[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 196 (Tuesday, October 12, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Page 55304]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-26508]
[[Page 55304]]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
[Docket No. FR-4514-N-02]
Notice of Responsibility Within HUD for Civil Rights Front-End
Reviews of HUD Programs
AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal
Opportunity, HUD.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The purpose of this notice is to advise public housing
agencies, community planning and development entitlement jurisdictions,
owners and managers of assisted housing, other interested parties and
members of the public of: the change of responsibility within HUD for
civil rights front-end reviews for HUD programs; technical amendments
made to HUD's regulations on Compliance Procedures for Affirmative Fair
Housing Marketing; and revisions that HUD will make to its handbook on
Implementing Affirmative Fair Housing Marketing Requirements.
DATES: Effective Date: October 12, 1999.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Pamela Walsh, Office of Programs,
Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, Department of Housing and
Urban Development, 451 Seventh Street, SW, Washington, DC 20410;
telephone (202) 708-2288 (this is not a toll-free number). 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: Each HUD program discipline (i.e., the
Office of Community Planning and Development, the Office of Public and
Indian Housing, and the Office of Housing) has lead responsibility for
conducting ``civil rights'' front-end reviews for the programs it
administers. These reviews are conducted by program offices designated
as Fair Housing ``Monitoring'' Offices. A front-end review is the first
part of the civil rights program review process, and requires a review
of a submission made to HUD by a HUD constituent prior to the
submission's approval by HUD.
Civil rights front-end reviews encompass confirming the
completeness of the review (i.e., that all required items have been
fully completed, signed when applicable, and submitted) and, with
respect to fair housing and equal opportunity matters, examining
submissions for outside civil rights findings and issues, including
fair housing marketing plans, site and neighborhood standards, or
complete and accurate applicant certification forms. These reviews are
conducted using protocols that are developed by the Office of Fair
Housing and Equal Opportunity in consultation with the respective
program office.
When a monitoring office conducts a front-end review, the
monitoring office's role is limited to screening for errors. The
monitoring office is not responsible for making a determination of
compliance with the law. When, during a routine front-end review, a
civil rights issue is raised that the program discipline cannot resolve
through its routine processing practices, the program discipline shall
refer the matter to the local Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity Hub
(Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Chicago, Fort Worth,
Kansas City, Denver, San Francisco, and Seattle). These offices have
been designated as ``Civil Rights/Compliance Reviewing Offices,'' and
will determine what further actions, if any, are needed.
HUD's Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity will work with
the program disciplines to (1) develop any ``processing'' documents
needed for conducting front-end reviews, and (2) a quality control
system for assuring that the program disciplines are implementing their
civil rights-related program responsibilities. The Office of Fair
Housing and Equal Opportunity retains statutory and regulatory
authority for conducting civil rights compliance reviews and civil
rights investigations, and for determining compliance with the civil
rights regulations and statutes.
Part 108 of HUD's regulations (24 CFR part 108) establishes
compliance procedures for affirmative fair housing marketing, and the
regulations place responsibility for monitoring (which includes front-
end review of Affirmative Fair Housing Marketing Plans (AFHMPs)) in the
Area Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. With the
implementation of HUD 2020 Management Reform, the review of the AFHMPs
now rest with the eighteen (18) Housing Hubs within the Office of
Housing.
On August 12, 1999, HUD published a rule that makes technical
amendments to its regulations in part 108 to reflect the transfer of
responsibility for front-end reviews from the Office of Fair Housing
and Equal Opportunity to the Monitoring Offices. This notice now
designates 18 Housing Hubs (Boston, Buffalo, New York City,
Philadelphia, Baltimore, Greensboro, Atlanta, Jacksonville, Chicago,
Columbus, Detroit, Fort Worth, Kansas City, Minneapolis, Denver, Los
Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle) as monitoring offices for purposes
of carrying out the monitoring responsibilities in 24 CFR part 108.
Developers and/or sponsors must now submit their AFHMPs to the
Monitoring Offices.
This notice also designates FHEO's Hubs (Boston, New York City,
Philadelphia, Atlanta, Chicago, Fort Worth, Kansas City, Denver, San
Francisco, and Seattle) as Civil Rights/Compliance Reviewing Offices
for purposes of carrying out the civil rights compliance review
responsibilities in 24 CFR part 108
Chapter 3 (on Processing of Affirmative Fair Housing Marketing
Plans and Related Documents) of the Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity
Handbook 8025.1, titled ``Implementing Affirmative Fair Housing
Marketing Requirements'' is undergoing technical amendments to reflect
the changes discussed above. Appendix 10 (AFHM Plans Checklist for
Completeness) of this handbook, however, will remain the same.
Again, the purpose of this notice is to further disseminate
information about the change in responsibilities for civil rights
front-end reviews for HUD programs, and technical changes recently
made, and to be made, to the applicable HUD regulations and handbooks.
The procedures in the regulations and handbook remain the same. The
personnel, however, responsible for carrying out the reviews has
changed.
Dated: October 4, 1999.
Eva M. Plaza,
Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity.
William C. Apgar,
Assistant Secretary for Housing--Federal Housing Commissioner.
Cardell Cooper,
Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development.
Harold Lucas,
Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing.
[FR Doc. 99-26508 Filed 10-8-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-28-P