Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Assessment Tool for States and Insular Areas: Solicitation of Comment-60-Day Notice Under Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 12921-12930 [2016-05521]
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[FR Doc. 2016–05217 Filed 3–10–16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210–67–P
DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND
URBAN DEVELOPMENT
[Docket No. FR–5173–N–08]
Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing
Assessment Tool for States and
Insular Areas: Solicitation of
Comment—60-Day Notice Under
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
Office of the Assistant
Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal
Opportunity, HUD.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
On July 16, 2015, HUD
published the Affirmatively Furthering
Fair Housing (AFFH) final rule that
provides HUD program participants
with a new process for planning for fair
housing outcomes that will assist them
in meeting their statutory obligation to
affirmatively further fair housing. This
process includes an assessment tool that
must be used by program participants to
evaluate fair housing choice and access
to opportunity in their jurisdictions, to
identify barriers to fair housing choice
and opportunity at the local and
regional levels, and to set fair housing
goals to overcome such barriers and
advance fair housing choice.
HUD committed to issue three
assessment tools for its program
participants covered by the AFFH final
rule. One assessment tool is for use by
local governments (Local Government
Assessment Tool) that receive assistance
under certain grant programs
administered by HUD’s Office of
Community Planning and Development
(CPD), as well as by joint and regional
collaborations between: (i) Local
governments; (ii) one or more local
governments and one or more public
housing agency (PHA) partners; and (iii)
other collaborations in which such a
local government is designated as the
lead for the collaboration. The second
tool (the subject of this Notice) is to be
used by States and Insular Areas (State
and Insular Area Assessment Tool),
including joint or regional
collaborations (with local governments
and/or PHAs) where the State is
designated as the lead entity. The third
assessment tool is for PHAs (including
for joint collaborations among multiple
PHAs) (PHA Assessment Tool). On
December 31, 2015, HUD issued the
Local Government Assessment.
SUMMARY:
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12921
This notice solicits public comment
for a period of 60 days on the proposed
State and Insular Area Assessment Tool.
In seeking comment for a period of 60
days, this notice commences the process
for compliance with the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA). The PRA
requires two public comment periods—
a public comment period of 60 days and
a second comment period of 30 days.
After consideration of the public
comments submitted in response to this
notice, HUD will solicit a second round
of public comments for a period of 30
days.
To further facilitate public input on
the State and Insular Areas Assessment
Tool, HUD will post sample maps and
tables that are intended to provide
options for presenting relevant data.
Sample data will be posted on https://
www.hudexchange.info/programs/affh/
and https://www.huduser.gov/portal/
affht_pt.html no later than March 18,
2016.
DATES:
Comment Due Date: May 10,
2016.
Interested persons are
invited to submit comments regarding
this notice 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 public comments 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.
ADDRESSES:
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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 rule.
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 advance
appointment to review the public
comments must be scheduled by calling
the Regulations Division at 202–708–
3055 (this is not a toll-free number).
Individuals who are deaf or hard of
hearing and individuals with speech
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:
Dustin Parks, Office of Fair Housing and
Equal Opportunity, Department of
Housing and Urban Development, 451
7th Street SW., Room 5249, Washington,
DC 20410–0500; telephone number 202–
708–1112 (this is not a toll-free
number). Persons who are deaf or hard
of hearing and persons with speech
impairments may access this number
through TTY by calling the toll-free
Federal Relay Service at 800–877–8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
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I. Background
On July 16, 2015, at 80 FR 42272,
HUD issued its final AFFH rule. The
AFFH rule provides a new approach to
enable program participants to more
fully incorporate fair housing
considerations into their existing
planning processes and assist them in
their efforts to comply with their duty
to affirmatively further fair housing as
required by the Fair Housing Act, which
is Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act, and
other authorities. The Fair Housing Act
not only prohibits discrimination, but,
in conjunction with other statutes,
directs HUD’s program participants to
take meaningful actions to overcome
historic patterns of segregation, promote
fair housing choice, and foster inclusive
communities that are free from
discrimination.
The new approach established by
HUD replaces the existing analysis of
impediments (AI) process. The
approach is designed to assist program
participants in analyzing their fair
housing environment, identifying fair
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housing issues and the related
contributing factors, and setting fair
housing goals, and, ultimately, taking
meaningful actions to affirmatively
further fair housing. This approach
builds upon and refines the fair housing
elements of the existing fair housing
planning processes that are in the
process of being replaced as the AFH
process is being phased in pursuant to
the AFFH rule.
To assist program participants in
improving planning to achieve
meaningful fair housing outcomes, the
new approach involves an ‘‘assessment
tool’’ for use in completing the
regulatory requirement to conduct an
assessment of fair housing (AFH) as set
out in the AFFH rule. To aid in the
completion of an AFH, HUD committed
to provide program participants and the
public with certain nationally available
data, and State, local, and regional data
relevant to the AFH, including data on
certain demographics; patterns of
integration and segregation; racially or
ethnically concentrated areas of poverty
(R/ECAPs); disparities in access to
education, employment, low-poverty
neighborhoods, transportation, and
environmental health, among other
critical opportunity indicators;
disproportionate housing needs; data on
publicly supported housing, including
location and occupancy patterns; and
data on individuals with disabilities and
families with children. Using these data,
together with other available local data
and local knowledge, program
participants will evaluate their present
fair housing environment to assess fair
housing issues, identify significant
contributing factors that create,
contribute to, perpetuate, or increase the
severity of those issues, and set forth
fair housing priorities and goals to
address fair housing issues and
significant contributing factors. The
expected benefit of this approach is that
by engaging in the analysis of this
information, program participants, with
the input of the community, can set
better priorities and goals that will
better inform their AFFH strategies and
actions by enabling program
participants to improve the integration
of fair housing planning with other
planning processes.
As noted in the Summary of this
document, HUD has committed to issue
three assessment tools: the Local
Government Assessment Tool, the State
and Insular Area Assessment Tool, and
the PHA Assessment Tool. The final
Local Government Assessment Tool
issued by HUD on December 31, 2015,
and announced by HUD on that same
date in the Federal Register, at 80 FR
81840, provides the basic structure and
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primary areas to be covered by all three
assessment tools. The final Local
Government Assessment Tool, the
instructions for this tool, an AFFH Rule
Guidebook, and the AFFH Data and
Mapping Tool can all be found at
https://www.hudexchange.info/
programs/affh/.
It is the proposed State and Insular
Area Assessment Tool that HUD is
submitting for public comment through
this Notice. References to ‘‘States’’ in
the assessment tool are inclusive of
‘‘Insular Areas.’’
As with the Local Government
Assessment Tool issued on December
31, 2015, the State and Insular Area
Assessment Tool allows for
collaboration with other program
participants that may include either
local government or PHAs. HUD is
particularly interested in soliciting
public comment on joint collaborations
between States and Qualified PHAs,1 as
these entities may especially benefit
from such collaborations, and HUD
encourages such collaboration.
II. The Proposed State and Insular Area
Assessment Tool
A. Sources of Data and Information To
Complete the Assessment of Fair
Housing
HUD-Provided Data: One of HUD’s
major considerations in formulating the
new AFFH planning process is to
provide certain nationally uniform data
to program participants that would be
useful in completing an AFH. All
program participants must use the HUDprovided data, which includes data for
the program participant’s jurisdiction
and region, to complete the AFH. A
collaborative AFH must reference the
HUD-provided data for each program
participant’s jurisdiction and region.
The HUD-provided data will be used by
various types of program participants
(e.g. those in urban areas, rural areas,
suburban areas, majority-minority
communities), which may have unique
characteristics, issues, and challenges.
The HUD-provided data will help
program participants assess local and
regional fair housing issues and
contributing factors and set priorities
and goals to overcome them. However,
certain HUD-provided data may have
limitations, including limitations in
1 A Qualified PHA, defined at 24 CFR 5.142,
includes a PHA that: (1) Has a combined unit total
of 550 or less public housing units and section 8
vouchers; and (2) is not designated troubled under
section 6(j)(2) of the 1937 Act, the Public Housing
Assessment System (PHAS), as a troubled public
housing agency during the prior 12 months; and (3)
does not have a failing score under the Section 8
Management Assessment Program (SEMAP) during
the prior 12 months.
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how they apply to geographic areas with
different characteristics (e.g., rural
versus urban, majority minority areas).
While HUD is providing nationally
uniform data, as with the Local
Government Assessment Tool, HUD
recognizes in this proposed State and
Insular Area Assessment Tool that there
are other important data sources that
may be available and relevant locally,
including data that are unavailable from
a nationally uniform source.
HUD is only able to provide data for
those protected class groups for which
nationally uniform data are available.
For this reason, some questions in the
proposed State and Insular Area
Assessment Tool focus on specific
protected classes based on the
availability of such data. For these
questions, local data and local
knowledge may provide information to
supplement the analysis for protected
classes not covered by the HUDprovided data. Local data and local
knowledge can be particularly helpful
when program participants have local
data that are more up-to-date or more
accurate than the HUD-provided data or
when the HUD-provided data do not
cover all of the protected classes that
would be relevant to program
participants’ analyses. Consequently,
although HUD will provide nationally
available data that are expected to be of
significant assistance to program
participants, the AFFH rule recognizes
the value of local data and knowledge.
Local Data and Local Knowledge: In
addition to the nationally uniform data
provided by HUD, program participants
are required to use local data and local
knowledge to inform their assessments.
However, the AFH process does not
require program participants to create or
compile new data. Rather program
participants must consider existing local
data and local knowledge that is
relevant in order to answer questions in
the assessment tool. Local data and local
knowledge include data and
information gained through the
community participation, consultation,
and coordination processes set out in
the AFFH rule at § 5.158.
Local data are existing data pertaining
to the State or Insular Area or its region
that are relevant to the AFH, that are
either known or become known to the
program participant or that can be found
through a reasonable amount of
searching, and that are readily available
at little or no cost.
Local knowledge, on the other hand,
is information relating to the State’s or
Insular Area’s jurisdiction or its region
that is relevant to the AFH and is known
or becomes known to the program
participant.
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A program participant must complete
its AFH using the assessment tool
designated for its use and HUDprovided data, as well as any local data,
and local knowledge that are relevant.
To the extent that HUD does not provide
data for a program participant to
respond to a question in the assessment
tool, and there is no local data and no
local knowledge that would be
responsive to the question, stating that
data and knowledge are unavailable to
the program participant is an acceptable
and complete response to that particular
question. However, if HUD finds that an
AFH is materially inconsistent with
HUD-provided data or finds that local
data or local knowledge relevant to a
question were available to the program
participant, HUD will determine, as
applicable, that the AFH is substantially
incomplete and/or inconsistent with fair
housing and other civil rights
requirements, and not accept the AFH.
B. Structure of the Proposed State and
Insular Area Assessment Tool
This proposed State and Insular Area
Assessment Tool is designed with the
same three key objectives that HUD had
in mind in its design of the first
assessment tool, the Local Government
Assessment Tool. First, the assessment
tool must ask questions that would be
sufficient to enable program participants
to perform a meaningful assessment of
key fair housing issues and contributing
factors and set meaningful fair housing
goals and priorities. Second, the
assessment tool must clearly convey the
analysis of fair housing issues and
contributing factors that program
participants must undertake in order for
an AFH to be accepted by HUD. Third,
the assessment tool must be designed so
program participants would be able to
use it to prepare an AFH that HUD
would accept without unnecessary
burden.
The following presents the structure
for the proposed State and Insular Area
Assessment Tool, which closely tracks
the structure of the Local Government
Assessment Tool, with some key
changes. For example, States and
Insular Areas have different
responsibilities compared to local
governments. One of the key
considerations in the proposed State
and Insular Area Assessment Tool
pertains to how to include questions
designed to elicit a fair housing analysis
for Qualified PHAs that will sufficiently
address fair housing issues, contributing
factors, goals and priorities relating to
the PHA’s service area (jurisdiction) and
region. The AFFH rule strongly
encourages program participants to
collaborate on an AFH. While the AFFH
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12923
rule encourages collaboration among all
types of program participants, this
Notice specifically solicits public input
on how best to facilitate collaborative
participation between States and
Qualified PHAs.
Qualified PHAs vary in their size of
operations and scope. HUD believes that
Qualified PHAs collaborating with a
State may be beneficial to both parties.
There are resources available to States
that may not be available to all
Qualified PHAs, so this collaboration
can help reduce burden for Qualified
PHAs while also informing the State’s
analysis with supplemental information
available to the Qualified PHA. Section
F of this document presents issues for
which HUD is specifically seeking
comment, with respect to how HUD
may design the assessment tool to
facilitate collaborations between States
and Qualified PHAs. In addition to
including specific questions focused on
collaboration with Qualified PHAs,
HUD is interested in all public
comments on the types of collaborations
that are likely to occur and how to
facilitate collaboration with other
program participants of any size that
may wish to collaborate with a State.
Section I. As is the case with the Local
Government Assessment Tool, Section I
of the proposed State and Insular Area
Assessment Tool contains the Cover
Sheet and Certification and addresses
basic information applicable to the
program participant or program
participants (where there are joint
submissions), such as the name of the
entity making the submission, the type
of submission (e.g., whether it is a
submission by a State or Insular Area,
individually, or a State or Insular Area
in collaboration with another program
participant), the time period covered by
the assessment, and the required
certifications.
Section II. This section of the
proposed State and Insular Area
Assessment Tool is an Executive
Summary to provide the State or Insular
Area, and any other program participant
that joins in collaboration with the State
or Insular Area, the opportunity to
present a general overview of the AFH’s
findings and the fair housing priorities
and goals established.
Section III. This section of the
proposed State and Insular Area
Assessment Tool addresses the
community participation process and
directs the State or Insular Area to
describe outreach activities to encourage
community participation in the
development and review of the AFH, to
describe how successful its outreach
efforts were in obtaining community
participation related to the AFH, and to
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summarize all comments obtained in
the community participation process,
including a summary of any comments
or views not accepted and the reasons
why.
Section IV. This section of the
proposed State and Insular Area
Assessment Tool, entitled ‘‘Assessment
of Past Goals and Actions,’’ asks States
and Insular Areas to explain the fair
housing goals they selected in their
recent AIs, AFHs, or other relevant
planning documents, and the progress
that was made in achieving these goals.
In essence, this section requires program
participants to reflect upon the progress
of past goals and actions and the efforts
undertaken to achieve fair housing
goals. This section also solicits
information on how such experience
influenced the selection of fair housing
goals that the State or Insular Area sets
in the current AFH.
Section V. This section of the
proposed State and Insular Area
Assessment Tool, entitled ‘‘Fair Housing
Analysis,’’ presents the core analysis to
be undertaken by States, Insular Areas,
and program participants that may be
participating with the State or Insular
Area in a collaborative AFH. This
section of the proposed State and
Insular Area Assessment Tool is
structured to help program participants
identify the fair housing issues and
contributing factors in their jurisdiction
and region. The proposed State and
Insular Area Assessment Tool, as is the
case with the Local Government
Assessment Tool, requires the State or
Insular Area to examine fair housing
issues that exist within the State or
Insular Area and those that may go
beyond the boundaries of the State or
Insular Area. As stated in the Local
Government Assessment Tool, fair
housing issues are often not constrained
by political-geographic boundaries, and
the State or Insular Area must determine
if such is the case for any fair housing
issues identified in their AFH.
Section V includes an assessment of
certain key fair housing issues—
segregation and integration, racially or
ethnically concentrated areas of poverty,
disparities in access to opportunity,
disproportionate housing needs,
publicly supported housing, and
disability and access. Each subsection of
Section V also includes targeted
questions in order to help ensure that
the AFH includes appropriate analysis
from a fair housing perspective.
An area of analysis included in the
proposed State and Insular Area
Assessment Tool that has been
expanded upon from the Local
Government Assessment Tool pertains
to low-income housing tax credits
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(LIHTCs). The LIHTC questions
presented in the proposed State and
Insular Area Assessment Tool include
questions pertaining to a State’s
Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP).2 This
section of the proposed State and
Insular Area Assessment Tool, which
differs from the Local Government
Assessment Tool, also includes
questions pertaining to other Stateadministered programs relating to
housing and urban development. These
questions differ from those in the Local
Government Assessment Tool because
of the unique role played by States in
connection with the LIHTC program and
other programs such as State Housing
Trust Funds. HUD recognizes that at
least some Insular Areas may not have
all of the same programs as States.
Section VI. Section VI, Fair Housing
Goals and Priorities, contains a
summary table of the fair housing issues
that the State or Insular Area and any
program participant collaborating with
them on an AFH have identified. The
table includes a framework for the State
or Insular Area to establish fair housing
goals to overcome contributing factors
and related fair housing issues by
setting specific goals that include
metrics and milestones, and a timeframe
for achievement. The table also includes
a space to identify the responsible party
in the event the State or Insular Area
conducts a joint AFH with other
program participants.
The preceding presented a brief
overview of the structure and content of
the State and Insular Area Assessment
Tool. For States, Insular Areas, other
HUD program participants and the
public generally, HUD provides at
https://www.hudexchange.info/
programs/affh/ a comparison of the
proposed State and Insular Area
Assessment Tool to the final Local
Government Assessment Tool so that
covered program participants and
interested parties can see in detail the
differences between this proposed State
and Insular Area Assessment Tool and
the Local Government Assessment Tool
issued on December 31, 2015.
2 Low-income housing tax credits are managed by
the Department of Treasury. The Qualified
Allocation Plan is a federally mandated planning
requirement that States annually use to explain the
basis upon which they distribute their LIHTC
allocations. Based on their QAP, states establish
preferences and set-asides within their tax credit
competitions so as to target the credits towards
specific places (such as rural areas) or types of
people (such as elderly households). See https://
www.huduser.gov/portal/publications/hsgfin/
analysis_of_sqa_plans.html.
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C. Instructions To Accompany the
Proposed State and Insular Area
Assessment Tool
The instructions, which will be part
of the proposed State and Insular Area
Assessment Tool, are also provided for
public comment at the Web site listed
above. The comparison of this proposed
State and Insular Area Assessment Tool
to the Local Government Assessment
Tool issued on December 31, 2015, also
highlights the differences in instructions
provided in the Local Government
Assessment Tool and the proposed State
and Insular Area Assessment Tool.
Please note that the instructions
provided in the proposed State and
Insular Area Assessment Tool include
placeholders where HUD intends to
provide data pertaining to specific
questions. HUD intends to generally
provide States with thematic maps at
the county or statistically equivalent
level in the AFFH Data and Mapping
Tool. HUD intends to provide additional
functionality to allow States to zoom in
to the dot density maps that are
currently provided for local
governments and PHAs submitting an
AFH using the Local Government
Assessment Tool issued on December
31, 2015. HUD is currently in the
process of compiling such data, which
will be incorporated into the AFFH Data
and Mapping Tool prior to the final
issuance of the State and Insular Area
Assessment Tool.
D. PHA Assessment Tool
As noted earlier in this document,
HUD has not only committed to
issuance of a State and Insular Area
Assessment Tool, but to issuance of a
PHA Assessment Tool for PHAs’ use in
conducting the AFH individually or in
collaboration with other PHAs. HUD
will soon issue the 60-day public
comment notice for the proposed PHA
Assessment Tool. It should be noted
that the questions contained in the
proposed PHA Assessment Tool will
differ from the questions addressed to
Qualified PHAs that collaborate with
States using the proposed State and
Insular Area Assessment Tool. HUD
expects that collaborations between
States and Qualified PHAs may reduce
burden for Qualified PHAs. Although
program participants will decide among
themselves how to divide the work on
a collaborative AFH, a State’s analysis of
the entire State and region is expected
to fulfill the regional analysis that
Qualified PHAs would otherwise be
required to perform if submitting an
individual AFH using the PHA
Assessment Tool. As discussed more
fully below, the proposed State and
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Insular Area Assessment Tool contains
specific questions relating to
collaborating with Qualified PHAs.
HUD would like feedback on the
circumstances in which these
collaborations are likely to occur and
the structure of the State and Insular
Area Assessment Tool that would be
most effective in facilitating those
collaborations while still ensuring that
the required fair housing analysis and
priority and goal setting for each
collaborating program participant is
conducted.
E. Small Entities
Whether the proposed State and
Insular Area Assessment Tool, which is
the subject of this Notice, the proposed
PHA Assessment Tool, which remains
to be issued, or the Local Government
Assessment Tool that HUD has already
issued, HUD is cognizant that
completion of the AFH will place some
burden on small entities, and HUD
welcomes comments on how burden
may be reduced for all program
participants, but especially for small
entities, while still achieving the
necessary fair housing analysis.
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F. Solicitation of Specific Comment on
the Proposed State and Insular Area
Assessment Tool
While the primary purpose of
comment under the Paperwork
Reduction Act is to determine the
burden of any information collection
requirement, HUD, as was the case for
the Local Government Assessment Tool,
also solicits comment on the content of
the proposed State and Insular Area
Assessment Tool, the clarity of the
questions presented and whether there
are areas of information sought that
program participants believe are not
necessary to a meaningful AFH, or
whether there are important areas of
information for conducting a
meaningful fair housing analysis that
HUD may have overlooked. HUD also
solicits comments for the following
questions:
Content of the Proposed State and
Insular Assessment Tool
In developing the proposed State and
Insular Area Assessment Tool, HUD has
made changes to the Local Government
Assessment Tool in order to capture the
appropriate level of information for
States and Insular Areas conducting a
fair housing analysis and goal setting.
Some questions have been removed,
new questions have been added, and
some questions remain but with
revisions. As noted earlier in this notice,
HUD’s AFFH Web page at https://
www.hudexchange.info/programs/affh/
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provides a comparison of the Local
Government Assessment Tool and this
proposed State and Insular Area
Assessment Tool, which includes a
section of questions to facilitate
collaborations between States and
Qualified PHAs.
One of the differences between the
Local Government Assessment Tool and
the proposed State and Insular Area
Assessment Tool pertains to the analysis
of disparities in access to opportunity.
HUD is considering different ways of
structuring this section to obtain an
appropriate fair housing analysis of
disparities in access to opportunity. The
proposed State and Insular Area
Assessment Tool seeks analysis relating
to States’ programs and policies and
how they affect protected class groups
in new areas including emergency
preparedness, prisoner re-entry, public
health, public safety, and housing and
financial opportunities (access to rental
housing, home ownership, and mortgage
loans). The proposed State and Insular
Assessment Tool, through a general
question, solicits information from
States and Insular Areas on these five
areas. In this Notice, HUD provides
specific questions on certain areas that
HUD is also considering for inclusion
with the tool.
Specific solicitation of comment: HUD
is considering two approaches to the
section of the proposed State and
Insular Area Assessment Tool in which
program participants will analyze
disparities in access to opportunity. One
approach asks more general questions
and relies on States and Insular Areas to
be diligent in identifying specific
subjects involving disparities in access
to opportunity for protected class
groups. The other approach asks more
targeted questions that would guide
program participants through the
required analysis and reduce the risk of
an inadvertent omission of a key point
of analysis. HUD specifically solicits
comment from States and Insular Areas
and other interested parties on which of
these approaches would be more
beneficial in eliciting an appropriate fair
housing analysis from States and Insular
Areas. The following presents proposed
targeted questions on these areas for
which HUD solicits comment not only
on whether such targeted questions
should be included in the proposed
State and Insular Area Assessment Tool,
but also on whether these questions
appropriately target information on
these five areas for purposes of
conducting a meaningful fair housing
analysis, and if there are better ways to
pose the questions or additional
questions that should be included:
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Disparities Related to Emergency
Management and Preparedness
• Identify and describe any
disparities in access to emergency
management and preparedness
programs, policies, practices, and
resources, including prevention,
protection, mitigation, response, and
recovery within the State by protected
class. What role does a person’s place of
residence have on access to emergency
preparedness opportunities?
• Describe any effects on emergency
management and preparedness for
protected class groups in your State of
the emergency preparedness programs,
policies, practices, and resources in
neighboring states or a broader
geographic area.
Re-Entry Opportunities (Re-entry
Relates to Offenders Transitioning Back
Into the Community)
• Describe the demographics of the
State’s population involved in re-entry
in terms of race, ethnicity, national
origin (including LEP persons), sex, and
disability. Which protected class groups
are least successful in accessing
housing, employment, counseling,
education, or other opportunities in the
State?
Disparities Related to Public Health
Services
• What role does a person’s place of
residence have on access to public
health programs and resources (chronic
disease prevention, environmental
health, family health, healthcare quality,
and exposure to communicable
diseases) in the State? Which protected
class groups have the least access to
public health programs and resources
and the greatest exposure to public
health hazards?
Disparities Related to Public Safety
• Describe disparities related to
public safety, including law
enforcement, fire and rescue, and
emergency medical services, in the State
by protected class. What role does a
person’s place of residence have on
disparities related to public safety in the
State? Which protected class groups
experience the most disparities related
to public safety in the State?
Housing and Financial Opportunities
• Describe any laws, policies, and
practices affecting affordable rental
housing, homeownership and mortgage
access in the State, including occupancy
codes and homeownership programs.
Describe disparities in access to rental
housing, homeownership, and mortgage
access, including State lending
programs, tax incentives,
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homeownership programs, and State
housing assistance or subsidies, in the
State by protected class.
• What role does a person’s place of
residence have on access to affordable
rental housing, homeownership and
mortgage access in the State? Which
protected class groups have the least
access to affordable rental housing,
homeownership, and financial
opportunities in the State?
Specific solicitation of comment:
Through the questions presented in the
proposed State and Insular Area
Assessment Tool (and the alternate
questions included immediately above
in this Notice), has HUD captured the
appropriate level of information from
States and Insular Areas in conducting
their AFH? Are there additional areas of
analysis that should be included in the
State and Insular Area Assessment Tool
given their areas of responsibility,
programs, policymaking, and
jurisdictions? HUD solicits comment on
any additional areas of analysis or
specific questions that should be
included in the State and Insular Area
Assessment Tool and HUD asks
commenters responding to this question
to indicate the section of the assessment
tool where these additional subject areas
or questions should be included. HUD
also solicits comment on any questions
included in the State and Insular Area
Assessment Tool that should be
excluded and the reasons why.
States With Rural Areas and Other Key
Differences Among States and Insular
Areas
HUD recognizes that many States
include rural areas and is particularly
interested in obtaining comment on how
the State and Insular Area Assessment
Tool can ensure an appropriate fair
housing analysis for rural areas. HUD is
also interested in other differences that
may cause States and Insular Areas to
have to have different fair housing
issues that need to be assessed. HUD
seeks solicits comment on how to best
accommodate these differences between
States and Insular Areas while still
providing an appropriate vehicle for fair
housing analysis.
Specific Solicitation of Comment:
States and Insular Areas must assess
their entire jurisdiction; however, HUD
recognizes that rural areas may present
certain challenges in conducting such
an assessment. Are there particular
questions that HUD should include in
the State and Insular Area Assessment
Tool to ensure the appropriate focus on
rural areas? What sources of information
do States have access to when
considering fair housing issues in rural
areas? HUD seeks comment on any
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additional questions or additional data
that should be included and the
applicable section of the State and
Insular Area Assessment Tool to address
how States and Insular Areas can assess
rural areas.
Specific Solicitation of Comments:
States and Insular Areas can have
different populations, can have many
different characteristics, and, as a result,
can have different types of program and
policies that affect fair housing. HUD
seeks comment on any key areas beyond
those HUD has already presented in the
proposed State and Insular Area
Assessment Tool and this notice? If a
commenter suggests other key areas to
be added, HUD asks the commenter to
indicate why the area is important to
include when conducting a fair housing
analysis, what questions to ask about it,
and any relevant data a State or Insular
Area may use.
Specific Solicitation of Comment:
Native American considerations. Indian
tribes receiving HUD assistance are not
required to comply with AFFH
requirements. However, under certain
HUD programs, grantees that are subject
to AFFH requirements also provide
assistance to tribal communities on
reservations. For example, under the
HOME program, a State may fund
projects on Indian reservations if the
State includes Indian reservations in its
Consolidated Plan. Does the Assessment
Tool adequately take into account,
including in the terminology used, the
issues and needs of Indian families and
tribal communities while also factoring
in the unique circumstances of tribal
communities?
Disability and Access
Section V.D of the proposed State and
Insular Area Assessment Tool requires
an analysis of disability and access in
the State or Insular Area. This section of
the proposed State and Insular
Assessment Tool is intended to solicit
specific information about disability
and access issues, while incorporating
the rest of the analysis completed in
prior sections of the assessment tool.
Specific Solicitation of Comment: Is
the Disability and Access section of the
proposed State and Insular Area
Assessment Tool adequately clear such
that it includes the analysis of prior
sections as it relates to disability and
access issues.
Contributing Factors
A key part of the AFH analysis is the
identification of contributing factors.
HUD seeks comment on the contributing
factor analysis in the proposed State and
Insular Area Assessment Tool.
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Specific Solicitation of Comment:
Many of the contributing factors
contained in the Local Government
Assessment Tool remain in the
proposed State and Insular Area
Assessment Tool. HUD specifically
seeks comment on whether there are
additional contributing factors that
should be included in the State and
Insular Area Assessment Tool that are of
particular importance for States and
Insular Areas to consider while
conducting their fair housing analysis. If
a commenter suggests additional
contributing factors to be included in
the State and Insular Area Assessment
Tool, HUD asks the commenter to
identify to which fair housing issues or
sections of the assessment tool these
additional factors should be added.
HUD also asks commenters to provide a
description of the additional factor and
why the commenter(s) believe it is of
particular relevance for States and
Insular Areas. HUD also solicits
comment on any contributing factors
included in the State and Insular Area
Assessment Tool that should be
excluded and the reasons why.
Regional Analysis
As provided in the AFFH rule, all
program participants must conduct an
analysis not only for their jurisdiction
but also for the larger area that is their
region. The proposed State and Insular
Assessment Tool generally keeps
analysis for the jurisdiction and analysis
for the region together in the same
question, except in circumstances where
a specific question does not provide for
a regional analysis. The instructions
provide guidance on the appropriate
region to be considered. HUD generally
combined the questions relating to
jurisdiction and region so that the
proposed State and Insular Area
Assessment Tool was shorter and
considered both jurisdictional and
regional fair housing issues
concurrently but recognizes that it could
take a different approach to the
structure and organization of questions
that call for a regional analysis.
Specific Solicitation of Comment:
HUD is seeking comment on the best
approach for States to conduct an
effective fair housing regional analysis
addressing the fair housing issues and
contributing factors affecting their State.
HUD is considering different
approaches to accomplish this. One
approach, as presented in the proposed
State and Insular Area Assessment Tool,
would include ‘‘region’’ throughout the
tool in specific questions. An alternative
approach would be to include the
regional analysis questions required for
an appropriate fair housing analysis in
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a separate section of the proposed State
and Insular Area Assessment Tool.
These regional questions could be
placed in either a separate section, or
within appropriate sub-sections (e.g.
Segregation, R/ECAPs, etc.).
Specific Solicitation of Comment:
Insular Areas—like other program
participants—are impacted by
circumstances happening outside their
borders. HUD wants to make sure that
the proposed State and Insular Areas
Assessment Tool appropriately captures
fair housing regional impacts without
imposing undue burden on Insular
Areas. HUD seeks specific comment on
whether the proposed format
appropriately provides for Insular Areas
to describe regional fair housing impacts
without imposing undue burdens. HUD
welcomes recommendations for specific
questions tailored to capture regional
fair housing analysis for Insular Areas
while not imposing unnecessary
burdens in view of the unique
characteristics of Insular Areas.
Data
As with the Local Government
Assessment Tool, HUD intends to
provide data that States and Insular
Areas will use to conduct their AFH.
HUD contemplates that the geographic
scale of the new data HUD intends to
provide will generally be at a higher
geographic level, i.e., county or
statistically equivalent level, than the
data provided for local governments.
States will be able to access the lower
level data through the AFFH data and
mapping tool by zooming in to smaller
levels of geography, such as Census
tracts.
Specific Solicitation of Comment:
Acknowledging the geographic
limitation of the Jobs Proximity
Opportunity Index at the State level,
HUD is seeking comment on providing
alternative types of data (e.g., by
education level, sector of the economy,
race/ethnicity, numbers of jobs by
location) that might be most useful for
States in conducting an appropriate fair
housing analysis in connection with
disparities in access to employment
opportunities.
The extent of nationally uniform data
available for Insular Areas is limited.
HUD notes some data limitations for
some sources of information used in the
overall AFFH Data and Mapping Tool in
relation to Insular Areas. The American
Community Survey, used for some maps
and data elements, is not available for
Insular Areas. However, the 2010
Decennial Census along with HUD
administrative data on program
activities and assisted housing residents
are available. HUD intends to improve
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the provision of data it will be providing
for Insular Areas to assist them in
conducting an AFH.
Given these data limitations, HUD
expects that the questions in the
proposed State and Insular Area
Assessment Tool that direct program
participants to data tables or maps to
inform their answers may be more
challenging for an Insular Area to
answer. However, Insular Areas, like
States, are required to use available
local data and local knowledge to
answer questions in the proposed State
and Insular Area Assessment Tool. To
the extent that HUD does not provide
data for a program participant to use in
responding to a question in the
assessment tool, and local data and local
knowledge relevant to the question are
not available to the program participant,
the program participant may answer the
question by stating that the program
participant lacks available data and
knowledge to answer the question.
Under those circumstances, if HUD
determined that the program participant
did not have available data and
knowledge relevant to the question,
HUD would consider that an acceptable
and complete response to that particular
question.
Specific Solicitation of Comment:
HUD specifically seeks comment on
what data are available to States and
Insular Areas, including data at the local
level, that would be relevant and most
helpful to States or Insular Areas in
conducting their respective analyses of
fair housing issues and contributing
factors in their jurisdiction and region?
HUD asks commenters responding to
this question to identify data sources for
States or Insular Areas that would be
helpful to States and Insular areas and
are already available and to what extent
the State or Insular Area intends to rely
on certain data sources to answer the
questions included in the proposed
State and Insular Area Assessment Tool.
State or Insular Area Collaboration With
Qualified PHAs
As stated in the AFFH rule and earlier
in this document, HUD encourages
Qualified PHAs to conduct and submit
a joint AFH with their State or Insular
Area. Under the AFFH rule, States and
Insular Areas must consult with PHAs
that administer public housing or
Section 8 programs on a statewide basis
or that certify consistency with the
State’s or Insular Area’s consolidated
plan.3 PHAs are encouraged to work in
collaboration with a State or Insular
Area pursuant to HUD’s AFFH
3 See HUD’s AFFH final rule published on July
16, 2015, at 80 FR 42293.
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regulations in 24 CFR 5.156 and HUD’s
Public Housing regulations in 24 CFR
903.15(a)(1). In addition, as provided in
HUD’s AFFH regulations at 24 CFR
5.156(a)(3), all collaborating program
participants are accountable for the joint
analysis and any joint goals and
priorities to be included in the
collaborative AFH, and collaborating
program participants are also
accountable for their individual
analysis, goals, and priorities to be
included in the collaborative AFH. HUD
strongly encourages collaboration by
program participants because HUD
expects that program participants
working together will be better
positioned to affirmatively further fair
housing, and may be able to reduce
burdens and costs by sharing resources.
HUD believes that collaboration,
specifically, between States or Insular
Areas and Qualified PHAs, can benefit
both program participants. The State or
Insular Area benefits by being able to
align its goals established to address fair
housing issues it has identified with
other program participants, such as a
Qualified PHA that has resources to
assist the State at the local level, which
would aid the State in accomplishing its
goals and ultimately taking meaningful
actions to affirmatively further fair
housing. All collaborating program
participants will have both a
jurisdictional (in the case of a PHA, its
jurisdiction is its service area) and
regional analysis. A Qualified PHA
collaborating with a State is aided
because the regional portion of the
analysis of the Qualified PHA is
expected to be fulfilled by the State’s
analysis of the entire State.
All program participants, regardless of
size, have the legal duty to affirmatively
further fair housing and to conduct an
AFH. Each program participant may
choose to submit an individual AFH or
a collaborative AFH as set out in the
AFFH rule. A Qualified PHA
collaborating with a State or Insular
Area is aided to the extent that it may
rely on the State for completing its
background regional analysis and
otherwise be generally informed by the
State’s analysis.
In order to assist Qualified PHAs and
States or Insular Areas in collaborating
to conduct and submit joint AFHs, HUD
is seeking additional information from
States and Insular Areas, Qualified
PHAs, and other interested parties about
how to best facilitate these
collaborations while ensuring the fair
housing analysis required of Qualified
PHAs is complete. HUD is seeking input
on how this proposed State and Insular
Area Assessment Tool can facilitate
collaboration with Qualified PHAs by
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ensuring that the State’s or Insular
Area’s analysis of the entire State or
Insular Area provides a sufficiently
detailed analysis to inform the Qualified
PHA’s fair housing analysis and goal
setting. The regional portion of the
Qualified PHA analysis is expected to
be fulfilled by the State’s or Insular
Area’s analysis of the entire state. For
purposes of this proposed State and
Insular Area Assessment Tool, the
region of a Qualified PHA is defined as
the State or Insular Area that is smaller
than the State or Insular Area. For
Qualified PHAs whose service area is an
entire State, and for purposes of this
proposed State and Insular Area
Assessment Tool, the region of a
Qualified PHA is the same as the State’s
region.
The questions to be included in this
State and Insular Area Assessment Tool
strive to facilitate collaboration while
ensuring individual analysis and
accountability for each collaborating
program participant. With this objective
in mind, HUD has placed questions
designed to address the fair housing
analysis relating to the Qualified PHA’s
service area in a separate section of the
proposed State and Insular Area
Assessment Tool. In addition to
soliciting comment on these specific
questions, HUD also seeks input about
how to best facilitate collaboration
between States or Insular Areas and
Qualified PHAs.
Specific Solicitation of Comment: As
provided in this Notice, HUD believes
that collaboration between a State or
Insular Area and a Qualified PHA can
be a beneficial collaboration. While
HUD sees such collaboration as having
the potential to be beneficial, HUD seeks
comment on whether other program
participants contemplate collaborating
with a State or Insular Area on an AFH.
With respect to possible collaboration
by States or Insular Areas and Qualified
PHAs, HUD seeks comment on whether
these two categories of program
participants anticipate collaborating on
a joint AFH. If not, why is such
collaboration not contemplated at this
time and are there ways HUD could
better facilitate this collaboration? HUD
specifically solicits comments on
actions that HUD could take to facilitate
collaborations between States or Insular
Areas and Qualified PHAs. For
commenters responding to this
question, HUD asks the commenter(s) to
provide specific questions or structure
for the proposed State and Insular Area
Assessment Tool, and the sections of
this assessment tool to which those
questions are recommended to be
included.
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Specific Solicitation of Comment:
Related to the above question, HUD
specifically seeks feedback on how the
State and Insular Assessment Tool can
facilitate collaboration with Qualified
PHAs and strive to ensure that the
State’s or Insular Area’s analysis of the
entire State or Insular Area provides
sufficiently detailed analysis to inform
the Qualified PHA’s fair housing
analysis and goal setting.
Specific Solicitation of Comment:
HUD generally intends to provide States
with thematic maps at the county or
statistically equivalent level. HUD
intends to provide additional
functionality to the AFFH Data and
Mapping Tool, including the ability to
access the dot density maps currently
available for local governments
submitting alone or in collaboration
with other local governments and PHAs.
HUD notes that the service areas for
Qualified PHAs vary greatly. Some
Qualified PHAs have statewide service
areas. Others are the size of multiple
counties. And yet other Qualified PHAs
have service areas smaller than a county
or statistically equivalent level. Given
that HUD currently intends to focus
States on thematic maps at the county
or statistically equivalent level, how can
this proposed State and Insular Area
Assessment Tool facilitate collaboration
with Qualified PHAs by ensuring that
the State’s analysis of the entire State
provides sufficiently detailed analysis to
inform the Qualified PHA’s fair housing
analysis and goal setting?
Specific Solicitation of Comment: In
this proposed State and Insular Area
Assessment Tool, the questions
designed to address the fair housing
analysis relating to the Qualified PHA’s
service area are included in a separate
section. HUD is seeking comment on
whether this organizational structure is
the most efficient and useful means of
conducting the analysis or whether
these questions should be inserted into
the respective sections of the proposed
State and Insular Area Assessment Tool
to which they apply.
Insular Areas
There is limited nationally uniform
data available for Insular Areas. HUD
notes some data limitations for some
sources of information used in the
overall AFFH Data and Mapping Tool in
relation to Insular Areas. The American
Community Survey, used for some maps
and data elements, is not available for
Insular Areas. However, the 2010
Decennial Census along with HUD
administrative data on program
activities and assisted housing residents
are available. HUD intends to improve
the data it will be providing for Insular
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Areas to assist them in assessing
demographic information to better
inform local planning and
decisionmaking and to better inform the
analysis of fair housing issues and
contributing factors in the AFH.
Given these data limitations, HUD
expects that questions in the proposed
State and Insular Area Assessment Tool
that tend to rely largely on data tables
or maps to answer may be more
challenging for an Insular Area to
answer. In general, the Insular Area will
need to rely on local data and local
knowledge to answer these questions.
As the instructions to the proposed
State and Insular Area Assessment Tool
explain, to the extent an Insular Area
does not have any relevant HUDprovided data, local data, or local
knowledge to answer a question in this
assessment tool, the Insular Area may
answer the question by stating that it
does not have HUD-provided data, local
data, or local knowledge to respond to
the question. For an Insular Area, local
data are existing data pertaining to the
Insular Area or its region that are
relevant to the AFH, that are either
known or become known to the program
participant or that can be found through
a reasonable amount of searching, and
that are readily available at little or no
cost. Local knowledge is information
relating to the Insular Area’s geographic
area of the State or Insular Area itself or
its region that is relevant to the AFH
and is known or becomes known to the
Insular Area. Local data and local
knowledge may both be obtained
through the community participation
process.
Specific Solicitation of Comment:
How can HUD assist Insular Areas to
complete an AFH in terms of providing
data, or, where data is lacking, are there
areas where HUD can provide further
assistance or guidance for Insular Areas?
To what extent will Insular Areas be
able to use the State and Insular Area
Assessment Tool to analyze fair housing
issues and contributing factors and set
goals and priorities without HUDprovided data? Are there ways in which
HUD could adapt this assessment tool
for Insular Areas? To what extent do
Insular Areas have access to local data
and/or local knowledge, including
information that can be obtained
through community participation, that
could help identify areas of segregation,
R/ECAPs, disparities in access to
opportunity, and disproportionate
housing needs where the HUD-provided
data may be unavailable? HUD asks that
comments in response to these
questions provide specifics as to sources
of data relating to Insular Areas that are
available beyond the HUD-provided
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data, including data from national
sources.
Small Entities That Collaborate With
States
HUD is seeking public comment on
how use of the proposed State and
Insular Assessment Tool may reduce
burdens for small entities that
collaborate with States in conducting an
AFH.
Specific Solicitation of Comment:
Will collaboration with a State in
conducting an AFH using the proposed
State and Insular Area Assessment Tool
reduce the burden that a small entity
such as a Qualified PHA would
otherwise have in conducting an
individual AFH? To what extent do
small entities, such as Qualified PHAs,
expect to rely on outside resources such
as a consultant in conducting a
collaborative AFH with a State?
Burden of Compiling Information
Required by the Proposed State and
Insular Area Assessment Tool
In addition to comment on the
preceding questions, HUD specifically
seeks comment from the States or
Insular Areas on the degree of difficulty
or cooperation that may be involved in
gathering information from the specific
State or Insular Area agencies that
possess the information solicited by the
proposed State and Insular Area
Assessment Tool.
III. Compliance With the Paperwork
Reduction Act
Under the Paperwork Reduction Act
of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501–3520) (PRA), an
agency may not conduct or sponsor, and
a person is not required to respond to,
a collection of information, unless the
collection displays a valid control
number issued by the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB).
Through this notice, HUD commences
the process for obtaining the requisite
approval by OMB under the PRA
process.
The public reporting burden for the
proposed State and Insular Area
Assessment Tool is estimated to include
the time for reviewing the instructions,
searching existing data sources,
gathering and maintaining the data
needed, and completing and reviewing
the collection of information.
This State and Insular Area
Assessment Tool is primarily designed
for use by State and Insular Area
program participants. These include the
50 States, the Commonwealth of Puerto
Rico, and 4 Insular Areas (American
Samoa, the Territory of Guam, the
Commonwealth of the Northern
Marianas Islands and the U.S. Virgin
Islands).
The estimate of burden hours is an
average within a range, with some AFHs
requiring either more or less time and
effort based on the size and complexity
of the relevant program participant’s
assessment. Smaller program
participants will have less total burden
both in terms of staff hours and costs.
A separate estimate for Insular Areas is
included, at 240 hours per Insular Area
program participant, which is the same
level of burden that HUD estimated for
the Local Government Assessment Tool.
This estimate assumes that
approximately one-third of the 3,942
PHAs may seek to enter into joint AFHs
with their relevant State program
participant. This is consistent with the
burden estimate included in the 30-Day
PRA Notice for the Local Government
Assessment Tool. The 120 hours per
PHA is also consistent with the previous
estimate, however, this may be an overestimate given that numerous smaller
sized PHAs may be more likely to enter
into joint assessments with State
program participants.
This burden estimate assumes there
would be cost savings for PHAs that opt
to partner with a State agency. For
Number of
responses per
respondent
Number of
respondents
instance, the proposed State and Insular
Area Tool includes a distinct set of
questions that would be required for
Qualified PHAs (i.e. those with 550 or
fewer public housing units and/or
Housing Choice Vouchers). Qualified
PHAs would also benefit from having
the State agency’s analysis fulfill the
regional portion of the PHA’s
assessments. While there may be some
cost savings for Qualified PHAs opting
to participate in joint submissions using
the proposed State and Insular
Assessment Tool, they are still assumed
to have some fixed costs, including
those relating to staff training and
conducting community participation,
but reduced costs for conducting the
analysis in the assessment tool itself.
While local government program
participants may also choose to partner
with State agencies, the burden estimate
for the Assessment Tool designed for
their use included a total estimate for all
of the 1,192 local government agencies.
All HUD program participants are
greatly encouraged to conduct joint
AFHs and to consider regional
cooperation. More coordination in the
initial years between State and local
government program participants one
the one hand and PHAs on the other
will reduce total costs for both types of
program participants in later years. In
addition, combining and coordinating
some elements of the Consolidated Plan
and the PHA Plan will reduce total costs
for both types of program participants.
Completing an AFH in earlier years will
also help reduce costs later, for instance
by incorporating the completed analysis
into later planning documents, such as
the PHA plan, will help to better inform
planning and goal setting decisions
ahead of time.
Information on the estimated public
reporting burden is provided in the
following table:
Estimated
average time
for
requirement
(in hours)
Frequency of response
Estimated total
burden
(in hours)
asabaliauskas on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
States * ..............................................
Insular Areas ** .................................
Public Housing Agencies ..................
51
4
1,314
1
1
1
Once every five years ......................
Once every five years ......................
Once every five years ......................
1,500
240
120
76,500
960
157,680
Total Burden ..............................
........................
........................
...........................................................
........................
235,140
The estimates represent the average level of burden for these grantee types. It should be noted that this staff cost is not an annual cost, but is
incurred every five years.
* The term ‘State’ includes the 50 States as well as Puerto Rico. See 42 U.S.C. 5302(2) & 42 U.S.C. 12704(2).
** The term ‘‘Insular Area’’ includes Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, the Virgin Islands, and American Samoa.’’ See 42 U.S.C. 5302(24) &
42 U.S.C. 12704(24).
In accordance with 5 CFR
1320.8(d)(1), HUD is specifically
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State and Insular Area Assessment Tool
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from members of the public and affected
program participants on the following:
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Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 48 / Friday, March 11, 2016 / Notices
(1) Whether the proposed collection
of information is necessary for the
proper performance of the functions of
the agency, including whether the
information will have practical utility;
(2) The accuracy of the agency’s
estimate of the burden of the proposed
collection of information;
(3) Ways to enhance the quality,
utility, and clarity of the information to
be collected; and
(4) Ways to minimize the burden of
the collection of information on those
who are to respond, including through
the use of appropriate automated
collection techniques or other forms of
information technology, e.g., permitting
electronic submission of responses.
HUD encourages not only program
participants but interested persons to
submit comments regarding the
information collection requirements in
this proposal. Comments must be
received by May 10, 2016 to
www.regulations.gov as provided under
the ADDRESSES section of this notice.
Comments must refer to the proposal by
name and docket number (FR–5173–N–
02).
Following consideration of public
comments submitted in response to this
notice, HUD will submit for further
public comment, for a period of 30 days,
a version of the Assessment Tool that
reflects consideration of the public
comments received in response to this
notice.
Dated: March 7, 2016.
George D. Williams,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy,
Legislative Initiatives and Outreach.
[FR Doc. 2016–05521 Filed 3–10–16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210–67–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS–R8–ES–2015–N229; FXES11130000–
156–FF08E00000]
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife
and Plants; Draft Recovery Plan for the
Central California Distinct Population
Segment of the California Tiger
Salamander (Ambystoma
californiense)
Fish and Wildlife Service,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of document
availability.
asabaliauskas on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
AGENCY:
We, the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, announce the
availability of the Draft Recovery Plan
for the Central California Distinct
Population Segment of the California
SUMMARY:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
19:17 Mar 10, 2016
Jkt 238001
tiger salamander (Ambystoma
californiense) (Central California tiger
salamander) for public review and
comment. This draft recovery plan
includes delisting objectives and
criteria, and specific actions necessary
to remove the species from the Federal
Lists of Endangered and Threatened
Wildlife and Plants.
DATES: We must receive any comments
on this revised draft recovery plan on or
before May 10, 2016.
ADDRESSES: You may obtain a copy of
this draft recovery plan from our Web
site at https://www.fws.gov/endangered/
species/recovery-plans.html.
Alternatively, you may contact the
Sacramento Fish and Wildlife Office,
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2800
Cottage Way, Suite W–2605,
Sacramento, CA 95825 (telephone 916–
414–6700).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Jennifer Norris, Field Supervisor, at the
above street address or telephone
number (see ADDRESSES).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Recovery of endangered or threatened
animals and plants to the point where
they are again secure, self-sustaining
members of their ecosystems is a
primary goal of our endangered species
program and the Endangered Species
Act of 1973, as amended (Act; 16 U.S.C.
1531 et seq.). Recovery means
improvement of the status of listed
species to the point at which listing is
no longer appropriate under the criteria
specified in section 4(a)(1) of the Act.
The Act requires the development of
recovery plans for listed species, unless
such a plan would not promote the
conservation of a particular species.
The Central California tiger
salamander (Ambystoma californiense)
was federally listed as a threatened
species on August 4, 2004 (69 FR
47212). Central California tiger
salamanders are endemic to the San
Joaquin-Sacramento River valleys,
bordering foothills, and coastal valleys
of Central California and inhabit
primarily annual grasslands and open
woodlands. California tiger salamanders
spend the majority of their lives
underground in small mammal burrows,
although ponds play an equally
important role because they are required
for breeding. Breeding sites are typically
fish-free ephemeral ponds that fill
during winter and dry by summer.
Historically, California tiger
salamanders utilized vernal pools as
breeding sites, but the species now also
commonly breeds in livestock ponds.
PO 00000
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Fmt 4703
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The loss and subsequent
fragmentation of habitat is the primary
threat to the Central California tiger
salamander. Habitat loss has primarily
occurred from urban expansion and
agricultural conversion. Habitat
fragmentation restricts dispersal and
isolates populations of the Central
California tiger salamander, thereby
increasing the likelihood of inbreeding,
decreasing fitness, and reducing genetic
diversity. In addition to habitat loss,
Central California tiger salamanders are
subject to the cumulative effects of a
number of other existing and potential
threats, including: Hybridization with
non-native barred tiger salamanders,
road mortality, climate change,
contaminants, disease, and predation by
non-native species.
Recovery Plan Goals
The purpose of a recovery plan is to
provide a framework for the recovery of
species so that protection under the Act
is no longer necessary. A recovery plan
includes scientific information about
the species and provides criteria that
enable us to gauge whether downlisting
or delisting the species is warranted.
Furthermore, recovery plans help guide
our recovery efforts by describing
actions we consider necessary for each
species’ conservation and by estimating
time and costs for implementing needed
recovery measures.
The goal of this draft recovery plan is
to improve the status of Central
California tiger salamander so that it can
be delisted. To meet the recovery goal
of delisting, the following objectives
have been identified:
1. Secure self-sustaining populations
of Central California tiger salamander
throughout their full range, ensuring
conservation of genetic variability and
diverse habitat types (e.g., variation in
elevation and precipitation).
2. Ameliorate or eliminate the threats
that caused the species to be listed, and
any future threats.
3. Restore and conserve a healthy
ecosystem supportive of Central
California tiger salamander populations.
The strategy to recover the Central
California tiger salamander focuses on
alleviating the threat of habitat loss and
fragmentation in order to increase
population resiliency (ensure a large
enough population to withstand
stochastic events) and redundancy (a
sufficient number of populations to
ensure the species can withstand
catastrophic events). Recovery of this
species can be achieved by addressing
the conservation of remaining aquatic
and upland habitat that provides
essential connectivity, reduces
fragmentation, and sufficiently buffers
E:\FR\FM\11MRN1.SGM
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 48 (Friday, March 11, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12921-12930]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-05521]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
[Docket No. FR-5173-N-08]
Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Assessment Tool for States
and Insular Areas: Solicitation of Comment--60-Day Notice Under
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal
Opportunity, HUD.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: On July 16, 2015, HUD published the Affirmatively Furthering
Fair Housing (AFFH) final rule that provides HUD program participants
with a new process for planning for fair housing outcomes that will
assist them in meeting their statutory obligation to affirmatively
further fair housing. This process includes an assessment tool that
must be used by program participants to evaluate fair housing choice
and access to opportunity in their jurisdictions, to identify barriers
to fair housing choice and opportunity at the local and regional
levels, and to set fair housing goals to overcome such barriers and
advance fair housing choice.
HUD committed to issue three assessment tools for its program
participants covered by the AFFH final rule. One assessment tool is for
use by local governments (Local Government Assessment Tool) that
receive assistance under certain grant programs administered by HUD's
Office of Community Planning and Development (CPD), as well as by joint
and regional collaborations between: (i) Local governments; (ii) one or
more local governments and one or more public housing agency (PHA)
partners; and (iii) other collaborations in which such a local
government is designated as the lead for the collaboration. The second
tool (the subject of this Notice) is to be used by States and Insular
Areas (State and Insular Area Assessment Tool), including joint or
regional collaborations (with local governments and/or PHAs) where the
State is designated as the lead entity. The third assessment tool is
for PHAs (including for joint collaborations among multiple PHAs) (PHA
Assessment Tool). On December 31, 2015, HUD issued the Local Government
Assessment.
This notice solicits public comment for a period of 60 days on the
proposed State and Insular Area Assessment Tool. In seeking comment for
a period of 60 days, this notice commences the process for compliance
with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA). The PRA requires two
public comment periods--a public comment period of 60 days and a second
comment period of 30 days. After consideration of the public comments
submitted in response to this notice, HUD will solicit a second round
of public comments for a period of 30 days.
To further facilitate public input on the State and Insular Areas
Assessment Tool, HUD will post sample maps and tables that are intended
to provide options for presenting relevant data. Sample data will be
posted on https://www.hudexchange.info/programs/affh/ and https://www.huduser.gov/portal/affht_pt.html no later than March 18, 2016.
DATES: Comment Due Date: May 10, 2016.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments regarding
this notice 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 public comments 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.
[[Page 12922]]
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
rule.
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 advance appointment to review the public comments must be
scheduled by calling the Regulations Division at 202-708-3055 (this is
not a toll-free number). Individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing
and individuals with speech 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: Dustin Parks, Office of Fair Housing
and Equal Opportunity, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451
7th Street SW., Room 5249, Washington, DC 20410-0500; telephone number
202-708-1112 (this is not a toll-free number). Persons who are deaf or
hard of hearing and persons with speech impairments may access this
number through TTY by calling the toll-free Federal Relay Service at
800-877-8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
On July 16, 2015, at 80 FR 42272, HUD issued its final AFFH rule.
The AFFH rule provides a new approach to enable program participants to
more fully incorporate fair housing considerations into their existing
planning processes and assist them in their efforts to comply with
their duty to affirmatively further fair housing as required by the
Fair Housing Act, which is Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act, and
other authorities. The Fair Housing Act not only prohibits
discrimination, but, in conjunction with other statutes, directs HUD's
program participants to take meaningful actions to overcome historic
patterns of segregation, promote fair housing choice, and foster
inclusive communities that are free from discrimination.
The new approach established by HUD replaces the existing analysis
of impediments (AI) process. The approach is designed to assist program
participants in analyzing their fair housing environment, identifying
fair housing issues and the related contributing factors, and setting
fair housing goals, and, ultimately, taking meaningful actions to
affirmatively further fair housing. This approach builds upon and
refines the fair housing elements of the existing fair housing planning
processes that are in the process of being replaced as the AFH process
is being phased in pursuant to the AFFH rule.
To assist program participants in improving planning to achieve
meaningful fair housing outcomes, the new approach involves an
``assessment tool'' for use in completing the regulatory requirement to
conduct an assessment of fair housing (AFH) as set out in the AFFH
rule. To aid in the completion of an AFH, HUD committed to provide
program participants and the public with certain nationally available
data, and State, local, and regional data relevant to the AFH,
including data on certain demographics; patterns of integration and
segregation; racially or ethnically concentrated areas of poverty (R/
ECAPs); disparities in access to education, employment, low-poverty
neighborhoods, transportation, and environmental health, among other
critical opportunity indicators; disproportionate housing needs; data
on publicly supported housing, including location and occupancy
patterns; and data on individuals with disabilities and families with
children. Using these data, together with other available local data
and local knowledge, program participants will evaluate their present
fair housing environment to assess fair housing issues, identify
significant contributing factors that create, contribute to,
perpetuate, or increase the severity of those issues, and set forth
fair housing priorities and goals to address fair housing issues and
significant contributing factors. The expected benefit of this approach
is that by engaging in the analysis of this information, program
participants, with the input of the community, can set better
priorities and goals that will better inform their AFFH strategies and
actions by enabling program participants to improve the integration of
fair housing planning with other planning processes.
As noted in the Summary of this document, HUD has committed to
issue three assessment tools: the Local Government Assessment Tool, the
State and Insular Area Assessment Tool, and the PHA Assessment Tool.
The final Local Government Assessment Tool issued by HUD on December
31, 2015, and announced by HUD on that same date in the Federal
Register, at 80 FR 81840, provides the basic structure and primary
areas to be covered by all three assessment tools. The final Local
Government Assessment Tool, the instructions for this tool, an AFFH
Rule Guidebook, and the AFFH Data and Mapping Tool can all be found at
https://www.hudexchange.info/programs/affh/.
It is the proposed State and Insular Area Assessment Tool that HUD
is submitting for public comment through this Notice. References to
``States'' in the assessment tool are inclusive of ``Insular Areas.''
As with the Local Government Assessment Tool issued on December 31,
2015, the State and Insular Area Assessment Tool allows for
collaboration with other program participants that may include either
local government or PHAs. HUD is particularly interested in soliciting
public comment on joint collaborations between States and Qualified
PHAs,\1\ as these entities may especially benefit from such
collaborations, and HUD encourages such collaboration.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ A Qualified PHA, defined at 24 CFR 5.142, includes a PHA
that: (1) Has a combined unit total of 550 or less public housing
units and section 8 vouchers; and (2) is not designated troubled
under section 6(j)(2) of the 1937 Act, the Public Housing Assessment
System (PHAS), as a troubled public housing agency during the prior
12 months; and (3) does not have a failing score under the Section 8
Management Assessment Program (SEMAP) during the prior 12 months.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
II. The Proposed State and Insular Area Assessment Tool
A. Sources of Data and Information To Complete the Assessment of Fair
Housing
HUD-Provided Data: One of HUD's major considerations in formulating
the new AFFH planning process is to provide certain nationally uniform
data to program participants that would be useful in completing an AFH.
All program participants must use the HUD-provided data, which includes
data for the program participant's jurisdiction and region, to complete
the AFH. A collaborative AFH must reference the HUD-provided data for
each program participant's jurisdiction and region. The HUD-provided
data will be used by various types of program participants (e.g. those
in urban areas, rural areas, suburban areas, majority-minority
communities), which may have unique characteristics, issues, and
challenges. The HUD-provided data will help program participants assess
local and regional fair housing issues and contributing factors and set
priorities and goals to overcome them. However, certain HUD-provided
data may have limitations, including limitations in
[[Page 12923]]
how they apply to geographic areas with different characteristics
(e.g., rural versus urban, majority minority areas). While HUD is
providing nationally uniform data, as with the Local Government
Assessment Tool, HUD recognizes in this proposed State and Insular Area
Assessment Tool that there are other important data sources that may be
available and relevant locally, including data that are unavailable
from a nationally uniform source.
HUD is only able to provide data for those protected class groups
for which nationally uniform data are available. For this reason, some
questions in the proposed State and Insular Area Assessment Tool focus
on specific protected classes based on the availability of such data.
For these questions, local data and local knowledge may provide
information to supplement the analysis for protected classes not
covered by the HUD-provided data. Local data and local knowledge can be
particularly helpful when program participants have local data that are
more up-to-date or more accurate than the HUD-provided data or when the
HUD-provided data do not cover all of the protected classes that would
be relevant to program participants' analyses. Consequently, although
HUD will provide nationally available data that are expected to be of
significant assistance to program participants, the AFFH rule
recognizes the value of local data and knowledge.
Local Data and Local Knowledge: In addition to the nationally
uniform data provided by HUD, program participants are required to use
local data and local knowledge to inform their assessments. However,
the AFH process does not require program participants to create or
compile new data. Rather program participants must consider existing
local data and local knowledge that is relevant in order to answer
questions in the assessment tool. Local data and local knowledge
include data and information gained through the community
participation, consultation, and coordination processes set out in the
AFFH rule at Sec. 5.158.
Local data are existing data pertaining to the State or Insular
Area or its region that are relevant to the AFH, that are either known
or become known to the program participant or that can be found through
a reasonable amount of searching, and that are readily available at
little or no cost.
Local knowledge, on the other hand, is information relating to the
State's or Insular Area's jurisdiction or its region that is relevant
to the AFH and is known or becomes known to the program participant.
A program participant must complete its AFH using the assessment
tool designated for its use and HUD-provided data, as well as any local
data, and local knowledge that are relevant. To the extent that HUD
does not provide data for a program participant to respond to a
question in the assessment tool, and there is no local data and no
local knowledge that would be responsive to the question, stating that
data and knowledge are unavailable to the program participant is an
acceptable and complete response to that particular question. However,
if HUD finds that an AFH is materially inconsistent with HUD-provided
data or finds that local data or local knowledge relevant to a question
were available to the program participant, HUD will determine, as
applicable, that the AFH is substantially incomplete and/or
inconsistent with fair housing and other civil rights requirements, and
not accept the AFH.
B. Structure of the Proposed State and Insular Area Assessment Tool
This proposed State and Insular Area Assessment Tool is designed
with the same three key objectives that HUD had in mind in its design
of the first assessment tool, the Local Government Assessment Tool.
First, the assessment tool must ask questions that would be sufficient
to enable program participants to perform a meaningful assessment of
key fair housing issues and contributing factors and set meaningful
fair housing goals and priorities. Second, the assessment tool must
clearly convey the analysis of fair housing issues and contributing
factors that program participants must undertake in order for an AFH to
be accepted by HUD. Third, the assessment tool must be designed so
program participants would be able to use it to prepare an AFH that HUD
would accept without unnecessary burden.
The following presents the structure for the proposed State and
Insular Area Assessment Tool, which closely tracks the structure of the
Local Government Assessment Tool, with some key changes. For example,
States and Insular Areas have different responsibilities compared to
local governments. One of the key considerations in the proposed State
and Insular Area Assessment Tool pertains to how to include questions
designed to elicit a fair housing analysis for Qualified PHAs that will
sufficiently address fair housing issues, contributing factors, goals
and priorities relating to the PHA's service area (jurisdiction) and
region. The AFFH rule strongly encourages program participants to
collaborate on an AFH. While the AFFH rule encourages collaboration
among all types of program participants, this Notice specifically
solicits public input on how best to facilitate collaborative
participation between States and Qualified PHAs.
Qualified PHAs vary in their size of operations and scope. HUD
believes that Qualified PHAs collaborating with a State may be
beneficial to both parties. There are resources available to States
that may not be available to all Qualified PHAs, so this collaboration
can help reduce burden for Qualified PHAs while also informing the
State's analysis with supplemental information available to the
Qualified PHA. Section F of this document presents issues for which HUD
is specifically seeking comment, with respect to how HUD may design the
assessment tool to facilitate collaborations between States and
Qualified PHAs. In addition to including specific questions focused on
collaboration with Qualified PHAs, HUD is interested in all public
comments on the types of collaborations that are likely to occur and
how to facilitate collaboration with other program participants of any
size that may wish to collaborate with a State.
Section I. As is the case with the Local Government Assessment
Tool, Section I of the proposed State and Insular Area Assessment Tool
contains the Cover Sheet and Certification and addresses basic
information applicable to the program participant or program
participants (where there are joint submissions), such as the name of
the entity making the submission, the type of submission (e.g., whether
it is a submission by a State or Insular Area, individually, or a State
or Insular Area in collaboration with another program participant), the
time period covered by the assessment, and the required certifications.
Section II. This section of the proposed State and Insular Area
Assessment Tool is an Executive Summary to provide the State or Insular
Area, and any other program participant that joins in collaboration
with the State or Insular Area, the opportunity to present a general
overview of the AFH's findings and the fair housing priorities and
goals established.
Section III. This section of the proposed State and Insular Area
Assessment Tool addresses the community participation process and
directs the State or Insular Area to describe outreach activities to
encourage community participation in the development and review of the
AFH, to describe how successful its outreach efforts were in obtaining
community participation related to the AFH, and to
[[Page 12924]]
summarize all comments obtained in the community participation process,
including a summary of any comments or views not accepted and the
reasons why.
Section IV. This section of the proposed State and Insular Area
Assessment Tool, entitled ``Assessment of Past Goals and Actions,''
asks States and Insular Areas to explain the fair housing goals they
selected in their recent AIs, AFHs, or other relevant planning
documents, and the progress that was made in achieving these goals. In
essence, this section requires program participants to reflect upon the
progress of past goals and actions and the efforts undertaken to
achieve fair housing goals. This section also solicits information on
how such experience influenced the selection of fair housing goals that
the State or Insular Area sets in the current AFH.
Section V. This section of the proposed State and Insular Area
Assessment Tool, entitled ``Fair Housing Analysis,'' presents the core
analysis to be undertaken by States, Insular Areas, and program
participants that may be participating with the State or Insular Area
in a collaborative AFH. This section of the proposed State and Insular
Area Assessment Tool is structured to help program participants
identify the fair housing issues and contributing factors in their
jurisdiction and region. The proposed State and Insular Area Assessment
Tool, as is the case with the Local Government Assessment Tool,
requires the State or Insular Area to examine fair housing issues that
exist within the State or Insular Area and those that may go beyond the
boundaries of the State or Insular Area. As stated in the Local
Government Assessment Tool, fair housing issues are often not
constrained by political-geographic boundaries, and the State or
Insular Area must determine if such is the case for any fair housing
issues identified in their AFH.
Section V includes an assessment of certain key fair housing
issues--segregation and integration, racially or ethnically
concentrated areas of poverty, disparities in access to opportunity,
disproportionate housing needs, publicly supported housing, and
disability and access. Each subsection of Section V also includes
targeted questions in order to help ensure that the AFH includes
appropriate analysis from a fair housing perspective.
An area of analysis included in the proposed State and Insular Area
Assessment Tool that has been expanded upon from the Local Government
Assessment Tool pertains to low-income housing tax credits (LIHTCs).
The LIHTC questions presented in the proposed State and Insular Area
Assessment Tool include questions pertaining to a State's Qualified
Allocation Plan (QAP).\2\ This section of the proposed State and
Insular Area Assessment Tool, which differs from the Local Government
Assessment Tool, also includes questions pertaining to other State-
administered programs relating to housing and urban development. These
questions differ from those in the Local Government Assessment Tool
because of the unique role played by States in connection with the
LIHTC program and other programs such as State Housing Trust Funds. HUD
recognizes that at least some Insular Areas may not have all of the
same programs as States.
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\2\ Low-income housing tax credits are managed by the Department
of Treasury. The Qualified Allocation Plan is a federally mandated
planning requirement that States annually use to explain the basis
upon which they distribute their LIHTC allocations. Based on their
QAP, states establish preferences and set-asides within their tax
credit competitions so as to target the credits towards specific
places (such as rural areas) or types of people (such as elderly
households). See https://www.huduser.gov/portal/publications/hsgfin/analysis_of_sqa_plans.html.
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Section VI. Section VI, Fair Housing Goals and Priorities, contains
a summary table of the fair housing issues that the State or Insular
Area and any program participant collaborating with them on an AFH have
identified. The table includes a framework for the State or Insular
Area to establish fair housing goals to overcome contributing factors
and related fair housing issues by setting specific goals that include
metrics and milestones, and a timeframe for achievement. The table also
includes a space to identify the responsible party in the event the
State or Insular Area conducts a joint AFH with other program
participants.
The preceding presented a brief overview of the structure and
content of the State and Insular Area Assessment Tool. For States,
Insular Areas, other HUD program participants and the public generally,
HUD provides at https://www.hudexchange.info/programs/affh/ a
comparison of the proposed State and Insular Area Assessment Tool to
the final Local Government Assessment Tool so that covered program
participants and interested parties can see in detail the differences
between this proposed State and Insular Area Assessment Tool and the
Local Government Assessment Tool issued on December 31, 2015.
C. Instructions To Accompany the Proposed State and Insular Area
Assessment Tool
The instructions, which will be part of the proposed State and
Insular Area Assessment Tool, are also provided for public comment at
the Web site listed above. The comparison of this proposed State and
Insular Area Assessment Tool to the Local Government Assessment Tool
issued on December 31, 2015, also highlights the differences in
instructions provided in the Local Government Assessment Tool and the
proposed State and Insular Area Assessment Tool. Please note that the
instructions provided in the proposed State and Insular Area Assessment
Tool include placeholders where HUD intends to provide data pertaining
to specific questions. HUD intends to generally provide States with
thematic maps at the county or statistically equivalent level in the
AFFH Data and Mapping Tool. HUD intends to provide additional
functionality to allow States to zoom in to the dot density maps that
are currently provided for local governments and PHAs submitting an AFH
using the Local Government Assessment Tool issued on December 31, 2015.
HUD is currently in the process of compiling such data, which will be
incorporated into the AFFH Data and Mapping Tool prior to the final
issuance of the State and Insular Area Assessment Tool.
D. PHA Assessment Tool
As noted earlier in this document, HUD has not only committed to
issuance of a State and Insular Area Assessment Tool, but to issuance
of a PHA Assessment Tool for PHAs' use in conducting the AFH
individually or in collaboration with other PHAs. HUD will soon issue
the 60-day public comment notice for the proposed PHA Assessment Tool.
It should be noted that the questions contained in the proposed PHA
Assessment Tool will differ from the questions addressed to Qualified
PHAs that collaborate with States using the proposed State and Insular
Area Assessment Tool. HUD expects that collaborations between States
and Qualified PHAs may reduce burden for Qualified PHAs. Although
program participants will decide among themselves how to divide the
work on a collaborative AFH, a State's analysis of the entire State and
region is expected to fulfill the regional analysis that Qualified PHAs
would otherwise be required to perform if submitting an individual AFH
using the PHA Assessment Tool. As discussed more fully below, the
proposed State and
[[Page 12925]]
Insular Area Assessment Tool contains specific questions relating to
collaborating with Qualified PHAs. HUD would like feedback on the
circumstances in which these collaborations are likely to occur and the
structure of the State and Insular Area Assessment Tool that would be
most effective in facilitating those collaborations while still
ensuring that the required fair housing analysis and priority and goal
setting for each collaborating program participant is conducted.
E. Small Entities
Whether the proposed State and Insular Area Assessment Tool, which
is the subject of this Notice, the proposed PHA Assessment Tool, which
remains to be issued, or the Local Government Assessment Tool that HUD
has already issued, HUD is cognizant that completion of the AFH will
place some burden on small entities, and HUD welcomes comments on how
burden may be reduced for all program participants, but especially for
small entities, while still achieving the necessary fair housing
analysis.
F. Solicitation of Specific Comment on the Proposed State and Insular
Area Assessment Tool
While the primary purpose of comment under the Paperwork Reduction
Act is to determine the burden of any information collection
requirement, HUD, as was the case for the Local Government Assessment
Tool, also solicits comment on the content of the proposed State and
Insular Area Assessment Tool, the clarity of the questions presented
and whether there are areas of information sought that program
participants believe are not necessary to a meaningful AFH, or whether
there are important areas of information for conducting a meaningful
fair housing analysis that HUD may have overlooked. HUD also solicits
comments for the following questions:
Content of the Proposed State and Insular Assessment Tool
In developing the proposed State and Insular Area Assessment Tool,
HUD has made changes to the Local Government Assessment Tool in order
to capture the appropriate level of information for States and Insular
Areas conducting a fair housing analysis and goal setting. Some
questions have been removed, new questions have been added, and some
questions remain but with revisions. As noted earlier in this notice,
HUD's AFFH Web page at https://www.hudexchange.info/programs/affh/
provides a comparison of the Local Government Assessment Tool and this
proposed State and Insular Area Assessment Tool, which includes a
section of questions to facilitate collaborations between States and
Qualified PHAs.
One of the differences between the Local Government Assessment Tool
and the proposed State and Insular Area Assessment Tool pertains to the
analysis of disparities in access to opportunity. HUD is considering
different ways of structuring this section to obtain an appropriate
fair housing analysis of disparities in access to opportunity. The
proposed State and Insular Area Assessment Tool seeks analysis relating
to States' programs and policies and how they affect protected class
groups in new areas including emergency preparedness, prisoner re-
entry, public health, public safety, and housing and financial
opportunities (access to rental housing, home ownership, and mortgage
loans). The proposed State and Insular Assessment Tool, through a
general question, solicits information from States and Insular Areas on
these five areas. In this Notice, HUD provides specific questions on
certain areas that HUD is also considering for inclusion with the tool.
Specific solicitation of comment: HUD is considering two approaches
to the section of the proposed State and Insular Area Assessment Tool
in which program participants will analyze disparities in access to
opportunity. One approach asks more general questions and relies on
States and Insular Areas to be diligent in identifying specific
subjects involving disparities in access to opportunity for protected
class groups. The other approach asks more targeted questions that
would guide program participants through the required analysis and
reduce the risk of an inadvertent omission of a key point of analysis.
HUD specifically solicits comment from States and Insular Areas and
other interested parties on which of these approaches would be more
beneficial in eliciting an appropriate fair housing analysis from
States and Insular Areas. The following presents proposed targeted
questions on these areas for which HUD solicits comment not only on
whether such targeted questions should be included in the proposed
State and Insular Area Assessment Tool, but also on whether these
questions appropriately target information on these five areas for
purposes of conducting a meaningful fair housing analysis, and if there
are better ways to pose the questions or additional questions that
should be included:
Disparities Related to Emergency Management and Preparedness
Identify and describe any disparities in access to
emergency management and preparedness programs, policies, practices,
and resources, including prevention, protection, mitigation, response,
and recovery within the State by protected class. What role does a
person's place of residence have on access to emergency preparedness
opportunities?
Describe any effects on emergency management and
preparedness for protected class groups in your State of the emergency
preparedness programs, policies, practices, and resources in
neighboring states or a broader geographic area.
Re-Entry Opportunities (Re-entry Relates to Offenders Transitioning
Back Into the Community)
Describe the demographics of the State's population
involved in re-entry in terms of race, ethnicity, national origin
(including LEP persons), sex, and disability. Which protected class
groups are least successful in accessing housing, employment,
counseling, education, or other opportunities in the State?
Disparities Related to Public Health Services
What role does a person's place of residence have on
access to public health programs and resources (chronic disease
prevention, environmental health, family health, healthcare quality,
and exposure to communicable diseases) in the State? Which protected
class groups have the least access to public health programs and
resources and the greatest exposure to public health hazards?
Disparities Related to Public Safety
Describe disparities related to public safety, including
law enforcement, fire and rescue, and emergency medical services, in
the State by protected class. What role does a person's place of
residence have on disparities related to public safety in the State?
Which protected class groups experience the most disparities related to
public safety in the State?
Housing and Financial Opportunities
Describe any laws, policies, and practices affecting
affordable rental housing, homeownership and mortgage access in the
State, including occupancy codes and homeownership programs. Describe
disparities in access to rental housing, homeownership, and mortgage
access, including State lending programs, tax incentives,
[[Page 12926]]
homeownership programs, and State housing assistance or subsidies, in
the State by protected class.
What role does a person's place of residence have on
access to affordable rental housing, homeownership and mortgage access
in the State? Which protected class groups have the least access to
affordable rental housing, homeownership, and financial opportunities
in the State?
Specific solicitation of comment: Through the questions presented
in the proposed State and Insular Area Assessment Tool (and the
alternate questions included immediately above in this Notice), has HUD
captured the appropriate level of information from States and Insular
Areas in conducting their AFH? Are there additional areas of analysis
that should be included in the State and Insular Area Assessment Tool
given their areas of responsibility, programs, policymaking, and
jurisdictions? HUD solicits comment on any additional areas of analysis
or specific questions that should be included in the State and Insular
Area Assessment Tool and HUD asks commenters responding to this
question to indicate the section of the assessment tool where these
additional subject areas or questions should be included. HUD also
solicits comment on any questions included in the State and Insular
Area Assessment Tool that should be excluded and the reasons why.
States With Rural Areas and Other Key Differences Among States and
Insular Areas
HUD recognizes that many States include rural areas and is
particularly interested in obtaining comment on how the State and
Insular Area Assessment Tool can ensure an appropriate fair housing
analysis for rural areas. HUD is also interested in other differences
that may cause States and Insular Areas to have to have different fair
housing issues that need to be assessed. HUD seeks solicits comment on
how to best accommodate these differences between States and Insular
Areas while still providing an appropriate vehicle for fair housing
analysis.
Specific Solicitation of Comment: States and Insular Areas must
assess their entire jurisdiction; however, HUD recognizes that rural
areas may present certain challenges in conducting such an assessment.
Are there particular questions that HUD should include in the State and
Insular Area Assessment Tool to ensure the appropriate focus on rural
areas? What sources of information do States have access to when
considering fair housing issues in rural areas? HUD seeks comment on
any additional questions or additional data that should be included and
the applicable section of the State and Insular Area Assessment Tool to
address how States and Insular Areas can assess rural areas.
Specific Solicitation of Comments: States and Insular Areas can
have different populations, can have many different characteristics,
and, as a result, can have different types of program and policies that
affect fair housing. HUD seeks comment on any key areas beyond those
HUD has already presented in the proposed State and Insular Area
Assessment Tool and this notice? If a commenter suggests other key
areas to be added, HUD asks the commenter to indicate why the area is
important to include when conducting a fair housing analysis, what
questions to ask about it, and any relevant data a State or Insular
Area may use.
Specific Solicitation of Comment: Native American considerations.
Indian tribes receiving HUD assistance are not required to comply with
AFFH requirements. However, under certain HUD programs, grantees that
are subject to AFFH requirements also provide assistance to tribal
communities on reservations. For example, under the HOME program, a
State may fund projects on Indian reservations if the State includes
Indian reservations in its Consolidated Plan. Does the Assessment Tool
adequately take into account, including in the terminology used, the
issues and needs of Indian families and tribal communities while also
factoring in the unique circumstances of tribal communities?
Disability and Access
Section V.D of the proposed State and Insular Area Assessment Tool
requires an analysis of disability and access in the State or Insular
Area. This section of the proposed State and Insular Assessment Tool is
intended to solicit specific information about disability and access
issues, while incorporating the rest of the analysis completed in prior
sections of the assessment tool.
Specific Solicitation of Comment: Is the Disability and Access
section of the proposed State and Insular Area Assessment Tool
adequately clear such that it includes the analysis of prior sections
as it relates to disability and access issues.
Contributing Factors
A key part of the AFH analysis is the identification of
contributing factors. HUD seeks comment on the contributing factor
analysis in the proposed State and Insular Area Assessment Tool.
Specific Solicitation of Comment: Many of the contributing factors
contained in the Local Government Assessment Tool remain in the
proposed State and Insular Area Assessment Tool. HUD specifically seeks
comment on whether there are additional contributing factors that
should be included in the State and Insular Area Assessment Tool that
are of particular importance for States and Insular Areas to consider
while conducting their fair housing analysis. If a commenter suggests
additional contributing factors to be included in the State and Insular
Area Assessment Tool, HUD asks the commenter to identify to which fair
housing issues or sections of the assessment tool these additional
factors should be added. HUD also asks commenters to provide a
description of the additional factor and why the commenter(s) believe
it is of particular relevance for States and Insular Areas. HUD also
solicits comment on any contributing factors included in the State and
Insular Area Assessment Tool that should be excluded and the reasons
why.
Regional Analysis
As provided in the AFFH rule, all program participants must conduct
an analysis not only for their jurisdiction but also for the larger
area that is their region. The proposed State and Insular Assessment
Tool generally keeps analysis for the jurisdiction and analysis for the
region together in the same question, except in circumstances where a
specific question does not provide for a regional analysis. The
instructions provide guidance on the appropriate region to be
considered. HUD generally combined the questions relating to
jurisdiction and region so that the proposed State and Insular Area
Assessment Tool was shorter and considered both jurisdictional and
regional fair housing issues concurrently but recognizes that it could
take a different approach to the structure and organization of
questions that call for a regional analysis.
Specific Solicitation of Comment: HUD is seeking comment on the
best approach for States to conduct an effective fair housing regional
analysis addressing the fair housing issues and contributing factors
affecting their State. HUD is considering different approaches to
accomplish this. One approach, as presented in the proposed State and
Insular Area Assessment Tool, would include ``region'' throughout the
tool in specific questions. An alternative approach would be to include
the regional analysis questions required for an appropriate fair
housing analysis in
[[Page 12927]]
a separate section of the proposed State and Insular Area Assessment
Tool. These regional questions could be placed in either a separate
section, or within appropriate sub-sections (e.g. Segregation, R/ECAPs,
etc.).
Specific Solicitation of Comment: Insular Areas--like other program
participants--are impacted by circumstances happening outside their
borders. HUD wants to make sure that the proposed State and Insular
Areas Assessment Tool appropriately captures fair housing regional
impacts without imposing undue burden on Insular Areas. HUD seeks
specific comment on whether the proposed format appropriately provides
for Insular Areas to describe regional fair housing impacts without
imposing undue burdens. HUD welcomes recommendations for specific
questions tailored to capture regional fair housing analysis for
Insular Areas while not imposing unnecessary burdens in view of the
unique characteristics of Insular Areas.
Data
As with the Local Government Assessment Tool, HUD intends to
provide data that States and Insular Areas will use to conduct their
AFH. HUD contemplates that the geographic scale of the new data HUD
intends to provide will generally be at a higher geographic level,
i.e., county or statistically equivalent level, than the data provided
for local governments. States will be able to access the lower level
data through the AFFH data and mapping tool by zooming in to smaller
levels of geography, such as Census tracts.
Specific Solicitation of Comment: Acknowledging the geographic
limitation of the Jobs Proximity Opportunity Index at the State level,
HUD is seeking comment on providing alternative types of data (e.g., by
education level, sector of the economy, race/ethnicity, numbers of jobs
by location) that might be most useful for States in conducting an
appropriate fair housing analysis in connection with disparities in
access to employment opportunities.
The extent of nationally uniform data available for Insular Areas
is limited. HUD notes some data limitations for some sources of
information used in the overall AFFH Data and Mapping Tool in relation
to Insular Areas. The American Community Survey, used for some maps and
data elements, is not available for Insular Areas. However, the 2010
Decennial Census along with HUD administrative data on program
activities and assisted housing residents are available. HUD intends to
improve the provision of data it will be providing for Insular Areas to
assist them in conducting an AFH.
Given these data limitations, HUD expects that the questions in the
proposed State and Insular Area Assessment Tool that direct program
participants to data tables or maps to inform their answers may be more
challenging for an Insular Area to answer. However, Insular Areas, like
States, are required to use available local data and local knowledge to
answer questions in the proposed State and Insular Area Assessment
Tool. To the extent that HUD does not provide data for a program
participant to use in responding to a question in the assessment tool,
and local data and local knowledge relevant to the question are not
available to the program participant, the program participant may
answer the question by stating that the program participant lacks
available data and knowledge to answer the question. Under those
circumstances, if HUD determined that the program participant did not
have available data and knowledge relevant to the question, HUD would
consider that an acceptable and complete response to that particular
question.
Specific Solicitation of Comment: HUD specifically seeks comment on
what data are available to States and Insular Areas, including data at
the local level, that would be relevant and most helpful to States or
Insular Areas in conducting their respective analyses of fair housing
issues and contributing factors in their jurisdiction and region? HUD
asks commenters responding to this question to identify data sources
for States or Insular Areas that would be helpful to States and Insular
areas and are already available and to what extent the State or Insular
Area intends to rely on certain data sources to answer the questions
included in the proposed State and Insular Area Assessment Tool.
State or Insular Area Collaboration With Qualified PHAs
As stated in the AFFH rule and earlier in this document, HUD
encourages Qualified PHAs to conduct and submit a joint AFH with their
State or Insular Area. Under the AFFH rule, States and Insular Areas
must consult with PHAs that administer public housing or Section 8
programs on a statewide basis or that certify consistency with the
State's or Insular Area's consolidated plan.\3\ PHAs are encouraged to
work in collaboration with a State or Insular Area pursuant to HUD's
AFFH regulations in 24 CFR 5.156 and HUD's Public Housing regulations
in 24 CFR 903.15(a)(1). In addition, as provided in HUD's AFFH
regulations at 24 CFR 5.156(a)(3), all collaborating program
participants are accountable for the joint analysis and any joint goals
and priorities to be included in the collaborative AFH, and
collaborating program participants are also accountable for their
individual analysis, goals, and priorities to be included in the
collaborative AFH. HUD strongly encourages collaboration by program
participants because HUD expects that program participants working
together will be better positioned to affirmatively further fair
housing, and may be able to reduce burdens and costs by sharing
resources.
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\3\ See HUD's AFFH final rule published on July 16, 2015, at 80
FR 42293.
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HUD believes that collaboration, specifically, between States or
Insular Areas and Qualified PHAs, can benefit both program
participants. The State or Insular Area benefits by being able to align
its goals established to address fair housing issues it has identified
with other program participants, such as a Qualified PHA that has
resources to assist the State at the local level, which would aid the
State in accomplishing its goals and ultimately taking meaningful
actions to affirmatively further fair housing. All collaborating
program participants will have both a jurisdictional (in the case of a
PHA, its jurisdiction is its service area) and regional analysis. A
Qualified PHA collaborating with a State is aided because the regional
portion of the analysis of the Qualified PHA is expected to be
fulfilled by the State's analysis of the entire State.
All program participants, regardless of size, have the legal duty
to affirmatively further fair housing and to conduct an AFH. Each
program participant may choose to submit an individual AFH or a
collaborative AFH as set out in the AFFH rule. A Qualified PHA
collaborating with a State or Insular Area is aided to the extent that
it may rely on the State for completing its background regional
analysis and otherwise be generally informed by the State's analysis.
In order to assist Qualified PHAs and States or Insular Areas in
collaborating to conduct and submit joint AFHs, HUD is seeking
additional information from States and Insular Areas, Qualified PHAs,
and other interested parties about how to best facilitate these
collaborations while ensuring the fair housing analysis required of
Qualified PHAs is complete. HUD is seeking input on how this proposed
State and Insular Area Assessment Tool can facilitate collaboration
with Qualified PHAs by
[[Page 12928]]
ensuring that the State's or Insular Area's analysis of the entire
State or Insular Area provides a sufficiently detailed analysis to
inform the Qualified PHA's fair housing analysis and goal setting. The
regional portion of the Qualified PHA analysis is expected to be
fulfilled by the State's or Insular Area's analysis of the entire
state. For purposes of this proposed State and Insular Area Assessment
Tool, the region of a Qualified PHA is defined as the State or Insular
Area that is smaller than the State or Insular Area. For Qualified PHAs
whose service area is an entire State, and for purposes of this
proposed State and Insular Area Assessment Tool, the region of a
Qualified PHA is the same as the State's region.
The questions to be included in this State and Insular Area
Assessment Tool strive to facilitate collaboration while ensuring
individual analysis and accountability for each collaborating program
participant. With this objective in mind, HUD has placed questions
designed to address the fair housing analysis relating to the Qualified
PHA's service area in a separate section of the proposed State and
Insular Area Assessment Tool. In addition to soliciting comment on
these specific questions, HUD also seeks input about how to best
facilitate collaboration between States or Insular Areas and Qualified
PHAs.
Specific Solicitation of Comment: As provided in this Notice, HUD
believes that collaboration between a State or Insular Area and a
Qualified PHA can be a beneficial collaboration. While HUD sees such
collaboration as having the potential to be beneficial, HUD seeks
comment on whether other program participants contemplate collaborating
with a State or Insular Area on an AFH. With respect to possible
collaboration by States or Insular Areas and Qualified PHAs, HUD seeks
comment on whether these two categories of program participants
anticipate collaborating on a joint AFH. If not, why is such
collaboration not contemplated at this time and are there ways HUD
could better facilitate this collaboration? HUD specifically solicits
comments on actions that HUD could take to facilitate collaborations
between States or Insular Areas and Qualified PHAs. For commenters
responding to this question, HUD asks the commenter(s) to provide
specific questions or structure for the proposed State and Insular Area
Assessment Tool, and the sections of this assessment tool to which
those questions are recommended to be included.
Specific Solicitation of Comment: Related to the above question,
HUD specifically seeks feedback on how the State and Insular Assessment
Tool can facilitate collaboration with Qualified PHAs and strive to
ensure that the State's or Insular Area's analysis of the entire State
or Insular Area provides sufficiently detailed analysis to inform the
Qualified PHA's fair housing analysis and goal setting.
Specific Solicitation of Comment: HUD generally intends to provide
States with thematic maps at the county or statistically equivalent
level. HUD intends to provide additional functionality to the AFFH Data
and Mapping Tool, including the ability to access the dot density maps
currently available for local governments submitting alone or in
collaboration with other local governments and PHAs. HUD notes that the
service areas for Qualified PHAs vary greatly. Some Qualified PHAs have
statewide service areas. Others are the size of multiple counties. And
yet other Qualified PHAs have service areas smaller than a county or
statistically equivalent level. Given that HUD currently intends to
focus States on thematic maps at the county or statistically equivalent
level, how can this proposed State and Insular Area Assessment Tool
facilitate collaboration with Qualified PHAs by ensuring that the
State's analysis of the entire State provides sufficiently detailed
analysis to inform the Qualified PHA's fair housing analysis and goal
setting?
Specific Solicitation of Comment: In this proposed State and
Insular Area Assessment Tool, the questions designed to address the
fair housing analysis relating to the Qualified PHA's service area are
included in a separate section. HUD is seeking comment on whether this
organizational structure is the most efficient and useful means of
conducting the analysis or whether these questions should be inserted
into the respective sections of the proposed State and Insular Area
Assessment Tool to which they apply.
Insular Areas
There is limited nationally uniform data available for Insular
Areas. HUD notes some data limitations for some sources of information
used in the overall AFFH Data and Mapping Tool in relation to Insular
Areas. The American Community Survey, used for some maps and data
elements, is not available for Insular Areas. However, the 2010
Decennial Census along with HUD administrative data on program
activities and assisted housing residents are available. HUD intends to
improve the data it will be providing for Insular Areas to assist them
in assessing demographic information to better inform local planning
and decisionmaking and to better inform the analysis of fair housing
issues and contributing factors in the AFH.
Given these data limitations, HUD expects that questions in the
proposed State and Insular Area Assessment Tool that tend to rely
largely on data tables or maps to answer may be more challenging for an
Insular Area to answer. In general, the Insular Area will need to rely
on local data and local knowledge to answer these questions. As the
instructions to the proposed State and Insular Area Assessment Tool
explain, to the extent an Insular Area does not have any relevant HUD-
provided data, local data, or local knowledge to answer a question in
this assessment tool, the Insular Area may answer the question by
stating that it does not have HUD-provided data, local data, or local
knowledge to respond to the question. For an Insular Area, local data
are existing data pertaining to the Insular Area or its region that are
relevant to the AFH, that are either known or become known to the
program participant or that can be found through a reasonable amount of
searching, and that are readily available at little or no cost. Local
knowledge is information relating to the Insular Area's geographic area
of the State or Insular Area itself or its region that is relevant to
the AFH and is known or becomes known to the Insular Area. Local data
and local knowledge may both be obtained through the community
participation process.
Specific Solicitation of Comment: How can HUD assist Insular Areas
to complete an AFH in terms of providing data, or, where data is
lacking, are there areas where HUD can provide further assistance or
guidance for Insular Areas? To what extent will Insular Areas be able
to use the State and Insular Area Assessment Tool to analyze fair
housing issues and contributing factors and set goals and priorities
without HUD-provided data? Are there ways in which HUD could adapt this
assessment tool for Insular Areas? To what extent do Insular Areas have
access to local data and/or local knowledge, including information that
can be obtained through community participation, that could help
identify areas of segregation, R/ECAPs, disparities in access to
opportunity, and disproportionate housing needs where the HUD-provided
data may be unavailable? HUD asks that comments in response to these
questions provide specifics as to sources of data relating to Insular
Areas that are available beyond the HUD-provided
[[Page 12929]]
data, including data from national sources.
Small Entities That Collaborate With States
HUD is seeking public comment on how use of the proposed State and
Insular Assessment Tool may reduce burdens for small entities that
collaborate with States in conducting an AFH.
Specific Solicitation of Comment: Will collaboration with a State
in conducting an AFH using the proposed State and Insular Area
Assessment Tool reduce the burden that a small entity such as a
Qualified PHA would otherwise have in conducting an individual AFH? To
what extent do small entities, such as Qualified PHAs, expect to rely
on outside resources such as a consultant in conducting a collaborative
AFH with a State?
Burden of Compiling Information Required by the Proposed State and
Insular Area Assessment Tool
In addition to comment on the preceding questions, HUD specifically
seeks comment from the States or Insular Areas on the degree of
difficulty or cooperation that may be involved in gathering information
from the specific State or Insular Area agencies that possess the
information solicited by the proposed State and Insular Area Assessment
Tool.
III. Compliance With the Paperwork Reduction Act
Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520)
(PRA), an agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not
required to respond to, a collection of information, unless the
collection displays a valid control number issued by the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB). Through this notice, HUD commences the
process for obtaining the requisite approval by OMB under the PRA
process.
The public reporting burden for the proposed State and Insular Area
Assessment Tool is estimated to include the time for reviewing the
instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and
maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the
collection of information.
This State and Insular Area Assessment Tool is primarily designed
for use by State and Insular Area program participants. These include
the 50 States, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and 4 Insular Areas
(American Samoa, the Territory of Guam, the Commonwealth of the
Northern Marianas Islands and the U.S. Virgin Islands).
The estimate of burden hours is an average within a range, with
some AFHs requiring either more or less time and effort based on the
size and complexity of the relevant program participant's assessment.
Smaller program participants will have less total burden both in terms
of staff hours and costs. A separate estimate for Insular Areas is
included, at 240 hours per Insular Area program participant, which is
the same level of burden that HUD estimated for the Local Government
Assessment Tool.
This estimate assumes that approximately one-third of the 3,942
PHAs may seek to enter into joint AFHs with their relevant State
program participant. This is consistent with the burden estimate
included in the 30-Day PRA Notice for the Local Government Assessment
Tool. The 120 hours per PHA is also consistent with the previous
estimate, however, this may be an over-estimate given that numerous
smaller sized PHAs may be more likely to enter into joint assessments
with State program participants.
This burden estimate assumes there would be cost savings for PHAs
that opt to partner with a State agency. For instance, the proposed
State and Insular Area Tool includes a distinct set of questions that
would be required for Qualified PHAs (i.e. those with 550 or fewer
public housing units and/or Housing Choice Vouchers). Qualified PHAs
would also benefit from having the State agency's analysis fulfill the
regional portion of the PHA's assessments. While there may be some cost
savings for Qualified PHAs opting to participate in joint submissions
using the proposed State and Insular Assessment Tool, they are still
assumed to have some fixed costs, including those relating to staff
training and conducting community participation, but reduced costs for
conducting the analysis in the assessment tool itself.
While local government program participants may also choose to
partner with State agencies, the burden estimate for the Assessment
Tool designed for their use included a total estimate for all of the
1,192 local government agencies.
All HUD program participants are greatly encouraged to conduct
joint AFHs and to consider regional cooperation. More coordination in
the initial years between State and local government program
participants one the one hand and PHAs on the other will reduce total
costs for both types of program participants in later years. In
addition, combining and coordinating some elements of the Consolidated
Plan and the PHA Plan will reduce total costs for both types of program
participants. Completing an AFH in earlier years will also help reduce
costs later, for instance by incorporating the completed analysis into
later planning documents, such as the PHA plan, will help to better
inform planning and goal setting decisions ahead of time.
Information on the estimated public reporting burden is provided in
the following table:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Estimated
Number of average time Estimated
Number of responses per Frequency of for total burden
respondents respondent response requirement (in hours)
(in hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
States *...................... 51 1 Once every five 1,500 76,500
years.
Insular Areas **.............. 4 1 Once every five 240 960
years.
Public Housing Agencies....... 1,314 1 Once every five 120 157,680
years.
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Total Burden.............. .............. .............. ................ .............. 235,140
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The estimates represent the average level of burden for these grantee types. It should be noted that this staff
cost is not an annual cost, but is incurred every five years.
* The term `State' includes the 50 States as well as Puerto Rico. See 42 U.S.C. 5302(2) & 42 U.S.C. 12704(2).
** The term ``Insular Area'' includes Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, the Virgin Islands, and American
Samoa.'' See 42 U.S.C. 5302(24) & 42 U.S.C. 12704(24).
In accordance with 5 CFR 1320.8(d)(1), HUD is specifically
soliciting comment on the proposed State and Insular Area Assessment
Tool from members of the public and affected program participants on
the following:
[[Page 12930]]
(1) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for
the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including
whether the information will have practical utility;
(2) The accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the
proposed collection of information;
(3) Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the
information to be collected; and
(4) Ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on
those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate
automated collection techniques or other forms of information
technology, e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses.
HUD encourages not only program participants but interested persons
to submit comments regarding the information collection requirements in
this proposal. Comments must be received by May 10, 2016 to
www.regulations.gov as provided under the ADDRESSES section of this
notice. Comments must refer to the proposal by name and docket number
(FR-5173-N-02).
Following consideration of public comments submitted in response to
this notice, HUD will submit for further public comment, for a period
of 30 days, a version of the Assessment Tool that reflects
consideration of the public comments received in response to this
notice.
Dated: March 7, 2016.
George D. Williams,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy, Legislative Initiatives and
Outreach.
[FR Doc. 2016-05521 Filed 3-10-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-67-P
