ADMINISTRATIVE FEES.

SEC. 547. ADMINISTRATIVE FEES. Subsection (q) of section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(q)) is amended to read as follows: “(q) Administrative Fees.— “(1) Fee for ongoing costs of administration.— “(A) In general.— The Secretary shall establish fees for the costs of administering the tenant-based assistance, certificate, voucher, and moderate rehabilitation programs under this section. “(B) Fiscal year 1999.— “(i) Calculation.— For fiscal year 1999, the fee for each month for which a dwelling unit is covered by an assistance contract shall be— “(I) in the case of a public housing agency that, on an annual basis, is administering a program for not more than 600 dwelling units, 7.65 percent of the base amount; and “(II) in the case of an agency that, on an annual basis, is administering a program for more than 600 dwelling units (aa) for the first 600 units, 7.65 percent of the base amount, and (bb) for any additional dwelling units under the program, 7.0 percent of the base amount. “(ii) Base amount.— For purposes of this subparagraph, the base amount shall be the higher of— “(I) the fair market rental established under section 8(c) of this Act (as in effect immediately before the effective date under section 503(a) of the Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act of 1998) for fiscal year 1993 for a 2-bedroom existing rental dwelling unit in the market area of the agency, and “(II) the amount that is the lesser of (aa) such fair market rental for fiscal year 1994, or (bb)103.5 percent of the amount determined under clause (i), adjusted based on changes in wage data or other objectively measurable data that reflect the costs of administering the program, as determined by the Secretary. The Secretary may require that the base amount be not less than a minimum amount and not more than a maximum amount. “(C) Subsequent fiscal years.— For subsequent fiscal years, the Secretary shall publish a notice in the Federal 112 STAT. 2606Register, for each geographic area, establishing the amount of the fee that would apply for public housing agencies administering the program, based on changes in wage data or other objectively measurable data that reflect the costs of administering the program, as determined by the Secretary. “(D) Increase.— The Secretary may increase the fee if necessary to reflect the higher costs of administering small programs and programs operating over large geographic areas. “(E) Decrease.— The Secretary may decrease the fee for units owned by a public housing agency to reflect reasonable costs of administration. “(2) Fee for preliminary expenses.— The Secretary shall also establish reasonable fees (as determined by the Secretary) for— “(A) the costs of preliminary expenses, in the amount of $500, for a public housing agency, except that such fee shall apply to an agency only in the first year that the agency administers a tenant-based assistance program under this section, and only if, immediately before the effective date under section 503(a) of the Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act of 1998, the agency was not administering a tenant-based assistance program under the United States Housing Act of 1937 (as in effect immediately before such effective date), in connection with its initial increment of assistance received; “(B) the costs incurred in assisting families who experience difficulty (as determined by the Secretary) in obtaining appropriate housing under the programs; and “(C) extraordinary costs approved by the Secretary. “(3) Transfer of fees in cases of concurrent geographical jurisdiction.— In each fiscal year, if any public housing agency provides tenant-based assistance under this section on behalf of a family who uses such assistance for a dwelling unit that is located within the jurisdiction of such agency but is also within the jurisdiction of another public housing agency, the Secretary shall take such steps as may be necessary to ensure that the public housing agency that provides the services for a family receives all or part of the administrative fee under this section (as appropriate). “(4) Applicability.— This subsection shall apply to fiscal year 1999 and fiscal years thereafter.”.