[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 205 (Monday, October 24, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 73129-73130]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-25637]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-5173-N-11]


Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing: Extension of Deadline for 
Submission of Assessment of Fair Housing for Consolidated Plan 
Participants That Receive a Community Development Block Grant of 
$500,000 or Less

AGENCY: Office of the Assistance Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal 
Opportunity, HUD.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice advises that HUD is extending the deadline for 
submission of an Assessment of Fair Housing (AFH) by consolidated plan 
program participants that received in Fiscal Year (FY) 2015 or receive 
in a subsequent fiscal year a Community Development Block Grant of 
$500,000 or less, or in the case of a HOME consortium, whose members 
collectively received a CDBG grant of $500,000 or less, from the 
program year that begins on or after January 1, 2018, to the program 
year that begins on or after January 1, 2019 for which a new 
consolidated plan is due, the same date that qualified public housing 
agencies (PHAs) are to submit their AFHs.

DATES: Effective Date: October 24, 2016.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Adam Norlander, Special Assistant, 
Office of Community Planning and Development, Department of Housing and 
Urban Development, 451 7th Street SW., Room 7100, Washington, DC 20410; 
telephone number 202-402-3778 (toll-free). Individuals with hearing or 
speech impediments may access this number via TTY by calling the toll-
free Federal Relay Service during working hours at 1-800-877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    On July 16, 2015, at 80 FR 42357, HUD published in the Federal 
Register its Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) final rule. 
The AFFH final rule provides HUD program participants with a new 
approach for planning for fair housing outcomes that will assist them 
in meeting their statutory obligation to affirmatively further fair 
housing as required by the Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. 3608. To assist 
HUD program participants in meeting this obligation, the AFFH rule 
provides that program participants must conduct an Assessment of Fair 
Housing (AFH) using an ``Assessment Tool.''
    HUD's AFFH regulations codified in 24 CFR part 5 provide, in Sec.  
5.160, for a staggered AFH submission deadline for its program 
participants. For example, Sec.  5.160 provides that for their first 
AFH, consolidated program participants, except for program participants 
that received a FY 2015 CDBG grant of $500,000 or less, must submit an 
AFH no later than 270 calendar days prior to the start of their program 
year that begins on or after January 1, 2017 for which a new 
consolidated plan is due. Section 5.160 provides that consolidated 
program participants that received a FY 2015 CDBG grant of $500,000 or 
less must submit their first AFH no later than 270 calendar days prior 
to the start of the program year that begins on or after January 1, 
2018 for which a new consolidated plan is due. Section 5.160 provides 
that qualified public housing agencies (PHAs) \1\ must submit their 
first AFH no later than 270 calendar days prior to the start of the 
fiscal year that begins on or after January 1, 2019 for which a new 5-
year plan is due.
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    \1\ ``Qualified PHA,'' is defined in section 2702 of title VII 
of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act (HERA) (Public Law 110-289, 
approved July 30, 2008). Section 2702 of HERA defines ``qualified 
PHA'' as a PHA: (1) for which the sum of (i) the number of public 
housing dwelling units administered by PHA, and (ii) the number of 
vouchers under section 8(o) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 
(42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)) administered by the PHA is 550 or fewer; and 
(2) that is not designated under section 6(j)(2) of the United 
States Housing Act as a troubled PHA, and does not have a failing 
score under the Section 8 Management Assessment Program during the 
prior 12 months. HUD codified this statutory definition in its 
regulations on Public Housing Agency Plans at 24 CFR part 903, and 
the definition of ``qualified PHA'' is found at Sec.  903.3(c).
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    By notice published in the Federal Register on January 15, 2015, at 
80 FR 2062, prior to publication of the AFFH final rule, HUD announced 
its intention to provide a later AFH submission deadline for certain 
program participants that are typically small entities, such as 
qualified PHAs, or in the case of consolidated program participants 
that receive a small CDBG grant of $350,000 or less. HUD solicited 
public comment with the notice for a period of 30 days, on its January 
15, 2015, and public feedback was favorable to HUD's proposal to 
provide later AFH submission deadlines for smaller program participants 
and program participants that received a smaller CDBG grant. In 
consideration of public comment received on the January 15, 2015, 
notice, and, as noted above, in the AFFH final rule, HUD provided a 
separate submission deadline for QPHAs; that is, their first AFH is due 
no later than 270 calendar days prior to the start of the fiscal year 
that begins on or after January 1, 2019 for which a new

[[Page 73130]]

5-year plan is due. For consolidated program participants that received 
an FY 2015 CDBG grant of $500,000 or less, their first AFH must be 
submitted not later than 270 days prior to the start of the program 
year that begins on or after January 1, 2018 for which a new 
consolidated plan is due. In response to public comment, HUD raised the 
dollar amount of the CDBG grant from $350,000 to $500,000.
    Through this notice, HUD is extending the AFH submission deadline 
for the first AFH submission for consolidated program participants that 
received an FY 2015 CDBG grant of $500,000 or less, or in the case of 
HOME consortia, whose members collectively received an FY 2015 CDBG 
grant of $500,000 or less, to the same AFH submission deadline as 
QPHAs. For consolidated program participants that received an FY 2015 
CDBG grant of $500,000 or less, their first AFH is due no later than 
270 calendar days prior to the start of the program year that begins on 
or after January 1, 2019, for which a new consolidated plan is due.
    Through this notice, HUD also advises that the AFH submission 
deadline for program participants that received an FY 2015 CDBG grant 
of $500,000 or less also applies to new consolidated program 
participants that received a small CDBG grant in FY 2016, or receive a 
small CDBG grant in FY 2017 or FY 2018.
    Consolidated Plan program participants that receive this extension 
must continue to comply with existing, ongoing obligations to 
affirmatively further fair housing. Until a consolidated plan program 
participant has submitted its first AFH, it will continue to provide 
the AFFH Consolidated Plan certification in accordance with the 
regulations that existed prior to August 17, 2015. (See 24 CFR 
5.160(3).) The prior certification provides that program participants 
will conduct an analysis to identify impediments (AI) to fair housing 
choice within the jurisdiction, take appropriate actions to overcome 
the effects of any impediments identified through that analysis, and 
maintain records reflecting the analysis and actions. For Consolidated 
Plan program participants that are starting a new 3-5 year Consolidated 
Plan cycle that begins before their due date for an AFH or for 
Consolidated Plan program participants that otherwise have old or out-
of-date AIs, the AI should continue to be updated in accordance with 
the Fair Housing Planning Guide until those Consolidated Plan program 
participants convert to the new AFFH process.

    Dated: October 13, 2016.
Gustavo Velasquez,
Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity.
[FR Doc. 2016-25637 Filed 10-21-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4210-67-P