Fair Housing Act Design and Construction Requirements: Adoption of Additional Safe Harbors: Extension of Public Comment Period, 14605 [2020-05175]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 50 (Friday, March 13, 2020)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 14605]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-05175]


========================================================================
Proposed Rules
                                                Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________

This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of 
the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these 
notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in 
the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.

========================================================================


Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 50 / Friday, March 13, 2020 / 
Proposed Rules

[[Page 14605]]



DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

24 CFR Part 100

[Docket No. FR-6138-N-02]


Fair Housing Act Design and Construction Requirements: Adoption 
of Additional Safe Harbors: Extension of Public Comment Period

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal 
Opportunity, HUD.

ACTION: Proposed rule; extension of public comment period.

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

SUMMARY: On January 15, 2020, HUD published a proposed rule in the 
Federal Register inviting public comment on amendments to HUD's Fair 
Housing Act design and construction regulations. The January 15, 2020, 
proposed rule set March 16, 2020, as the comment due date. Because the 
proposed rule referred to documents that were not readily available, 
HUD is extending the public comment period for an additional 30-day 
period and making the referenced documents available through its 
website as described in this document.

DATES: The comment period for the proposed rule published on January 
15, 2020, (85 FR 2354), is extended to April 13, 2020.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments regarding 
this proposed rule to the Office of General Counsel, Rules Docket 
Clerk, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 Seventh Street 
SW, Room 10276, Washington, DC 20410-0500. Communications should refer 
to the above docket number and title.
    Electronic Submission of Comments. Interested persons may submit 
comments electronically through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at 
www.regulations.gov. HUD strongly encourages commenters to submit 
comments electronically. Electronic submission of comments allows the 
commenter maximum time to prepare and submit a comment, ensures timely 
receipt by HUD, and enables HUD to make them immediately available to 
the public. Comments submitted electronically through the 
www.regulations.gov website 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.
    No Facsimile Comments. Facsimile (FAX) comments are not acceptable. 
In all cases, communications must refer to the docket number and title.
    Public Inspection of Public Comments. All comments and 
communications submitted to HUD will be available, without charge, 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, hard of hearing, 
or have speech impairments may access this number through TTY by 
calling the toll-free Federal Information 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: Lynn Grosso, Director, Office of 
Enforcement, Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, Department 
of Housing and Urban Development, 451 Seventh Street SW, Washington, DC 
20410-2000; telephone number (202) 708-2333 (this is not a toll-free 
number). Hearing- or speech- impaired individuals may access this 
number via TTY by calling the toll-free Federal Information Relay 
Service at (800) 877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On January 15, 2020, HUD published a 
proposed rule in the Federal Register inviting public comment on 
amendments to HUD's Fair Housing Act design and construction 
regulations, which incorporated by reference the 2009 edition of 
International Code Council (ICC) Accessible and Usable Building and 
Facilities (ICC A117.1-2009) standard, as a safe harbor. The proposed 
rule would also designate the 2009, 2012, 2015 and 2018 editions of the 
IBC as safe harbors under the Fair Housing Act. Interested readers 
should refer to the supplementary information of the January 15, 2020 
proposed rule for additional information.
    HUD is extending the public comment deadline to provide the time 
needed for relevant stakeholders and the general public to submit 
comments regarding the proposed amendments. Specifically, HUD has 
determined that additional time to submit public comment is necessary 
to permit the public to review certain matrices provided by the ICC 
that were not readily available. The Department had requested, and ICC 
provided, a side-by-side matrix comparing the relevant 2006 provisions 
of the IBC, which HUD had previously reviewed and declared as a safe 
harbor, with the 2009, 2012, 2015 and 2018 provisions in the IBC and 
related code documents. In addition, ICC provided a similar matrix for 
ICC/ANSI A117.1-2003 and ICC A117.1-2009, along with copies of ICC 
A117.1-2009 and related documents. Links to the matrices are posted and 
available at https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/fair_housing_equal_opp/safe_harbor_rule_making.
    Therefore, HUD is announcing through this document that it is 
extending the public comment period for an additional 30-day period.

    Dated: March 9, 2020.
Anna Mar[iacute]a Far[iacute]as,
Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity.
[FR Doc. 2020-05175 Filed 3-12-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4210-67-P