Department of Housing and Urban Development April 2015 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

On February 6, 2015, at 80 FR 6743, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) published a notice to solicit public comment on the alternative path to claim paymentthe Mortgagee Optional Election Assignmentfor certain HECMs announced in Mortgagee Letter 2015-03. The public comment period on the February 6, 2015, notice closed on March 9, 2015. FHA received 7 public comments on the notice. In this notice, FHA responds to questions and comments raised by commenters.

HUD is seeking approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for the information collection described below. In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, HUD is requesting comment from all interested parties on the proposed collection of information. The purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment.

In accordance with section 102(a)(4)(C) of the Department of Housing and Urban Development Reform Act of 1989, this announcement notifies the public of funding decisions made by the Department under the Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for the Fair Housing Initiatives Program (FHIP) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2014. This announcement contains the names and addresses of those award recipients selected for funding based on the rating and ranking of all applications and the amount of the awards.

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

HUD has submitted the proposed information collection requirement described below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review, in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act. The purpose of this notice is to allow for an additional 30 days of public comment.

This provides notice that the State of New York, as the ``Responsible Entity,'' as that term is defined by 24 CFR 58.2(a)(7)(i), intends to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) that will evaluate alternatives for increasing coastal and social resiliency along the Tottenville shoreline on the South Shore of Staten Island and help to avoid or minimize adverse impacts to the quality of the human environment (``Proposed Actions''). The State of New York is the Grantee of Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds appropriated by the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act, 2013 (Pub. L. 113-2, approved January 29, 2013) related to disaster relief, long-term recovery, restoration of infrastructure and housing, and economic revitalization in the most impacted and distressed areas resulting from a major disaster declared pursuant to the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act of 1974 (Stafford Act) in calendar years 2011, 2012, and 2013. The Governor's Office of Storm Recovery (GOSR) implements the State's obligations under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) through duly authorized Certifying Officers. GOSR was formed under the auspices of the New York State Homes and Community Renewal's Housing Trust Fund Corporation (HTFC), a public benefit corporation and subsidiary of the New York State Housing Finance Agency. The EIS will satisfy the requirements of NEPA and the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA). This notice is in accordance with the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations at 40 CFR parts 1500-1508 and HUD regulations at 24 CFR part 58. Following a public scoping process, a Draft EIS will be prepared for the proposed actions described herein. Comments relating to the Draft Scope of Work for the EIS are requested and will be accepted by the contact person listed below. When the Draft EIS is completed, a notice will be sent to appropriate government agencies, individuals and groups known to have an interest in the Draft EIS and particularly in the environmental impact issues identified therein. Any person or agency interested in receiving notice and commenting on the Draft Scope of Work or Draft EIS should contact the person listed below no later than May 15, 2015. HUD has provided for assumption of its NEPA authority and responsibilities to New York State, as Responsible Entity, for the purposes of administering the Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery Program in New York State. Comments: Comments relating to the Draft Scope of Work for the EIS are requested and will be accepted by the contact person listed below until May 15, 2015. Comments will also be accepted at the scoping meeting described below on April 30, 2015. All interested agencies, tribes, groups, and persons are invited to submit written comments on the projects named in this notice and on the Draft Scope of Work for the EIS to the contact person listed below. All comments received before May 15, 2015 will be considered prior to the preparation and distribution of the Draft EIS. Commenters are asked to submit any information-related reports or other environmental studies planned or completed in the project area, major issues that the EIS should consider, recommended mitigation measures, and alternatives associated with the Proposed Actions. Federal, State and City agencies having jurisdiction by law, special expertise, or other special interest should report their interest and indicate their readiness to aid in the EIS effort as a ``Cooperating Agency.'' The following federal agencies have thus far expressed roles as cooperating agencies under NEPA: The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA- NMFS), and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA).

This notice updates, clarifies, and consolidates delegations of authority from the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to the Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development, the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development and the General Deputy Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development.

Section 7(d) of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Act, as amended, authorizes the Secretary to delegate functions, powers and duties as the Secretary deems necessary. In this delegation of authority, the Secretary delegates authority to the Assistant Secretary for HousingFederal Housing Commissioner, the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Housing, the General Deputy Assistant Secretary for Housing and the Associate General Deputy Assistant Secretary for Housing, for the administration of certain Office of Housing programs. This delegation revokes and supersedes all prior delegations of authority, including the delegation published on June 20, 2012.

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

HUD has submitted the proposed information collection requirement described below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review, in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act. The purpose of this notice is to allow for an additional 30 days of public comment.

On April 3, 2015, HUD published a Federal Register notice, at 80 FR 18248, soliciting advance comment on a demonstration designed to test the effectiveness of collaborative efforts by government, industry, and nonprofit organizations to accelerate broadband adoption and use in HUD-assisted homes. The April 3, 2015, notice describes the criteria HUD will use to assess communities that have expressed an interest in participating in the demonstration. To determine interest, HUD seeks a formal commitment by the mayor or equivalent executive elected official of the community, and the PHA executive leader, to narrow the broadband digital divide. Communities interested in participating in this demonstration may use DigitalOpportunityDemonstration@hud.gov to notify HUD of their commitment to narrow the broadband digital divide. Communities and other interested members of the public wishing to comment on the April 3, 2015, notice must follow the instructions for submission of public comments as provided in the April 3, 2015, notice.

HUD is seeking approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for the information collection described below. In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, HUD is requesting comment from all interested parties on the proposed collection of information. The purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment.

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

This notice sets forth the schedule and proposed agenda for a teleconference meeting of the MHCC, General Subcommittee. The teleconference meeting is open to the public. The agenda provides an opportunity for citizens to comment on the business before the MHCC.

Section 7(d) of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Act, as amended, authorizes the Secretary to delegate functions, powers and duties as the Secretary deems necessary. In this delegation of authority, the Secretary delegates authority to the Assistant Secretary, the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary and the General Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of Public and Indian Housing (PIH) and authorizes the Assistant Secretary, the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary and the General Deputy Assistant Secretary to redelegate authority for the administration of certain PIH programs. This delegation revokes and supersedes all prior delegations of authority, including the delegation published on August 4, 2011.

In compliance with Section 202(c)(5) of the National Housing Act, this notice advises of the cause and description of administrative actions taken by HUD's Mortgagee Review Board against HUD-approved mortgagees.

Through this rule, HUD removes the regulations for its Section 235 Program, which authorized HUD to provide mortgage subsidy payments to lenders to assist lower-income families who are unable to meet the credit requirements generally applicable to FHA mortgage insurance programs. Authority to provide insurance to mortgagees under this program was terminated under the Housing and Community Development Act of 1987 and HUD has not provided new mortgage subsidy payments under this program since then. Because the regulations governing this program are no longer operative, they are being removed by this final rule. To the extent that any Section 235 mortgages remain in existence, or second mortgages for the recapture of subsidy payment pursuant to HUD's regulations governing the Section 235 Program (which was reserved by regulatory streamlining in 1995), the removal of these regulations does not affect the requirements for transactions entered into when Section 235 Program regulations were in effect. Assistance made available under the Section 235 Program will continue to be governed by the regulations that existed immediately before the effective date of this final rule.

This Notice provides a waiver and alternative requirement for the State of New Jersey's tenant-based rental assistance program funded through its Community Development Block Grant disaster recovery (CDBG- DR) grant pursuant to the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act, 2013 (Pub. L. 113-2) (the Appropriations Act). In addition, this Notice provides an alternative requirement for Major (Covered) Infrastructure Projects funded by grantees receiving an allocation for disasters occurring in 2013 under the Appropriations Act. This Notice also modifies a requirement for Disaster Recovery Grant Reporting System (DRGR) reporting requirements for all grantees receiving an allocation of CDBG-DR grants pursuant to the Appropriations Act.

The Department's Office of Policy Development and Research (PD&R) is proposing to create a new system of records, the ``Housing Search Process for Racial and Ethnic Minorities Evaluation Data Files.'' The Department's Office of PD&R is responsible for maintaining current information on housing needs, market conditions and existing programs, as well as conducting research on priority housing and community development issues. The principal purpose of the evaluation of the Housing Search Process for Racial and Ethnic Minorities is to: Help guide the Department's research toward a more comprehensive understanding of the rental housing search processes for individual households; Make informed decisions on the development of more effective enforcement strategies to combat discriminatory practices; Identify ways to expand housing opportunities for racial and ethnic minorities. Further, HUD's Office of Housing Counseling for rental housing assistance, and the Office of Housing Choice Vouchers, among others will leverage the outcome study results for policy development and best practices aimed to ``build inclusive and sustainable communities free from discrimination'', and to identify and correct barriers that racial and ethnic minorities may experiences in the rental housing market. Finally, this study will allow the Department to leverage its own regular data collection efforts, like the American Housing Survey (AHS), to document the complexities of the housing search process at scale nationwide. A more detailed description of this system is contained in the ``Purpose'' caption of this system of records notice.

This proposed rule would amend HUD's regulations to fully implement the requirements of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) as reauthorized in 2013 under the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 (VAWA 2013). VAWA 2013 provides enhanced statutory protections for victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. VAWA 2013 also expands VAWA protections to HUD programs beyond HUD's public housing and Section 8 programs, which were covered by the reauthorization of VAWA in 2005 (VAWA 2005). In addition to proposing regulatory amendments to fully implement VAWA 2013, HUD is also publishing for public comment two documents concerning tenant protections required by VAWA 2013a notice of occupancy rights and an emergency transfer plan. Although VAWA refers to women in its title, the statute makes clear that the protections are for all victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking, regardless of sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, or age.