[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 23 (Thursday, February 3, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5400-5403]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-2431]



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Part III





Department of Housing and Urban Development





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NOFA for Public Housing Drug Elimination Program Gun Buyback Violence 
Reduction Initiative; Notice of Amendment and Republication; Notice

  Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 23 / Thursday, February 3, 2000 / 
Notices  

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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-4451-N-06]


NOFA for Public Housing Drug Elimination Program Gun Buyback 
Violence Reduction Initiative; Notice of Amendment and Republication

AGENCY:  Office of Public and Indian Housing, HUD.

ACTION:  Notice of Amendment and Republication of Notice of Funding 
Availability (NOFA) for the Public Housing Drug Elimination Program 
(PHDEP) Gun Buyback Violence Reduction Initiative.

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SUMMARY:  The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is 
amending and republishing its Public Housing Drug Elimination Program 
Gun Buyback Violence Reduction Initiative NOFA (PHDEP Gun Buyback 
NOFA), published in the Federal Register of November 3, 1999 (64 FR 
60080). The PHDEP Gun Buyback NOFA invited public housing authorities 
(PHAs) to direct FY 1999 PHDEP funds for use in gun buyback programs 
and made PHDEP set aside matching funds available. This amendment makes 
clear that while HUD's matching funds are to be drawn only from the FY 
1999 PHDEP set aside, PHAs' expenditures are not restricted to FY 1999, 
but may come from PHDEP grant funds regardless of fiscal year. PHAs 
that have already applied under the November 3, 1999 NOFA need not re-
apply but may seek additional funding.

DATES:  Applications may be submitted at any time after publication of 
this notice. The application period is open until all FY 1999 PHDEP set 
aside matching funds are awarded. Eligible applications that comply 
with the requirements of this notice as well as those of the PHDEP Gun 
Buyback NOFA will be funded on a first-come, first-served basis to the 
extent that funding remains available.

ADDRESSES:  To participate in this initiative and apply for funding, a 
PHA must submit an application to the U.S. Department of Housing and 
Urban Development, Grants Management Center, 501 School Street, SW, 
Suite 800, Washington, DC 20024, Attention: Gun Buyback Initiative. 
Applications may simply consist of a letter of request as long as it 
contains the information required by the this notice.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  Marvin Klepper, Community Safety and 
Conservation Division, Office of Public and Indian Housing, Department 
of Housing and Urban Development, 451 Seventh Street, SW, Room 4206, 
Washington, DC 20410, telephone (202) 708-1197 x 4229. 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. 
Also, please see HUD's website at http://www.hud.gov/pih/legis/titlev.html for additional PHDEP information.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:  On November 3, 1999, at 64 FR 60080, HUD 
published the PHDEP Gun Buyback NOFA, which affirmed gun buybacks to be 
eligible activities under PHDEP; announced that PHAs could direct PHDEP 
funds for use in gun buyback programs; and pledged approximately $43.00 
in FY 1999 PHDEP matching funds for every $100.00 a PHA spent towards 
gun buybacks. The source of the matching funds was the 1999 HUD 
Appropriations Act, which set aside $10,000,000 for ``grants, technical 
assistance, contracts and other assistance, training, and program 
assessment and execution.'' Approximately $4,500,000 of this 
$10,000,000 set aside amount was made available under the PHDEP Gun 
Buyback NOFA for the development, outreach, technical assistance, 
training, assessment and execution activities related to gun buyback 
violence reduction initiatives.
    Now that HUD is issuing the formula allocation for FY 2000 PHDEP 
funding to local PHAs, the Department is hereby advising PHAs that they 
may devote a portion of these PHDEP grant funds to gun buyback violence 
reduction initiatives in cooperation with local law enforcement 
agencies, and that HUD will award a portion of the $4,500,000 in FY 
1999 PHDEP set aside matching funds available for gun buyback violence 
reduction initiatives on a first-come, first-served basis until all 
these matching funds are awarded.
    This notice amends the PHDEP Gun Buyback NOFA requirements to 
clarify that while HUD's matching funds are to be drawn only from the 
FY 1999 PHDEP set aside, PHAs may use PHDEP grant funds from any fiscal 
year (not merely FY 1999 or FY 1999) for gun buybacks. Applicants must 
still comply with all of the other application submission requirements 
as stated in the PHDEP Gun Buyback NOFA. For the convenience of 
applicants, the November 3, 1999 notice is republished below, amended 
consistent with the discussion above, and to reflect the new Executive 
Order on Federalism.

Amended PHDEP Gun Buyback NOFA

    Accordingly, FR Doc. 99-28856, the Public Housing Drug Elimination 
Program Gun Buyback Violence Reduction Initiative NOFA (PHDEP Gun 
Buyback NOFA) published in the Federal Register on November 3, 1999 (64 
FR 60800), is amended and republished as follows:

I. Authority

    The Public Housing Drug Elimination Program is authorized under the 
Public and Assisted Housing Drug Elimination Act (42 U.S.C. 11901 et. 
seq).

II. Amount Allocated

    Public Law 105-276 (the FY 1999 HUD Appropriations Act) 
appropriated $310,000,000 for the Public and Assisted Housing Drug 
Elimination Program. Of the total $310,000,000 appropriated for the 
Public and Assisted Housing Drug Elimination Program, the FY 1999 HUD 
Appropriations Act also set aside $10,000,000 for ``grants, technical 
assistance, contracts and other assistance, training, and program 
assessment and execution''. Approximately $4,500,000 of this 
$10,000,000 set aside amount is being made available under this notice 
for the development, outreach, technical assistance, training, 
assessment and execution activities related to gun buyback violence 
reduction initiatives.
    As discussed in this notice, HUD is encouraging PHAs to program FY 
2000 funds or reprogram a portion of their PHDEP grant funds from 
previous fiscal years to implement and operate gun buyback violence 
reduction initiatives in cooperation with local law enforcement 
agencies. Under this notice, HUD will use the $4.5 million set aside 
amount described in the paragraph above to match up to $10.5 million of 
PHDEP grant funds that are programmed or reprogrammed to implement and 
operate gun buyback violence reduction initiatives. PHAs may request to 
use PHDEP funds for gun buyback violence reduction efforts until the 
available matching funds are exhausted. The Department will no longer 
approve PHA applications for further gun buyback violence reduction 
initiatives under this notice after the available matching funds have 
been awarded.

III. Background

    With almost one gun for every man, woman and child, America is 
drowning today in a flood of guns and we're paying a heavy price for 
this proliferation, particularly in urban areas where much of public 
housing is located. In 1996, we lost more

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Americans to gunfire than we lost in the entire Korean War. Currently, 
over 600 people die in gun-related incidents in the U.S. each week. 
That's over 30,000 every year. This includes over 1,000 accidental 
deaths and over 18,000 suicides. Another 100,000 are injured annually 
in non-fatal shootings.
    Our children pay the highest price. The rate of accidental shooting 
deaths for children under fifteen in the United States is nine times 
higher than the other 25 industrialized countries combined. And the 
great increase in suicides among teenagers and young adults in the past 
four decades has been mostly due to an increase in gun related 
suicides. Easy access to weapons is the single most overwhelming factor 
contributing to the high rate of gun deaths and injuries in this 
country.
    In an effort to curtail the hazards of accidental shootings, 
suicides, the tragedies of domestic violence, the dangers of gun 
violence, and the devastating effects that often accompany such acts, 
police agencies and local community organizations around the country 
have created various types of gun buyback initiatives. Gun reduction 
efforts operate on the premise that accidental shootings, unintentional 
injuries, suicides and violent crimes can be reduced in communities if 
there are fewer weapons available with which to commit such acts. PHAs 
have an important role to play in the reduction of the number of guns 
and incidents of gun-related violence in our communities.
    HUD is sponsoring the initiative announced in this notice through 
its Public Housing Drug Elimination Program to promote the cooperation 
of PHAs and local law enforcement agencies in conducting gun buyback 
initiatives aimed at reducing accidental or unintentional shootings, 
suicides, domestic violence and other forms of gun violence. HUD is 
inviting PHAs who are recipients of PHDEP funding to program or 
reprogram a portion of their PHDEP funding to implement gun reduction 
initiatives in their localities. To encourage the participation of PHAs 
in this initiative, HUD will provide a participating PHA with 
additional funding to increase the amounts available for gun buybacks 
and maximize the number of guns taken out of circulation, and for the 
development, outreach, technical assistance, training, assessment and 
execution activities related to gun buyback violence reduction 
initiatives. Funding being made available for this purpose will be 
equal to approximately 43 percent of the amount of PHDEP funding the 
PHA devotes to the gun buyback violence reduction initiative.
    In addition to reducing the number of accidental shootings, 
suicides, domestic and gun violence, gun reductions efforts have other 
positive aspects for housing and community residents such as:
    Raising public consciousness about community safety and 
soliciting neighborhood participation in crime control efforts
    Acting as a visible deterrent to criminal activity
    Increasing police presence in communities
    Establishing stronger bonds between the community and the 
police, which might aid in more cooperative crime prevention and crime 
resolutions
    Increasing trust in the police on the part of the community
    Affording the community an active role in the fight against 
accidental shootings, suicides, domestic violence, violent crimes and 
firearm related criminal activity
    Involving community businesses as cosponsors of these 
programs, which could bring about more resources and publicity in 
support of the gun reduction efforts.
    While these factors and reports of the success of gun buyback 
initiatives have been sufficiently favorable to encourage HUD to 
undertake this effort, the total amount of HUD assistance being devoted 
to this effort under this notice is capped at a total of $10.5 million 
PHDEP program funding, plus the additional matching $4.5 million. HUD 
will sponsor an independent assessment of this initial effort to more 
accurately and objectively determine the effectiveness of such 
initiatives before expanding this effort further. PHAs and local law 
enforcement agencies participating in the initiative under this notice 
may be contacted to participate in this assessment.

IV. Application Procedures and Requirements

A. General Overview
    PHDEP funds are made available to a PHA to be used in a manner 
consistent with the PHA's PHDEP plan to address drug-related, violent 
and criminal activity in and around public housing. Therefore, to 
participate in this initiative, a PHA must program or reprogram a 
portion of the funds in its PHDEP plan for gun buyback violence 
reduction activities. Before funds are awarded under this notice, a PHA 
will have to submit a reprogramming request for HUD approval, or 
include a gun buyback initiative as part of its PHDEP plan. A PHA that 
has not yet submitted a PHDEP plan for FY 2000 formula funding but that 
wishes to participate in this initiative using FY 2000 funds may submit 
a letter of intent (or a ``programming request'') that complies with 
the requirements of this notice. HUD will review each reprogramming 
request or letter of intent to program funds as it is received and upon 
approval of the request will authorize additional funding at a rate of 
approximately $43 for every $100 dollars of PHDEP funding that 
qualifies under this initiative. This represents an additional 43 
percent of funding for the PHA's gun buyback violence reduction. HUD 
approval will consist of HUD signing off on the programming or 
reprogramming request and MOU (an executed agreement to carry out the 
gun buyback initiative) between the PHA and the local police, and, in 
the case of reprogramming, having HUD amend the PHDEP grant award to 
the PHA to support the gun reduction effort.
    Because of the security issues involved, the gun buyback activities 
must be conducted by the local law enforcement agency. PHDEP funds for 
this gun reduction initiative fall under the categories of eligible 
PHDEP activities of ``programs designed to reduce use of drugs in and 
around public or federally assisted low-income housing projects, 
including drug-abuse prevention, intervention, referral, and treatment 
programs'', as provided in 42 U.S.C. 11903(a)(6) and, under appropriate 
circumstances, reimbursement of local law enforcement agencies for 
additional security and protective services, as provided in 42 U.S.C. 
11903(a)(2). Funds for buyback activities may not be drawn until the 
grantee has executed an agreement or Memorandum of Understanding for 
the additional law enforcement services. The full amount of PHDEP funds 
that are programmed or reprogrammed should be used for the actual 
buyback costs. HUD also strongly recommends that the additional 43 
percent of funding made available be used for gun buyback costs to 
maximize the number of guns taken out of circulation.
    In addition to the use of PHDEP funds and the additional funding 
made available under this NOFA, PHAs may and are encouraged to use 
funding from other sources, such as contributions from local government 
or the private sector, for their gun buyback/violence reduction 
initiatives. PHAs may, for example, negotiate with businesses in the 
community that vouchers exchanged for guns under the initiative provide 
an additional discount or value increase when redeemed at that 
business. PHAs and local law enforcement agencies are

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also strongly encouraged to seek out and obtain community cooperation 
and resources to leverage the costs of the development, outreach, 
technical assistance, training, assessment and execution activities 
related to the initiative, because a community-wide effort is likely to 
have the greatest positive impact.
B. Eligible Applicants
    PHAs that are (1) recipients of PHDEP funding, (2) devoting a 
portion of that funding to gun buyback violence reduction initiatives, 
and (3) implementing their gun buyback initiatives in cooperation with 
local law enforcement agencies, as evidenced by letters of intent and 
executed agreement, may apply for a portion of the additional 
$4,500,000 matching funding under this notice.
C. Amount of Funding per Applicant
    Consistent with this notice, HUD will permit a PHA to program or 
reprogram up to $500,000 of its PHDEP funding to gun buyback violence 
reduction initiatives. In addition to the amount programmed or 
reprogrammed, PHAs will receive an additional amount of funding equal 
to approximately 43 percent of the PHDEP dollars devoted to the gun 
buyback initiative.
D. Eligible Activities
    Police conducting the buyback activity should accept for buyback 
firearms as defined under Federal, State or local law. The Federal law 
definition of a firearm is found at 18 U.S.C. 921(a)(3). In deference 
to local conditions and judgments, HUD will consider a wide range of 
gun buyback violence reduction activities, in accordance with the 
following:
    1. Form of buyback exchange. HUD encourages these initiatives to 
offer gift certificates, food vouchers, certificates for merchandise 
such as toys, or other incentives of value to those who turn in guns, 
in addition to or in place of cash payments.
    2. Amount of value per exchange. HUD suggests value equivalent to 
$50 of the HUD assistance provided to be offered for each gun 
exchanged. Additional value in the form of discounts or extra 
merchandise made available by businesses participating in the 
initiative may also be offered.
    3. Site of gun buyback activities. While PHDEP activities must be 
planned to reduce drug-related, violent and criminal activity in or 
around the premises of public housing, perpetrators of gun violence are 
frequently non-resident predators of public housing. Gun buyback 
activities, therefore, do not need to be conducted on the PHA premises 
in order to be effective. However, it is anticipated that the gun 
reduction effort will have a noticeable impact on reducing the number 
of guns and the risk of unintentional shootings in the homes and 
communities of public housing residents.
    4. Disposal of guns. Once the police collect the weapons from the 
buyback initiatives, the guns must be destroyed so as not to be put 
back into use or circulation, unless law enforcement needs call for 
another action, such as preservation of a gun as evidence or a 
determination of whether a gun was stolen or used in the commission of 
a crime. If a gun is determined to be stolen, it must be returned to 
its lawful owner. Guns may not be resold or exchanged for value, except 
in connection with their destruction and conversion to scrap; however, 
a gun determined to be a curio or relic under 27 CFR 178.11 may be 
donated to a State or Federal museum. Local law enforcement agencies 
will be required to include the following recovery, tracing and 
destruction procedures in their disposal of firearms obtained under 
this initiative:
    (a) Certain firearms defined under the National Firearms Act (NFA), 
26 U.S.C. 5845(a), e.g., short-barreled shotguns, generally must be 
registered with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF). 
Local police will consult with the ATF where NFA firearms are 
surrendered in a buyback program.
    (b) Local police will conduct a search of each surrendered firearm 
in the National Crime Information Center (NCIC).
    (c) Where available, local police will test each surrendered 
firearm using an automated ballistics information system such as IBIS 
or DRUGFIRE.
    (d) Where appropriate, certain surrendered firearms should be 
traced. For example, firearms possessed in violation of local law or 
ordinance, NFA firearms, firearms with an obliterated serial number, or 
firearms that are determined by local law enforcement to be associated 
with crime must be traced where possible.
E. Application Submission Requirements
    Each application for funding under this notice must include the 
following:
    1. A written statement briefly describing which activities in the 
PHA's PHDEP plan would be reprogrammed, and the resulting reprogrammed 
amount PHDEP funding to be used for the gun buyback reduction 
activities; or in the case of FY 2000 funding, the amount of FY 2000 
funds to be programmed for a gun buyback initiative;
    2. A brief description of the proposed gun buyback initiative, 
including the gun recovery, tracing, and destruction procedures that 
will be followed, in accordance with the requirements and guidelines of 
this notice;
    3. Letters of intent. A letter of intent signed by the chief of the 
local law enforcement agency to conduct the gun buyback initiative in 
accordance with the description submitted, and a letter of intent from 
the chief executive officer (generally the mayor or county executive) 
of the unit of local government for the jurisdiction indicating the 
cooperation and support of the local jurisdiction.
F. Award Process
    As HUD receives applications, it will log them in by date and time. 
HUD will notify each PHA applicant that it is eligible to reprogram or 
program its PHDEP funds in the amount indicated in the application 
until a total of $10.5 million of PHDEP funding has been designated 
eligible for this gun buyback initiative. Before additional funds are 
awarded, a PHA that is reprogramming activities will be required to 
submit its formal programming request describing which activities in 
the PHA's PHDEP plan are being reprogrammed, and the reprogrammed 
amount of PHDEP funding to be used for the gun buyback reduction 
activities. All PHAs must also submit an executed agreement with the 
local law enforcement agency to conduct the gun buyback initiative in 
accordance with the description in the programming or reprogramming 
request. Upon approval of a PHA's reprogramming request and executed 
agreement, HUD will award the additional 43 percent of funding through 
an amendment to the PHDEP grant agreement. Awards of the additional 
matching funds for FY 2000 applications will be made upon approval of 
the PHDEP plan and executed agreement. All grants to PHAs and their 
sub-grants to local law enforcement agencies are subject to the 
applicable administrative requirements for grants of 24 CFR part 85, 
including the monitoring and reporting program performance requirements 
of Sec. 85.40 and the financial reporting requirements of Sec. 85.41.

V. Certifications and Findings

Environmental Impact
    This notice does not direct, provide for assistance or loan and 
mortgage insurance for, or otherwise govern or regulate, real property 
acquisition,

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disposition, leasing, rehabilitation, alteration, demolition, or new 
construction, or establish, revise or provide for standards for 
construction or construction materials, manufactured housing, or 
occupancy. Accordingly, under 24 CFR 50.19(c)(1), this notice is 
categorically excluded from environmental review under the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321).
Paperwork Reduction Act Statement
    The information collection requirements for the Public Housing Drug 
Elimination Program were submitted to the Office of Management and 
Budget for review under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act 
of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520) and have been assigned OMB control number 
2577-0124. 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.
Federalism, Executive Order 13132
    Executive Order 13132 (entitled ``Federalism'') prohibits, to the 
extent practicable and permitted by law, an agency from promulgating a 
regulation that has federalism implications and either imposes 
substantial direct compliance costs on State and local governments and 
is not required by statute, or preempts State law, unless the relevant 
requirements of section 6 of the Executive Order are met. This notice 
does not have federalism implications and does not impose substantial 
direct compliance costs on State and local governments or preempt State 
law within the meaning of the Executive Order.
Catalog of Domestic Assistance Number
    The Catalog of Domestic Assistance number for the Public Housing 
Drug Elimination Program is 14.854.

    Dated: January 28, 2000.
Harold Lucas,
Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing.
[FR Doc. 00-2431 Filed 1-31-00; 4:50 pm]
BILLING CODE 4210-33-P