H.R. 2448

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2448 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2448

To direct the Secretary of Interior to submit to Congress a report on 
the National Park Service's interpretation and application of the 
Standards for Rehabilitation for use of the Federal Historic 
Preservation Tax Incentives program.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

March 27, 2025

Mr. Magaziner introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To direct the Secretary of Interior to submit to Congress a report on 
the National Park Service's interpretation and application of the 
Standards for Rehabilitation for use of the Federal Historic 
Preservation Tax Incentives program.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. REPORT.

(a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit a report on the 
Service's interpretation and application of the Secretary's Standards 
for Rehabilitation pertaining to use of the Program to--
(1) the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of 
Representatives; and
(2) the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the 
Senate.
(b) Contents.--The report required under subsection (a) shall 
include the following:
(1) Data on the processing of Program Applications during 
the 10 years immediately before the date of the enactment of 
this Act, including--
(A) the average time a Program Application is in 
the system, from the date it is submitted to the State 
Historic Preservation Office by the applicant until it 
is approved or denied by the Service, presented by 
project size, type, and parts 1, 2, and 3 of the 
Program Application; and
(B) the annual average number of--
(i) hold notices annually;
(ii) conditions placed on the approval 
under part 2 of the Program Application;
(iii) denied applications;
(iv) projects approved under part 2 of the 
Program Application; and
(v) Program Applications withdrawn.
(2) A description of the following:
(A) Areas of improvement to and recommendations for 
the Standards to remove barriers to the development of 
affordable housing while safeguarding Federal historic 
preservation.
(B) Opportunities for the Secretary to update or 
provide additional guidance to facilitate--
(i) the conversion of nonresidential 
buildings into housing;
(ii) the remediation of environmental, 
health, and safety hazards;
(iii) inclusion of energy efficient 
upgrades and integration of sustainability 
features;
(iv) access for persons with disabilities; 
and
(v) removal of other barriers to use raised 
by users and beneficiaries of the Program.
(C) The specific steps the Service has taken in the 
10 years immediately before the date of the enactment 
of this Act to improve or clarify the interpretation of 
the Standards to support affordable housing 
development.
(D) The most frequent issues that Program users, 
State reviewers, and other stakeholders raise when 
developing affordable housing projects and the steps 
the Service has taken to address those issues, 
including details of the process of the Service for 
soliciting, collecting, and incorporating feedback on 
the Service interpretation of the Standards.
(E) The process that the Service uses to decide 
when to update guidance, including guidelines, 
preservation briefs, bulletins regarding interpretation 
of the Standards, and tax-incentive guidance, for 
implementing the Standards and whether resource 
limitations are affecting the ability of the Service to 
update such guidance.
(3) Recommendations of the Secretary regarding updates and 
improvements that can be made to the Standards and the 
implementation by the Service of the Standards and accompanying 
guidelines to--
(A) make the Program more compatible with 
affordable housing needs;
(B) ensure historic properties are protected from 
climate risk; and
(C) take into consideration economic and technical 
feasibility.
(c) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Program.--The term ``Program'' means the Federal 
Historic Preservation Tax Incentives program.
(2) Program application.--The term ``Program Application'' 
means the Historic Preservation Certification Application.
(3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
of the Interior.
(4) Service.--The term ``Service'' means the National Park 
Service.
(5) Standards.--The term ``Standards'' means the Department 
of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation for the Federal 
Historic Preservation Tax Incentives program under part 67 of 
title 36, Code of Federal Regulations.
<all>