[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 204 (Friday, October 22, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62070-62071]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-23697]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-4837-D-51]


Delegation of Authority for Multifamily Housing Mortgage and 
Assistance Restructuring

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, HUD.

ACTION: Notice of Delegation of Authority.

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SUMMARY: Effective October 1, 2004, the Secretary is delegating 
authority and responsibilities to the Assistant

[[Page 62071]]

Secretary for Housing-Federal Housing Commissioner that were previously 
administered by the Director of HUD's Office of Multifamily Housing 
Assistance Restructuring (OMHAR).

EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2004.

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 impairment may call 
HUD's toll-free Federal Information Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Discussion of Delegation of Authority

    OMHAR was established under 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 
107-116), amending various programmatic and administrative provisions 
of MAHRA. MAHRA provides the Department with tools enabling it to 
restructure the mortgage financing of eligible Secretary-held or HUD-
insured projects that receive project-based assistance where necessary 
to extend their long-term viability. The restructuring program is 
referred to as the Mark-to-Market program as it is designed to make the 
rents charged by an insured, assisted project commensurate with 
prevailing rents in the locality. Recognizing that some projects with 
above market rents might be unable to maintain economic viability if 
their rents were brought down to market, the legislation allows HUD to 
restructure a project's mortgage financing, if necessary. This enables 
HUD to preserve low-income housing, while the federal government saves 
money by reducing rent subsidies.
    Section 579 of MAHRA states that OMHAR and the position of the 
Director of OMHAR terminate on September 30, 2004. However, section 579 
provides further that on and after October 1, 2004, (1) the Department 
will continue to engage in restructuring activities previously 
administered by OMHAR through September 30, 2006, and thereafter, with 
respect to projects and programs for which binding commitments have 
been entered into prior to October 1, 2006, and (2) OMHAR's pertinent 
authority and responsibilities are transferred to the Secretary.
    Specifically, section 579 states that subtitle A of MAHRA (titled 
FHA Insured Multifamily Housing Mortgage and Housing Assistance 
Restructuring), except for section 524 (titled Renewal of Expiring 
Project-Based Section 8 Contracts) is repealed effective October 1, 
2006. An exception to this repeal allows HUD to continue to apply the 
provisions of subtitle A ``with respect to projects and programs for 
which binding commitments have been entered into under this Act before 
October 1, 2006.'' Accordingly, although MAHRA terminates OMHAR at the 
end of September 30, 2004, HUD's authorization to restructure mortgages 
will continue for a period of at least two years beyond that date.
    Effective October 1, 2004, the Secretary is delegating this 
authority and attendant responsibilities to the Assistant Secretary for 
Housing-Federal Housing Commissioner. The Assistant Secretary for 
Housing-Federal Housing Commissioner has been overseeing the operations 
of OMHAR since January of 2002, when a new section 578 (titled 
Oversight by Federal Housing Commissioner) was included among the 
amendments to MAHRA. This oversight authority terminates on September 
30, 2004, the same date upon which OMHAR is terminated. Upon the 
termination of OMHAR, responsibility for the actual conduct of the 
mark-to-market program will rest with the Assistant Secretary for 
Housing-Federal Housing, who is authorized to redelegate this 
authority.

II. Authority Delegated

    The Assistant Secretary for Housing-Federal Housing Commissioner is 
delegated the power and authority of the Secretary of HUD to carry out 
the provisions of MAHRA, 42 U.S.C. 1437f note, and to redelegate such 
authority.
    This delegation supersedes and revokes all authority previously 
delegated to the Director of OMHAR.

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

    Dated: October 7, 2004.
Alphonso Jackson,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 04-23697 Filed 10-21-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-32-P