[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 12 (Wednesday, January 20, 1999)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 3014-3015]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-1195]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
24 CFR Part 1000
[Docket No. FR-4419-F-01]
RIN 2577-AB93
Due Date of First Annual Performance Report Under the Native
American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act of 1996
AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian
Housing, HUD.
ACTION: Final rule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: This final rule sets January 31, 1999 as the due date for
recipients of Indian Housing Block Grant funds to submit the first
annual performance reports under the Native American Housing Assistance
and Self-Determination Act of 1996 (NAHASDA). This date provides an
additional 60 days to the 60 day period that was assumed to apply, and
allows recipients and HUD more time to work out the difficulties of the
first performance report submissions.
EFFECTIVE DATE: February 19, 1999.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bruce Knott, Director, Office of
Housing and Community Development, Office of Native American Programs,
1999 Broadway, Suite 3390, Denver, CO 80202; telephone (303) 675-1600
(this is not a toll-free number). Speech or hearing-impaired
individuals may access this number via TTY by calling the toll-free
Federal Information Relay Service at 1-800-877-8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NAHASDA section 404 (25 U.S.C. 4164) and 24
CFR 1000.514 require each recipient of Indian Housing Block Grant
(IHBG) funds to submit an annual performance report to HUD. Under 24
CFR 1000.514, a performance report must be submitted within 60 days of
the end of the recipient's program year. For the first year of NAHASDA,
24 CFR 1000.516 provides that the period to be covered by the annual
performance report will be October 1, 1997 through September 30, 1998,
and that subsequent reporting periods will coincide with the
recipient's program year.
The Department has received numerous inquiries concerning the due
date for the first annual report under Sec. 1000.516. Recipients cite
unfamiliarity with the new reporting format, the late date at which
Indian Housing Plans (IHPs) were approved, and the requirement for
public comment on their annual performance reports as reasons why a 60-
day due date for the first annual reports is impracticable. In
addition, there is an issue as to when the first annual report is due.
Although Sec. 1000.514 provides that the annual performance report is
due within 60 days of the end of the recipient's program year, the
period to be covered by the first report, set by Sec. 1000.516, does
not coincide with the program year of many recipients. While it has
been generally assumed that the first report would be due within 60
days of September 30, 1998, Sec. 1000.516 does not explicitly establish
this submission period.
For these reasons, HUD has determined to amend Sec. 1000.516 to
establish January 31, 1999 as the due date for performance reports
under the first year of NAHASDA. This date provides an additional 60
days to the 60 day period that was assumed to apply, and allows
recipients and HUD more time to work out the difficulties of the first
performance report submissions.
Findings and Certifications
Justification for Final Rulemaking
In general, the Department publishes a rule for public comment
before issuing a rule for effect, in accordance with its own
regulations on rulemaking, 24 CFR part 10; however, part 10 does
provide for exceptions from that general rule where the agency finds
good cause to omit advance notice and public participation. The good
cause requirement is satisfied when prior public procedure is
``impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary to the public interest.'' (24
CFR 10.1) The Department finds that good cause exists to publish this
rule for effect without first soliciting public comment, in that prior
public procedure is unnecessary because of the limited scope of the
rule. This rule only provides clarification of the date by which the
first annual performance reports under NAHASDA are due.
Paperwork Reduction Act
The information collection requirements contained in the IHBG rule
at 24 CFR part 1000 have been approved by the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (42
U.S.C. 3501-3530), and assigned OMB control number 2577-0218. An
[[Page 3015]]
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. This final rule does not include any additional
information collection requirements.
Environmental Impact
In accordance with 40 CFR 1508.4 of the regulations of the Council
on Environmental Quality and 24 CFR 50.20(c)(2) of the HUD regulations,
this rule amends an existing document, the regulations at 24 CFR part
1000, which as a whole would not fall within an exclusion, but the
amendment by itself would do so. Therefore, this rule is categorically
excluded from the requirements of the National Environmental Policy
Act.
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 rule have no federalism implications, and that the
policies are not subject to review under the Order.
Executive Order 13045, Protection of Children from Environmental Health
Risks and Safety Risks
This rule will not pose an environmental health risk or safety risk
on children.
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
The Secretary has reviewed this rule before publication and by
approving it certifies, in accordance with the Unfunded Mandates Reform
Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1532), that this rule does not impose a Federal
mandate that will result in the expenditure by state, local, and tribal
governments, in the aggregate, or by the private sector, of $100
million or more in any one year.
Regulatory Flexibility Act
The Secretary, in accordance with the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5
U.S.C. 605(b)) has reviewed and approved this rule, and in so doing
certifies that this rule would not have a significant economic impact
on a substantial number of small entities.
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance
The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance number for this program
is 14.867.
List of Subjects in 24 CFR Part 1000
Aged, Community development block grants, Grant programs--housing
and community development, Grant programs--Indians, Indians,
Individuals with disabilities, Low and moderate income housing, Public
housing, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
Accordingly, for the reasons described above, in title 24 of the
Code of Federal Regulations, part 1000 is amended as follows:
PART 1000--NATIVE AMERICAN HOUSING ACTIVITIES
1. The authority citation for part 1000 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 25 U.S.C. 4101 et seq.; 42 U.S.C. 3535(d).
2. Section 1000.516 is revised to read as follows:
Sec. 1000.516 What reporting period is covered by the annual
performance report?
For the first annual performance report to be submitted under
NAHASDA, the period to be covered is October 1, 1997, through September
30, 1998. This first report must be submitted by January 31, 1999.
Subsequent annual performance reports must cover the period that
coincides with the recipient's program year.
Dated: January 12, 1999.
Harold Lucas,
Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing.
[FR Doc. 99-1195 Filed 1-19-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4419-01-M