[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 175 (Tuesday, September 10, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55282-55284]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-22024]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket Number FR-5623-N-04]


Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Healthcare Facility 
Documents: Notice of Information Collection--Proposed Documents 
Eligible for Electronic Submission

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Housing--Federal Housing 
Commissioner, HUD.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: On March 14, 2013, HUD published in the Federal Register a 
notice that announced that FHA's healthcare facility documents 
completed the notice and comment processes under the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995, and had been assigned a control number, 2502-
0605, by the Office of Management and Budget. The assignment of a 
control number concluded a 10-month process through which HUD solicited 
public comment to update 115 healthcare facility documents to reflect 
current policy and practices, to improve accountability by all parties 
involved in FHA's healthcare facility transactions and strengthen risk 
management.
    Through this notice, HUD solicits public comment solely on the 
issue of which healthcare facility documents are eligible for 
electronic submission. HUD did not address this issue as part of the 
previous notice and comment process, but recognizes the importance, 
efficiency, and reduction of burden that electronic submission of 
documents can achieve, and now solicits public comment on the 
healthcare facility documents that HUD has determined may be submitted, 
but are not required to be submitted, electronically.

DATES: Comment Due Date: November 12, 2013.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments regarding 
this notice. Communications must refer to the above docket number and 
title. There are two methods for submitting public comments:
    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. Comments may be submitted 
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 
notice.

    No Facsimile Comments. Facsimile (fax) comments are not acceptable.
    Public Inspection of Public Comments. All properly submitted 
comments and communications will be available for public inspection and 
downloading at www.regulations.gov under the docket number for this 
notice.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John M. Hartung, Director, Policy and 
Risk Management Division, Office of Residential Care Facilities, Office 
of Healthcare Programs, Office of Housing, U.S. Department of Housing 
and Urban Development, 1222 Spruce Street, Room 3.203, St. Louis, MO 
63103-2836; telephone (314) 418-5238 (this is not a toll-free number). 
Persons with hearing or speech disabilities may access this number 
through TTY by calling the toll-free Federal Relay Service at (800) 
877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background--Prior Public Comment on Substance of Healthcare Facility 
Documents

    On May 3, 2012, at 77 FR 26304, and consistent with the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), HUD published a notice in the Federal 
Register seeking public comment for a period of 60 days (60-day Notice) 
on HUD's proposed update and revisions to a set of production, 
underwriting, asset management, closing, and other documents used in 
connection with transactions involving healthcare facilities, excluding 
hospitals (collectively, the healthcare facility documents), that are 
insured pursuant to section 232 of the National Housing Act (Section 
232). In conjunction with publication of the 60-day Notice, the 
proposed revised healthcare facility documents (115 documents) were 
made available at: www.hud.gov/232forms. In addition to presenting 
unmarked versions of the documents, this Web

[[Page 55283]]

site, to the extent applicable, presented the proposed healthcare 
facility documents as a redline/strikeout against the updated 
multifamily rental project closing documents to highlight the changes 
made to facilitate a healthcare transaction. Where the proposed 
healthcare facility documents were based on existing healthcare 
facility documents, the proposed healthcare facility documents, in 
addition to being presented in an unmarked format, were presented in 
redline/strikeout format so that reviewers could see the changes 
proposed to the existing healthcare facility documents.\1\
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    \1\ Along with the 60-day Notice, HUD published in the Federal 
Register on May 3, 2012, at 77 FR 26218, a proposed rule that 
proposed to strengthen regulations for HUD's Section 232 program to 
reflect current policy and practices, and to improve accountability 
and strengthen risk management. A final rule following the May 3, 
2012, proposed rule, and taking into consideration public comment 
received on the proposed rule, was published on September 7, 2012, 
at 77 FR 55120.
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    As a special outreach to the public on proposed changes to the 
healthcare facility documents and Section 232 program regulations, HUD 
hosted a forum on May 31, 2012, in Washington, DC. (See http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/press/multimedia/videos.) While 
comments were raised and discussed at the forum, HUD encouraged forum 
participants to file written comments through the www.regulations.gov 
Web site so that all comments would be more easily accessible to 
interested parties. All comments, whether submitted through 
www.regulations.gov or raised at the forum, were considered in the 
development of the revised documents which were published on November 
21, 2012 (77 FR 69870), and for which, consistent with the PRA, comment 
was solicited for an additional 30 days (30-day Notice).
    In the 30-day Notice, HUD identified substantive changes that were 
made to the healthcare facility documents in response to public 
comments submitted on the 60-day Notice, responded to significant 
issues raised by the commenters, and identified proposed additional 
changes based on further consideration of certain issues. As was the 
case with the 60-day Notice, HUD posted on its Web site the further 
revised healthcare facility documents in (1) a clean format, and (2) in 
redline/strikeout format, to show the changes made from the versions 
posted with issuance of the 60-day Notice.
    On March 14, 2013, at 78 FR 16279, HUD published in the Federal 
Register a notice that announced the approval of the healthcare 
facility documents under the PRA and an assignment of a control number, 
2502-0605, by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). In addition to 
announcing the assignment of an OMB control number, HUD advised in the 
May 14, 2013, notice that additional changes were made to the 
healthcare facility documents in response to comments submitted on the 
30-day Notice. In the March 14, 2013, notice, HUD highlighted 
additional changes made to the healthcare facility documents, and once 
again, provided on HUD's Web site at www.hud.gov/232forms, the final 
versions of the documents in clean and redline/strikeout formats so 
that reviewers could see the final changes made to the documents and 
the clean final versions of the documents.

II. Solicitation of Comment on Electronic Submission of Healthcare 
Facility Documents

    As a result of the significant solicitation of public comment on 
the substance of the healthcare facility documents, this solicitation 
of public comment is devoted solely to the issue of which healthcare 
facility documents may be submitted electronically. Consistent with 
current practice, HUD requires applications for mortgage insurance be 
submitted electronically. Any healthcare facility documents submitted 
as part of an application for mortgage insurance must be submitted 
electronically. Of the other healthcare facility documents, HUD has 
identified 13 documents that HUD has determined must be submitted with 
original signatures, in hard copy format. These documents are the 
following: Healthcare Regulatory Agreement--Borrower (HUD-92466-ORCF); 
Healthcare Regulatory Agreement--Operator (HUD-92466A-ORCF); Management 
Certification--Residential Care Facility (HUD-9839-ORCF); Lender 
Certification (HUD-92434-ORCF); Offsite Bond--Dual Obligee (HUD-92479-
ORCF); Performance Bond--Dual Obligee (HUD-92452-ORCF); Payment Bond 
(HUD-92452A-ORCF); Request for Endorsement (HUD-92455-ORCF); Request 
for Final Endorsement (HUD-92023-ORCF); Guide for Opinion for Mater 
Tenant's Counsel (HUD-92335-ORCF); Healthcare Regulatory Agreement--
Master Tenant (HUD-92337-ORCF); Guide for Opinion of Borrower's Counsel 
(HUD-91725-ORCF); and Guide for Opinion of Operator's Counsel and 
Certification (HUD-92325-ORCF). For any of the remaining healthcare 
facility documents other than application documents or these 13 
documents, HUD does not require that any of these remaining documents 
be submitted electronically, but presents electronic submittal as an 
option.
    In HUD's 30-day Notice, HUD listed in a table all the documents for 
which approval under the PRA was sought and provided the burden hours 
and costs calculated for preparation of and submission of each of 
documents and provided a total aggregate annual cost of $4,393,301. 
(See 77FR 69887-69889).
    In the table below, HUD provides a breakdown of the estimated costs 
involved in hard copy preparation and shipping, and estimates a 
$450,000 annual savings in costs if documents are submitted 
electronically rather than in hard copy.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
            Item                  Cost per item             Costs
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Printing by Lender..........  1,500 pages at $.04   $60.00
                               per page.
Lender Box Preparation......  $50 per hour and two  $100.00
                               hours per box.
Shipping by Lender to HUD in  1-40 lb. box........  $20.00
 Field.
HUD processing preparation    $50 per hour and 1    $50.00
 (Field and HQ).               hour per box.
Shipping by HUD Field to HQ.  1-40 lb. box........  $20.00
                                                   ---------------------
    Total...................  ....................  $250.00 per box
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Estimated  Boxes     3
 per project.
Estimated  of        600
 projects per year.
                                                   ---------------------
    Total Annual Costs......  ( of boxes   $450,000.00
                               x  of
                               projects x cost per
                               box).
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[[Page 55284]]

    Therefore, in accordance with 5 CFR 1320.8(d)(1), HUD is soliciting 
comments from members of the public and interested parties on:
    (1) Whether the documents identified by HUD for originally signed, 
hard copy submission are necessary in such format for proper 
performance of the transactions in which the documents are used;
    (2) Whether any of the documents not identified as necessary for 
originally signed, hard copy submission should be submitted only in 
originally signed, hard copy;
    (3) The accuracy of the agency's estimate of the reduced burden and 
reduced costs for submission of documents electronically;
    (4) Whether electronic submission of application documents enhances 
the utility and efficiency of the transactions in which the documents 
are used;
    (5) Whether electronic submission of other documents enhances the 
utility and efficiency of the transactions in which the documents are 
used; and
    (6) Additional ways, through information technology, to minimize 
the burden of the collection of information on those who are to 
respond.
    Interested persons are invited to submit comments regarding the 
information collection requirements in this proposal. Comments must be 
received by November 12, 2013. Comments must refer to the proposal by 
name and docket number (FR-5354-N-01) and must be sent to:

HUD Desk Officer, Office of Management and Budget, New Executive Office 
Building, Washington, DC 20503, Fax number: (202) 395-6947, and
Colette Pollard, Office of the Chief Information Officer, Department of 
Housing and Urban Development, 451 Seventh Street SW., Room 4178, 
Washington, DC 20410.

    Dated: September 4, 2013.
Laura M. Marin,
Associate General Deputy Assistant Secretary for Housing--Associate 
Deputy Federal Housing Commissioner.
[FR Doc. 2013-22024 Filed 9-9-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-67-P