Federal tree-planting program targets redlined neighborhoods with anti-displacement safeguards
H.R. 4212 — SHADE Act · Filed by Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ) · 43 cosponsors · Introduced Jun 26, 2025 · Referred to committee
Your members of Congress
Enter a ZIP to see where your representative and both senators stood on this bill.
Looked up on this device — your ZIP is never stored on our servers.
What it does
This bill directs the Department of Housing and Urban Development, working with the Department of Agriculture, to establish a $50 million annual grant program (2026–2036) that awards money to states, local governments, tribes, and nonprofits to plant trees in historically redlined neighborhoods and urban heat islands. Grantees must involve residents in planning, prioritize projects that prevent displacement, and maintain trees for up to 5 years.
Why we flagged it
The bill's operative mechanism is a straightforward federal grant program targeting tree planting in redlined and heat-island neighborhoods. The framing as 'Saving Hazardous And Declining Environments' is a backronym but does not obscure the actual function.
What the text implies
- The bill's anti-displacement language (priority to grantees with housing policy plans minimizing resident displacement) may create pressure on local governments to adopt stricter rent-control or community-land-trust policies as a condition of grant eligibility, with downstream effects on housing supply and affordability.
- Redlined-area targeting is geographically precise but may inadvertently exclude adjacent low-income neighborhoods that were not formally redlined, creating a narrow eligibility window that could generate local political friction.
- The 5-year maintenance requirement creates an ongoing operational burden on grantees; if appropriations lapse after 2036, grantees may face stranded assets and maintenance liabilities.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
The bill funds a direct public good—tree planting in historically disinvested communities—with explicit anti-displacement safeguards and community participation requirements. No private entity is shielded from liability, no public money is diverted to corporate benefit, and the mechanism is transparent and accountable.
Who stands to gain
- tree nurseries and suppliers
- landscaping and forestry contractors
- nonprofit environmental organizations
- local government agencies
Named in the bill
Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Home Owners' Loan Corporation, Indian tribes, state and local governments, nonprofit organizations
Where it stands
43 cosponsors: 43 Democrats.
- Jun 26, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Jun 26, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Financial Services · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (4,479 characters) on Aug 21, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-10-20.
“Federal tree-planting program targets redlined neighborhoods with anti-displacement safeguards” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/hr4212 Report an error
The week in bills
One email, Sunday: what Congress passed, what it changed, and who paid.
One link arrives to confirm the address. It is used for this email and nothing else, and every issue carries an unsubscribe link.