112 STAT. 2544 PUBLIC LAW 105-276—OCT. 21, 1998 by eligible families, not less than 40 percent shall be occupied by families whose incomes at the time of commencement of occupancy do not exceed 30 percent of the area median income, as determined by the Secretary with adjustments for smaller and larger families. "(3) PROHIBITION OF CONCENTRATION OF LOW-INCOME FAMI- LIES.— "(A) PROHIBITION.— A public housing agency may not, in complying with the requirements under paragraph (2), concentrate very low-income families (or other families with relatively low incomes) in public housing dwelling units in certain public housing projects or certain buildings within projects. The Secretary shall review the income and occupancy characteristics of the public housing projects and the buildings of such projects of such agencies to ensure compliance with the provisions of this paragraph and paragraph (2). "(B) DECONCENTRATION.— " (i) IN GENERAL. —^A public housing agency shall submit with its annual public housing agency plan under section 5A an admissions policy designed to provide for deconcentration of poverty and income-mixing by bringing higher income tenants into lower income projects and lower income tenants into higher income projects. This clause may not be construed to impose or require any specific income or racial quotas for any project or projects. "(ii) INCENTIVES.—In implementing the policy under clause (i), a public housing agency may offer incentives for eligible families having higher incomes to occupy dwelling unit in projects predominantly occupied by eligible families having lower incomes, and provide for occupancy of eligible families having lower incomes in projects predominantly occupied by eligible families having higher incomes. "(iii) FAMILY CHOICE. — Incentives referred to in clause (ii) may be made available by a public housing agency only in a manner that allows for the eligible family to have the sole discretion in determining whether to accept the incentive and an agency may not take any adverse action toward any eligible family for choosing not to accept an incentive and occupancy of a project described in clause (i)(II), Provided, That the skipping of a family on a waiting list to reach another family to implement the policy under clause (i) shall not be considered an adverse action. An agency implementing an admissions policy under this subparagraph shall implement the policy in a manner that does not prevent or interfere with the use of sitebased waiting lists authorized under section 6(s). " (4) FUNGIBILITY WITH TENANT-BASED ASSISTANCE.— "(A) AUTHORITY. —Except as provided under subparagraph (D), the number of public housing dwelling units that a public housing agency shall otherwise make available in accordance with paragraph (2)(A) to comply with the percentage requirement under such paragraph for a
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