[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 23 (Friday, February 3, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5524-5525]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-2481]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
[Docket No. FR-5610-N-02]
Notice of Proposed Information Collection for Public Comment;
Public Housing Agency (PHA) 5-Year and Annual Plan
AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian
Housing, 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 of 1995 (44
U.S.C. Chapter 35, as amended). The Department is soliciting public
comments on the subject proposal. PHAs are required to submit annual
and 5-Year Plans to HUD as required by section 5A of the United States
Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437c-1). The purpose of the plan is to
provide a framework for local accountability and an easily identifiable
source by which public housing residents, participants in the tenant-
based assistance program, and other members of the public may locate
basic PHA policies, rules and requirements concerning the PHA's
operations, programs and services.
DATES: Comment Due Date: April 3, 2012.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments regarding
this proposal. Comments should refer to the proposal by name/or OMB
Control number and should be sent to: Colette Pollard, Departmental
Reports Management Officer, QDAM, Department of Housing and Urban
Development, 451 7th Street SW., Room 4160, Washington, DC 20410-5000;
telephone (202) 402-3400, (this is not a toll-free number) or email Ms.
Pollard at [email protected]. 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. (Other than the
HUD USER information line and TTY numbers, telephone numbers are not
toll-free.)
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Arlette Mussington, Office of Policy,
Programs and Legislative Initiatives, PIH, Department of Housing and
Urban Development, 490 L'Enfant Plaza, Room 2206, Washington, DC 20024;
telephone (202) 402-4109, (this is not a toll-free number).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Department will submit the proposed
[[Page 5525]]
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 of information 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
through 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: Public Housing Agency (PHA) 5-Year and Annual
Plan.
OMB Control Number, if applicable: 2577-0226.
Description of the Need for the Information and Proposed Use: The
PHA Plan is a comprehensive guide to PHA policies, programs,
operations, and strategies for meeting local housing needs and goals.
The PHA Plan informs HUD, residents, and the public of the PHA's
mission for serving the needs of low, very low-income, and extremely
low-income families and its strategy for addressing those needs. This
data allows HUD to monitor the performance of programs and the
performance of public housing agencies that administer the programs.
The PHA Plan is being revised to address, clarify and provide
additional guidance on the submission requirements for qualified and
non-qualified PHAs, as well as to address previous public comments.
Section 2702 of Title VII--Small Public Housing Authorities Paperwork
Reduction Act, of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act (HERA) of 2008
amends section 5A(b) of the 1937 Act by establishing ``qualified public
housing agencies,'' a category of PHAs with less than 550 public
housing units and tenant-based vouchers combined that are provided
substantial paperwork relief, primarily with respect to the PHA Annual
Plan requirements in section 5(A)(b) of the United States Housing Act
of 1937. The paperwork relief exempts qualified PHAs from the
requirement to prepare and submit an annual PHA plan to HUD for review.
This Act impacts approximately seventy-four percent, or 2,994 of
the 4,053 PHAs that are required to submit an annual PHA plan. In
addition to the exemption from submitting annual plans for qualified
agencies, because of the different annual plan submission requirements
of agencies that are considered standard, high-performer, Housing
Choice Voucher (HCV) only, small, and troubled within 24 CFR part 903,
the existing approved forms were determined to be incompatible with the
program requirements. Therefore, some previously approved forms have
been separated into new forms that will be completed by different
classes of PHAs. These changes also reflect recommendations made by the
public in a previous information collection. Specifically, this
information collection revises previously approved OMB forms HUD-50077-
SL and HUD-50077-CR; adds Certifications of Compliance with PHA Plans
and Related Regulations (form HUD-50077-SM-HP and HUD-50077-ST-HCV)
formerly appearing on form HUD 50077 as separate documents; deletes
approved OMB form HUD-50075, and replaces that form with five new forms
(form HUD-50075-5Y, HUD-50075-ST, HUD-50075-SM-HP, HUD-50075-HCV, and
HUD-50075-QA).
Qualified PHAs no longer submit information on discretionary
programs (demolition or disposition, HOPE VI, Project-based vouchers,
required or voluntary conversion, homeownership, or capital
improvements, etc.) as part of an Annual PHA Plan submission. However,
Qualified PHAs that intend to implement these activities are still
subject to the full application and approval processes that exist for
demolition or disposition, designated housing, conversion,
homeownership, and other special application processes that will no
longer be tied to prior authorization in an Annual PHA Plan for a
Qualified PHA. All PHAs, including the PHAs identified as Qualified
PHAs under HERA, must continue to submit any demolition or disposition,
public housing conversion, homeownership, or other special applications
as applicable to HUD's Special Applications Center (SAC) in Chicago for
review and approval or to HUD Headquarters for CFFP proposals. It is
expected that Qualified PHAs, as a matter of good business practice,
continue to keep their residents, the general public, and the local HUD
office apprised of any plans to initiate these types of programs and
activities.
Agency Form Number, if applicable: HUD-50075-5Y, HUD-50075-ST, HUD-
50075-SM-HP, HUD-50075-HCV, HUD-50075-QA, HUD-50075.1, HUD-50075.2,
HUD-50077-ST-HCV, HUD-50077-SM-HP, HUD-50077-CR, HUD-50077-SL.
Members of the Affected Public: Local, Regional and State Body
Corporate Politic Public Housing Agencies (PHAs) Governments.
Estimation of the total number of hours needed to prepare the
information collection including number of respondents, frequency of
response, and hours of response: The estimated number of annual burden
hours needed to prepare the information collection is 20,290; estimated
number of respondents is 4,053; the frequency of response is annually
for all PHAs. All PHAs may submit updated PHA Plans when amending or
modifying any PHA policy, rule, regulation or other aspect of the plan.
Status of the Proposed Information Collection: Reinstatement, with
change, of a previously approved collection.
Authority: Section 3507 of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995,
44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, as amended.
Dated: January 26, 2012.
Merrie Nichol-Dixon,
Deputy Director for Office of Policy, Programs, and Legislative
Initiatives.
[FR Doc. 2012-2481 Filed 2-2-12; 8:45 am]
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