[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 50 (Tuesday, March 16, 1999)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 12920-12922]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-6464]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

24 CFR Part 990

[Docket No. FR-4425-N-02]


Operating Fund Rule; Final Notice of Establishment of Negotiated 
Rulemaking Committee and Notice of First Meeting

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

ACTION: Establishment of Negotiated Rulemaking Advisory Committee and 
first meeting.

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SUMMARY: HUD announces the establishment of a negotiated rulemaking 
advisory committee under the Federal Advisory Committee Act. The 
establishment of the committee is required by the Quality Housing and 
Work Opportunity Act of 1998, which requires issuance of regulations 
under the Negotiated Rulemaking Act of 1990. The purpose of the 
committee is to discuss and negotiate a proposed rule that would change 
the current method of determining the payment of operating subsidies to 
public housing agencies (PHAs). The committee consists of 
representatives with a definable stake in the outcome of the proposed 
rule. This document announces the committee members and the dates, 
location, and agenda for the first committee meeting.

DATES: The first committee meeting will be held on March 23-March 25, 
1999. On March 23, 1999, the meeting will start at 10:00 am and run 
until completion; on March 24, 1999, the meeting will start at 9:00 am 
and run until completion; and on March 25, 1999, the meeting will start 
at 9:00 am and run until approximately 3:00 pm.

ADDRESSES: The first committee meeting will take place at the Channel 
Inn Hotel (Captain's Room), 650 Water Street, SW, Washington, DC 20024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joan DeWitt, Director, Funding and 
Financial Management Division, Public and Indian Housing, Room 4216, 
Department of Housing and Urban Development, 431 Seventh Street, SW, 
Washington, DC 20410-0500; telephone (202) 708-1872 ext. 4035 (this 
telephone numbers is not toll-free). Hearing or speech-impaired 
individuals may access this number via TTY by calling the toll-free 
federal Information Relay Service at 1-800-877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Statutory Background

    HUD currently uses a formula approach called the Performance 
Funding System (PFS) to distribute operating subsidies to public 
housing agencies (PHAs). A regulatory description of the PFS can be 
found at 24 CFR part 990. Generally, the amount of subsidy received by 
a PHA is the difference between projected expenses and projected 
income, with the PFS regulations detailing how these projections will 
be made. While the amount varies, this subsidy can represent a 
substantial amount of revenue for a PHA. For example, in 1998, HUD 
distributed over $2.9 billion in operating subsidies to PHAs.
    On February 3, 1999 (65 FR 5570), HUD published a notice of intent 
to establish an advisory committee to discuss and negotiate a proposed 
rule

[[Page 12921]]

that would change the current method of determining the payment of 
operating subsidies to PHAs. The establishment of the committee is 
required by the Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act of 1996 
(Pub. L. 105-276, approved October 21, 1998; 112 Stat. 2461) (the 
``Public Housing Reform Act''). The Public Housing Reform Act makes 
extensive changes to HUD's public and assisted housing programs. These 
changes include the establishment of an Operating Fund for the purpose 
of making assistance available to PHAs for the operation and management 
of public housing. The general effective date for the formula (the 
beginning date of the fiscal year for which PHAs will determine their 
subsidy eligibility using the new formula) is October 1, 1999. Section 
519(n)(f) of the Public Housing Reform Act, however, permits HUD to 
extend the effective date for up to six months beyond the general 
effective date.
    The Public Housing Reform Act requires that the assistance to be 
made available from the new Operating Fund be determined using a 
formula developed through negotiated rulemaking procedures. The basic 
concept of negotiated rulemaking is to have the agency that is 
considering drafting a rule bring together representatives of affected 
interests for face-to-face negotiations that are open to the public. 
The give-and-take of the negotiation process is expected to foster 
constructive, creative, and acceptable solutions to difficult problems.
    The February 3, 1999 document: (1) advised the public of HUD's 
intent to establish the negotiated rulemaking committee; (2) solicited 
public comments on the proposed membership of the committee; and (3) 
explained how persons could be nominated for membership on the 
committee. In particular, HUD solicited expressions of interest or 
nominations from groups or individuals that operate on behalf of the 
communities and neighborhoods served by public housing, and 
organizations that represent local officials.

II. The Negotiated Rulemaking Advisory Committee

    This document announces HUD's establishment of the Negotiated 
Rulemaking Committee on Operating Fund Allocation. As noted above, the 
February 3, 1999 document tentatively identified a list of possible 
interests and parties to be represented on the negotiated rulemaking 
committee, and requested public comment on the proposed committee 
membership. The public comment period on the February 3, 1999 document 
closed on March 5, 1999. HUD received 72 comments on the document, 
including comments from PHAs, PHA associations, and nonprofit 
organizations. After careful consideration of all the comments received 
on the February 3, 1999 document, HUD has made the following changes to 
the proposed list of committee members:
    1. The Little Housing Authority (Littleton, Co) has been removed 
from the list of committee members; and
    2. The following two small PHAs have been added to the list of 
committee members:

 The Meade County Housing and Redevelopment Authority, Meade 
County, SD; and
 The Marble Falls Housing Authority, Marble Falls, TX.

    The final list of 24 committee members includes representatives of 
PHAs, PHA organizations, tenant groups, and HUD. Additionally, two 
members of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service will serve as 
facilitators. HUD believes the group as a whole represents a proper 
balance of interests that are willing and able to work within a 
consensus framework on the new Operating Fund formula. The PHA 
representatives on the committee have been selected to reflect the 
diversity of PHAs in terms of size, location, and special 
circumstances.
    The final list of members for the Negotiated Rulemaking Committee 
on Operating Fund Allocation is as follows:

 Large Housing Authorities
    1. Atlanta Housing Authority, Atlanta, GA
    2. Chicago Housing Authority, Chicago, IL
    3. New York City Housing Authority, NYC, NY
    4. Pittsburgh Housing Authority, Pittsburgh, PA
    5. Seattle Housing Authority, Seattle, WA
 Medium Housing Authorities
    1. Akron Metro Housing Authority, Akron, OH
    2. Athens Housing Authority, Athens, GA
    3. Indianapolis Housing Authority, Indianapolis, IN
    4. Oakland Housing Authority, Oakland, CA
    5. Wilmington Housing Authority, Wilmington, DE
 Small Housing Authorities
    1. Marble Falls Housing Authority, Marble Falls, TX
    2. Meade County Housing and Redevelopment Authority, Meade County, 
SD
    3. Reno Housing Authority, Reno, NV
    4. York Housing Authority, York, NE
 Non-PFS Housing Authority
    1. Puerto Rico Public Housing Authority, San Juan, PR
 Tenant Organizations
    1. Massachusetts Union of Public Housing Tenants, Needham, MA
    2. New Jersey Association of Public and Subsidized Housing 
Residents, Newark, NJ
 Public Interest Groups
    1. National Low Income Housing Coalition, Washington, DC
    2. Housing and Development Law Institute, Washington, DC
    3. Center for Community Change, Washington, DC
 National PHA Associations
    1. Public Housing Authority Directors Association (PHADA)
    2. National Association of Housing and Renewal Officials (NAHRO)
    3. Council of Large Public Housing Authorities (CLPHA)
 Federal Government
    1. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

III. First Committee Meeting

    The first meeting of the Negotiated Rulemaking Committee on 
Operating Fund Allocation will be held on March 23, March 24, and March 
25, 1999. On March 23, 1999, the meeting will start at 10:00 am and run 
until completion; on March 24, 1999, the meeting will start at 9:00 am 
and run until completion; and on March 25, 1999, the meeting will start 
at 9:00 am and run until approximately 3:00 pm. On all three days, the 
meetings will take place at the Channel Inn Hotel (Captain's Room), 650 
Water Street, SW, Washington, DC 20024.
    The agenda planned for the meeting includes: (1) Orienting members 
to the negotiated rulemaking process; (2) establishing a basic set of 
understandings and ground rules (protocols) regarding the process that 
will be followed in seeking a consensus; and (3) discussion of the 
issues relating to the development of an Operating Fund formula.
    The meeting will be open to the public without advance 
registration. Public attendance may be limited to the space available. 
Members of the public may make statements during the meeting, to the 
extent time permits, and file written statements with the committee for 
its consideration. Written statements should be submitted to the 
address listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION section of this document. 
Summaries of committee meetings will be available for public inspection 
and copying at the address in the same section.
    In accordance with the General Services Administration (GSA)

[[Page 12922]]

regulations implementing the Federal Advisory Committee Act, HUD 
normally publishes a Federal Register meeting notice at least 15 
calendar days before the date of an advisory committee meeting (see 41 
CFR 105-54.301(i)). The GSA regulations, however, also provide that an 
agency may give less than 15 days notice if the reasons for doing so 
are included in the Federal Register meeting notice. (See 41 CFR 105-
54.301(j).) Given the strict statutory deadline for implementation of 
the Operating Fund formula, HUD believes it is imperative that the 
negotiations for development of the formula begin as soon as possible. 
Failure to publish the Operating Fund final rule on a timely basis will 
delay the provision of operating subsidies to PHAs. Accordingly, rather 
than defer the start of the negotiations, HUD has decided to proceed 
with the committee meeting announced in the February 3, 1999 document.

IV. Future Committee Meetings

    Decisions with respect to future meetings will be made at the first 
meeting and from time to time thereafter. A second meeting is 
tentatively scheduled for April 13 and 14, 1999, at a location within 
the Washington, DC area, to be determined. The April 13th meeting is 
tentatively scheduled to begin at approximately 9:00 am and continue 
until approximately 5:00 pm. The April 14th meeting is scheduled to 
begin at approximately 9:00 and continue until approximately 3:00 pm. 
Notices of all future meetings will be published in the Federal 
Register. HUD will make every effort to publish such notices at least 
15 calendar days prior to each meeting.

    Dated: March 11, 1999.
Deborah Vincent,
General Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing.
[FR Doc. 99-6464 Filed 3-15-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-33-P