[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 161 (Wednesday, August 20, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50175-50176]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-21243]



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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-4837-D-05]


Redelegations of Authority to the Office of Multifamily Housing 
Assistance Restructuring

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Housing-Federal Housing 
Commissioner, HUD.

ACTION: Notice of revocation and redelegations of authority.

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SUMMARY: Published elsewhere in today's Federal Register, the Secretary 
of HUD issued an up-to-date comprehensive delegation of authority for 
housing programs to the Assistant Secretary for Housing-Federal Housing 
Commissioner and the General Deputy Assistant Secretary for Housing-
Deputy Federal Housing Commissioner. This notice advises the public of 
redelegations of authority from the Housing Assistant Secretary to the 
Office of Multifamily Housing Assistance Restructuring

EFFECTIVE DATE: August 11, 2003.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eliot C. Horowitz, Senior Advisor to 
the Assistant Secretary for Housing-Federal Housing Commissioner, 
Office of Housing, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Room 
9110, Washington, DC 20410-8000, telephone (202) 708-0614. (This is not 
a toll-free number.) Persons with hearing-or speech-impairments may 
call HUD's toll-free Federal Information Relay Service at (800) 877-
8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Discussion of Redelegation of Authority

    Over the years, the cost to the federal government of assisting 
affordable, rental housing has increased rapidly. Under their 
assistance contracts, many projects have been charging rents that far 
exceed those charged for comparable units in unassisted housing in the 
local market. To preserve the low-income housing affordability and 
availability of these units, while reducing the long-term costs of 
project based assistance, Congress enacted the Multifamily Assisted 
Housing Reform and Affordability Act, Title V. of Public Law 105-65 
(approved October 27, 1997) (42 U.S.C. 1437) (MAHRA). On January 10, 
2002, the President signed the Mark-to-Market Extension Act of 2001, 
Title VI of Public Law 107-342. The Mark-to-Market Extension Act of 
2001 amended certain programmatic and administrative provisions of 
MAHRA.
    MAHRA seeks to ensure the long-term viability of multifamily 
projects that (1) receive project-based rental assistance from HUD 
(primarily through the section 8 program) and (2) have Secretary held 
or insured mortgage financing through the Federal Housing 
Administration (FHA). MAHRA established a new office within HUD, the 
Office of Multifamily Housing Assistance Restructuring (OMHAR) that is 
responsible for carrying out the purposes of the Act and enables OMHAR 
to restructure the mortgage financing of the Secretary-held or HUD-
insured projects as well as the project-based assistance.
    Section 571 of MAHRA establishes OMHAR within the Department of 
Housing and Urban Development. Section 572 states that the Office shall 
be under the management of a Director appointed by the President. The 
Mark-to-Market Extension Act of 2001 amended section 578 of MAHRA to 
provide that all authority and responsibilities of the Director shall 
be carried out through, and under the oversight of, the Federal Housing 
Commissioner. In addition, the legislation states that OMHAR shall have 
a Deputy Director, appointed by the Director, who shall have powers and 
duties defined by the Director and who shall, in the absence of the 
Director, serve as the Acting Director.
    The organization of OMHAR consists of both a Headquarters and a 
Field Office structure. Within Headquarters, transactions are decided 
by the OMHAR Director, Deputy Directors, a Field Liaison and a Loan 
Committee. The Field structure is comprised of four Production Offices. 
Each Production Office has a Portfolio Director who oversees the 
mortgage and/or assistance restructurings, as well as a Deputy 
Portfolio Director and a Loan Committee. As of April 2002, the OMHAR 
Production Offices are located in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and 
Washington, DC.
    Section 573 of MAHRA, captioned ``Duty and Authority of Director,'' 
provides in part that ``the Secretary shall, acting through the 
Director, administer the program of mortgage and rental assistance 
restructuring and that the Director may delegate to officers and 
employees of the Office (but not to contractors, subcontractors, or 
consultants) any of the functions, powers, and duties of the Director, 
as the Director considers appropriate.''
    In order to accomplish restructuring transactions, the Director of 
OMHAR requires certain authority that has been delegated by the HUD 
Secretary to the Assistant Secretary of Housing-Federal Housing 
Commissioner and that can be redelegated by the Assistant Secretary. 
The authority to be delegated herein will enable OMHAR to modify the 
terms of insured or Secretary-held mortgages, determine the type and 
amount of section 8 assistance that would be provided to a project, 
approve mortgage prepayments, in whole or part, issue firm commitments 
and endorse mortgage notes for FHA-insurance for refinancing cases, and 
approve transfers of physical assets. The Director of OMHAR has, in the 
past, redelegated certain functions in order to facilitate the 
development and efficient review of Restructuring Plans, Restructuring 
Commitments and rent restructuring (OMHAR Lite) applications while 
continuing to ensure the integrity of OMHAR's work product. These 
redelegations have allowed the approval of certain Restructuring 
Commitments and OMHAR Lite applications to be performed by Portfolio 
Directors, Deputy Directors, Production Loan Committees, and a 
Headquarters Loan Committee. Under the authority redelegated herein, 
the Director may modify these redelegations.
    The specific authorities redelegated are set forth in Section II. 
of this notice.

II. Authority Redelegated

    The Assistant Secretary for Housing-Federal Housing Commissioner 
and the General Deputy Assistant Secretary for Housing--Deputy Federal 
Housing Commissioner retain and redelegate to the Director, Office of 
Multifamily Housing Assistance Restructuring the power and authority 
described as follows:
    Authority is redelegated, on a nationwide basis, to exercise the 
following functions, in making decisions under MAHRA, that are binding 
upon the Department of Housing and Urban Development in the conduct of 
any mortgage and/or assistance restructuring transaction:
    (1) Modify the principal balance, payments, interest rate, and 
amortization period and other terms of existing FHA insured and HUD-
held mortgages;
    (2) Approve a prepayment, in whole or part, of an insured mortgage 
note pursuant to section 517(b)(1) of MAHRA;
    (3) Determine the type of rental assistance and the section 8 
contract rent levels, pursuant to sections 514 and 515 of MAHRA;
    (4) Determine the Section 8 contract rent levels for eligible 
properties referred to OMHAR whose debt is not restructured pursuant to 
section 524(a)(1) of MAHRA;
    (5) Issue a firm commitment for FHA mortgage insurance and endorse 
the

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mortgage note for FHA mortgage insurance under the state housing 
finance agency risk sharing provisions of section 542(c) of the Housing 
and Community Development of 1992 (Public Law 102-550, approved October 
28, 1992);
    (6) Issue a firm commitment for FHA mortgage insurance and endorse 
the mortgage note for FHA mortgage insurance under the Government 
Sponsored Enterprises risk sharing provisions of section 542(b) of the 
Housing and Community Development of 1992 (Public Law 102-550, approved 
October 28, 1992);
    (7) Issue HUD forms 92264 and 92264A upon approval of a 
restructuring plan;
    (8) Approve Transfers of Physical assets;
    (9) Approve Environmental Assessment and Compliance Findings for 
related Laws report, HUD form 4128.1;
    (10) Issue a commitment to insure and endorse for insurance a 
mortgage note given to refinance a HUD insured or HUD-held mortgage, 
pursuant to section 223(a)(7) of the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 
1715n);
    (11) Select participating administrative entities, enter into and 
carry out the Secretary's duties under portfolio restructuring 
agreements, pursuant to section 513 of MAHRA;
    (12) Compensate third parties under section 517(b)(5) of MAHRA;
    (13) Apply project accounts under section 517(b)(6) of MAHRA.

III. Authority Excepted

    The authority delegated in section II. does not include the 
authority to waive regulations under the program jurisdiction of the 
Assistant Secretary for Housing.

IV. Prior Delegations Revoked and/or Superseded

    All prior redelegations of authority to the Director of OMHAR are 
hereby revoked or superseded.

V. Revocation of Authority

    The Assistant Secretary for Housing-Federal Housing Commissioner 
may revoke the authority authorized herein, in whole or part, at any 
time. Any revocation or modification of a redelegation will be 
published in the Federal Register.

    Authority: Section 7(d), Department of Housing and Urban 
Development Act, 42 U.S.C. 3535(d).

    Dated: August 11, 2003.
John C. Weicher,
Assistant Secretary for Housing-Federal Housing Commissioner.
[FR Doc. 03-21243 Filed 8-19-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-27-P