[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 92 (Thursday, May 11, 2000)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 30498-30499]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-11695]



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Part III





Department of Housing and Urban Development





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24 CFR Part 84



Adoption of Revisions to OMB Circular A-110; Uniform Administrative 
Requirements for Grants and Agreements With Institutions of Higher 
Education, Hospitals, and Other Non-Profit Organizations; Interim Rule

  Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 92 / Thursday, May 11, 2000 / Rules 
and Regulations  

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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

24 CFR Part 84

[Docket No. FR-4573-I-01]
RIN 2501-AC68


Adoption of Revisions to OMB Circular A-110; Uniform 
Administrative Requirements for Grants and Agreements With Institutions 
of Higher Education, Hospitals, and Other Non-Profit Organizations

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, HUD.

ACTION: Interim rule.

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SUMMARY: This interim rule revises HUD's regulations that implement the 
requirements of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-
110, ``Uniform Administrative Requirements for Grants and Agreements 
with Institutions of Higher Education, Hospitals, and Other Non-Profit 
Organizations.'' OMB issued a final revision to Circular A-110 on 
September 30, 1999, which was published on October 8, 1999. This 
interim rule will provide uniform administrative requirements for all 
grants and cooperative agreements to institutions of higher education, 
hospitals, and other non-profit organizations.

DATES: Effective Date: June 12, 2000.
    Comment Due Date: July 10, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments regarding 
this interim rule to the Office of the General Counsel, Rules Docket 
Clerk, Room 10276, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 
Seventh Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20410-0500. Comments should 
refer to the above docket number and title. A copy of each 
communication submitted will be available for public inspection and 
copying during regular business hours (weekdays 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. 
Eastern time) at the above address. Facsimile (FAX) comments are not 
acceptable.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general issues regarding this 
interim rule, please contact Charles Gale, Director, Office of Grants 
Management, Department of Health and Human Services at (202) 690-6377. 
For agency-specific issues, please contact William E. Dobrzykowski, 
Assistant Chief Financial Officer, (202) 708-1946. (This is not a toll-
free number.) Hearing-impaired or speech-impaired individuals may 
access the voice telephone number listed above by calling the Federal 
Information Relay Service during working hours at 1-800-877-8339. The 
full text of OMB Circular A-110, the text of the September 30th notice 
of final revision, and a chart showing where each agency has codified 
the Circular into regulation may be obtained by accessing OMB's home 
page (http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb), under the heading ``Grants 
Management.''

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:   

Background

    In the Fiscal Year 1999 appropriations for the Office of Management 
and Budget (Public Law 105-277) the Congress directed OMB to amend 
Circular A-110 (Uniform Administrative Requirements for Grants and 
Agreements with Institutions of Higher Education, Hospitals, and Other 
Non-Profit Organizations) ``to require Federal awarding agencies to 
ensure that all data produced under an award will be made available to 
the public through the procedures established under the Freedom of 
Information Act.'' The directed amendment also provides for a 
reasonable fee to cover the costs incurred in responding to a request.
    In directing OMB to revise Circular A-110, Congress entrusted OMB 
with the authority to resolve statutory ambiguities, the obligation to 
address implementation issues the statute did not address, and the 
discretion to balance the need for public access to research data with 
protections of the research process. In developing the revision, OMB 
sought to implement the statutory language fairly, in the context of 
its legislative history. This required a balanced approach that (1) 
furthered the interest of the public in obtaining the information 
needed to validate Federally-funded research findings, (2) ensured that 
research can continue to be conducted in accordance with the 
traditional scientific process, and (3) implemented a public access 
process that will be workable in practice.
    OMB finalized the revision on September 30, 1999 (64 FR 54926, 
October 8, 1999). Before publication of this final revision, OMB 
published a Notice of Proposed Revision on February 4, 1999 (64 FR 
5684), and a request for comments on clarifying changes to the proposed 
revision on August 11, 1999 (64 FR 43786). OMB received over 9,000 
comments on the proposed revision and over 3,000 comments on the 
clarifying changes.
    This interim rule amends HUD's regulations that codify the 
requirements of Circular A-110 to reflect OMB's final revision to OMB 
Circular A-110.

Findings and Certifications

Environmental Impact

    This amendment is categorically excluded from review under the 
National Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4321). In keeping with the 
exclusion provided for in 24 CFR 50.19(c)(1), this amendment does not 
direct, provide for assistance and mortgage insurance for, or otherwise 
govern or regulate, real property acquisition, 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), this amendment is categorically 
excluded because it amends an existing document where the existing 
document as a whole would not fall within the exclusion in 24 CFR 
50.19(c)91), but the amendment by itself would do so.

Regulatory Planning and Review

    The Office of Management and Budget has reviewed this rule under 
Executive Order 12866 (captioned ``Regulatory Planning and Review'') 
and determined that this rule is a ``significant regulatory action'' as 
defined in section 3(f) of the Order (although not an economically 
significant regulatory action under the Order). Any changes made to 
this rule as a result of that review are identified in the docket file, 
which is available for public inspection during regular business hours 
(7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.) at the Office of the General Counsel, Rules 
Docket Clerk, Room 10276, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban 
Development, 451 Seventh Street, SW, Washington, DC 20410-0500.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    The Secretary, in accordance with the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 
U.S.C. 605(b)), has reviewed this interim rule before publication and 
by approving it certifies that this interim rule will not have a 
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. 
This rule concerns the information pertaining to the award of Federal 
funds that must be provided in response to Freedom of Information Act 
requests.

Federalism Impact

    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

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the relevant requirements of section 6 of the Executive Order are met. 
This interim rule 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.

Unfunded Mandates Act of 1995

    Title II of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-
4; approved March 22, 1995) (UMRA) establishes requirements for Federal 
agencies to assess the effects of their regulatory actions on State, 
local, and tribal governments, and on the private sector. This interim 
rule would not impose any Federal mandates on any State, local, or 
tribal governments, or on the private sector, within the meaning of the 
UMRA.

List of Subjects in 24 CFR Part 84

    Accounting, Audit requirements, Colleges and universities, Grant 
programs--housing and community development, Loan programs--housing and 
community development, Non-profit organizations, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements.


    Accordingly, part 84 of title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations 
is amended as follows:

PART 84--UNIFORM ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS FOR GRANTS AND 
AGREEMENTS WITH INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION, HOSPITALS, AND 
OTHER NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS

    1. The part heading for part 84 is revised to read as set forth 
above.

    2. The authority citation for part 84 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 3535(d).


    3. In Sec. 84.36, paragraph (c) is revised, paragraph (d) is 
redesignated as paragraph (e), and a new paragraph (d) is added to read 
as follows:


Sec. 84.36  Intangible property.

* * * * *
    (c) HUD has the right to:
    (1) Obtain, reproduce, publish or otherwise use the data first 
produced under an award; and
    (2) Authorize others to receive, reproduce, publish, or otherwise 
use such data for HUD purposes.
    (d)(1) In addition, in response to a Freedom of Information Act 
(FOIA) request for research data relating to published research 
findings produced under an award that were used by HUD in developing an 
agency action that has the force and effect of law, HUD shall request, 
and the recipient shall provide, within a reasonable time, the research 
data so that they can be made available to the public through the 
procedures established under the FOIA. If HUD obtains the research data 
solely in response to a FOIA request, HUD may charge the requester a 
reasonable fee equaling the full incremental cost of obtaining the 
research data. This fee should reflect costs incurred by HUD, the 
recipient, and applicable subrecipients. This fee is in addition to any 
fees HUD may assess under the FOIA (5 U.S.C. 552(a)(4)(A)).
    (2) The following definitions apply for purposes of this paragraph 
(d):
    (i) Research data is defined as the recorded factual material 
commonly accepted in the scientific community as necessary to validate 
research findings, but not any of the following: preliminary analyses, 
drafts of scientific papers, plans for future research, peer reviews, 
or communications with colleagues. This ``recorded'' material excludes 
physical objects (e.g., laboratory samples). Research data also do not 
include:
    (A) Trade secrets, commercial information, materials necessary to 
be held confidential by a researcher until they are published, or 
similar information which is protected under law; and
    (B) Personnel and medical information and similar information the 
disclosure of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of 
personal privacy, such as information that could be used to identify a 
particular person in a research study.
    (ii) Published is defined as either when:
    (A) Research findings are published in a peer-reviewed scientific 
or technical journal; or
    (B) HUD publicly and officially cites the research findings in 
support of an agency action that has the force and effect of law.
    (iii) Used by HUD in developing an agency action that has the force 
and effect of law is defined as when HUD publicly and officially cites 
the research findings in support of an agency action that has the force 
and effect of law.
* * * * *

    Dated: April 18, 2000.
Andrew Cuomo,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 00-11695 Filed 5-10-00; 8:45 am]
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