[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 34 (Friday, February 18, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-3687]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: February 18, 1994]

BILLING CODE 4210-33-P
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
[Docket No. D-94-1049; FR-3597-D-01]

 

Redelegation of Authority for the Issuance of Waivers of Office 
of Public and Indian Housing Directives

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian 
Housing, HUD.

NOTICE: Notice of redelegation of authority.

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

SUMMARY: The Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing is 
redelegating to all HUD Field Office Public Housing Division Directors, 
and the Director, Office of Native American Programs, and, in turn the 
Directors, Offices of Indian Programs (waiver officials), the authority 
to issue waivers of Office of Public and Indian Housing directives. A 
similar redelegation of authority for Office of Housing Directives was 
recently signed by the Assistant Security for Housing-Federal Housing 
Commissioner and published in the Federal Register.

EFFECTIVE DATE: Februry 9, 1994.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mildred M. Hamman, Directives 
Management Officer, Office of Public and Indian Housing, Department of 
Housing and Urban Development, room 4244, 451 7th Street SW., 
Washington, DC 20410, telephone (202) 708-0846. (This is not a toll-
free number.)

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 106 of the Department of Housing and 
Urban Development Reform Act of 1989 (Pub. L. 101-235, approved 
December 15, 1989) (HUD Reform Act), amended section 7 of the 
Department of Housing and Urban Development Act (42 U.S.C. 3535) (HUD 
Act) by adding section 7(q), governing circumstances upon which the 
Department may issue waives of regulations and handbooks. According to 
section 7(q)(2), only an individual of Assistant Secretary rank or the 
equivalent may waive a regulation. This redelegation of authority does 
not address the authority to waive regulations.
    With respect to handbooks, section 7(q)(4) states that a waiver of 
a provision of a handbook must:
    (A) Be in writing;
    (B) Specify the grounds for approving the waivers; and
    (C) Be maintained in indexed form and made available for public 
inspection for not less than the 3-year period beginning on the date of 
the waiver.
    On April 22, 1991, at 56 FR 16337, HUD published a Statement of 
Policy implementing section 106 of the HUD Reform Act. The notice 
stated that although new section 7(q)(4) of the HUD Act only addressed 
``handbooks'', HUD would apply this term to all of the Department's 
directives in order to give section 7(q)(4) ``the widest possible 
coverage.'' Therefore, the term ``directive'' was defined in the notice 
as follows:

Directives means a Handbook (including a change or supplement), 
notice, interim notice, special directive, and any other issuance 
that the Department may classify as a directive.

    HUD's Statement of Policy also indicated that the authority to 
waive directives may be delegated to any officer or employee in the 
issuing official's organization, as well as to any officer or employee 
in a Field or Regional Office. This Statement of Policy, therefore, 
effectively delegated to each Assistant Secretary, the official 
responsible for issuing directives, the authority to waive directives.
    The current process of reviewing waiver requests in headquarters 
frequently adds an unnecessary layer to a procedure that can be 
adequately carried out at the field level. Officials in the field are 
often best situated to assess, and react promptly to, requests for 
relief from administrative requirements of general application, where 
specific circumstances, unanticipated under the directive, warrant a 
departure from the ordinary standard.
    Therefore, in keeping with the stated objectives of the Secretary 
of Housing and Urban Development to improve the efficiency and enhance 
the productivity of the Department, the Assistant Secretary for Public 
and Indian Housing is redelegating the authority to waive Office of 
Public and Indian Housing directives to all waiver officials, effective 
immediately, with the following exceptions:
    1. A directive, or portion thereof, that restates a statutory, 
regulatory or contractual provision;
    2. A directive, or portion thereof, that requires a HUD field 
office action to be performed (such as a mandatory process to determine 
the frequency of monitoring visits at housing agencies);
    3. OMB approved HUD forms, reporting requirements, and the use of 
prescribed forms for the collection and reporting of national data; and
    4. A Notice of Funding Availability and associated processing 
instructions.
    All Directors to whom waiver authority is hereby redelegated must 
comply with the policies and procedures for waiving directives set out 
in the Statement of Policy. Waiver officials are cautioned against the 
development of local requirements, processes, or procedures to replace 
those that are waived, which would counteract the intent of the waiver 
process.
    This redelegation of the authority does not except any public and 
Indian housing programs or program components. If, however, the 
Assistant Secretary elects at a later time to except a new program, the 
redelegation accompanying the new program will state that the authority 
to waive directives concerning this program is not redelegated. Also, 
the Assistant Secretary may at a later time elect to modify or withdraw 
in its entirety the authority to waive directives redelegated herein.
    Before approval of a request for a waiver of a directive, the 
waiver official will consult with the HUD counsel in the field office 
and request written approval that the directive at issue is one that 
can be lawfully waived. For example, a directive, or portion thereof, 
which restates provisions of a regulation cannot be waived by waiver 
officials. Finally, waiver officials must observe management control 
procedures designed to prevent fraud, waste and mismanagement when 
considering a waiver request.
    Waiver officials are required to submit a copy of each waiver 
justification both to the Departmental Directives Management Officer, 
Office of Administrative and Management Services--ASES, Office of 
Administration, room 5286 and to Office of Public and Indian Housing, 
Attention: Directives Management Officer, within 30 calendar days after 
issuance of the waiver. The waiver justification must cite the specific 
directive, or provision thereof, being waived, include a statement that 
the HUD field office counsel considers the waiver lawful, the time 
period the waiver shall be in effect (if not indefinitely), as well as 
the reason(s) for granting the waiver. This is so because HUD is 
required by statute to maintain a record of all such waivers and make 
them available for public inspection. The Office of Public and Indian 
Housing will periodically review all waivers to assess such matters as: 
(a) Whether a particular directive (or provision thereof) warrants 
revision (because, for example, the exception should become the rule), 
and (b) whether there is consistency.
    Accordingly, the Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing 
redelegates as follows:

Section A. Authority Redelegated

    The Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing redelegates 
to all HUD Field Office Public Housing Division Directors, the 
Director, Office of Native American Programs and, in turn, the 
Directors, Offices of Indian Programs (waiver officials), the authority 
to issue waivers of Office of Public and Indian Housing directives.

Section B. Authority Excepted

    1. A directive, or portion thereof, that restates a statutory, 
regulatory or contractual provision;
    2. A directive, or portion thereof, that requires a HUD field 
office action;
    3. OMB approved HUD forms, reporting requirements, and the use of 
prescribed forms for the collection and reporting of national data; and
    4. A Notice of Funding Availability and associated processing 
instructions.

Section C. No Further Redelegation

    The authority granted to waiver officials under this redelegation 
may not be further redelegated pursuant to this redelegation.

    Authority: Sec. 7(d), Department of Housing and Urban 
Development Act (42 U.S.C. 3535(d)), and sec. 7(q), Department of 
Housing and Urban Development Act (42 U.S.C. 3535(q).

    Dated: February 9, 1994.
Joseph Shuldiner,
Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing.
[FR Doc. 94-3687 Filed 2-17-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-33-M