Notice of Proposed Information Collection: Comment Request Fair Housing Initiatives Program Grant Application and Monitoring Reports, 50441 [E6-14086]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 165 (Friday, August 25, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Page 50441]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-14086]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-5039-N-02]


Notice of Proposed Information Collection: Comment Request Fair 
Housing Initiatives Program Grant Application and Monitoring Reports

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal 
Opportunity (FHEO), Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The proposed information collection requirement described 
below will be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
for review, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The 
Department is soliciting public comments on the subject proposal.

DATES: Comment Due Date: October 24, 2006.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments regarding 
this proposed information collection requirement. Comments should refer 
to the proposal by name and/or OMB Control Number, and should be sent 
to: Myron Newry, Director, FHIP Support Division, Office of Programs, 
Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 Seventh Street, SW., 
Room 5222, Washington, DC 20410-2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Myron Newry, Director, FHIP Support 
Division, Office of Programs, Department of Housing and Urban 
Development, 451 Seventh Street, SW., Room 5222, Washington, DC 20410-
2000; telephone: (202) 708-0800 (this is not a toll free number). 
(Hearing or speech-impaired individuals may access this number via TTY 
by calling the toll-free Federal Information Relay Service at: 1-800-
877-8339.)

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Department is submitting this proposed 
information collection requirement to the OMB for review, as required 
under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 [44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, as 
amended]. Required forms for applicants were approved under 
Departmental clearance under the SuperNOFA process. We have included 
three new quarterly reporting forms for your review. These forms 
replace information that had previously been supplied in narrative 
format.
    This notice solicits comments from members of the public and 
affected agencies concerning the proposed information collection in 
order to: (1) Evaluate whether the proposed information collection is 
necessary for the proper performance of the Department's program 
functions; (2) Evaluate the accuracy of the Department's assessment of 
the paperwork burden that may result from the proposed information 
collection; (3) Enhance the quality, utility and clarity of the 
information which must be collected; and (4) Minimize the burden of the 
information collection on responders, including the use of appropriate 
automated collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology (e.g., electronic transmission of data).
    Title of Regulation: 24 CFR Part 125, Fair Housing Initiatives 
Program.
    OMB Control Number, if applicable: 2529-0033.
    Description of the need for the information and proposed use: This 
is a revision of the currently approved information collection for 
selecting applicants for the Fair Housing Initiatives Program (FHIP) 
grants that will be part of the Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA). 
These grants are to fund fair housing enforcement and/or education and 
outreach activities under the following initiatives: Administrative 
Enforcement; Private Enforcement, Education and Outreach, and Fair 
Housing Organizations. Information is also collected to monitor grants 
and grant funds. Proposed revisions to the currently approved 
information collection include: changes in the program description from 
``Fair Housing Initiatives Program Grant Application'' to ``Fair 
Housing Initiatives Program Grant Application and Monitoring Reports'' 
and changing the application submission process from paper to 
electronic via the web. Monitoring reports will continue to be 
submitted manually in paper format. In the event that monitoring 
reports become electronic, HUD anticipates changes in the related 
paperwork reduction process at that time.
    Agency form number(s), if applicable: Not applicable since HUD 
forms and formats were identified in the SuperNOFA General and FHIP 
Program Sections as well as the automated grant announcement.
    Members of affected public: The collection of information involves 
Qualified Fair Housing Organizations (QFHOs); Fair Housing 
Organizations (FHOs); public or private non-profit organizations or 
institutions and other public or private entities that are working to 
prevent or eliminate discriminatory housing practices; State and local 
governments; and Fair Housing Assistance Program Agencies.
    Estimation of the total numbers of hours needed to prepare the 
information collection including the number of respondents, frequency 
of response, and hours of response: An estimation of 48,444 total hours 
will be needed to prepare the information collection. The number of 
respondents is 400 with a frequency response of 1 per annum, and the 
total hours per respondent is 86.50 hours for application development. 
The estimated 104 agencies that will receive funding will be required 
to submit quarterly and final reports, with approximately 60 of those 
104 agencies also required to submit quarterly Enforcement Logs and 
Narrative Reports. The estimated number of respondents is based on the 
average of the number of submissions for Fiscal Years 2000 to 2006. The 
number of hours is an average based on grantee estimates of time to 
review instructions, search existing data sources, prepare required 
responses to the application, complete the certification, and assemble 
exhibits.
    Status of the proposed information collection: Revision of a 
currently approved collection.

    Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 
Chapter 35, as amended.

    Dated: August 10, 2006.
Bryan Greene,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Program.
 [FR Doc. E6-14086 Filed 8-24-06; 8:45 am]
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