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[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 42USC3616a]

 
                 TITLE 42--THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE
 
                        CHAPTER 45--FAIR HOUSING
 
                         SUBCHAPTER I--GENERALLY
 
Sec. 3616a. Fair housing initiatives program


(a) In general

    The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (in this section 
referred to as the ``Secretary'') may make grants to, or (to the extent 
of amounts provided in appropriation Acts) enter into contracts or 
cooperative agreements with, State or local governments or their 
agencies, public or private nonprofit organizations or institutions, or 
other public or private entities that are formulating or carrying out 
programs to prevent or eliminate discriminatory housing practices, to 
develop, implement, carry out, or coordinate--
        (1) programs or activities designed to obtain enforcement of the 
    rights granted by title VIII of the Act of April 11, 1968 [42 U.S.C. 
    3601 et seq.] (commonly referred to as the Civil Rights Act of 
    1968), or by State or local laws that provide rights and remedies 
    for alleged discriminatory housing practices that are substantially 
    equivalent to the rights and remedies provided in such title VIII, 
    through such appropriate judicial or administrative proceedings 
    (including informal methods of conference, conciliation, and 
    persuasion) as are available therefor; and
        (2) education and outreach programs designed to inform the 
    public concerning rights and obligations under the laws referred to 
    in paragraph (1).

(b) Private enforcement initiatives

                           (1) In general

        The Secretary shall use funds made available under this 
    subsection to conduct, through contracts with private nonprofit fair 
    housing enforcement organizations, investigations of violations of 
    the rights granted under title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 
    [42 U.S.C. 3601 et seq.], and such enforcement activities as 
    appropriate to remedy such violations. The Secretary may enter into 
    multiyear contracts and take such other action as is appropriate to 
    enhance the effectiveness of such investigations and enforcement 
    activities.

                           (2) Activities

        The Secretary shall use funds made available under this 
    subsection to conduct, through contracts with private nonprofit fair 
    housing enforcement organizations, a range of investigative and 
    enforcement activities designed to--
            (A) carry out testing and other investigative activities in 
        accordance with subsection (b)(1) of this section, including 
        building the capacity for housing investigative activities in 
        unserved or underserved areas;
            (B) discover and remedy discrimination in the public and 
        private real estate markets and real estate-related 
        transactions, including, but not limited to, the making or 
        purchasing of loans or the provision of other financial 
        assistance sales and rentals of housing and housing advertising;
            (C) carry out special projects, including the development of 
        prototypes to respond to new or sophisticated forms of 
        discrimination against persons protected under title VIII of the 
        Civil Rights Act of 1968 [42 U.S.C. 3601 et seq.];
            (D) provide technical assistance to local fair housing 
        organizations, and assist in the formation and development of 
        new fair housing organizations; and
            (E) provide funds for the costs and expenses of litigation, 
        including expert witness fees.

(c) Funding of fair housing organizations

                           (1) In general

        The Secretary shall use funds made available under this section 
    to enter into contracts or cooperative agreements with qualified 
    fair housing enforcement organizations, other private nonprofit fair 
    housing enforcement organizations, and nonprofit groups organizing 
    to build their capacity to provide fair housing enforcement, for the 
    purpose of supporting the continued development or implementation of 
    initiatives which enforce the rights granted under title VIII of the 
    Civil Rights Act of 1968 [42 U.S.C. 3601 et seq.], as amended. 
    Contracts or cooperative agreements may not provide more than 50 
    percent of the operating budget of the recipient organization for 
    any one year.

                      (2) Capacity enhancement

        The Secretary shall use funds made available under this section 
    to help establish, organize, and build the capacity of fair housing 
    enforcement organizations, particularly in those areas of the 
    country which are currently underserved by fair housing enforcement 
    organizations as well as those areas where large concentrations of 
    protected classes exist. For purposes of meeting the objectives of 
    this paragraph, the Secretary may enter into contracts or 
    cooperative agreements with qualified fair housing enforcement 
    organizations. The Secretary shall establish annual goals which 
    reflect the national need for private fair housing enforcement 
    organizations.

(d) Education and outreach

                           (1) In general

        The Secretary, through contracts with one or more qualified fair 
    housing enforcement organizations, other fair housing enforcement 
    organizations, and other nonprofit organizations representing groups 
    of persons protected under title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 
    1968 [42 U.S.C. 3601 et seq.], shall establish a national education 
    and outreach program. The national program shall be designed to 
    provide a centralized, coordinated effort for the development and 
    dissemination of fair housing media products, including--
            (A) public service announcements, both audio and video;
            (B) television, radio and print advertisements;
            (C) posters; and
            (D) pamphlets and brochures.

    The Secretary shall designate a portion of the amounts provided in 
    subsection (g)(4) of this section for a national program 
    specifically for activities related to the annual national fair 
    housing month. The Secretary shall encourage cooperation with real 
    estate industry organizations in the national education and outreach 
    program. The Secretary shall also encourage the dissemination of 
    educational information and technical assistance to support 
    compliance with the housing adaptability and accessibility 
    guidelines contained in the Fair Housing Act Amendments of 1988.

                   (2) Regional and local programs

        The Secretary, through contracts with fair housing enforcement 
    organizations, other nonprofit organizations representing groups of 
    persons protected under title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 
    [42 U.S.C. 3601 et seq.], State and local agencies certified by the 
    Secretary under section 810(f) of the Fair Housing Act [42 U.S.C. 
    3610(f)], or other public or private entities that are formulating 
    or carrying out programs to prevent or eliminate discriminatory 
    housing practices, shall establish or support education and outreach 
    programs at the regional and local levels.

                    (3) Community-based programs

        The Secretary shall provide funding to fair housing 
    organizations and other nonprofit organizations representing groups 
    of persons protected under title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 
    1968, or other public or private entities that are formulating or 
    carrying out programs to prevent or eliminate discriminatory housing 
    practices, to support community-based education and outreach 
    activities, including school, church, and community presentations, 
    conferences, and other educational activities.

(e) Program administration

    (1) Not less than 30 days before providing a grant or entering into 
any contract or cooperative agreement to carry out activities authorized 
by this section, the Secretary shall submit notification of such 
proposed grant, contract, or cooperative agreement (including a 
description of the geographical distribution of such contracts) to the 
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate and the 
Committee on Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs of the House of 
Representatives.
    (2) Repealed. Pub. L. 104-66, title I, Sec. 1071(d), Dec. 21, 1995, 
109 Stat. 720.

(f) Regulations

    (1) The Secretary shall issue such regulations as may be necessary 
to carry out the provisions of this section.
    (2) The Secretary shall, for use during the demonstration authorized 
in this section, establish guidelines for testing activities funded 
under the private enforcement initiative of the fair housing initiatives 
program. The purpose of such guidelines shall be to ensure that 
investigations in support of fair housing enforcement efforts described 
in subsection (a)(1) of this section shall develop credible and 
objective evidence of discriminatory housing practices. Such guidelines 
shall apply only to activities funded under this section, shall not be 
construed to limit or otherwise restrict the use of facts secured 
through testing not funded under this section in any legal proceeding 
under Federal fair housing laws, and shall not be used to restrict 
individuals or entities, including those participating in the fair 
housing initiatives program, from pursuing any right or remedy 
guaranteed by Federal law. Not later than 6 months after the end of the 
demonstration period authorized in this section,\1\ the Secretary shall 
submit to Congress the evaluation of the Secretary of the effectiveness 
of such guidelines in achieving the purposes of this section.
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    \1\ See References in Text note below.
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    (3) Such regulations shall include provisions governing applications 
for assistance under this section, and shall require each such 
application to contain--
        (A) a description of the assisted activities proposed to be 
    undertaken by the applicant, together with the estimated costs and 
    schedule for completion of such activities;
        (B) a description of the experience of the applicant in 
    formulating or carrying out programs to prevent or eliminate 
    discriminatory housing practices;
        (C) available information, including studies made by or 
    available to the applicant, indicating the nature and extent of 
    discriminatory housing practices occurring in the general location 
    where the applicant proposes to conduct its assisted activities, and 
    the relationship of such activities to such practices;
        (D) an estimate of such other public or private resources as may 
    be available to assist the proposed activities;
        (E) a description of proposed procedures to be used by the 
    applicant for monitoring conduct and evaluating results of the 
    proposed activities; and
        (F) any additional information required by the Secretary.

    (4) Regulations issued under this subsection shall not become 
effective prior to the expiration of 90 days after the Secretary 
transmits such regulations, in the form such regulations are intended to 
be published, to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of 
the Senate and the Committee on Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs of 
the House of Representatives.
    (5) The Secretary shall not obligate or expend any amount under this 
section before the effective date of the regulations required under this 
subsection.

(g) Authorization of appropriations

    There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out the provisions 
of this section,\2\ $21,000,000 for fiscal year 1993 and $26,000,000 for 
fiscal year 1994, of which--
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    \2\ So in original. The comma probably should not appear.
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        (1) not less than $3,820,000 for fiscal year 1993 and $8,500,000 
    for fiscal year 1994 shall be for private enforcement initiatives 
    authorized under subsection (b) of this section, divided equally 
    between activities specified under subsection (b)(1) of this section 
    and those specified under subsection (b)(2) of this section;
        (2) not less than $2,230,000 for fiscal year 1993 and $8,500,000 
    for fiscal year 1994 shall be for qualified fair housing enforcement 
    organizations authorized under subsection (c)(1) of this section;
        (3) not less than $2,010,000 for fiscal year 1993 and $4,000,000 
    for fiscal year 1994 shall be for the creation of new fair housing 
    enforcement organizations authorized under subsection (c)(2) of this 
    section; and
        (4) not less than $2,540,000 for fiscal year 1993 and $5,000,000 
    for fiscal year 1994 shall be for education and outreach programs 
    authorized under subsection (d) of this section, to be divided 
    equally between activities specified under subsection (d)(1) of this 
    section and those specified under subsections (d)(2) and (d)(3) of 
    this section.

Any amount appropriated under this section shall remain available until 
expended.

(h) Qualified fair housing enforcement organization

    (1) The term ``qualified fair housing enforcement organization'' 
means any organization that--
        (A) is organized as a private, tax-exempt, nonprofit, charitable 
    organization;
        (B) has at least 2 years experience in complaint intake, 
    complaint investigation, testing for fair housing violations and 
    enforcement of meritorious claims; and
        (C) is engaged in all the activities listed in paragraph (1)(B) 
    at the time of application for assistance under this section.

An organization which is not solely engaged in fair housing enforcement 
activities may qualify as a qualified fair housing enforcement 
organization, provided that the organization is actively engaged in each 
of the activities listed in subparagraph (B).
    (2) The term ``fair housing enforcement organization'' means any 
organization that--
        (A) meets the requirements specified in paragraph (1)(A);
        (B) is currently engaged in the activities specified in 
    paragraph (1)(B);
        (C) upon the receipt of funds under this section will become 
    engaged in all of the activities specified in paragraph (1)(B); and
        (D) for purposes of funding under subsection (b) of this 
    section, has at least 1 year of experience in the activities 
    specified in paragraph (1)(B).

(i) Prohibition on use of funds

    None of the funds authorized under this section may be used by the 
Secretary for purposes of settling claims, satisfying judgments or 
fulfilling court orders in any litigation action involving either the 
Department or housing providers funded by the Department. None of the 
funds authorized under this section may be used by the Department for 
administrative costs.

(j) Reporting requirements

    Not later than 180 days after the close of each fiscal year in which 
assistance under this section is furnished, the Secretary shall prepare 
and submit to the Congress a comprehensive report which shall contain--
        (1) a description of the progress made in accomplishing the 
    objectives of this section;
        (2) a summary of all the private enforcement activities carried 
    out under this section and the use of such funds during the 
    preceding fiscal year;
        (3) a list of all fair housing enforcement organizations funded 
    under this section during the preceding fiscal year, identified on a 
    State-by-State basis;
        (4) a summary of all education and outreach activities funded 
    under this section and the use of such funds during the preceding 
    fiscal year; and
        (5) any findings, conclusions, or recommendations of the 
    Secretary as a result of the funded activities.

(Pub. L. 100-242, title V, Sec. 561, Feb. 5, 1988, 101 Stat. 1942; Pub. 
L. 101-625, title IX, Sec. 953, Nov. 28, 1990, 104 Stat. 4419; Pub. L. 
102-550, title IX, Sec. 905(b), Oct. 28, 1992, 106 Stat. 3869; Pub. L. 
104-66, title I, Sec. 1071(d), Dec. 21, 1995, 109 Stat. 720.)

                       References in Text

    The Civil Rights Act of 1968, referred to in subsecs. (a)(1), 
(b)(1), (2)(C), (c)(1), and (d), is Pub. L. 90-284, Apr. 11, 1968, 82 
Stat. 73, as amended. Title VIII of the Act, known as the Fair Housing 
Act, is classified principally to subchapter I (Sec. 3601 et seq.) of 
this chapter. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see 
Short Title notes set out under sections 2000a and 3601 of this title 
and Tables.
    The Fair Housing Act Amendments of 1988, referred to in subsec. 
(d)(1), probably means the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988, Pub. L. 
100-430, Sept. 13, 1988, 102 Stat. 1619, as amended. For complete 
classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title of 1988 
Amendment note set out under section 3601 of this title and Tables.
    The phrase ``Not later than 6 months after the end of the 
demonstration period authorized in this section'', referred to in 
subsec. (f)(2), probably means the end of the demonstration period 
pursuant to former subsec. (e) of this section, which provided that such 
period was to end Sept. 30, 1992. However, subsec. (e) was redesignated 
(h) and struck out by Pub. L. 102-550. See 1992 Amendment notes below.

                          Codification

    Section was enacted as part of the Housing and Community Development 
Act of 1987, and not as part of title VIII of Pub. L. 90-284, known as 
the Fair Housing Act, which comprises this subchapter.
    Section was formerly set out as a note under section 3616 of this 
title.


                               Amendments

    1995--Subsec. (e)(2). Pub. L. 104-66 struck out par. (2) which read 
as follows: ``The Secretary shall provide to the Committee on Banking, 
Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Banking, 
Finance and Urban Affairs of the House of Representatives a quarterly 
report that summarizes the activities funded under this section and 
describes the geographical distribution of grants, contracts, or 
cooperative agreements funded under this section.''
    1992--Subsecs. (b) to (f). Pub. L. 102-550, Sec. 905(b)(1), (2), 
added subsecs. (b) to (d) and redesignated former subsecs. (b) and (c) 
as (e) and (f), respectively.
    Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 102-550, Sec. 905(b)(1), (3), redesignated 
subsec. (d) as (g) and, in first sentence, substituted ``$21,000,000 for 
fiscal year 1993 and $26,000,000 for fiscal year 1994, of which--'' and 
pars. (1) to (4) for ``including any program evaluations, $6,000,000 for 
fiscal year 1991 and $6,300,000 for fiscal year 1992, of which not more 
than $3,000,000 in each year shall be for the private enforcement 
initiative demonstration.''
    Subsec. (h). Pub. L. 102-550, Sec. 905(b)(4), added subsec. (h) and 
struck out former subsec. (h) which provided that the demonstration 
period authorized by this section would end Sept. 30, 1992.
    Pub. L. 102-550, Sec. 905(b)(1), redesignated subsec. (e) as (h).
    Subsecs. (i), (j). Pub. L. 102-550, Sec. 905(b)(4), added subsecs. 
(i) and (j).
    1990--Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 101-625, Sec. 953(a), amended first 
sentence generally. Prior to amendment, first sentence read as follows: 
``There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out the provisions of 
this section, including any program evaluations, $5,000,000 for fiscal 
year 1988, and $5,000,000 for fiscal year 1989, of which not more than 
$3,000,000 in each year shall be for the private enforcement initiative 
demonstration.''
    Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 101-625, Sec. 953(b), substituted ``1992'' for 
``1989''.

                         Change of Name

    Committee on Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs of House of 
Representatives treated as referring to Committee on Banking and 
Financial Services of House of Representatives by section 1(a) of Pub. 
L. 104-14, set out as a note preceding section 21 of Title 2, The 
Congress. Committee on Banking and Financial Services of House of 
Representatives abolished and replaced by Committee on Financial 
Services of House of Representatives, and jurisdiction over matters 
relating to securities and exchanges and insurance generally transferred 
from Committee on Energy and Commerce of House of Representatives by 
House Resolution No. 5, One Hundred Seventh Congress, Jan. 3, 2001.


                         Congressional Findings

    Section 905(a) of Pub. L. 102-550 provided that: ``The Congress 
finds that--
        ``(1) in the past half decade, there have been major legislative 
    and administrative changes in Federal fair housing and fair lending 
    laws and substantial improvements in the Nation's understanding of 
    discrimination in the housing markets;
        ``(2) in response to evidence of continuing housing 
    discrimination, the Congress passed the Fair Housing Act Amendments 
    of 1988 [probably should be the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988, 
    Pub. L. 100-430, see Short Title of 1988 Amendment note set out 
    under section 3601 of this title], to provide for more effective 
    enforcement of fair housing rights through judicial and 
    administrative avenues and to expand the number of protected classes 
    covered under Federal fair housing laws;
        ``(3) in the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and 
    Enforcement Act of 1989 [Pub. L. 101-73, see Short Title of 1989 
    Amendment note set out under 12 U.S.C. 1811], the Congress expanded 
    the disclosure provisions under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act 
    [probably should be the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act of 1975; 12 
    U.S.C. 2801 et seq.] to provide increased information on the 
    mortgage lending patterns of financial institutions;
        ``(4) in the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 [42 U.S.C. 
    12101 et seq.], the Congress provided a clear and comprehensive 
    national mandate for the elimination of discrimination against 
    individuals with disabilities;
        ``(5) in 1991, data collected under the Home Mortgage Disclosure 
    Act disclosed evidence of pervasive discrimination in the Nation's 
    mortgage lending markets;
        ``(6) the Housing Discrimination Survey, released by the 
    Department of Housing and Urban Development in 1991, found that 
    Hispanic and African-American homeseekers experience some form of 
    discrimination in at least half of their encounters with sales and 
    rental agents;
        ``(7) the Fair Housing Initiatives Program should be revised and 
    expanded to reflect the significant changes in the fair housing and 
    fair lending area that have taken place since the Program's initial 
    authorization in the Housing and Community Development Act of 1987 
    [Pub. L. 100-242, see Short Title of 1988 Amendment note under 
    section 5301 of this title];
        ``(8) continuing educational efforts by the real estate industry 
    are a useful way to increase understanding by the public of their 
    fair housing rights and responsibilities; and
        ``(9) the proven efficacy of private nonprofit fair housing 
    enforcement organizations and community-based efforts makes support 
    for these organizations a necessary component of the fair housing 
    enforcement system.''

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in section 3535 of this title.