[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 112 (Monday, June 11, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34399-34400]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-14143]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-5638-N-01]


Public Housing Assessment System (PHAS): Capital Fund Interim 
Scoring Notice; Request for Comment

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

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice advises public housing agencies (PHAs), as well as 
members of the public, that HUD intends to award 5 points for the 
occupancy sub-indicator of the Capital Fund indicator to all PHAs for 
the Capital Fund Indicator under the PHAS interim rule published 
February 23, 2011. The award of 5 points is a temporary measure to 
address the transition to the scoring system implemented by the PHAS 
interim rule, especially as relates to the indicator that assesses 
occupancy rate. The 5 points for the occupancy sub-indicator will be 
awarded for fiscal years ending March 31, 2011, June 30, 2011, 
September 30, 2011, and December 31, 2011. The score already assigned 
to the sub-indicator on occupancy rate will be designated as an 
advisory score, but only for a period of one year that commences with 
the date of publication of this notice.

DATES: Effective Date: June 11, 2012 .
    Comment due date: July 11, 2012.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments regarding 
this proposed rule to the Regulations Division, Office of General 
Counsel, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th 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 7th 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 
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 
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 Relay 
Service at 1-800-877-8339. Copies of all comments submitted are 
available for inspection and downloading at www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Claudia J. Yarus, Real Estate 
Assessment Center (REAC), Office of Public and Indian Housing, 
Department of Housing and Urban Development, 550 12th Street, SW., 
Suite 100, Washington, DC 20410, telephone 202-475-8830 (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 Relay 
Service at 800-877-8339. Additional information is available from the 
REAC Internet site at http://www.hud.gov/offices/reac/.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    The PHAS interim rule, published on February 23, 2011, at 76 FR 
10136, became effective for PHAs with fiscal years ending March 31, 
2011. The PHAS interim rule includes 10 point Capital Fund Program 
Indicator score, and scoring for this indicator is described in the 
Capital Fund Scoring Notice, also published on February 23, 2011, at 76 
FR 10053. Under this indicator, PHAs can receive up to 5 points for the 
timeliness of fund obligation and up to 5 points for the occupancy 
rate.
    Under the Capital Fund Scoring Notice, a PHA receives the full 5 
points for the sub-indicator on timeliness of obligation if the PHA: 
(1) On the obligation end date, or extended date(s), obligates 90 
percent or more of the grant amounts for all outstanding, open grants 
with obligation end dates in the assessed fiscal year: and (2) does not 
have any grants that have been sanctioned pursuant to section 9(j) of 
the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437g(j)) during the 
assessed fiscal year. If the PHA does not meet the above described 
requirements, the PHA receives 0 points for this indicator. For the 
occupancy rate sub-indicator, a PHA receives 0, 2, or 5 points based on 
its occupancy rate as of the last day of the PHA's fiscal year. The 
score is 0 points

[[Page 34400]]

for an occupancy rate of less than 93 percent, 2 points for an 
occupancy rate of 93 percent but less than 96 percent, and 5 points for 
an occupancy rate of 96 percent or greater.

II. Action

    The PHAS interim rule is the first rule to assess and score PHAs 
under the asset management model. Because the rule was effective for 
PHA fiscal years ending the month following the February 2011 
publication date in the Federal Register, HUD recognizes that PHAs may 
not have been fully prepared for the changes to the assessments, 
performance standards, and corresponding changes in scoring, 
specifically as relates to the sub-indicator that assesses the 
occupancy rate.
    Accordingly, this notice advises that for PHA's with fiscal years 
ending March 31, 2011, June 30, 2011, September 30, 2011 and December 
31, 2011, HUD is awarding all PHAs 5 points for the occupancy rate sub-
indicator under the Capital Fund Program Indicator. The score already 
assigned for occupancy rate sub-indicator of the Capital Fund score is 
advisory only as of the effective date of this notice, and will remain 
advisory for a period of one year from the date of publication of this 
notice.
    HUD welcomes public comment on the scoring adjustment HUD intends 
to take as provided in this notice.
    Following expiration of the advisory score period HUD will issue 
revisions of the Capital Fund indicator scores, which will result in 
revised PHAS scores for certain PHAs, beginning on the effective date 
of this notice. HUD will publish a final notice after consideration of 
the public comments received in response to this notice.

    Dated: June 5, 2012.
Sandra B. Henriquez,
Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing.
[FR Doc. 2012-14143 Filed 6-8-12; 8:45 am]
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