Department of Housing and Urban Development July 2007 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

On March 13, 2007, HUD published its FY2007 SuperNOFA for HUD's Discretionary Programs, which contained 38 funding opportunities. Today's publication supplements the SuperNOFA by adding funding opportunities for the HOPE VI Revitalization program. Although this NOFA was not included in the SuperNOFA announcement, this NOFA is governed by the information and instructions found in the Notice of HUD's Fiscal Year 2007 Notice of Funding Availability Policy Requirements and General Section (General Section) to the SuperNOFA that HUD published on January 18, 2007, the Introduction to the SuperNOFA published on March 13, 2007; and the Supplementary Information and Technical Corrections published on May 11, 2007.

In accordance with the federal Clean Air Act General Conformity rule, the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC) has prepared a draft general conformity determination (Draft Conformity Determination) for the proposed East River Waterfront Esplanade and Piers Project (Proposed Action), which has been made available for public review. LMDC is a subsidiary of the Empire State Development Corporation (a political subdivision and public benefit corporation of the State of New York) and is responsible for conducting reviews of projects receiving HUD funds in accordance HUD regulations and federal law. The Proposed Action would improve a two mile portion of the East River waterfront in Manhattan and create a City-owned public open space. The area of the Proposed Action would generally encompass the waterfront, the upland area adjacent to and under the elevated Franklin Delano Roosevelt Drive and South Street extending from the Whitehall Ferry Terminal and Peter Minuit Plaza on the South to East River Park on the North, as well as Pier 15, the New Market Building pier, Pier 35, Pier 36, and Pier 42. The Proposed Action is fully described in the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the East River Waterfront Esplanade and Piers Project (FEIS).

This final rule extends the due date, by an additional 30 days, for Indian Housing Block Grant (IHBG) recipients to submit annual performance reports (APRs). Through the IHBG program, HUD provides housing assistance to Indian tribes and tribally designated housing entities (TDHEs). Currently, HUD's regulations require IHBG recipients to submit APRs 60 days after the end of the recipient's program year. This rule follows publication of a March 29, 2007, proposed rule and takes into consideration the comments received on the proposed rule. Because all of the comments offered support for extending this deadline by an additional 30 days, HUD adopts the proposed rule without change.

The proposed information collection requirement described below has been 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. Residents residing in the public housing and Section 8 voucher programs will submit a HUD approval certification form that attest that the individual is a victim of abuse and that the incidences of abuse are bona fide. Without the certification, a PHA or owner may terminate assistance. The information provided to the PHA and owner is confidential.

The proposed information collection requirement described below has been 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. Public Housing Agencies (PHAs) can purchase insurance coverage from a nonprofit insurance entity owned and controlled by PHAs which are approved by HUD. PHA-owned insurance entities must submit certain documentation to HUD and also submit audit and actuarial reviews to HUD.

This Notice identifies unutilized, underutilized, excess, and surplus Federal property reviewed by HUD for suitability for possible use to assist the homeless.

This proposed rule would amend HUD's regulations with respect to the design and construction requirements of the Fair Housing Act and its amendments by updating and clarifying the references to the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) building standard for accessibility and by codifying the current HUD recognized safe harbors under the Act. The ANSI A117.1 standard is the technical standard for the design of facilities that are accessible to persons with disabilities, including housing facilities, and is commonly referred to as ``ANSI A117.1.'' The ANSI A117.1 standard is referenced in the 1988 amendments to the Fair Housing Act. Compliance with ANSI A117.1 satisfies the accessibility requirements of the Fair Housing Act and its amendments. This proposed rule would update the references to the ANSI A117.1 to adopt the 2003 edition of the standard. This proposed rule would also clarify that compliance with the appropriate requirements of the 1986, 1992, and 1998 editions also remains sufficient to meet the design and construction requirements of the Fair Housing Act and its amendments.

This proposed rule would allow public housing agencies (PHAs) to use proceeds under either the Capital Fund or Operating Fund programs for financing activities, including payments of debt service and customary financing costs for the modernization and development of public housing, including public housing in mixed-finance developments. The pledge of public housing projects and other property generally involves the long-term commitment of public housing funds. This proposed rule would support HUD's objective to enhance PHA capital improvement planning and the public housing program transition to asset management decision-making by establishing program requirements, submission requirements, and the approval process for PHAs to request authorization from HUD to pledge either capital or operating funds for debt service payments.

This Notice identifies unutilized, underutilized, excess, and surplus Federal property reviewed by HUD for suitability for possible use to assist the homeless.

The proposed information collection requirement described below has been 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. A mortgagor (or mortgagor/contractor) requests an advance of mortgage proceeds for reimbursement of project construction expenditures. Upon further input and review the mortgagee transmits the information to HUD for approval on a monthly basis for reimbursement of funds.

Section 8(c)(1) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (USHA) requires the Secretary to publish FMRs periodically, but not less than annually, adjusted to be effective on October 1 of each year. Today's notice proposes FMRs for FY2008. The proposed numbers amend FMR schedules used to determine payment standard amounts for the Housing Choice Voucher program, to determine initial renewal rents for some expiring project-based Section 8 contracts, and to determine initial rents for housing assistance payment (HAP) contracts in the Moderate Rehabilitation Single Room Occupancy program. Other programs may require use of FMRs for other purposes. The proposed FY2008 FMR areas are based on current Office of Management and Budget (OMB) metropolitan area definitions and include HUD modifications, that were first used in the determination of FY2006 FMR areas. The changes OMB made to the metropolitan area definitions in December 2006 are also incorporated. This means that there are two new one-county Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs), and a few areas where MSA name changes add or delete a primary city name. Proposed FY2008 FMRs are based on 2000 Census data updated with more current survey data. For the first time, HUD is using data from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS). HUD is largely replacing the accumulated 2001-through-2005 FMR update factors from various sources with data from ACS's first full implementation year, 2005. HUD uses ACS data in different ways according to how many 2- bedroom standard quality and recent mover sample cases are available in the FMR area or in its Core-Based Statistical Area (CBSA), as described in detail later in this notice. Random digit dialing (RDD) surveys performed between 2001 and 2005 may also be used under certain conditions. Revised 2005 FMRs based on 2000 Census and 2005 ACS data have been updated with Consumer Price Index (CPI) data through the end of 2006 and then trended to April 2008, the mid-point of FY2008. Proposed FY2008 FMRs are the first to be able to take advantage of the full-implementation ACS, a major new Census survey that is being conducted annually and that will replace the Decennial Census ``long- form'' sample survey that is the source of the Decennial Census rent information. The ACS will permit more accurate FMR estimates each year than were possible using the Decennial Census trending techniques of previous FMR estimates.

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.

This Notice identifies unutilized, underutilized, excess, and surplus Federal property reviewed by HUD for suitability for possible use to assist the homeless.

The proposed information collection requirement described below has been 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. The information collected is needed by Ginnie Mae for the participation of issuers/customers in its Mortgage-Backed Securities programs and to monitor performance and compliance with established rules and regulations.

Section 106 of the Department of Housing and Urban Development Reform Act of 1989 (the HUD Reform Act) requires HUD to publish quarterly Federal Register notices of all regulatory waivers that HUD has approved. Each notice covers the quarterly period since the previous Federal Register notice. The purpose of this notice is to comply with the requirements of section 106 of the HUD Reform Act. This notice contains a list of regulatory waivers granted by HUD during the period beginning on January 1, 2007 and ending on March 31, 2007.