Department of Housing and Urban Development October 30, 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

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

On July 28, 2006, HUD published a notice entitled, ``Implementation Guidance for Section 901 of the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations to Address Hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico, and Pandemic Influenza Act, 2006.'' This notice extends the period for eligible public housing agencies (PHAs) located within the most heavily impacted areas of Louisiana and Mississippi that are subject to a declaration by the President of a major disaster under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act in connection with Hurricanes Katrina or Rita to submit Notices of Intent and Fungibility Plans in accordance with the July 28, 2006, notice. Section 901 of the supplemental appropriations act authorizes PHAs to combine assistance provided under sections 9(d) and (e) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (Act) and assistance provided under section 8(o) of the Act, for the purpose of facilitating the prompt, flexible, and efficient use of funds provided under these sections of the Act to assist families who were receiving housing assistance under the Act immediately prior to Hurricane Katrina or Rita and were displaced from their housing by the hurricanes. In addition to extending the PHA submission deadline, this notice removes the restriction that the combined funding may not be spent for uses under the housing choice voucher (HCV) program. If approved by HUD, the combined funding may now be used for eligible purposes under the HCV program. Any use of combined funds under the HCV program must also be in accordance with the requirement to assist those families who were receiving housing assistance under the public housing or HCV program immediately prior to Hurricane Katrina or Rita and were displaced from their housing by the hurricane. A PHA that already has an approved Fungibility Plan may request HUD approval to change the Plan in order to use the combined funds for HCV program eligible purposes. As provided in the July 28, 2006 Federal Register notice, PHAs must submit to HUD requests for approval of any substantial deviations from the approved Fungibility Plan, and HUD will respond to such requests within 10 calendar days.