[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 244 (Wednesday, December 18, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66856-66861]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-32104]


      

[[Page 66855]]

_______________________________________________________________________

Part V





Department of Housing and Urban Development





_______________________________________________________________________



Public and Indian Housing/Section 8 Moving to Work Demonstration; 
Notice

  Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 244 / Wednesday, December 18, 1996 / 
Notices  

[[Page 66856]]



DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-4123-N-01]


Notice of Public and Indian Housing/Section 8 Moving to Work 
Demonstration

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

ACTION: Notice of demonstration program and invitation to apply.

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

SUMMARY: This notice invites applications for Public Housing Agencies 
and Indian Housing Agencies (``HAs'') for participation in the Public 
and Indian Housing/Section 8 Moving to Work demonstration program. HUD 
is authorized to select up to 30 HAs that administer the public and 
Indian housing and Section 8 programs to participate in the 
demonstration. HUD will select HAs for the demonstration through a 
merit-based process using the evaluation criteria described in the 
notice.
    The purpose of the demonstration is to give HAs the flexibility to 
design and test various approaches for providing and administering 
housing assistance that reduce cost and achieve greater cost 
effectiveness; provide work incentives to promote resident self-
sufficiency; and increase housing choices for low-income families. To 
achieve these goals, each selected HA will have considerable 
flexibility in determining how to use Federal funds, as long as the HA 
meets specified criteria. Furthermore, the selected HAs will be 
permitted to combine funds from the public and Indian housing operating 
and modernization programs, and from the Section 8 tenant-based rental 
assistance program, for uses which meet the purposes of the 
demonstration. Funds used in the demonstration (whether combined or 
not) are generally not subject to statutory and regulatory requirements 
of the public and Indian housing and Section 8 programs.

DATES: Applications submitted in response to this notice must be 
received by 4:00 p.m., Eastern Time, on March 18, 1997. The submission 
deadline is firm as to date and time. Submissions will not be accepted 
by facsimile.

ADDRESSES: Applications submitted in response to this notice must be 
submitted to: Rod Solomon; Senior Director for Policy and Legislation; 
Public and Indian Housing; Room 4116; Department of Housing and Urban 
Development; 451 Seventh St., SW; Washington, DC 20410.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stephen I. Holmquist; Policy 
Development Advisor; Office of Policy, Program, and Legislative 
Initiatives; Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 Seventh 
Street, S.W., Room 4116, Washington, D.C. 20410; telephone: (202) 708-
0713. (This is not a toll-free number.) For hearing- and speech-
impaired persons, this number may be accessed via TTY (text telephone) 
by calling the Federal Information Relay Service at 1-800-877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Information Collection Requirements

    The proposed information collection requirements contained in this 
notice have been submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
for review in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 
U.S.C. 3501-3520). An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person 
is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless the 
collection displays a valid control number. The Department has 
requested emergency clearance of the collection of information 
described below:
    (1) Title of the Information collection proposal: Public Housing/
Section 8 Moving to Work Demonstration:
    (2) Summary of the collection of information: Each respondent would 
be required to submit the following information:
    1. MTW Plan.
    2. Evidence that the HA has provided for citizen and public housing 
residents participation.
    3. Assurances of an established reasonable rent policy.
    4. Compliance with the Housing Quality Standards (HQS) (24 CFR 
982.401) for housing assisted under MTW.
    5. Compliance with reporting requirements.
    (3) Description of the need for the information and its proposed 
use:
    To determine that HAs meet the selection criteria required by the 
Notice, preliminary MTW plan, current PHMAP score, assurances, 
compliance with HQSs and reporting requirements.
    (4) Description of the likely respondents, and proposed frequency 
of the response to the collection of information:
    Respondents will be HAs.
    The estimated number of respondents is 50. The proposed frequency 
of the response to the collection of information is one-time.
    (5) Estimate of the total reporting and recordkeeping burden that 
will result from the collection of information:

Reporting Burden:
    Number of respondents: 50
    Total burden hours: 4400
    (@ 15 hours per response)
Total Estimated Burden Hours: 4400

    In accordance with 5 CFR 1320.8(d)(1), the Department is soliciting 
comments from members of the public and affected agencies concerning 
the proposed collection of information to:
    (1) Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is 
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, 
including whether the information will have practical utility;
    (2) Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of 
the proposed collection of information;
    (3) Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to 
be collected; and
    (4) Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those 
who are to respond; including through the use of appropriate automated 
collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., 
permitting electronic submission of responses.
    Interested persons are invited to submit comments regarding the 
information collection requirements in this proposal. Comments must be 
received within seven (7) days from the date of this proposal. Comments 
must refer to the proposal by name and docket number (FR-4123) and must 
be sent to: Joseph F. Lackey, Jr., HUD Desk Officer, Office of 
Management and Budget, New Executive Office Building, Washington, DC 
20503.

I. Introduction

    This notice invites public housing agencies (``PHAs'') and Indian 
housing agencies (``IHAs'') to submit applications for the Public and 
Indian Housing/Section 8 Moving to Work demonstration program 
(``MTW''), which was authorized by section 204 of the Omnibus 
Consolidated Rescissions and Appropriations Act of 1996 (Pub. L. 104-
134, 110 Stat. 1321) (the ``1996 Appropriations Act''). MTW offers PHAs 
and IHAs (referred to collectively as ``HAs'') the opportunity to 
design and test innovative housing and self-sufficiency strategies for 
low-income families by permitting HAs to combine funds from several HUD 
programs into a single pool and by exempting HAs from existing public 
and Indian housing and Section 8 certificate and voucher program rules, 
as approved by HUD.
    HUD is authorized to select up to 30 HAs that administer the public 
and Indian housing and Section 8 programs to participate in MTW. Under 
this

[[Page 66857]]

notice, HAs will be selected for MTW through a merit-based process 
using the evaluation criteria described in Section VII. Up to 10 of the 
30 HAs will be selected for MTW through a separate competition under 
the Jobs-Plus initiative described in Section IV of this notice.
    HAs may also form consortia of two or more HAs to apply for MTW 
under a common application and plan. If selected, a consortium will be 
considered a single MTW selection.
    Following the selection of HAs for MTW, HUD will offer training and 
technical assistance to assist those HAs with further design and 
evaluation of their demonstration programs. HUD will issue additional 
guidance with respect to such assistance in the near future.

II. Purpose of the MTW Demonstration

    As stated in the 1996 Appropriations Act, the purpose of MTW is to 
give HAs and HUD the flexibility to design and test various approaches 
for providing and administering housing assistance that:
    (1) Reduce cost and achieve greater cost effectiveness in Federal 
expenditures;
    (2) Give incentives to families with children where the head of 
household is working; is seeking work; or is preparing for work by 
participating in job training, educational programs, or programs that 
assist people to obtain employment and become economically self-
sufficient; and
    (3) Increase housing choices for low-income families.
    To achieve these goals, the HAs selected for MTW will have 
considerable flexibility (outside the restrictions of the U.S. Housing 
Act of 1937, as described in Section III of this notice) in determining 
how to use program funds to most effectively provide housing and 
related services to low-income families. However, the 1996 
Appropriations Act also requires each HA's MTW application to be 
developed with public input and to meet certain criteria, including:
     Providing that at least 75% of the families assisted by 
the HA under the demonstration will be very low-income families (i.e., 
families with incomes of less than 50% of area median income) at the 
time they initially receive housing assistance under the demonstration;
     Establishing a reasonable rent policy that is designed to 
encourage employment and self-sufficiency on the part of participating 
families;
     Continuing to assist substantially the same total number 
of low-income families under the demonstration as would have been 
served had the HA not participated in MTW;
     Maintaining under the demonstration a comparable mix of 
families, by family size, as would have been assisted had the HA not 
participated in MTW; and
     Assuring that housing assisted under the demonstration 
meets housing quality standards established or approved by HUD.
    MTW gives HAs and HUD the opportunity to test alternative, locally-
designed housing and self-sufficiency strategies for low-income 
families. In keeping with the nature of MTW as a demonstration program, 
this notice does not attempt to create a new Federal program, to 
instruct HAs on how to use the increased flexibility that MTW allows, 
or to identify all of the potential obstacles that HAs might confront 
in attempting to exercise their new authority. On the contrary, HUD 
expects HAs to take the lead in meeting the opportunities and 
responsibilities presented by MTW to plan and implement innovative 
programs that effectively address locally identified needs. Further, 
the capability that an HA demonstrates in this regard will be 
considered in the evaluation process.

III. Expanded Program Authority Under MTW

    The MTW demonstration presents an opportunity to design and 
implement innovative housing and self-sufficiency strategies by giving 
HAs and HUD expansive new authority to use HUD assistance flexibly and 
to design demonstration programs outside the restrictions of the United 
States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437 et seq.) (the ``1937 Act''), 
as described below.
    (1) Combining HUD Assistance. HAs participating in MTW may create a 
pool of fungible resources using funds from any of the following types 
of HUD assistance:
    (a) Operating subsidies provided under Section 9 of the 1937 
Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 1437g);
    (b) Modernization funding provided under Section 14 of the 1937 
Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 1437l); and
    (c) Assistance provided under Section 8 of the 1937 Housing Act for 
the certificate and voucher programs (42 U.S.C. 1437f).
    However, notwithstanding this general authority to combine 
different types of HUD assistance, as described above, an HA may not so 
combine any HUD assistance which is required:

    (i) To meet existing contractual obligations of the HA to a 
third party (such as housing assistance payments contracts with 
owners under the HA's Section 8 certificate or voucher program);
    (ii) For payments to other HAs under Section 8 portability 
billing procedures; or
    (iii) To meet particular purposes for which HUD has expressly 
committed the assistance to the HA (such as a grant under the HOPE 
VI program or, generally, any assistance under the Section 8 
certificate or voucher program committed from appropriations for 
fiscal years 1996 and 1997).

    An HA may not combine different types of HUD assistance prior to 
the execution of the agreement described in Section VIII of this 
notice. In addition, at all times during the demonstration, 
participating HAs must comply with any HUD requirements governing the 
use of HUD assistance in the demonstration, including management, 
financial, accounting, or other requirements designed to adequately 
track and monitor the HA's use of such HUD assistance.
    The 1996 Appropriations Act provides that the amount of assistance 
that an HA receives for public and Indian housing operating subsidies, 
public and Indian housing modernization grants, and Section 8 
assistance for certificates and vouchers will not be diminished by the 
HA's participation in MTW. This provision does not hold participating 
HAs harmless from any reductions in federal appropriations. However, 
given the wide range of approaches to providing housing that MTW 
allows, as well as its emphasis on HA efforts to promote resident self-
sufficiency, HUD recognizes that in some cases an HA's proposal may 
have implications for the current methods of allocating HUD assistance 
to that HA. Therefore, HUD will consider reasonable proposals from HAs 
to modify the current methods for allocating HUD assistance to them 
where the result would clearly further the purposes of the 
demonstration without creating significant inequities within the public 
and Indian housing and Section 8 programs.
    Any HUD assistance that an HA is authorized to use in the 
demonstration must be used in accordance with the HA's HUD-approved MTW 
plan.
    (2) Applicability of the 1937 Housing Act. With certain exceptions 
described below, the 1937 Housing Act, and the regulations promulgated 
under it, do not apply to the MTW demonstration (whether an HA chooses 
to combine different types of HUD assistance or not). Rather, HUD 
assistance must be used by the HA for the purposes required by MTW on 
such terms and conditions as the HA proposes and HUD approves. 
Consequently, HUD may grant unprecedented authority to HAs under

[[Page 66858]]

MTW to design and implement demonstration programs that have not been 
possible under the existing public and Indian housing program or the 
Section 8 certificate and voucher programs.
    HUD intends to be flexible and responsive to HA proposals in order 
to encourage creativity in program design. However, an HA will be 
authorized to combine assistance and to operate outside of the 1937 
Housing Act (and regulations under it) only to the extent approved by 
HUD under an MTW plan.
    Notwithstanding the regulatory flexibility described above, the 
1937 Housing Act shall continue to apply to MTW as follows:
    (a) The terms ``low-income families'' and ``very low-income 
families'' shall continue to be defined by reference to Section 3(b)(2) 
of the 1937 Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 1437a(b)(2)).
    (b) Section 18 of the 1937 Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 1437p, as amended 
by Section 1002(d) of Public Law 104-19, Section 201(b)(1) of Public 
Law 104-134, and Section 201(b) of Public Law 104-202), which governs 
demolition and disposition, shall continue to apply to public and 
Indian housing notwithstanding any use of the housing under MTW.
    (c) Section 12 of the 1937 Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 1437j), governing 
wage rates, shall apply to housing assisted under MTW, other than 
housing assisted solely due to occupancy by families receiving tenant-
based assistance.

IV. Relationship to Jobs-Plus Initiative

    Currently, HUD is administering the Jobs-Plus Community 
Revitalization Initiative for Public Housing Families (``Jobs-Plus'') 
demonstration in partnership with the Rockefeller Foundation and the 
Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation as a component of the MTW 
initiative. The purpose of Jobs-Plus is to develop, in up to 10 
selected public housing developments, locally-based approaches to 
providing employment opportunities to residents in those public housing 
developments, concentrating the provision of employment opportunities 
and related services on a high percentage of residents in each of the 
housing developments. Significant research efforts are planned to be 
conducted through Jobs-Plus to identify and understand the most 
promising approaches to increasing employment among families in public 
housing.
    As stated above, one purpose of MTW is to give HAs and HUD the 
flexibility to design and test various approaches for providing and 
administering housing assistance that gives employment incentives to 
families; thus MTW and Jobs-Plus have a shared purpose. And, as with 
MTW, it is critical to the success of Jobs-Plus that HAs and HUD have 
the authority and flexibility to implement work incentives and training 
and employment programs (in conjunction with other local agencies) that 
are closely coordinated with housing programs. Therefore, to allow 
developments selected as Jobs-Plus sites to have this regulatory 
flexibility, HUD will consider housing developments selected as Jobs-
Plus sites also to be MTW sites. As a result, of the 30 program slots 
available for MTW, up to 10 will be reserved for designation under the 
Jobs-Plus initiative. However, in cases where HUD determines, in its 
discretion, that the HA which owns a Jobs-Plus site does not have the 
management capability required by MTW, then HUD may place limits on the 
degree of regulatory flexibility that MTW would otherwise allow the HA 
to exercise with respect to that Jobs-Plus site.
    Unlike Jobs-Plus, the MTW demonstration is not limited to only one 
of an HA's housing developments. Therefore, if an HA with a Jobs-Plus 
site wishes to bring its other housing developments into the MTW 
demonstration, it must first submit an application and be selected for 
MTW under this notice. When an HA with a Jobs-Plus site is also 
selected for MTW, it will be considered a single MTW selection.

V. Reporting Requirements

    The 1996 Appropriations Act requires each HA participating in MTW 
to keep records and submit reports to HUD that document the HA's use of 
program funds, provide data to assist HUD in assessing the MTW 
demonstration, and describe and analyze the effect of the HA's 
activities in addressing the objectives of the HA's MTW plan. As a 
condition of MTW selection, an HA must provide assurance to HUD that it 
will comply with these reporting and recordkeeping requirements. 
Further, an HA's ongoing compliance with these requirements, and with 
any HUD accounting procedures and other management requirements 
necessary to adequately track and monitor the HA's use of Federal 
funds, will be a condition of continued participation in the 
demonstration.

VI. Application Submission

A. General

    Given the wide scope of MTW, HUD recognizes that it may not be 
possible for HAs to resolve all outstanding issues in their proposed 
plans by the application deadline. To the extent there are any such 
issues, an HA should specifically identify them and describe the 
process and schedule for resolving them.

B. Submission Requirements

    Applications submitted in response to this notice must include each 
of the following items (except for item (6), which is discretionary):
    (1) For PHAs only, the PHA's PHMAP score for the last three years.
    (2) A request from the HA for authority to use funds from public 
and Indian housing operating, modernization, and Section 8 assistance 
(and to combine funds, to the extent necessary to implement the MTW 
plan).
    (3) Evidence that the HA has provided for community and HA resident 
participation in developing its MTW proposal, including a public 
hearing.
    (4) An MTW plan that fully describes the proposed demonstration and 
states and quantifies the HA's goals and objectives for the 
demonstration, addresses the evaluation criteria described in Section 
VII of this notice, and describes, among other things, the following: 
(a) whether and to what extent the HA proposes to combine funds from 
different types of HUD assistance, the particular program purposes for 
which all such funds were originally committed to the HA (and any 
specific restrictions on the use of such funds), and the purposes for 
which any combined funds will be used; (b) the sources and nature of 
any other private or public funds or other resources that the HA will 
use to implement the plan, and the specific purposes for which those 
funds or resources will be used; (c) the number and general 
characteristics of public or Indian housing units, or other housing 
units, involved in the plan; (d) demographic information, including 
income levels, of families currently assisted by the HA (both in the 
public housing program and in the Section 8 certificate and voucher 
programs), and of families to be assisted by the HA under the proposed 
MTW plan; (e) whether and how assistance will be targeted to families 
of different income levels by program and/or by site; (f) the HA's 
proposed rent and occupancy policies; (g) incentives proposed by the HA 
to encourage self-sufficiency and support and reward work; (h) any 
proposed homeownership activities; (i) the anticipated impact of state 
and local welfare reform and related initiatives on design and 
implementation of the HA's proposed demonstration program; (j) the 
potential impact of the HA's proposed plan on

[[Page 66859]]

current participants in the Section 8 certificate and voucher programs 
and on current public housing residents; (k) the anticipated impact of 
the plan on HA revenues and expenses; (l) any significant linkage 
between the plan and other state, local, or federal housing, self-
sufficiency, supportive service, or community or economic development 
initiatives (such as the Federal Empowerment Zone/Enterprise 
Communities program); (m) any unresolved issues with respect to the 
plan, and the process and schedule for resolving them; and (n) how the 
HA has taken into account comments from the public hearing, other 
public comments, and comments from current and prospective public and 
Indian housing residents and recipients of Section 8 assistance who 
would be affected by the plan.
    (5) Assurance that the HA will:
    (a) Provide that at least 75% of the families initially assisted 
under MTW by the HA will be very low-income families (i.e., families 
with incomes of less than 50% of area median income);
    (b) Establish a reasonable rent policy that is designed to 
encourage employment and self-sufficiency on the part of participating 
families, such as by excluding all or a portion of a family's earned 
(or newly earned) income for purposes of determining rent;
    (c) Continue to assist substantially the same total number of low-
income families under the demonstration as would have been served if 
HUD funding sources had not been combined;
    (d) Maintain under the demonstration a comparable mix of families, 
by family size, as would have been assisted if HUD funding sources had 
not been combined;
    (e) Ensure that housing assisted under MTW meets housing quality 
standards established or approved by HUD;
    (f) Comply with the reporting requirements discussed in Section V 
of this notice;
    (g) Comply with Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity Requirements as 
listed in 24 CFR Part 5, the Indian Civil Rights Act, pursuant to 24 
CFR 950.115(b), and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990; and
    (h) Provide HUD with any documentation that HUD needs to carry out 
its review under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and other 
related authorities and otherwise will assist HUD in complying with 24 
CFR Part 50 environmental review procedures. The HA agrees (i) to carry 
out any mitigating measures required by HUD or select an alternate 
eligible property, if permitted by HUD, and (ii) not to acquire, 
rehabilitate, convert, lease, repair, or construct property, or commit 
HUD or local funds to such program activities with respect to any 
eligible property until HUD approval under 24 CFR Part 50 is received.
    (6) At the HA's option, a request for training and technical 
assistance to assist the HA with further design and evaluation of its 
demonstration program following selection.
    (7) If the application is from a consortium of HAs, a statement of 
the goals and objectives of the consortium and of the nature of the 
relationship among the HAs (including a description of any other 
current or prior collaborations and of the proposed allocation of 
responsibilities between the HAs), and an explanation of why the 
consortium's participation in MTW would be more advantageous than that 
of a single HA.
    (8) A description of any significant partnerships between the HA 
and other public agencies or private nonprofit or for-profit entities 
(particularly local welfare offices and local providers of job training 
and related services) that will help to achieve the objectives of the 
HA's demonstration.
    (9) A summary of the relevant experience and skills of the 
personnel who would have primary responsibility for implementing the 
HA's demonstration.
    (10) A general description of how the HA's proposed plan differs 
from the requirements of the 1937 Act and the regulations under it.
    (11) A proposed schedule showing significant dates and milestones 
for implementation of the HA's MTW plan. (While the 1996 Appropriations 
Act does not explicitly address the term of the MTW demonstration, it 
does require that HUD submit an evaluation report to Congress within 
six months after the third year of the demonstration. Therefore, for 
purposes of this notice, HAs should assume a three-year term for their 
MTW plans.)

C. Corrections to Deficient Applications

    Following the submission deadline, if HUD determines that an HA has 
failed to meet any of the submission requirements stated above, or that 
the application contains a technical mistake, or omits any other 
necessary information, then HUD may notify the HA in writing that the 
HA has 14 calendar days to submit or correct any of the specified 
items.

VII. Selection of MTW Participants

A. Application Evaluation Criteria

    The 1996 Appropriations Act directs HUD to evaluate MTW 
applications on the basis of an HA's relative public and Indian housing 
management performance; an HA's potential to plan and carry out a 
program under the demonstration; and other factors to be determined by 
HUD. Accordingly, HUD will evaluate applications based on the criteria 
described below. If the application is from a consortium of HAs, then 
HUD will apply the evaluation criteria to the entire application and to 
each HA, as appropriate.
1. HA Management Performance.
    a. PHAs. A PHA's public housing management performance will be 
determined on the basis of its score under the Public Housing 
Management Assessment Program (``PHMAP''), as provided by the 1996 
Appropriations Act. If a PHA does not have a current PHMAP score of at 
least ``80'' then its application will not be considered further. If a 
PHA has a current PHMAP score of at least ``80'', then HUD will award 
points based on the PHA's average PHMAP score over the last three 
years. A PHA will receive one point for each point by which its average 
PHMAP score exceeds a score of ``80''. [Up to 20 points.]
    b. IHAs. The PHMAP system does not apply to IHAs. Therefore, to 
determine an IHA's score for this factor, HUD will use other objective 
criteria that assess IHA management capability based on the relative 
performance of IHAs in meeting the requirements of 24 CFR Part 950. [Up 
to 20 points.]
2. Capability
    An HA's demonstrated capability to effectively plan, implement, and 
administer the MTW program it has proposed, as shown by the following: 
(a) relevant administrative capabilities not captured by PHMAP, such as 
performance in the Section 8 certificate and voucher programs (as 
measured by leasing rates and other performance criteria), or 
significant involvement in other affordable housing or community 
development activities; (b) the relevant experience and skills of the 
personnel of the HA, or its partners, who would have primary 
responsibility for the demonstration; and (c) specific examples of 
other HA experiences, activities, or accomplishments that demonstrate 
the HA's capability. [Up to 10 points]
3. Quality and Feasibility of MTW Plan
    The quality and feasibility of the HA's MTW plan, including the 
extent to which the plan: (a) is likely to accomplish any or all of the 
statutory purposes of MTW, which are to reduce

[[Page 66860]]

cost and achieve greater cost effectiveness in Federal expenditures, to 
provide low-income families with incentives to work and achieve 
economic self-sufficiency, and to increase housing choices for low-
income families; (b) is coherent, comprehensive, and integrated; (c) 
clearly specifies the objectives of the plan; (d) presents a feasible, 
cost-effective strategy that is likely to meet those objectives; and 
(e) demonstrates how the authority provided by MTW to diverge from 
existing requirements of the public and Indian housing and Section 8 
programs would enable the HA to achieve the objectives of its plan. [Up 
to 40 points]
4. Self-Sufficiency
    The extent to which the HA's plan is likely to promote resident 
self-sufficiency, support and reward work, increase actual employment 
levels among residents, and reduce the economic and social isolation of 
very low-income families, based on (a) the HA's experience and track 
record in encouraging and increasing resident self-sufficiency and 
employment, and (b) the self-sufficiency strategy in the HA's MTW plan, 
including, as required to implement the plan, evidence of partnerships 
with employers and local employment and training agencies that leverage 
tangible commitments of jobs, employment and training resources, and 
complementary services, such as child care and transportation. [Up to 
20 points]
5. Resident and Community Support and Involvement
    The degree to which public and Indian housing residents and the 
wider local community have been involved in developing the HA's 
application, including support and involvement: (a) by resident 
organizations, resident councils, or resident management corporations, 
and (b) by other local nonprofit, for-profit, and public entities (in 
addition to any involvement described in response to criterion 4, 
above) as shown by relevant documentation that demonstrates the nature 
and depth of such support and involvement. [Up to 10 points]
6. Local and National Impact
    The potential local and national impact of the MTW plan if it were 
to be implemented, considering the degree of innovation proposed, the 
scale of the plan, and the extent to which implementation of the plan 
is likely to contribute significantly to HUD's efforts to identify 
replicable program models promoting the purposes of the demonstration. 
[Up to 10 points]

B. Selection Process

    HUD will evaluate, score, and rank all complete applications using 
the point values assigned to the evaluation criteria set forth above. 
In making selections, HUD reserves the right to select a lower-rated 
approvable application over a higher-rated application if doing so is 
in the best interests of the demonstration because it will promote 
diversity among MTW participants and plans in terms of size, geography, 
program design, or other appropriate factors, or because it will 
enhance the impact of the demonstration. HUD also reserves the right to 
limit the size or scope of an HA's proposed program if that is in the 
best interests of the demonstration and the public and Indian housing 
and Section 8 programs.
    Further, in the interests of achieving the demonstration's goals, 
HUD may choose to identify as finalists those HAs whose applications 
are ranked above a certain base score. In that case, HUD would give 
those HAs the opportunity to further develop, revise, and resubmit 
their MTW plans. To assist in this process, HUD may provide a brief 
critique of each plan, identifying its strengths and weaknesses and any 
area where improvement, clarification, or additional information is 
needed. Application scores and rankings may be adjusted based on the 
resubmitted MTW plan. HUD would then make selections for MTW based on 
the adjusted scores and rankings.
    HUD may make a selection subject to the HA's willingness to make 
certain revisions to the HA's MTW plan.

VIII. MTW Agreement

    HUD's selection of an HA for MTW, and the HA's authority to 
implement an MTW demonstration program, shall be contingent on the 
execution of an agreement, in a form HUD determines to be appropriate, 
between the HA and HUD requiring the HA to comply with the MTW plan, as 
approved by HUD, and setting forth the other terms and conditions 
applicable to the HA's receipt and use of HUD assistance under the 
demonstration. The agreement shall identify the sources and uses of all 
HUD assistance which the HA will use during the demonstration, 
specifying the operating subsidy, modernization assistance, and Section 
8 assistance, if any, that the HA may combine into a single fund. If 
appropriate, the agreement may also provide for further development, 
clarification, and revision of the HA's MTW plan in order to maximize 
achievement of the demonstration's goals.

IX. Time Frames

    Applications must be received by 4:00 p.m., Eastern Time, on March 
18, 1997, by: Director of Special Actions; Office of Policy, Program, 
and Legislative Initiatives; Department of Housing and Urban 
Development; 451 Seventh St., SW; Room 4116; Washington, DC 20410.
    HAs must submit five copies of their applications. The submission 
deadline is firm as to date and time. Submissions will not be accepted 
by facsimile.

X. Other Matters

A. Environmental Review

    A Finding of No Significant Impact with respect to the environment 
was made in accordance with HUD regulations in 24 CFR part 50 that 
implement section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332). This Finding is available for public inspection 
between 7:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. weekdays in the Office of the Rules 
Docket Clerk, Office of General Counsel, Room 10276, Department of 
Housing and Urban Development, 451 Seventh Street, SW, Washington, DC. 
Physical activities conducted at public housing properties under MTW 
will continue to be subject to environmental laws now applicable to 
public housing. To the extent necessary during implementation of MTW, 
HUD will carry out environmental review procedures under the provisions 
of 24 CFR Part 50 before HUD approves physical activities at specific 
properties.

B. Executive Order 12612, Federalism

    The General Counsel, as the Designated Official under section 6(a) 
of Executive Order 12612, Federalism, has determined that the policies 
contained in this notice will not have substantial direct effects on 
States or their political subdivisions, or on the relationship between 
the Federal government and the States, or on the distribution of power 
and responsibilities among the various levels of government. As a 
result, the notice is not subject to review under the Order. The notice 
merely announces the opportunity for participation in a demonstration 
program and the requirements applicable to HAs that elect to 
participate.

C. Executive Order 12606, The Family

    The General Counsel, as the Designated Official under Executive 
Order 12606, The Family, has determined that this notice does not have 
potential for significant impact on

[[Page 66861]]

family formation, maintenance, and general well-being. No significant 
change in existing HUD policies or programs would result from 
promulgation of this notice. To the extent that this notice will affect 
families, the impact would be favorable, and, thus, the notice is not 
subject to further review under the Order.

    Dated: December 2, 1996.
Kevin Emanuel Marchman,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing.
[FR Doc. 96-32104 Filed 12-17-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-33-P