[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 147 (Tuesday, August 1, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43507-43508]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-12262]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-5091-N-01]


Notice of Proposed Information; Collection: Comment Request; 
Maintenance Wage Rate Recommendation, and Maintenance Wage Survey; and 
Report of Additional Classification and Wage Rate

AGENCY: Office of Departmental Operations and Coordination, Office of 
Labor Relations, HUD.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The proposed information collection requirement described 
below will be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
for review, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act. The Department 
is soliciting public comments on the subject proposal.

DATES: Comments Due Date: October 2, 2006.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments regarding 
this proposal. Comments should refer to the proposal by name and/or OMB 
Control Number and should be sent to: Lillian Deitzer, Reports 
Management Officer, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 
Seventh Street, SW., L'Enfant Plaza Building, Room 8001, Washington, DC 
20410 or [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jade Banks, Senior Policy Advisor, 
Office of Labor Relations, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 
451 Seventh Street SW., Washington, DC 20410, telephone (202) 708-0370, 
Ext. 5475 (this is not a toll-free number) for copies of the proposed 
forms and other available information.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Department is submitting the proposed 
information collection to OMB for review, as required by the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, as amended).
    This Notice is soliciting comments from members of the public and 
affected agencies concerning the proposed collection of information to: 
(1) Evaluate whether the proposed collection is necessary for the 
proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether 
the information will have practical utility; (2) Evaluate the accuracy 
of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of 
information; (3) Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and (4) Minimize the burden of the 
collection of information on those who are to respond; including the 
use of appropriate automated collection techniques or other forms of 
information technology, e.g., permitting electronic submission of 
responses.
    This Notice also lists the following information:
    Title of Proposal: Maintenance Wage Rate Recommendation; 
Maintenance Wage Survey; Report of Additional Classification and Wage 
Rate.
    OMB Control Number, if applicable: 2501-0011.
    Description of the need for the information and proposed use: 
Public housing agencies (PHAs), Tribally-designated housing entities 
(TDHEs), and the Department of Hawaiian Homelands (DHHL) are required 
to ensure that maintenance laborers and mechanics employed in the 
operation of HUD-assisted low-income or affordable housing are paid no 
less than prevailing wages that are determined or adopted by HUD 
(section 12(a), U.S. Housing Act of 1937, as amended; sections 104(b) 
and 805(b) of the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-
Determination Act of 1996, as amended). Except that, TDHEs may, at 
their discretion, implement tribally determined prevailing maintenance 
wage rates which would apply in place of HUD-determined or -adopted 
wage rates.
    HUD determines or adopts a schedule of prevailing maintenance wage 
rates for each PHA, TDHE (except for those TDHEs that implement 
tribally-determined prevailing wage rates), and the DHHL, annually, 
coinciding with the agency's fiscal year. In order to ensure that the 
wage rates are reflective of current economic conditions, HUD requests 
that each PHA, TDHE and the DHHL submit a recommendation of prevailing 
wage rates for HUD consideration. PHA, TDHE, and DHHL recommendations 
may be based on a wide variety of economic indicators including, at the 
discretion of the PHA, TDHE, or DHHL, the results of a wage survey that 
the PHA, TDHE or DHHL may conduct of maintenance employers in their 
operating jurisdiction. In addition, HUD may conduct a maintenance wage 
rate survey in the absence of a PHA/TDHE/DHHL recommendation or to 
evaluate a recommendation that has been provided by a PHA, TDHE or 
DHHL.
    In order to assist PHAs, TDHEs and the DHHL to submit prevailing 
wage rate recommendations and, if they choose, to conduct and evaluate 
the results of a maintenance wage survey, and to assist HUD personnel 
in the conduct and evaluation of a maintenance wage survey, HUD 
proposes to institute three forms: Maintenance Wage Rate

[[Page 43508]]

Recommendation; Maintenance Wage Rate Survey Summary; and a Survey of 
Maintenance Wage Rates. PHA, TDHE or DHHL submission of a 
recommendation is highly encouraged by HUD. In the absence of an agency 
recommendation, HUD will issue a prevailing wage rate schedule based 
upon its own actions, which may include a maintenance wage survey 
conducted by HUD. Participation in any maintenance wage survey 
conducted by a PHA, TDHE, DHHL, or HUD, is voluntary on the part of 
maintenance employers. Maintenance wage rate recommendations, survey 
summaries and survey responses must be retained by PHAs, TDHEs, the 
DHHL, and HUD to document compliance with the statutory labor standards 
provisions.
    Agencies, contractors and subcontractors engaged on HUD-assisted 
construction and maintenance projects subject to Federal labor 
standards must pay no less than the wages determined to be prevailing 
by the Secretary of Labor (for construction work) or determined to be 
prevailing by the Secretary of HUD (for maintenance work) to all 
laborers and mechanics engaged on such work. Occasionally, the 
applicable wage decision schedule does not contain a prevailing wage 
rate for all classifications of work needed to complete the project. In 
such cases, the employer that will utilize the classification(s) 
missing from the wage decision must propose a wage rate for such 
classification(s) for the consideration of the Department of Labor 
(DOL) or HUD, as the case may be. The employer must submit its request 
in writing; there is no form specified or required for employer 
submissions. HUD and local agencies that administer HUD-assisted 
projects use the form HUD-4230A to record and submit employer 
additional classification and wage rate requests to DOL, when DOL 
approval is required.
    Agency form numbers, if applicable: To be assigned for Maintenance 
Wage Rate Recommendation, Maintenance Wage Survey Summary, and Survey 
of Maintenance Wage Rates; HUD-4230A for Report of Additional 
Classification and Wage Rate.
    Estimation of the total numbers of hours needed to prepare the 
information collection including number of respondents, frequency of 
response, and hours of response:

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                                                                                  Amount of time    Total time
                              Item                                   Number of       required     required/annum
                                                                    respondents       (hours)         (hours)
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Maintenance Wage Recommendation.................................           3,392               4          13,568
Survey Summary..................................................           1,696               4           6,784
Survey Form Agency Evaluation...................................          20,352               8         162,816
Survey Form Employer Response...................................          20,352               4          81,408
Recordkeeping...................................................           3,392               1           3,392
Additional Classification and Wage Rate.........................             700               2           1,400
Recordkeeping...................................................             700               1             700
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    Total Annual Burden.........................................  ..............  ..............         270,068
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    Status of the proposed information collection: This is a revision 
of a currently approved collection.

    Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C., 
Chapter 35, as amended.

    Dated: July 21, 2006.
Inez Banks-Dubose,
Director, Office of Departmental Operations and Coordination.
 [FR Doc. E6-12262 Filed 7-31-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-67-P