[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 127 (Tuesday, July 3, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36475-36476]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-12892]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR 5119-N-02]


Notice of Proposed Extension of a Currently Approved Information 
Collection: Comment Request; Housing Discrimination Information Form 
HUD-903.1, HUD 903.1A, HUD-903-1B, HUD-903.1F, HUD-903.1KOR, HUD-
903.1C, HUD-903.1CAM, HUD-903.1RUS

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal 
Opportunity, HUD.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The proposed extension of the currently approved information 
collection requirement concerning Housing Discrimination Information 
Forms HUD 903.1, HUD 903.1A, HUD-903-1B, HUD-903.1F, HUD-903.1KOR, HUD-
903.1C, HUD-903.1CAM, and HUD-903.1RUS will be submitted to the Office 
of Management and Budget (OMB) for review, as required by the Paperwork 
Reduction Act. HUD will also solicit public comments on the subject 
proposal.

DATES: Comments Due Date: September 4, 2007.

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 Juanina B. Harris, Administrative 
Support Specialist, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 
451 7th Street, SW., Room 5124, Washington, DC 20410-2000; telephone: 
(202) 402-6979.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lynn Grosso, U.S. Department of 
Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th Street, SW., Room 5226, 
Washington, DC 20410-2000; telephone: (202) 402-5361 (this is not a 
toll-free number). Hearing or speech-impaired individuals may access 
this number via TTY/ASCII by calling the toll-free Federal Information 
Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: HUD is proposing this extension of a 
currently approved information collection to the 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 extension of the collection 
of information regarding alleged discriminatory housing practices under 
the Fair Housing Act (Act) (42 U.S.C. 3601 et seq.). The Act prohibits 
discrimination in the sale, rental, occupancy, advertising, and 
insuring of residential dwellings, and in residential real estate-
related transactions, based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap 
(disability), familial status, or national origin.
    Any person who claims to have been injured by a discriminatory 
housing practice, or who believes that he or she will be injured by a 
discriminatory housing practice that is about to occur, may file a 
complaint with HUD not later than one year after the alleged 
discriminatory housing practice

[[Page 36476]]

occurred or terminated. Form HUD-903.1 was developed in order to 
promote consistency in the documents that, by statute, must be provided 
to persons against whom complaints are filed, and for the convenience 
of the general public. Section 103.25 of HUD's Fair Housing Act 
regulation describes the information that must be included in each 
complaint filed with HUD. For purposes of meeting the Act's one-year 
time limitation for filing complaints with HUD, complaints need not be 
initially submitted on the Form that HUD provides. Housing 
Discrimination Information Form HUD-903.1 (English language), HUD-
903.1A (Spanish language), HUD-903-1B (Chinese language), HUD-903.1F 
(Vietnamese language), HUD-903.1KOR (Korean language), HUD-903.1C 
(Arabic language), HUD-903.1CAM (Cambodian language), and HUD-903.1RUS 
(Russian language) may be submitted to HUD by mail, in person, by 
facsimile, or via the Internet to HUD's Office of Fair Housing and 
Equal Opportunity (FHEO). FHEO staff uses the information provided on 
the Form to verify HUD's authority to investigate the aggrieved 
person's allegations under the Act.

Notice of Submission of Proposed Extension of Information Collection to 
OMB

    Title of Proposal: Housing Discrimination Information Form.
    Office: Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, HUD.
    OMB Control Number: 2529-0011.
    Description of the need for the information and proposed use: HUD 
uses the Housing Discrimination Information Form HUD-903.1 (Form) to 
collect pertinent information from persons wishing to file housing 
discrimination complaints with HUD under the Fair Housing Act (Act). 
The Act makes it unlawful to discriminate in the sale, rental, 
occupancy, advertising, or insuring of residential dwellings; or to 
discriminate in residential real estate-related transactions, based on 
race, color, religion, sex, handicap (disability), familial status, or 
national origin.
    Any person who claims to have been injured by a discriminatory 
housing practice, or any person who believes that he or she will be 
injured by a discriminatory housing practice that is about to occur, 
may file a complaint with HUD not later than one year after the alleged 
discriminatory housing practice occurs or terminates. The Form promotes 
consistency in the collection of information necessary to contact 
persons who file housing discrimination complaints with HUD. It also 
aids in the collection of information necessary for initial assessments 
of HUD's authority to investigate alleged discriminatory housing 
practices under the Act.
    This information may subsequently be provided to persons against 
whom complaints are filed (``respondents''), as required under section 
810(a)(1)(B)(ii) of the Act.
    Agency form numbers, if applicable: Form HUD-903.1 (English), Form 
HUD-903.1A (Spanish), Form HUD-903-1B (Chinese), Form HUD-903.1F 
(Vietnamese), Form HUD-903.1K (Korean), Form HUD-903.1AR (Arabic), Form 
HUD-903.1CAM (Cambodian), and Form HUD-903.1R (Russian).
    Members of affected public: Individuals or households; businesses 
or other for-profit, not-for-profit institutions; State, Local, or 
Tribal Governments.
    Estimation of the total number of hours needed to prepare the 
information collection, including the number of respondents, frequency 
of response, and hours of responses: During FY 2006, HUD staff received 
approximately 18,824 information submissions from persons wishing to 
file housing discrimination complaints with HUD. Telephone contacts 
accounted for 9,655 of this total. The remaining 9,169 complaint 
submissions were transmitted to HUD by mail, in-person, and via the 
Internet. HUD estimates that an aggrieved person requires approximately 
45 minutes to complete the HUD 903.1 Form. The Form is completed once 
by each aggrieved person. Therefore, the total number of annual burden 
hours for this Form is 6,877 hours.
    9,169 x 1 (frequency) x .45 minutes (.75 hrs.) = 6,877 (6,876.75) 
hours.
    Annualized cost burden to complainants: HUD does not provide 
postage-paid mailers for this information collection. Accordingly, 
persons who choose to submit this Form to HUD by mail must pay the 
prevailing cost of First Class Postage. As of the date of this Notice, 
the annualized cost burden per person, based on a one-time submission 
of this Form to HUD via First Class Postage, is Forty-One Cents ($0.41) 
per person. During FY 2006, FHEO staff received approximately 6,897 
submissions of potential complaint information by mail. Based on this 
number, HUD estimates that the total annualized cost burden for 
aggrieved persons who submit this Form to HUD by mail is $2,815.47.
    Aggrieved persons also may submit the Form to HUD in person, by 
facsimile, or electronically via the Internet.
    Status of the proposed information collection: Renewal of a 
currently approved collection of pertinent information from persons 
wishing to file Fair Housing Act complaints with HUD.

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

    Dated: June 26, 2007.
Lynn Grosso,
Director, Office of Enforcement, FHEO.
 [FR Doc. E7-12892 Filed 7-2-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-67-P