[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 52 (Thursday, March 17, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14473-14474]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-05954]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-5913-N-07]


60-Day Notice of Proposed Information Collection for Public 
Comment Under the Paperwork Reduction Act--Rental Assistance 
Demonstration (RAD) Documents

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for 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. HUD is 
soliciting public comments on the subject proposal.
    The Rental Assistance Demonstration allows Public Housing, Moderate 
Rehabilitation (Mod Rehab), Rent Supplement (Rent Supp), and Rental 
Assistance Payment (RAP) properties to convert to long-term project-
based Section 8 rental assistance contracts. The documents that are the 
subject of this notice are those used to process and complete the 
conversion process for Public Housing, Mod Rehab, Rent Supp, and RAP 
properties.

DATES: Comment Due Date: May 16, 2016.

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 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 public comments 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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Marilyn M. Edge, Senior Advisor, 
Multifamily Housing Office of Recapitalization, Office of Housing, U.S. 
Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th Street SW., 
Washington, DC 20410; telephone 202-708-3730, (this is not a toll-free 
number). Persons with hearing or speech impairments may access this 
number via TTY by calling the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Evaluation of Proposed Information Collection

    HUD will submit the proposed 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 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 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.

[[Page 14474]]

II. Description of Proposed Information Collection

    Description of the need for the information and proposed use: RAD 
allows Public Housing, Mod Rehab, Rent Supp, and RAP properties to 
convert to long-term project-based Section 8 rental assistance 
contracts. Participation in the demonstration is voluntary. 
Participating Public Housing Agencies (PHAs) and Multifamily Owners are 
required to submit documentation for the purpose of processing and 
completing the conversion. Through these documents (collectively, the 
RAD documents), HUD evaluates whether the PHA or owner has met all of 
the requirements necessary to complete conversion as outlined in PIH 
Notice 2012-32 Rev 2 Rental Assistance Demonstration--Final 
Implementation Notice (RAD Notice).
    The RAD processing request is made through a Web-based portal. 
Overall, the RAD documents and information requested through such 
documents allow HUD to determine which applicants continue to meet the 
eligibility and conversion requirements Finally, all applicants will be 
required to sign the appropriate contractual documents to complete 
conversion and bind both the applicant and HUD, as well as set forth 
the rights and duties of the applicant and HUD, with respect to the 
converted project and any payments under that project.
    Agency form number(s), if applicable: N/A.
    Members of affected public: State, Local or Tribal Government 
entities, public housing agencies and multifamily owners.
    Estimation of the total number of hours needed to prepare the 
information collection including respondents: The estimated number of 
respondents is 2,140 annually that have only one response per 
respondent. The average number for each response to each document in 
the information collection ranges from 1 hour to 3 hours, for a total 
burden of 6,640.
    Status of the proposed information collection: Renewal of Existing 
Collection

    Authority:  Section 3506 of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 
44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, as amended.

    The documents that currently comprise the RAD documents can be 
viewed at the RAD Web site: www.hud.gov/rad/. These documents are those 
that are currently used for RAD processing.

III. Proposed Changes to RAD Documents

    HUD proposes to make the following changes:

1. Inclusion of Fair Housing, Civil Rights and Relocation Requirements 
in RAD Documents

    Consistent with HUD's RAD Implementation Notice, PIH-2012-32 (HA), 
REV-2 (June 15, 2015), HUD expects that RAD transactions will comply 
with fair housing, civil rights and relocation requirements. HUD has 
made some changes to the materials published as part of this PRA Notice 
to assist all participants in RAD transactions in complying with 
appropriate fair housing, civil rights and relocation requirements, as 
well as to provide notice to the public. HUD is currently considering 
further revisions to the materials published as a part of this PRA 
Notice (including the FHEO Accessibility and Relocation Plan Checklist, 
the RAD Financing Plan, the RAD Use Agreement, the RAD Conversion 
Commitment, and the various Housing Assistance Payments Contracts) to 
ensure all participants in RAD transactions comply with fair housing, 
civil rights and relocation requirements. The changes under 
consideration include the following:
    (i) Modifications to the various Housing Assistance Payments 
contracts to ensure appropriate enumeration of existing fair housing 
and civil rights requirements and clarification of such requirements;
    (ii) Revision and expansion of the FHEO Accessibility and 
Relocation Plan Checklist to more comprehensively address all federal 
fair housing and civil rights reviews identified in the RAD Notice 
(including those derived from the Fair Housing Act, Title VI of the 
Civil Rights Act of 1964, HUD's Equal Access Rule, and other 
authorities) and resident relocation compliance issues;
    (iii) Revisions to the RAD Conversion Commitment to add 
certifications and representations to ensure compliance with fair 
housing and civil rights requirements until and after the RAD closing.

2. Clarification of Davis-Bacon Standards

    HUD is reviewing the Davis-Bacon Standards in the RCC and HAP 
Contracts to determine whether they are sufficiently clear or if 
further clarification is needed.
    HUD encourages all interested persons to submit comments regarding 
the information collection requirements presented in this proposal.

    Dated: March 10, 2016.
Genger Charles,
General Deputy Assistant, Secretary for Housing.
[FR Doc. 2016-05954 Filed 3-16-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4210-67-P