SENATE BILL: Homestead Act of 2020 (Voting on Motion to Table)

[Former President tack50]

Well, Section 4 is an excellent housing bill that I 100% support, though I agree with Jimmy that sections 2, 3 and 5 are irrelevant to the bill. Section 5 in particular is especially bizarre and creepy in my opinion and should be removed no matter what.

In any case, speaking of section 4, this is an excellent bill that will make it so Atlasians of all income brackets can finally afford the prviledge of owning a house. Except owning a house should ideally not be a privilege in the first place.

My only question is how will we pay for this in the first place? 150 billion dollars is definitely quite a large amount of money.

[Former President tack50]

In the mean time, introducing the following amendment:

Homestead Act of 2020

To Right the Wrongs of the Past

SECTION 1.

1. This Act may be cited as the “Homestead Act of 2020”.

SECTION 2. Formal Apology for Chattel Slavery, Indigneous Displacement, and Other Historical Wrongs

1. On behalf of the People of Atlasia and all parties represented therein, the Federal Government of Atlasia formally apologizes for the practice of slavery within Atlasia and the forced displacement of Native Atlasians.

2. The President of Atlasia shall issue a formal apology in conjunction with the passage of this Act.

SECTION 3. New Federal Holidays

1. Beginning on January 1st, 2021, June 19th shall be designated as a Federal Holiday.

2. Effective immediately, June 19th shall be officially designated as ‘Juneteenth’.

3. Effective immediately, December 6th shall be designated as a Federal Holiday.

4. Effective immediately, December 6th shall be officially designated as ‘Emancipation Day’.

5. Effective immediately, October 12th shall be officially designated as ‘Native People’s Day’ or ‘Atlasian Indian Day’.

6. Effective immediately, December 13th shall be designated as a Federal Holiday.

7. Effective immediately, December 13th shall be officially designated as ‘Steve Buscemi Day’ or ‘Italian-Atlasian Heritage Day’.


SECTION 2: Modern Homesteading

1. Beginning on October 1st, 2020, The Department of Housing and Urban Development shall be appropriated no less than $150,000,000,000 for FY 2021.

2. Effectively immediately, the Department of Housing and Urban Development shall establish a special division on public housing construction.

3. This division shall be officially designated as the ‘New Apartment Construction Division’.

4. The Department shall dedicate no less than $50,000,000,000 to land purchases and apartment construction grants in metropolitan and micropolitan areas where the median rent is found to exceed 120% of the HUD determined Area Median Income.
   a. Land purchases and construction grants shall be distributed to private and nonprofit organizations on the basis of a comprehensive cost-effective analysis conducted by the New Apartment Construction Division.

5. Effective immediately, the Department of Housing and Urban Development shall establish a special division on new apartment acquisition.

6. This division shall be officially designated as the ‘Low Income Housing Acquisition Division’.

7. The Low Income Housing Acquisition Division shall take appropriate steps to purchase or otherwise acquire apartment complexes that are listed on the market.

8. The Low Income Housing Acquisition Division is instructed to form contractual partnerships with local nonprofit organizations in order to administer newly acquired apartment complexes.
   a. ‘Local’ is defined as a nonprofit organization within the official census boundaries of its respective metropolitan or micropolitan area.

9. Grants shall be awarded to nonprofit organizations for the purpose of administering newly acquired apartment complexes.
a. ‘Administering’ is defined as-
   i. Maintaining existing facilities and existing apartment units
   ii. Maintaining a front office and a reception area
   iii. Contracting maintenance, repairs, and pest control to private firms
   iv. Rent reduction to qualifying tenants
   v. Utility payments on behalf of tenants
   vi. Maintenance of existing amenities or the construction of new amenities as approved on a case by case basis by the Low Income Housing Acquisition Division.

10. Tenants living in an apartment complex administered by a nonprofit organization under the Low Income Housing Acquisition Division’s jurisdiction shall qualify to own their apartment unit, as defined in their respective lease agreement, under the following conditions:
   a. Tenants continuously occupy the apartment unit and pay rent on time for not less than 5 years or 60 months.
   b. Tenant, and their spouse or domestic partner, continuously occupy their apartment unit  and pay rent on time for not less than two years or 24 months.
c. Tenant, and their spouse or domestic partner, and their dependents, continuously occupy their apartment unit and pay rent on time for not less than one year or 12 months.
      i . ‘Spouse’ shall be defined as any person legally married to the existing tenant.
      ii. ‘Domestic partner’ shall be defined as any person who has entered into a civil or domestic partnership with the existing tenant.
iii. ‘Dependents’ shall be defined as any person recognized as a dependent by the Internal Revenue Service for Taxation Purposes.
d. Tenants must maintain residency with their respective spouse, domestic partner, or dependent(s) for the duration of the lease in order to qualify for unit ownership.

11. Monthly rent at apartment complexes administered under the Low Income Housing Acquisition Division shall be capped at 100% of the HUD determined Area Median Income.

12. Nonprofit organizations shall be awarded additional grants based on the following criteria:
   a. Monthly rent does not exceed 70% of the HUD determined Area Median Income.
      i. Grants for this category shall cover 25% of total costs incurred by the complex administrator, as determined by the average total cost incurred over the past two fiscal years.
   b. Monthly rent does not exceed 60% of the HUD determined Area Median Income.
      i. Grants for this category shall cover 40% of total costs incurred by the complex administrator, as determined by the average total cost incurred over the past two fiscal years.
   c. Monthly rent does not exceed 50% of the HUD determined Area Median Income.
      i. Grants for this category shall cover 60% of total costs incurred by the complex administrator, as determined by the average total cost incurred over the past two fiscal years.
   d. Monthly rent does not exceed 40% of the HUD determined Area Median Income.
      i. Grants for this category shall cover 75% of total costs incurred by the complex administrator, as determined by the average total cost incurred over the past two fiscal years.
   e. Monthly rent does not exceed 30% of the HUD determined Area Median Income.
   i. Grants for this category shall cover 100% of total costs incurred by the complex administrator, as determined by the average total cost incurred over the past two fiscal years.

13. Apartment complexes administered by a nonprofit organization under the Low Income Housing Acquisition Division shall be subject to annual inspection and annual contract renewal.
a. Failure to provide adequate maintenance, staffing, or customer service to tenants may result in termination of contractual administration. 
b. HUD inspectors shall determine appropriate criteria for the above categories.
   
SECTION 5.  Genealogical Services to Descendants of the Enslaved, Indigenous, or  Immigrant Populations

1. The Atlasian Census Bureau shall establish a tenth division, which shall be named, “National Genealogical Services”.

2. This division shall be tasked with-
a. Building a genealogical database for descendants of enslaved persons, indigenous Atlasians, or immigrant descendants, using publicly available information and privately accessible data.
b. Offer genetic testing to Atlasians at a flat rate not exceeding $20 per test
c. Contract genetic testing with private or non-profit organizations, on the condition that such data remains private.
d. Provide results and in depth analysis to test takers

3. The Atlasian Census Bureau shall receive an additional $425,000,000 in appropriations for Fiscal Year 2021.
4. At least 75% of all additional appropriations shall be used for the establishment of the National Genealogical Services division.

SECTION 3. Implementation

1. This Act shall go into effect on October 1st, 2020.

[Former President tack50]

By how much would this increase the expenses of the Housing and Urban Development department?

Looking at our last budget the department seems to not exist at all?

https://talkelections.org/AFEWIKI/index.php/Federal_Budget_FY_2020

[Former President tack50]

By how much would this increase the expenses of the Housing and Urban Development department?

Looking at our last budget the department seems to not exist at all?

https://talkelections.org/AFEWIKI/index.php/Federal_Budget_FY_2020

I believe the equivalent in Atlasia is housing assistance provided to low income families:

Aid to Low-Income Families ($366.50 Billion)

$40.53 Billion.... Unemployment             
$39.98 Billion.... Housing assistance              
$99.44 Billion.... Food and Nutrition Assistance (Food Stamps + WIC)       
$169.01 Billion... Other aid to low-income families             
$17.54 Billion.... Social Services           

So this bill would increase funding by $110 billion.

Well, going from 40 billion to 110 seems like a huge increase and way to excessive to me?

We should probably do some sort of cut, or alternatively, make it so the increment in funding is gradual over a period of say, 5 or 10 years.

Plus we need a way to fund this. Even if we don't have paygo anymore, we still need a way to fund stuff. Or we can leave it for the budget debate but budgets tend to be super rushed so that is probably a bad idea.

[Former President tack50]

Yes, introducing the following amendment. This is particularly important given how, per Blairite's update, Atlasia's debt is absolutely enormous, at 167%. We will need at least a decade to get our deficit back under control, if not more (of course by 2030 I suppose we will probably have had a 2nd reset, or be overdue for one; assuming Atlasia itself even lasts that long but oh well)

So here is the amendment for now:

Homestead Act of 2020

To Right the Wrongs of the Past

SECTION 1.

1. This Act may be cited as the “Homestead Act of 2020”.

SECTION 2: Modern Homesteading

1. Beginning on October 1st, 2020, The Department of Housing and Urban Development shall be appropriated no less than $150,000,000,000 $55 billion for FY 2021.

2. Effectively immediately, the Department of Housing and Urban Development shall establish a special division on public housing construction.

3. This division shall be officially designated as the ‘New Apartment Construction Division’.

4. The Department shall dedicate no less than $50,000,000,000 $17 billion to land purchases and apartment construction grants in metropolitan and micropolitan areas where the median rent is found to exceed 120% of the HUD determined Area Median Income.
   a. Land purchases and construction grants shall be distributed to private and nonprofit organizations on the basis of a comprehensive cost-effective analysis conducted by the New Apartment Construction Division.

5. Effective immediately, the Department of Housing and Urban Development shall establish a special division on new apartment acquisition.

6. This division shall be officially designated as the ‘Low Income Housing Acquisition Division’.

7. The Low Income Housing Acquisition Division shall take appropriate steps to purchase or otherwise acquire apartment complexes that are listed on the market.

8. The Low Income Housing Acquisition Division is instructed to form contractual partnerships with local nonprofit organizations in order to administer newly acquired apartment complexes.
   a. ‘Local’ is defined as a nonprofit organization within the official census boundaries of its respective metropolitan or micropolitan area.

9. Grants shall be awarded to nonprofit organizations for the purpose of administering newly acquired apartment complexes.
a. ‘Administering’ is defined as-
   i. Maintaining existing facilities and existing apartment units
   ii. Maintaining a front office and a reception area
   iii. Contracting maintenance, repairs, and pest control to private firms
   iv. Rent reduction to qualifying tenants
   v. Utility payments on behalf of tenants
   vi. Maintenance of existing amenities or the construction of new amenities as approved on a case by case basis by the Low Income Housing Acquisition Division.

10. Tenants living in an apartment complex administered by a nonprofit organization under the Low Income Housing Acquisition Division’s jurisdiction shall qualify to own their apartment unit, as defined in their respective lease agreement, under the following conditions:
   a. Tenants continuously occupy the apartment unit and pay rent on time for not less than 5 years or 60 months.
   b. Tenant, and their spouse or domestic partner, continuously occupy their apartment unit  and pay rent on time for not less than two years or 24 months.
c. Tenant, and their spouse or domestic partner, and their dependents, continuously occupy their apartment unit and pay rent on time for not less than one year or 12 months.
      i . ‘Spouse’ shall be defined as any person legally married to the existing tenant.
      ii. ‘Domestic partner’ shall be defined as any person who has entered into a civil or domestic partnership with the existing tenant.
iii. ‘Dependents’ shall be defined as any person recognized as a dependent by the Internal Revenue Service for Taxation Purposes.
d. Tenants must maintain residency with their respective spouse, domestic partner, or dependent(s) for the duration of the lease in order to qualify for unit ownership.

11. Monthly rent at apartment complexes administered under the Low Income Housing Acquisition Division shall be capped at 100% of the HUD determined Area Median Income.

12. Nonprofit organizations shall be awarded additional grants based on the following criteria:
   a. Monthly rent does not exceed 70% of the HUD determined Area Median Income.
      i. Grants for this category shall cover 25% of total costs incurred by the complex administrator, as determined by the average total cost incurred over the past two fiscal years.
   b. Monthly rent does not exceed 60% of the HUD determined Area Median Income.
      i. Grants for this category shall cover 40% of total costs incurred by the complex administrator, as determined by the average total cost incurred over the past two fiscal years.
   c. Monthly rent does not exceed 50% of the HUD determined Area Median Income.
      i. Grants for this category shall cover 60% of total costs incurred by the complex administrator, as determined by the average total cost incurred over the past two fiscal years.
   d. Monthly rent does not exceed 40% of the HUD determined Area Median Income.
      i. Grants for this category shall cover 75% of total costs incurred by the complex administrator, as determined by the average total cost incurred over the past two fiscal years.
   e. Monthly rent does not exceed 30% of the HUD determined Area Median Income.
   i. Grants for this category shall cover 100% of total costs incurred by the complex administrator, as determined by the average total cost incurred over the past two fiscal years.

13. Apartment complexes administered by a nonprofit organization under the Low Income Housing Acquisition Division shall be subject to annual inspection and annual contract renewal.
a. Failure to provide adequate maintenance, staffing, or customer service to tenants may result in termination of contractual administration. 
b. HUD inspectors shall determine appropriate criteria for the above categories.

SECTION 3. Funding source
1. TBD
   
SECTION 4. Implementation

1. This Act shall go into effect on October 1st, 2020.

This changes the increase from $150 billion to a mere $55 billion (which is still a 37% increase), and adjusts point 4 accordingly.

This also adds a funding section as "TBD" since we will need to discuss the funding for this bill

[Former President tack50]

What is the next course of action here?

Well, in theory it should be to figure out how to pay for this. The funding section is still only "TBD"

[Former President tack50]

Nay

This bill was very solid outside funding so I don't see a point to tabling it. We should come up with a way to fund it instead.

[Former President tack50]

Nay

This bill was very solid outside funding so I don't see a point to tabling it. We should come up with a way to fund it instead.

Do you have an amendment to offer in this regards?

Not really, but it'd be a shame to kill this. On the other hand I am genuinely concerned about the deficit and think we should start drafting a budget ASAP (I know with covid it will be hard but we have an active comptroller general for once so it'd be a missed opportunity if we did not do one.