Federal Housing Administration (FHA): Solicitation of Comment on Streamline Refinance Provisions in the FHA Single Family Housing Policy Handbook, 61020-61021 [2014-24069]

Download as PDF 61020 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 196 / Thursday, October 9, 2014 / Proposed Rules Department of Labor will not make further payments to such State. Portia Wu, Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training, Labor. [FR Doc. 2014–24098 Filed 10–8–14; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4510–FN–P DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT 24 CFR Chapter II [Docket No. FR–5817–N–01] Federal Housing Administration (FHA): Solicitation of Comment on Streamline Refinance Provisions in the FHA Single Family Housing Policy Handbook Office of the Assistant Secretary for Housing—Federal Housing Commissioner, HUD. ACTION: Solicitation of comment. AGENCY: On September 30, 2014, FHA issued the FHA Single Family Housing Policy Handbook section for Title II Insured Housing Programs Forward Mortgages: Origination through PostClosing/Endorsement, Handbook 4000.1. The goal of the new FHA Single Family Housing Policy Handbook (Handbook) is to streamline and ease the implementation of FHA’s various programs by consolidating and organizing all of FHA’s Single Family policy into one document. FHA will be issuing other individual sections of the Handbook as they are completed. As part of the consolidation of policy pertaining to streamline refinance transactions, FHA has taken the opportunity to integrate the language pertaining to streamline refinance transactions in Mortgagee Letters 2013– 29, 2011–11, 2009–32 and 2008–40 into a refined mortgage payment history and calculation of the maximum insurable mortgage for the streamline refinance program. Prior to adopting in the Handbook as final this refined maximum insured mortgage calculation for streamline refinance transactions, HUD seeks public comment on this language as presented in the Handbook. DATES: Comment Due Date: November 10, 2014. ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments regarding this document to the Regulations Division, Office of General Counsel, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th Street SW., Room 10276, Washington, DC 20410–0500. Communications must refer to the above docket number and title. There are two tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS SUMMARY: VerDate Sep<11>2014 16:44 Oct 08, 2014 Jkt 235001 methods for submitting public comments. All submissions must refer to the above docket number and title. 1. Submission of Comments by Mail. Comments may be submitted by mail to the Regulations Division, Office of General Counsel, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th Street SW., Room 10276, Washington, DC 20410–0500. 2. Electronic Submission of Comments. Interested persons may submit comments electronically through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at www.regulations.gov. HUD strongly encourages commenters to submit comments electronically. Electronic submission of comments allows the commenter maximum time to prepare and submit a comment, ensures timely receipt by HUD, and enables HUD to make them immediately available to the public. Comments submitted electronically through the www.regulations.gov Web site can be viewed by other commenters and interested members of the public. Commenters should follow the instructions provided on that site to submit comments electronically. Note: To receive consideration as public comments, comments must be submitted through one of the two methods specified above. Again, all submissions must refer to the docket number and title of the document. No Facsimile Comments. Facsimile (FAX) comments are not acceptable. Public Inspection of Public Comments. All properly submitted comments and communications submitted to HUD will be available for public inspection and copying between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. weekdays at the above address. Due to security measures at the HUD Headquarters building, an appointment to review the public comments must be scheduled in advance by calling the Regulations Division at 202–708–3055 (this is not a toll-free number). Individuals with speech or hearing impairments may access this number via TTY by calling the Federal Relay Service at 800–877– 8339. Copies of all comments submitted are available for inspection and downloading at www.regulations.gov. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Elissa Saunders, Deputy Director, Office of Single Family Program Development, Office of Housing, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th Street SW., Room 9278, Washington, DC 20410; telephone number 202–708– 2121 (this is not a toll-free number). Persons with hearing or speech impairments may access this number through TTY by calling the toll-free Federal Relay Service at 800–877–8339. PO 00000 Frm 00025 Fmt 4702 Sfmt 4702 SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Payment history standards related to streamline refinances are currently found in Handbook HUD 4155.1, entitled Mortgage Credit Analysis for Mortgage Insurance on One- to FourUnit Mortgage Loans, in sections 3.A.1.h., but have subsequently been modified by Mortgagee Letters, including those referenced above. The Maximum Insurable Mortgage Calculation for streamline refinances is found in section 3.C.2.c. In an effort to ease program implementation and reduce burden on lenders, servicers, borrowers, and interested members of the public, FHA, as noted in the Summary of this document, is consolidating and reorganizing its guidance into a new, comprehensive FHA Single Family Housing Policy Handbook (Handbook), which, once effective, will supersede all mortgagee letters and prior handbook provisions whose content has been incorporated into the Handbook. This consolidation and reorganization alleviates unnecessary burdens on lenders, servicers, and borrowers who have had to keep track of individual policy changes published in individual mortgagee letters, and gives all interested parties one place to find important program requirements. The Handbook section for Title II Insured Housing Programs Forward Mortgages—Origination through PostClosing/Endorsement was issued on September 30, 2014, at https:// portal.hud.gov/hudportal/documents/ huddoc?id=40001HSGH.pdf and will be effective for case numbers assigned on or after June 15, 2015. Due to the timing of the pre-scheduled release of the Handbook and the complexity of incorporating and organizing the various guidance documents for streamline refinances noted above, and eliminating extraneous examples, HUD has opted, in an abundance of caution, to seek public comment on the refined maximum mortgage amount calculation provision and payment history for the streamline refinance program which can be found in Paragraphs (4)(b) and (j) of II.A.8.d.vi.(C) ‘‘Streamline Refinances’’ in the Title II Insured Housing Programs Forward Mortgages section of the Handbook. The public comments received on these provisions will be given consideration, and notification will be provided of changes, if any, made to this section of the Handbook. Given the significant transition period that FHA is providing between the posting of the Handbook and the effective date of the Handbook, FHA does not anticipate having to change the effective date as a result of any changes E:\FR\FM\09OCP1.SGM 09OCP1 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 196 / Thursday, October 9, 2014 / Proposed Rules See the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document for locations of tribal consultation sessions. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laurel Iron Cloud, Chief, Division of Tribal Government Services, Central Office, Bureau of Indian Affairs at telephone (202) 513–7641. Individuals who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay Service at 1–800– 877–8339 between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, excluding Federal holidays. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: that may be made to the streamline refinance section of the Handbook. Dated: October 3, 2014. Carol J. Galante, Assistant Secretary for Housing—Federal Housing Commissioner. [FR Doc. 2014–24069 Filed 10–8–14; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4210–67–P DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Indian Affairs 25 CFR Parts 81 and 82 I. Background [BIA–2014–0006; K00103 12/13 A3A10; 134D0102DR–DS5A300000– DR.5A311.IA000113] RIN 1076–AE93 Secretarial Election Procedures Bureau of Indian Affairs, Interior. ACTION: Proposed rule. AGENCY: The Bureau of Indian Affairs is proposing to amend its regulations governing Secretarial elections and procedures for tribal members to petition for Secretarial elections. This proposed rule reflects changes in the law and the requirement that regulations be written in plain language. DATES: Comments must be received on or before December 17, 2014. See the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document for dates of tribal consultations. SUMMARY: You may submit comments by any of the following methods: —Federal rulemaking portal: https:// www.regulations.gov. The rule is listed under the agency name ‘‘Bureau of Indian Affairs.’’ The rule has been assigned Docket ID: BIA–2014–0006. —Email: laurel.ironcloud@bia.gov. Include ‘‘Part 81’’ in the subject line of the message. —Mail or hand-delivery: Chief, Division of Tribal Government Services, Office of Indian Services, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Department of the Interior, 1849 C Street NW., Mail Stop 4513–MIB, Washington, DC 20240. Comments on the Paperwork Reduction Act information collections contained in this rule are separate from comments on the substance of the rule. Submit comments on the information collection requirements in this rule to the Desk Officer for the Department of the Interior by email at OIRA_ Submission@omb.eop.gov or by facsimile at (202) 395–5806. Please also send a copy of your comments to laurel.ironcloud@bia.gov. tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS ADDRESSES: VerDate Sep<11>2014 16:44 Oct 08, 2014 Jkt 235001 The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) is amending 25 CFR parts 81 (Secretarial Elections) and 82 (Petitioning Procedures), combining them into one Code of Federal Regulations part at 25 CFR part 81. The Secretarial Elections regulations were originally adopted in 1964, and the Petitioning Procedures regulations were originally adopted in 1967. See 29 FR 14359 (October 17, 1964); 32 FR 11779 (August 16, 1967). The Department has not updated either of these regulations since 1981. See 46 FR 1668 (January 7, 1981). A Secretarial election is a Federal election conducted by the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) under a Federal statute or tribal governing document under 25 CFR part 81. See Cohen’s Handbook of Federal Indian Law section 4.06[2][a]–[b], at 286–297 (Nell Jessup Newton ed., 2012). See also Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe v. Andrus, 566 F. 2d 1085 (8th Cir. 1977), cert. denied, 439 U.S. 820 (1978). The proposed rule: • Responds to the amendments made to section 16 of the Indian Reorganization Act (IRA) (June 18, 1934, 48 Stat. 984) (25 U.S.C. 476), as amended, which established time frames within which the Secretary must call and conduct Secretarial elections and provided that all elections will be handled by mailout ballot unless polling places are expressly required by the amendment or adoption article of the tribe’s governing document. • Responds to the amendments made to Section 17 of the IRA by the Act of May 24, 1990 (104 Stat. 207) (25 U.S.C. 477) under which additional tribes may petition for charter of incorporation and removes the requirement of an election to ratify the approval of new charters issued after May 24, 1990, unless required by tribal law. • Reflects the 1994 addition of two subsections to section 16 of the IRA by Technical Corrections Act of 1994 (108 Stat. 707) (25 U.S.C. 476(f) & (g)) that PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 4702 Sfmt 4702 61021 prohibit the government from making a regulation or administrative decision ‘‘that classifies, enhances, or diminishes the privileges and immunities available to a federally recognized Indian tribe relative to the privileges and immunities available to other federally recognized tribes by virtue of their status as Indian tribes.’’ When Congress enacted Oklahoma Indian Welfare Act (OIWA) in 1936, the language it used to guarantee the right of tribes to organize and adopt constitutions and bylaws was different from that used in the IRA. The OIWA language requires the Secretary to approve the constitution before it is submitted to the tribal membership for a vote to ratify it. These regulations reflect the difference in language between the IRA and the OIWA. The proposed rule includes language clarifying that a tribe reorganized under the IRA may amend its governing document to remove the requirement for Secretarial approval of future amendments. Once the requirement for Secretarial approval is removed through a Secretarial election, Secretarial approval of future amendments is not required. The proposed rule also clarifies that the Secretary will accept petitions for Secretarial elections only from federally recognized tribes included on the list of recognized tribes published by the Secretary pursuant to section 479a–1. II. Comments From Tribal Representatives As discussed in section III of this document, we held several tribal consultation sessions on draft regulations addressing Secretarial elections and petitioning procedures. The following summarizes comments received during that consultation process. Definitions Several tribes questioned the definition of ‘‘Indian’’ included in the consultation draft. Because the term is not used in the body of the regulation other than as defined in the IRA, we have deleted this definition. We have also clarified the definition of ‘‘tribe’’ as those federally recognized tribes included on the list of recognized tribes published by the Secretary pursuant to Section 479a–1. One tribe questioned the definition of ‘‘member’’ because the consultation draft included an additional provision stating that, in the absence of the tribe’s written criteria for membership, a member is a person the tribal members recognize as belonging to that tribe. The tribe noted that there may not be E:\FR\FM\09OCP1.SGM 09OCP1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 196 (Thursday, October 9, 2014)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 61020-61021]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-24069]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

24 CFR Chapter II

[Docket No. FR-5817-N-01]


Federal Housing Administration (FHA): Solicitation of Comment on 
Streamline Refinance Provisions in the FHA Single Family Housing Policy 
Handbook

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Housing--Federal Housing 
Commissioner, HUD.

ACTION: Solicitation of comment.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: On September 30, 2014, FHA issued the FHA Single Family 
Housing Policy Handbook section for Title II Insured Housing Programs 
Forward Mortgages: Origination through Post-Closing/Endorsement, 
Handbook 4000.1. The goal of the new FHA Single Family Housing Policy 
Handbook (Handbook) is to streamline and ease the implementation of 
FHA's various programs by consolidating and organizing all of FHA's 
Single Family policy into one document. FHA will be issuing other 
individual sections of the Handbook as they are completed. As part of 
the consolidation of policy pertaining to streamline refinance 
transactions, FHA has taken the opportunity to integrate the language 
pertaining to streamline refinance transactions in Mortgagee Letters 
2013-29, 2011-11, 2009-32 and 2008-40 into a refined mortgage payment 
history and calculation of the maximum insurable mortgage for the 
streamline refinance program. Prior to adopting in the Handbook as 
final this refined maximum insured mortgage calculation for streamline 
refinance transactions, HUD seeks public comment on this language as 
presented in the Handbook.

DATES: Comment Due Date: November 10, 2014.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments regarding 
this document to the Regulations Division, Office of General Counsel, 
Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th Street SW., Room 
10276, Washington, DC 20410-0500. Communications must refer to the 
above docket number and title. There are two methods for submitting 
public comments. All submissions must refer to the above docket number 
and title.
    1. Submission of Comments by Mail. Comments may be submitted by 
mail to the Regulations Division, Office of General Counsel, Department 
of Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th Street SW., Room 10276, 
Washington, DC 20410-0500.
    2. Electronic Submission of Comments. Interested persons may submit 
comments electronically through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at 
www.regulations.gov. HUD strongly encourages commenters to submit 
comments electronically. Electronic submission of comments allows the 
commenter maximum time to prepare and submit a comment, ensures timely 
receipt by HUD, and enables HUD to make them immediately available to 
the public. Comments submitted electronically through the 
www.regulations.gov Web site can be viewed by other commenters and 
interested members of the public. Commenters should follow the 
instructions provided on that site to submit comments electronically.

    Note: To receive consideration as public comments, comments must 
be submitted through one of the two methods specified above. Again, 
all submissions must refer to the docket number and title of the 
document.

    No Facsimile Comments. Facsimile (FAX) comments are not acceptable.
    Public Inspection of Public Comments. All properly submitted 
comments and communications submitted to HUD will be available for 
public inspection and copying between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. weekdays at the 
above address. Due to security measures at the HUD Headquarters 
building, an appointment to review the public comments must be 
scheduled in advance by calling the Regulations Division at 202-708-
3055 (this is not a toll-free number). Individuals with speech or 
hearing impairments may access this number via TTY by calling the 
Federal Relay Service at 800-877-8339. Copies of all comments submitted 
are available for inspection and downloading at www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Elissa Saunders, Deputy Director, 
Office of Single Family Program Development, Office of Housing, 
Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th Street SW., Room 
9278, Washington, DC 20410; telephone number 202-708-2121 (this is not 
a toll-free number). Persons with hearing or speech impairments may 
access this number through TTY by calling the toll-free Federal Relay 
Service at 800-877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Payment history standards related to streamline refinances are 
currently found in Handbook HUD 4155.1, entitled Mortgage Credit 
Analysis for Mortgage Insurance on One- to Four-Unit Mortgage Loans, in 
sections 3.A.1.h., but have subsequently been modified by Mortgagee 
Letters, including those referenced above. The Maximum Insurable 
Mortgage Calculation for streamline refinances is found in section 
3.C.2.c.
    In an effort to ease program implementation and reduce burden on 
lenders, servicers, borrowers, and interested members of the public, 
FHA, as noted in the Summary of this document, is consolidating and 
reorganizing its guidance into a new, comprehensive FHA Single Family 
Housing Policy Handbook (Handbook), which, once effective, will 
supersede all mortgagee letters and prior handbook provisions whose 
content has been incorporated into the Handbook. This consolidation and 
reorganization alleviates unnecessary burdens on lenders, servicers, 
and borrowers who have had to keep track of individual policy changes 
published in individual mortgagee letters, and gives all interested 
parties one place to find important program requirements.
    The Handbook section for Title II Insured Housing Programs Forward 
Mortgages--Origination through Post-Closing/Endorsement was issued on 
September 30, 2014, at https://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/documents/huddoc?id=40001HSGH.pdf and will be effective for case numbers assigned 
on or after June 15, 2015. Due to the timing of the pre-scheduled 
release of the Handbook and the complexity of incorporating and 
organizing the various guidance documents for streamline refinances 
noted above, and eliminating extraneous examples, HUD has opted, in an 
abundance of caution, to seek public comment on the refined maximum 
mortgage amount calculation provision and payment history for the 
streamline refinance program which can be found in Paragraphs (4)(b) 
and (j) of II.A.8.d.vi.(C) ``Streamline Refinances'' in the Title II 
Insured Housing Programs Forward Mortgages section of the Handbook. The 
public comments received on these provisions will be given 
consideration, and notification will be provided of changes, if any, 
made to this section of the Handbook.
    Given the significant transition period that FHA is providing 
between the posting of the Handbook and the effective date of the 
Handbook, FHA does not anticipate having to change the effective date 
as a result of any changes

[[Page 61021]]

that may be made to the streamline refinance section of the Handbook.

    Dated: October 3, 2014.
Carol J. Galante,
Assistant Secretary for Housing--Federal Housing Commissioner.
[FR Doc. 2014-24069 Filed 10-8-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-67-P
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