EXCERPT FROM HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ACT OF 1974

[Public Law 93-383; 88 Stat. 669; 42 U.S.C. 1421b note]

LOW-INCOME HOUSING FOR THE ELDERLY OR HANDICAPPED

SEC. 209. The Secretary shall consult the Secretary of Health and Human Services to insure that special projects for the elderly or the handicapped authorized pursuant to United States Housing Act of 1937 shall meet acceptable standards of design and shall provide quality services and management consistent with the needs of the occupants. Such projects shall be specifically designed and equipped with such "related facilities" (as defined in section 202(d)(8) of the Housing Act of 1959) as may be necessary to accommodate the special environmental needs of the intended occupants and shall be in support of and supported by the applicable State plans for comprehensive services pursuant to section 134 of the Mental Retardation Facilities and Community Mental Health Center Construction Act of 1963 or State and area plans pursuant to title III of the Older Americans Act of 1965.

Approved August 22, 1974.

PUBLIC HOUSING SECURITY

EXCEPT FROM HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

AMENDMENTS OF 1978

[Public Law 95-557; 92 Stat. 2080; 12 U.S.C. 1701Z-6]

SEC. 207. (a) This section may be cited as the "Public Housing Security Demonstration Act of 1978".

(b)(1) The Congress finds that

(A) low-income and elderly public housing residents of the Nation have suffered substantially from rising crime and violence, and are being threatened as a result of inadequate security arrangements for the prevention of physical violence, theft, burglary, and other crimes;

(B) older persons generally regard the fear of crime as the most serious problem in their lives, to the extent that onefourth of all Americans over 65 voluntarily restrict their mobility because of it;

(C) crime and the fear of crime have led some residents to move from public housing projects;

(D) an integral part of successfully providing decent, safe, and sanitary dwellings for low-income persons is to insure that the housing is secure;

(E) local public housing authorities may have inadequate security arrangements for the prevention of crime and vandalism; and

(F) action is needed to provide for the security of public housing residents and to preserve the Nation's investment in its public housing stock.

(2) It is, therefore, declared to be the policy of the United States to provide for a demonstration and evaluation of effective means of mitigating crime and vandalism in public housing projects, in order to provide a safe living environment for the residents, particularly the elderly residents, of such projects.

(c)(1) The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall promptly initiate and carry out during the fiscal year beginning on October 1, 1978, to the extent approved in appropriation Acts, a program for the development, demonstration, and evaluation of improved, innovative community anticrime and security methods, concepts and techniques which will mitigate the level of crime in public housing projects and their surrounding neighborhoods.

(2) In selecting public housing projects to receive assistance under this section, the Secretary shall assure that a broad spectrum of project types, locations and tenant populations are represented and shall consider at least the following: The extent of crime and vandalism currently existing in the project; the extent, nature and quality of community anticrime efforts in the projects. and surrounding areas; the extent, nature and quality of police and other protective services available to the projects and their tenants; the demand for public housing units in the locality, the vacancy rate, and extent of abandonment of such units; and the characteristics and needs of the public housing tenants.

(3) In selecting the anticrime and security methods, concepts and techniques to be demonstrated under this section, the Secretary

shall consider the improvement of physical security equipment or dwelling units in those projects, social and environmental design improvements, tenant awareness and volunteer programs, tenant participation and employment in providing security services, and such other measures as deemed necessary or appropriate by the Secretary. Particular attention shall be given to comprehensive community anticrime and security plans submitted by public housing authorities which (i) provide for coordination between public housing management and local law enforcement officials, or (ii) coordinate resources available to the community through programs funded by the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Labor, the Community Services Administration, and ACTION, or other Federal or State agencies.

(4) In carrying out the provisions of this section, the Secretary shall coordinate and jointly target resources with other agencies, particularly the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Labor, the Department of Justice, the Department of the Interior, the Department of Commerce, the Department of Education, ACTION, the Community Services Administration, and State and local agencies.

(5) In order to assess the impact of crime and vandalism in public housing projects, the Secretary may, as part of the Annual Housing Survey conducted by the Department of Housing and Urban Development or by other means, collect data on crime and vandalism and integrate the data collection with the victimization surveys undertaken by the Department of Justice and the Department of Commerce.

(6) The Secretary shall, to the maximum extent practicable, utilize information derived from the program authorized by this section for assisting in establishing (A) guidelines to be used by public housing authorities in determining strategies to meet the security needs of tenants of public housing projects assisted under the United States Housing Act of 1937, other than under section 8 of such Act, and (B) guidelines for improvements relating to the security of projects (and the tenants living in such projects) assisted

under section 14 of such Act.

(d) The Secretary shall initiate and carry out a survey of crime and vandalism existing in the Nation's public housing projects. The survey shall include the nature, extent and impact of crime and vandalism and the nature and extent of resources currently available and employed to alleviate crime and vandalism in public housing.

(e) The Secretary shall report to the Congress not later than eighteen months after the date of enactment of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1980. Such report shall include the results of the survey on crime and vandalism in public housing; findings from the demonstration and evaluation of various methods of reducing the level of crime; and legislative recommendations, if appropriate for (A) a comprehensive program to increase security in public housing projects and (B) increasing the coordination between anticrime programs of other State and Federal agencies that

may be used by public housing authorities. Any recommendations shall include estimated costs of such programs.

(f) Of the additional authority approved in appropriation Acts with respect to entering into annual contributions contracts under section 5(c) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 for the fiscal year beginning on October 1, 1978, the Secretary may utilize up to $12,000,000 of such authority in the fiscal year beginning on October 1, 1978, for the establishment of the public housing security demonstration program authorized by this section. Of the authority approved in appropriation Acts for the purpose of entering into annual contributions contracts under section 5(c) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 with respect to the fiscal year beginning on October 1, 1980, the Secretary may enter into contracts to carry out this section, except that the aggregate amount obligated over the duration of such contracts may not exceed $10,000,000.

Approved October 31, 1978.

ACCESS TO PUBLIC HOUSING AGENCIES' BOOKS (BYRD AMENDMENT)

EXCERPT FROM HOUSING ACT OF 1954

[Public Law 560; 83d Congress; 68 Stat. 590; 12 U.S.C. 1701n]

AUDITS UNDER PUBLIC HOUSING ACT OF 1937; COMPTROLLER GENERAL SEC. 816. Every contract for loans or annual contributions under the United States Housing Act of 1937, as amended, shall provide that the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and the Comptroller General of the United States, or any of their duly authorized representatives, shall, for the purpose of audit and examination, have access to any books, documents, papers, and records of the public housing agency entering into such contract that are pertinent to its operations with respect to financial assistance under the United States Housing Act of 1937, as amended.

Approved August 2, 1954.