[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 167 (Tuesday, August 29, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Page 51206]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-14249]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-5086-N-01]


Robert L. Woodson, Jr., Award: Changes to the Award Program

AGENCY: Office of General Counsel, HUD.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In 2004, HUD established the Robert L. Woodson, Jr., Award 
(Woodson Award) as an annual award program of America's Affordable 
Communities Initiative. The award program was established to recognize 
state and local governments for excellence in providing affordable 
housing through regulatory reduction. Through this notice, HUD 
announces its intention to alter the award process in order to provide 
more flexibility in the nomination and selection of award recipients. 
HUD intends to eliminate time restrictions for submitting applications 
that nominate jurisdictions for exhibiting outstanding leadership in 
reducing regulatory burden. This notice would eliminate the current 
time restrictions for submitting applications for the Woodson Award. 
This notice would allow applications to be submitted at any time during 
the calendar year, and allow HUD to announce Woodson Award winners at 
any time during the year. This added flexibility should help encourage 
creativity in reducing regulatory barriers to affordable housing.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Camille E. Acevedo, Associate General 
Counsel for Legislation and Regulations, Office of General Counsel, 
Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 Seventh Street, SW., 
Room 10282, Washington, DC 20410-0500, telephone (202) 708-1793 (this 
is not a toll-free number). Persons with hearing or speech impairments 
may access this number through TTY by calling the toll-free Federal 
Information Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In 2003, HUD established America's 
Affordable Communities Initiative (AACI) as a departmentwide effort 
designed to help communities across America identify and overcome 
regulatory barriers that impede the availability of affordable housing, 
as well as help HUD identify its own regulations that present barriers 
to the development of affordable housing. The Robert L. Woodson, Jr., 
Award, named in memory and in honor of HUD's late Chief of Staff, is 
designed to recognize state and local governments that aggressively 
work toward and have had success in the reduction of regulatory 
barriers to affordable housing.
    The award program currently provides for nominations of 
jurisdictions to be submitted on an annual basis in March, with 
nominations reviewed and jurisdictions selected for awards generally by 
June of each year. In the first 2 years of the award program, one state 
agency and 17 communities from across the country received the Woodson 
Award.
    As HUD reaches out to communities throughout the year, through AACI 
or other HUD initiatives, it strives to encourage efforts and 
activities to bring affordable housing within reach of all Americans. 
HUD has decided that it would be better to honor communities for being 
successful in regulatory reform at various times of the year, rather 
than only annually. HUD believes that a more frequent focus on states 
and communities that have successfully increased the supply of 
affordable housing through regulatory reform will better promote 
awareness of the effectiveness of this policy priority in creating 
affordable housing opportunities. The change may also help maintain an 
active national discussion of this important subject. In addition, the 
more immediate dissemination of the successful steps taken by the 
honorees to expand affordable housing may also be of immediate 
assistance to other communities exploring similar ideas.
    This notice announces that, commencing with Fiscal Year 2007 (which 
begins October 1, 2006), state and local governments can be nominated 
for and receive a Woodson Award at any point during the year. In 
addition to the benefits that HUD sees through this change in the award 
program, HUD also believes that it will reduce the burden on those who 
desire to nominate state and local governments by eliminating the time 
constraints imposed by a set application date. This change will enable 
jurisdictions to apply for an award when they are best prepared to do 
so.
    Additional information about the Robert L. Woodson, Jr., Award 
program, and the recipients honored to date, and America's Affordable 
Communities Initiative can be found at http:// www.hud.gov/affordablecommunities.

    Dated: August 21, 2006.
A. Bryant Applegate,
Senior Counsel and Director of America's Affordable Communities 
Initiative.
 [FR Doc. E6-14249 Filed 8-28-06; 8:45 am]
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