BUILD Housing Act

This legislation introduces a new environmental review procedure for certain assistance administered by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. It allows the Secretary to designate specific HUD assistance as "special project" funds for environmental review purposes under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) and related laws, utilizing the framework outlined in Section 305(c) of the Multifamily Housing Property Disposition Reform Act of 1994. This designation would not apply if another environmental review process is already specified by law for that assistance. Additionally, the bill significantly expands the scope of entities that can assume environmental review obligations under Section 305(c) by including Indian Tribes alongside states and units of general local government. This change empowers federally recognized tribal governments to take on environmental review responsibilities for HUD-assisted projects within their jurisdictions, aiming to streamline the process and foster greater local control.