide direct payments to households.

Free national database of records

If enacted, HUD's research office would create a national database of historic housing discrimination records and make it publicly available at no cost on its website. Grant recipients would submit datasets and metadata for inclusion. An eligible entity could ask HUD to delay adding its data for up to 180 days after submission. HUD could also add related federal data and must provide submitted metadata on request.

Grants for colleges to map records

If enacted, HUD's research office would run a competitive grant program for colleges to analyze, digitize, and map historic housing discrimination records. Projects must cover at least one jurisdiction and could last up to five years. The Secretary could give preference to minority-serving colleges. If grant money pays a jurisdiction to digitize records, that jurisdiction would have to make those digitized records free to the public. Grantees would use required data standards and submit datasets, raw data, and metadata when projects end.

National standards for housing records

If enacted, HUD's research office would have to set uniform standards for analyzing, digitizing, and mapping historic housing discrimination records within one year. The standards would include required metadata guidance. HUD would coordinate with the Fair Housing office and seek input from colleges, civil rights groups, and researchers. HUD could competitively fund or contract with a nonfederal group to propose standards, and that group would have to get similar input.

Sponsors & CoSponsors

Sponsor

Smith, Tina [D-MN]

MN • D

Cosponsors

  • Sen. Klobuchar, Amy [D-MN]

    MN • D

    Sponsored 9/29/2026

Roll Call Votes

No roll call votes available for this bill.

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