[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 202 (Thursday, October 19, 2006)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 61866-61868]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-17518]



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Part III





Department of Housing and Urban Development





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24 CFR Part 1000



Extension of Minimum Funding Under the Indian Housing Block Grant 
Program; Interim Rule

  Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 202 / Thursday, October 19, 2006 / 
Rules and Regulations  

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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

24 CFR Part 1000

[Docket No. FR-5093-I-01]
RIN 2577-AC69


Extension of Minimum Funding Under the Indian Housing Block Grant 
Program

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian 
Housing, HUD.

ACTION: Interim rule.

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SUMMARY: This interim rule provides authority for Indian tribes to 
receive a minimum grant amount under the need component of the Indian 
Housing Block Grant (IHBG) Formula for Fiscal Year (FY) 2007. The 
minimum funding provision currently in effect in HUD's regulations 
limited authority for receipt of a minimum grant amount to FY2006. HUD 
and Indian tribes, through negotiated rulemaking procedures, developed 
and published a proposed rule to address ways to improve and clarify 
the IHBG Formula regulations, including the minimum funding provisions. 
The reinstatement of the authority for minimum grant amounts in FY2007 
will avoid hardship to the affected tribes until the revised minimum 
funding provisions contained in the negotiated rule are issued as a 
final rule and become effective.

DATES: Effective Date: November 20, 2006.
    Comment Due Date: December 18, 2006.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments regarding 
this rule to the Regulations Division, Office of General Counsel, 
Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 Seventh Street, SW., 
Room 10276, Washington, DC 20410-0500. Interested persons also may 
submit comments electronically through The Federal eRulemaking Portal 
at http://www.regulations.gov. HUD strongly encourages commenters to 
submit comments electronically in order to make them immediately 
available to the public. Commenters should follow the instructions 
provided on that site to submit comments electronically. Facsimile 
(FAX) comments are not acceptable. In all cases, communications must 
refer to the docket number and title. All comments and communications 
submitted to HUD will be available for public inspection and copying 
between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. weekdays at the above address. Due to 
security measures at the HUD Headquarters building, an advance 
appointment to review the public comments must be scheduled by calling 
the Regulations Division at (202) 708-3055 (this is not a toll-free 
number). Copies of all comments submitted are available for inspection 
and downloading at http://www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rodger Boyd, Deputy Assistant 
Secretary for Native American Programs, Department of Housing and Urban 
Development, 451 Seventh Street, SW., Room 4126, Washington, DC 20410-
0001; telephone (202) 401-7914 (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:

I. Background

    The Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act 
of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 4101 et seq.) (NAHASDA) streamlined the way that 
housing assistance is provided to Native Americans. NAHASDA eliminated 
several separate assistance programs and replaced them with a single 
block grant program, known as the Indian Housing Block Grant (IHBG) 
Program. In addition to simplifying the process of providing housing 
assistance, the purpose of NAHASDA is to provide Federal assistance for 
Indian tribes in a manner that recognizes the right of Indian self-
determination and tribal self-governance.
    The regulations governing the IHBG Program are found in part 1000 
of HUD's regulations in title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations. 
The part 1000 regulations were established as part of a March 12, 1998, 
final rule implementing NAHASDA. In accordance with section 106 of 
NAHASDA, HUD developed the March 12, 1998, final rule with active 
tribal participation and using the procedures of the Negotiated 
Rulemaking Act of 1990 (5 U.S.C. 561-570).
    Under the IHBG Program, HUD makes assistance available to tribes 
for Indian housing activities. The amount of assistance made available 
to each Indian tribe is determined using a formula (IHBG Formula) that 
was developed as part of the NAHASDA negotiated rulemaking process. A 
regulatory description of the IHBG Formula is located in subpart D of 
24 CFR part 1000 (Sec. Sec.  1000.301-1000.340). The IHBG Formula 
consists of two components: (1) Need and (2) formula current assisted 
stock (FCAS). Generally, the amount of funding for a tribe is the sum 
of the need component and the FCAS component, subject to a minimum 
funding amount authorized by Sec.  1000.328.
    The minimum funding provision at Sec.  1000.328 provides that in 
the first year of NAHASDA participation, an Indian tribe whose 
allocation is less than $50,000 under the need component of the formula 
shall have its need component of the grant adjusted to $50,000. In 
subsequent fiscal years, an Indian tribe whose allocation is less than 
$25,000 under the need component of the formula shall have its need 
component of the grant adjusted to $25,000. As originally adopted by 
the negotiated rulemaking committee and reflected in the March 12, 
1998, final rule, Sec.  1000.328 provided that minimum funding under 
the need component would not extend beyond Fiscal Year 2002.
    Section 1000.328 also specifies that the need for the minimum 
funding provisions will be reviewed in accordance with Sec.  1000.306. 
Section 1000.306 provides that the IHBG Formula be reviewed within five 
years after promulgation to determine whether any changes are needed. 
The negotiated rulemaking committee intended that the IHBG Formula 
would be reviewed before expiration of the minimum funding provision.
    In accordance with Sec.  1000.306, HUD established a negotiated 
rulemaking committee for the purposes of reviewing and developing 
changes to the regulations governing the IHBG Formula, including the 
minimum funding provisions. However, the work of the committee 
continued beyond FY2002 and the expiration of the minimum funding 
provisions. Accordingly, on June 24, 2003 (68 FR 37660), HUD published 
an interim rule extending the minimum funding under the need component 
through FY2003 in order to avoid hardship to the affected Indian 
tribes. The interim rule provided for a 60-day public comment period. 
HUD received no comments in response to the interim rule. Due to the 
ongoing work of the negotiated rulemaking committee, the minimum 
funding provisions were again extended through FY2006 (see the interim 
rules published on June 17, 2004 (69 FR 34020) and January 27, 2005 (70 
FR 4000)).
    On February 25, 2005 (70 FR 9490), HUD published the proposed rule 
that was developed by the negotiated rulemaking committee. However, 
because the final rule implementing these regulatory changes has not 
yet been published and made effective, HUD has determined that an 
additional extension is required for the minimum

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funding provision of Sec.  1000.328. If action is not taken now to 
extend the minimum funding provision, Indian tribes, especially small 
Indian tribes, would be affected by the lapse of the minimum funding 
provision.

II. This Interim Rule

    The interim rule authorizes for FY2007 the provision in Sec.  
1000.328 with respect to the minimum funding amount under the need 
component of the IHBG for tribes returning for their second or 
subsequent year's grant. The provision with respect to the $50,000 an 
Indian tribe receives in its first year of funding under the IHBG 
Program is not revised by this interim rule. That provision, unlike the 
minimum funding amount for returning Indian tribes, has no expiration 
date. Accordingly, this rule applies only to the minimum grant amount 
that returning Indian tribes may receive.
    The reinstatement of the authority for minimum grant amounts in 
FY2007 will avoid unnecessary hardship to the many Indian tribes until 
the revised minimum funding provisions contained in the negotiated 
proposed rule are issued as a final rule and become effective. Once 
effective, the minimum funding provisions established by the negotiated 
final rule will supersede the current regulations. In the interim, 
affected tribes will not suffer a financial loss because of the 
expiration of the minimum funding provision in the current regulation.

III. Justification for Interim Rulemaking

    Generally, HUD publishes a rule for public comment before issuing a 
rule for effect, in accordance with its own regulations on rulemaking 
at 24 CFR part 10. Part 10, however, does provide in Sec.  10.1 for 
exceptions from that general rule where HUD finds good cause to omit 
advance notice and public participation. The good cause requirement is 
satisfied when the prior public procedure is ``impracticable, 
unnecessary, or contrary to the public interest.''
    HUD finds that good cause exists to publish this interim rule for 
effect without first soliciting public comment. The rule will allow a 
minimum amount of funding to continue to Indian tribes without a 
significant lapse in time during which the tribes would be foreclosed 
from receiving funds entirely or would receive a significant reduction 
in funds. The funding meets a critical need of many tribes, which would 
go unmet during the time that it otherwise would take to publish a rule 
for effect. Further, as noted above in this preamble, this interim rule 
follows publication of other HUD interim rules, which similarly 
extended the IHBG minimum funding provisions. The rules were non-
controversial and welcomed by Indian tribes. Although the previous 
interim rules invited public comments, HUD did not receive any public 
comments opposed to the extension of the minimum funding provisions. 
HUD, however, solicits public comment on this rule.

IV. Findings and Certifications

Executive Order 13132

    Executive Order 13132 (entitled ``Federalism'') prohibits an agency 
from publishing any rule that has federalism implications if the rule 
either imposes substantial direct compliance costs on State and local 
governments and is not required by statute, or the rule preempts State 
law, unless the agency meets the consultation and funding requirements 
of section 6 of the Executive Order. This rule does not have federalism 
implications and does not impose substantial direct compliance costs on 
State and local governments nor preempt State law within the meaning of 
the Executive Order.

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act

    Title II of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 
1531-1538) (UMRA) establishes requirements for Federal agencies to 
assess the effects of their regulatory actions on State, local, and 
tribal governments and the private sector. This interim rule does not 
impose any Federal mandate on any State, local, or tribal government or 
the private sector within the meaning of UMRA.

Environmental Impact

    A Finding of No Significant Impact with respect to the environment 
was made for the June 24, 2003, interim rule, in accordance with HUD 
regulations at 24 CFR part 50, which implement section 102(2)(C) of the 
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)). That 
finding remains applicable to this interim rule and is available for 
public inspection between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. weekdays in 
the Regulations Division, Office of General Counsel, Department of 
Housing and Urban Development, 451 Seventh Street, SW., Room 10276, 
Washington, DC 20410-0500. Due to security measures at the HUD 
Headquarters building, an advance appointment to review the public 
comments must be scheduled by calling the Regulations Division at (202) 
708-3055 (this is not a toll-free number).

Impact on Small Entities

    The Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.), 
generally requires an agency to conduct a regulatory flexibility 
analysis of any rule subject to notice and comment rulemaking 
requirements unless the agency certifies that the rule will not have a 
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. 
This interim rule does not impose any new or modify existing regulatory 
requirements. Rather, the rule is exclusively concerned with extending 
the minimum funding provisions under the need component of the IHBG 
Formula. To the extent the interim rule has any impact on small 
entities, it will be to the benefit of small Indian tribes that are the 
primary beneficiaries of the minimum funding provisions. Accordingly, 
the undersigned certifies that this rule will not have a significant 
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. 
Notwithstanding HUD's determination that this rule will not have a 
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities, 
HUD specifically invites comments regarding less burdensome 
alternatives to this rule that will meet HUD's objectives as described 
in this preamble.

 Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Numbers

    The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number for the IHBG 
Program is 14.867.

List of Subjects in 24 CFR Part 1000

    Aged, Community development block grants, Grant programs--housing 
and community development, Grant programs--Indians, Indians, 
Individuals with disabilities, Public Housing, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements.


0
Accordingly, HUD amends 24 CFR part 1000 to read as follows:

PART 1000--NATIVE AMERICAN HOUSING ACTIVITIES

0
1. The authority citation for 24 CFR part 1000 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 25 U.S.C. 4101 et seq.; 42 U.S.C. 3535(d).


0
2. Revise Sec.  1000.328 to read as follows:


Sec.  1000.328  What is the minimum amount an Indian tribe can receive 
under the need component of the formula?

    In the first year of NAHASDA participation, an Indian tribe whose 
allocation is less than $50,000 under the need component of the formula 
shall have its need component of the grant

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adjusted to $50,000. The Indian tribe's IHP shall contain a 
certification of the need for the $50,000 funding. In subsequent years, 
but not to extend beyond Federal Fiscal Year 2007, an Indian tribe 
whose allocation is less than $25,000 under the need component of the 
formula shall have its need component of the grant adjusted to $25,000. 
The need for this section will be reviewed in accordance with Sec.  
1000.306.

    Dated: September 20, 2006.
Orlando J. Cabrera,
Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing.
 [FR Doc. E6-17518 Filed 10-18-06; 8:45 am]
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