PARTICIPANTS CONSENT TO RELEASE OF INFORMATION.

SEC. 903. PARTICIPANTS CONSENT TO RELEASE OF INFORMATION. (a) In General.—Section 904 of the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Amendments Act of 1988 (42 U.S.C. 3544) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection: “(e) Conditions of Release of Information by Third Par-ties.—An applicant or participant under any program of the Department of Housing and Urban Development may not be required or requested to consent to the release of information by third parties as a condition of initial or continuing eligibility for participation in the program unless— 106 STAT. 3868 “(1) the request for consent is made, and the information secured is maintained, in accordance with this section, section 552a of title 5, United States Code; and “(2) the consent that is requested is appropriately limited, with respect to time and information relevant and necessary to meet the requirements of this section.”. (b) Forms.— (1) New form.—Not later than the expiration of the 180-day period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall develop a release form that meets the requirements of section 904 of the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Amendments Act of 1988, as amended by this section. In developing the form, the Secretary shall consult with interested parties, which shall include not less than 2 representatives or public housing agencies, 1 representative of a national tenant organization, 1 representative of a State tenant organization, and 1 representative of a legal group representing tenants. (2) Effect of old form.—During the period beginning upon the date of the enactment of this Act and ending upon implementation of the use of the form developed under paragraph (1), the benefits provided to an applicant or participant under any program of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, or eligibility for such benefits, may not be terminated, denied, suspended, or reduced because of any failure to sign any form authorizing the release of information from any third party (including Form HUD-9886), if the applicant or participant otherwise discloses all financial information relating to the application or recertification.