[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 183 (Wednesday, September 23, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48584-48585]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-22835]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-5275-N-03]


Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination 
Reauthorization Act of 2008: Notice of Proposed Membership of 
Negotiated Rulemaking Committee

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

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: On March 2, 2009, HUD published a Federal Register notice 
requesting nominations for membership on the negotiated rulemaking 
committee that will develop regulatory changes to programs authorized 
under the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act 
of 1996 (NAHASDA). Changes to these programs were made by the Native 
American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Reauthorization Act 
of 2008, which also directs that HUD undertake negotiated rulemaking to 
implement the statutory revisions. In accordance with section 564 of 
the Negotiated Rulemaking Act, this notice establishes the committee, 
announces the names and affiliations of the committee's proposed 
members, requests public comment on the committee and its proposed 
membership, explains how additional nominations for committee 
membership may be submitted, and provides other information regarding 
the negotiated rulemaking process.

DATES: Comment Due Date: October 23, 2009.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments regarding 
this notice to the Regulations Division, Office of General Counsel, 
Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 Seventh Street, SW., 
Room 10276, Washington, DC 20410-0500. Communications must refer to the 
above docket number and title. There are two methods for submitting 
public comments. All submissions must refer to the above docket number 
and title.
    1. Submission of Comments by Mail. Comments may be submitted by 
mail to the Regulations Division, Office of General Counsel, Department 
of Housing and Urban Development, 451 Seventh Street, SW., Room 10276, 
Washington, DC 20410-0500.
    2. Electronic Submission of Comments. Interested persons may submit 
comments electronically through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at 
http://www.regulations.gov. HUD strongly encourages commenters to 
submit comments electronically. Electronic submission of comments 
allows the commenter maximum time to prepare and submit a comment, 
ensures timely receipt by HUD, and enables HUD to make them immediately 
available to the public. Comments submitted electronically through the 
http://www.regulations.gov Web site can be viewed by other commenters 
and interested members of the public. Commenters should follow the 
instructions provided on that site to submit comments electronically.

    Note:  To receive consideration as public comments, comments 
must be submitted through one of the two methods specified above. 
Again, all submissions must refer to the docket number and title of 
the rule.

    No Facsimile Comments. Facsimile (FAX) comments are not acceptable.
    Public Inspection of Public Comments. All properly submitted 
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). Individuals with speech or hearing impairments 
may access this number via TTY by calling the Federal Information Relay 
Service at 800-877-8339. 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, Room 4126, Office of Public and 
Indian Housing, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 
Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20410, telephone number: 202-401-
7914 (this is not a toll-free number). Hearing- or speech-impaired 
individuals may access this number via TTY by calling the toll-free 
Federal Information Relay Service at 1-800-877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    The Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act 
of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 4101 et seq.) (NAHASDA) changed 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, title VI of NAHASDA authorizes Federal guarantees for 
financing of certain tribal activities (Title VI Loan Guarantee 
Program). The regulations governing the IHBG and Title VI Loan 
Guarantee programs are located in part 1000 of HUD's regulations in 
title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations. In accordance with section 
106 of NAHASDA, HUD developed the regulations with active tribal 
participation and using the procedures of the Negotiated

[[Page 48585]]

Rulemaking Act of 1996 (5 U.S.C. 561-570).
    The Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination 
Reauthorization Act of 2008 (Pub. L. 110-411, approved October 14, 
2008) (2008 Reauthorization Act) reauthorizes NAHASDA through 2013 and 
makes a number of amendments to the statutory requirements governing 
the IHBG and Title VI Loan Guarantee programs. The 2008 Reauthorization 
Act amends section 106 of NAHASDA to provide that HUD shall ``initiate 
a negotiated rulemaking in accordance with this section by not later 
than 90 days after enactment of the'' 2008 Reauthorization Act.
    On January 12, 2009 (74 FR 1227), HUD published a notice in the 
Federal Register announcing the initiation of the negotiated rulemaking 
required by the 2008 Reauthorization Act. On March 2, 2009 (74 FR 
9100), HUD published another notice in the Federal Register soliciting 
nominations for membership on the negotiated rulemaking committee. The 
notice provided that the negotiated rulemaking committee must consist 
of representatives of interests that are potentially affected by the 
rulemaking, such as tribally designated housing entities, elected 
officials of tribal governments, and HUD representatives. It is not 
required that each potentially affected organization or entity 
necessarily have its own representative. However, HUD must be satisfied 
that the group as a whole reflects a geographically diverse cross-
section of small, medium, and large Indian tribes.

II. The Negotiated Rulemaking Committee

    This notice establishes the negotiated rulemaking committee, as 
required by section 105 of the 2008 Reauthorization Act, and announces 
the proposed membership of the negotiated rulemaking committee. In 
making its proposed selections for membership on the negotiated 
rulemaking committee, HUD's goal was to establish a committee whose 
membership reflects a balanced representation of Indian tribes. 
Selections were based on those nominees who met the eligibility 
criteria for membership contained in the March 2, 2009, Federal 
Register notice, and HUD is satisfied that the proposed membership 
reflects a geographically diverse cross-section of small, medium, and 
large Indian tribes. In addition to the tribal members of the 
committee, there will be one or more HUD representatives on the 
negotiated rulemaking committee. After careful consideration of all the 
public comments received on the two notices, HUD has made the following 
selections for proposed tribal membership on the negotiated rulemaking 
committee:

    Steven Angasan, King Salmon Tribe, Naknek, Alaska.
Carol Gore, President/CEO, Cook Inlet Housing Authority, Anchorage, 
Alaska.
Blake Kazama, President, Tlingit-Haida Regional Housing Authority, 
Juneau, Alaska.
Marty Shuravloff, Executive Director, Kodiak Island Housing Authority, 
Kodiak, Alaska.
Michael Cook, Executive Director, United South and Eastern Tribes, 
Inc., Nashville, Tennessee.
Ray DePerry, Housing Director, Red Cliff Chippewa Housing Authority, 
Bayfield, Wisconsin.
Robert Durant, Executive Director, White Earth Reservation Housing 
Authority, Waubun, Minnesota.
Leon Jacobs, Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, Mystic, Connecticut.
Susan Wicker, Executive Housing Director, Poarch Band of Creek Indians, 
Atmore, Alabama.
Jason Adams, Executive Director, Salish Kootenai Housing Authority, 
Pablo, Montana.
Lafe Haugen, Executive Director, Northern Cheyenne Tribal Housing 
Authority, Lame Deer, Montana.
Rebecca Phelps, Development Specialist, Turtle Mountain Housing 
Authority, Belcourt, North Dakota.
S. Jack Sawyers, Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah, Cedar City, Utah.
Marguarite Becenti, Interim Director, Umatilla Reservation Housing 
Authority, Pendleton, Oregon.
Henry Cagey, Chairman, Lummi Nation, Bellingham, Washington.
Larry Coyle, Executive Director, Cowlitz Indian Tribal Housing, 
Chehalis, Washington.
Karin Foster, Legal Counsel, Yakama Nation Housing Authority, 
Toppenish, Washington.
Marvin Jones, Manager, Housing Oversight, Cherokee Nation, Tahlequah, 
Oklahoma.
Thomas McGeisey, Director, Seminole Nation Housing Authority, Wewoka, 
Oklahoma.
Shawna Pickup, Secretary, Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma, Wyandotte, 
Oklahoma.
Russell Sossamon, Executive Director, Choctaw Nation Housing Authority, 
Hugo, Oklahoma.
Ervin Keeswood, Member, Navajo Housing Authority Board of 
Commissioners, Window Rock, Arizona.
Judith Marasco, Executive Director, Yurok Indian Housing Authority, 
Klamath, California.
Alvin Moyle, The Honorable Chairman, Fallon Business Council, Fallon 
Paiute-Shoshone Tribe, Fallon, Nevada.
Darlene Tooley, Executive Director, Northern Circle Indian Housing 
Authority, Ukiah, California.

III. Request for Comments and Committee Nominations

    Persons may submit comments on HUD's establishment of the 
negotiating rulemaking committee and may submit additional nominations 
for committee membership in accordance with the ADDRESSES section 
above. Nominations for membership on the Committee must include:
    1. The name of your nominee and a description of the interests the 
nominee would represent;
    2. Evidence that your nominee is authorized to represent a tribal 
government, which may include the tribally designated housing entity of 
a tribe, with the interests the nominee would represent, so long as the 
tribe provides evidence that it authorizes such representation;
    3. A written commitment that the nominee will actively participate 
in good faith in the development of the rule; and
    4. The reasons that the persons proposed above do not adequately 
represent the interests of the person submitting the nomination.

IV. Committee Meetings

    At this time, HUD has not finalized the schedule and agenda for the 
committee meetings. HUD will provide administrative support to the 
committee. Notice of committee meetings will be published in the 
Federal Register. Meetings of the negotiated rulemaking committee will 
be open to the public without advance registration. Public attendance 
may be limited to the space available. Members of the public will be 
provided with an opportunity to make statements during the meeting, to 
the extent that time permits, and to file written statements with the 
committee for its consideration. In the event that the logistics of the 
committee meetings are changed, HUD will advise the public through 
Federal Register notice.

    Dated: September 15, 2009.
Sandra B. Henriquez,
Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing.
[FR Doc. E9-22835 Filed 9-22-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-67-P