[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 71 (Tuesday, April 14, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20009-20010]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-08537]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-5838-N-03]


60-Day Notice of Proposed Information Collection: Voucher 
Management System (VMS)

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

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: HUD is seeking approval from the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) for the information collection described below. In 
accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, HUD is requesting comment 
from all interested parties on the proposed collection of information. 
The purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment.

DATES: Comments Due Date: June 15, 2015.

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: Colette Pollard, Reports 
Management Officer, QDAM, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 
451 7th Street SW., Room 4176, Washington, DC 20410-5000; telephone 
202-402-3400 (this is not a toll-free number) or email at 
[email protected] for a copy of the proposed forms or other 
available information. Persons with hearing or speech impairments may 
access this number through TTY by calling the toll-free Federal Relay 
Service at (800) 877-8339.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Arlette Mussington, Office of Policy, 
Programs and Legislative Initiatives, PIH, Department of Housing and 
Urban Development, 451 7th Street SW., (L'Enfant Plaza, Room 2206), 
Washington, DC 20410; telephone 202-402-4109, (this is not a toll-free 
number). Persons with hearing or speech impairments may access this 
number via TTY by calling the Federal Information Relay Service at 
(800) 877-8339. Copies of available documents submitted to OMB may be 
obtained from Ms. Mussington.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice informs the public that HUD is 
seeking approval from OMB for the information collection described in 
section A.

A. Overview of Information Collection

    Title of Information Collection: Voucher Management System (VMS).
    OMB Approval Number: Pending OMB Approval.
    Type of Request: New.
    Form Number: Financial Forms: HUD- 52672, 52681, 52681-B, 52663 and 
52673. Originally, the HCV Financials were included in OMB Collection 
2577-0169. Regulatory References 982.157 and 982.158. PHAs that 
administer the HCV program are required to maintain financial reports 
in accordance with accepted accounting standards in order to permit 
timely and effective audits. The HUD-52672 (Supporting Data for Annual 
Contributions Estimates Section 8 Housing Assistance Payments Program) 
and 52681 (Voucher for Payment of Annual Contributions and Operating 
Statement Housing Assistance Payments Program) financial records 
identify the amount of annual contributions that are received and 
disbursed by the PHA and are used by PHAs that administer the five-year 
Mainstream Program, MOD Rehab, and Single Room Occupancy. Form HUD-
52663 (Suggested Format for Requisition for Partial Payment of Annual 
Contributions Section 8 Housing Assistance Payments Program) provides 
for PHAs to indicate requested funds and monthly amounts. Form HUD-
52673 (Estimate of Total Required Annual Contributions Section 8 
Housing Assistance Payments Program) allows PHAs to estimate their 
total required annual contributions. The required financial statements 
are similar to those prepared by any responsible business or 
organization.
    The automated form HUD-52681-B (Voucher for Payment of Annual 
Contributions and Operating Statement Housing Assistance Payments 
Program Supplemental Reporting Form) is entered by the PHA into the 
Voucher Management System (VMS) on a monthly basis during each calendar 
year to track leasing and HAP expenses by voucher category, as well as 
data concerning fraud recovery, Family Self-Sufficiency escrow 
accounts, PHA-held equity, etc. The inclusion, change, and deletion of 
the fields mentioned below will improve the allocation of funds and 
allow the PHAs and the Department to realize a more complete picture of 
the PHAs' resources and program activities, promote financial 
accountability, and improve the PHAs' ability to provide assistance to 
as many households as possible while maximizing budgets. In addition, 
the fields will be crucial to the identification of actual or incipient 
financial problems that will ultimately affect funding for program 
participants. The automated form HUD-52681-B is also utilized by the 
same programs as the manual forms.
    Description of the need for the information and proposed use: The 
Voucher Management System (VMS) supports the information management 
needs of the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Program and management 
functions performed by the Financial Management Center (FMC) and the 
Financial Management Division (FMD) of the Office of Public and Indian 
Housing and the Real Estate Assessment Center (PIH-REAC). This system's 
primary purpose is to provide a central system to monitor and manage 
the Public Housing Agency (PHAs) use of vouchers and expenditure of 
program funds, and is the base for budget formulation and budget 
implementation. The VMS collects PHAs' actual cost data that enables 
HUD to perform and control cash management activities; the costs 
reported are the base for quarterly HAP and Fee obligations and advance 
disbursements in a timely manner, and reconciliations for overages and 
shortages on a quarterly basis.
    Respondents (i.e. affected public): Public Housing Authorities.

[[Page 20010]]

    Estimated Number of Respondents: 3,110.
    Estimated Number of Responses: 28,960.
    Frequency of Response: monthly.
    Average Hours per Response: 1.5.
    Total Estimated Burdens: 57,540.

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                                      Number of       Frequency of    Responses per   Burden hour per   Annual burden   Hourly cost per
      Information collection         respondents        response          annum           response          hours           response       Annual cost
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    Total........................           3,110               12           28,960              1.5           57,540              $30       $1,726,200
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B. Solicitation of Public Comment

    This notice is soliciting comments from members of the public and 
affected parties concerning the collection of information described in 
section A on the following:
    (1) 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) The accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed collection of information;
    (3) Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and
    (4) Ways to 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.
    HUD encourages interested parties to submit comment in response to 
these questions.

     Authority:  Section 3507 of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995, 44 U.S.C. chapter 35.

    Dated: April 7, 2015.
Merrie Nichols-Dixon,
Deputy Director, Office of Policy, Programs and Legislative 
Initiatives.
[FR Doc. 2015-08537 Filed 4-13-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4210-67-P