[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 187 (Wednesday, September 26, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48647-48649]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-20960]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-6081-D-02]


Redelegation of Authority for the Office of Field Policy and 
Management

AGENCY: Office of Field Policy and Management, HUD.

ACTION: Notice of Redelegation of Authority.

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SUMMARY: Through this notice, the Assistant Deputy Secretary for Field 
Policy and Management and the Associate Assistant Deputy Secretary for 
Field Policy and Management redelegate certain operational management 
authority to the HUD regional administrators located in Region I 
(Boston, MA); Region II (New York, NY); Region III (Philadelphia, PA); 
Region IV (Atlanta, GA); Region V (Chicago, IL); Region VI (Fort Worth, 
TX); Region VII (Kansas City, KS); Region VIII (Denver, CO); Region IX 
(San Francisco, CA); and Region X (Seattle, WA).

DATES: Applicable Date: September 19, 2018.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John B. Shumway, Assistant General 
Counsel, Administrative Law Division, Department of Housing and Urban 
Development at 451 7th Street SW, Room 9262; Washington, DC 20410-0500 
or at telephone number, 202-402-3502 (this is not a toll-free number). 
This number may be accessed through TTY by calling the Federal Relay 
Service, toll-free, at 800-877-8339.

[[Page 48648]]


SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: By separate notice published in today's 
Federal Register, the Secretary of HUD delegates to the Assistant 
Deputy Secretary for Field Policy and Management and the Associate 
Assistant Deputy Secretary for Field Policy and Management authority 
for the management and oversight of the Department's field operations, 
and further authorizes the Assistant Deputy Secretary and Associate 
Assistant Deputy Secretary to redelegate such authority. Through this 
notice, the Assistant Deputy Secretary for Field Policy and Management 
and the Associate Assistant Deputy Secretary for Field Policy and 
Management redelegate certain operational management authority to the 
HUD regional administrators. This notice supersedes these and all prior 
redelegations to the HUD regional administrators.

Section I: Authority Redelegated

    A. Cross-Program Coordination. Each regional administrator is 
redelegated the following duties:
    1. Develop and implement place-based Regional and Field Operating 
Plans in consultation with field program directors.
    2. To develop, approve, track, and oversee the Regional Operating 
Plan priority projects and initiatives that cross program office lines.
    3. Prepare briefing papers and hot issue reports.
    4. Lead disaster relief efforts.
    5. Convene on-site program teams (e.g., Community Planning and 
Development, Office of General Counsel, Fair Housing and Equal 
Opportunity, Public and Indian Housing, etc.), as necessary and in 
consultation with field program directors, to review proposed, major 
projects or initiatives for place-based impact.
    6. Assist state and local housing officials in assessing the impact 
of housing foreclosures.
    7. Convene place-based teams, as necessary and in consultation with 
field program directors, to review Consolidated Plans during the 45-day 
review period.
    8. Provide comments to Public and Indian Housing field directors on 
public housing disposal and/or demolition applications.
    9. Review with other program leaders the status of the HUD-VASH 
program to maximize utilization.
    10. Consult with program directors regarding implementation of 
departmental management goals, secretarial and presidential 
initiatives, and Annual Performance Plan commitments. Regional 
administrators can request review by Headquarters of decisions made by 
program directors. Where the regional administrator and relevant 
program director disagree on a major program decision, the regional 
administrator may report the disagreement to the Assistant Deputy 
Secretary for Field Policy and Management, who may then raise the 
matter with the relevant Assistant Secretary or equivalent. The 
relevant Assistant Secretary or equivalent makes the final 
determination, subject to review by the Deputy Secretary, as necessary.
    B. Administrative Management. Each regional administrator is 
delegated the following administrative duties:
    1. Manage administrative field operation, applicable to all 
employees at a duty location, including outstationed personnel, through 
coordination with program directors administrative offices, and 
supervisors of outstationed personnel. Administrative field operations 
include, but are not limited to:
     Determining official local office hours of operation.
     Determining emergency office closings due to weather, 
disaster, or local events.
     Providing effective customer service.
     Working with program directors and all employees to foster 
a positive working environment;
     Coordinating with the Office of Administration (and its 
Office of Administration Regional Support Manager to develop and manage 
an administrative budget that meets the needs of programs and staff in 
each office.
     Managing internal office communications of a general 
nature.
    2. Regional administrators may request a waiver of specific 
directives and handbook provisions pertaining to programs in the 
offices of Housing, Public and Indian Housing, Community Planning and 
Development, and Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. Waiver is not 
authorized for the HUD Litigation Handbook and regulations, or those 
departmental directives and handbook provisions mandated by or directly 
predicated on a statute, Executive order, or regulation. Waiver 
requests by the regional administrator will be forwarded to the 
Assistant Deputy Secretary for Field Policy and Management, who will 
forward the requests to the respective program Assistant Secretary for 
final decision. All waiver requests must be in writing and specify the 
grounds for requesting the waiver. Regional administrators will be 
notified in writing of the program Assistant Secretary's decision, 
through the Office of Field Policy and Management leadership. Only the 
program Assistant Secretary, or other program office officials with 
delegated authority to do so, may grant waivers or make a specific 
delegation of waiver authority.
    C. Representation. Each regional administrator is redelegated the 
following duties:
    1. Oversee labor/management relations in the region in coordination 
with the assigned Employee and Labor Relations representative.
     Based on information provided by the Office of the Chief 
Human Capital Officer/Employee and Labor Relations Division and with 
input by the Office of General Counsel, the regional administrator will 
provide the Assistant Deputy Secretary for Field Policy and Management 
with regular reports on all open and active labor/management cases that 
are in process.
    2. Work with Headquarters offices, including the Office of 
Congressional and Intergovernmental Relations, to ensure that Federal, 
state, local and tribal elected officials within a jurisdiction receive 
responsive and coordinated customer service. This in no way supersedes 
the Secretary's delegation of authority to the Assistant Secretary for 
Congressional and Intergovernmental Relations on October 7, 2011 
(Federal Register Docket No. FR-5515-D-01), in which the Secretary 
delegates to the Assistant Secretary for Congressional and 
Intergovernmental Relations authority and responsibility for 
coordinating congressional and intergovernmental relations activities.
    3. Manage all field-controlled congressional and intergovernmental 
correspondence, in consultation with field program directors and in 
coordination with the Executive Secretariat (Office of Administration) 
and the Office of Congressional and Intergovernmental Relations.
    4. Respond to all media inquiries in conjunction with Headquarters' 
Office of Public Affairs and field program directors.
    5. Administer the local office's web page and internet sources, in 
coordination with the Office of Public Affairs.
    6. Monitor and evaluate customer service.
    7. Enter into cosponsorship agreements, with the concurrence of the 
General Counsel and the relevant program Assistant Secretary or 
equivalent.

[[Page 48649]]

Section II: Authority To Redelegate

    Except for those authorities specifically excluded in Section III 
of this notice, this authority may be redelegated, as appropriate, from 
regional administrators to field Office directors within the respective 
jurisdictions.

Section III: Authority Nonredelegable

    The following authorities may not be redelegated from the regional 
administrators to the field office directors or to any other employee:
    1. The authority to enter into co-sponsorship agreements.
    2. The authority to request waivers as provided by section I.B.3. 
above.
    3. The authority to sign local, areawide, or centerwide negotiated 
impact and implementation or memorandum of understanding agreements 
with unions representing smaller units consisting of either 
Headquarters and/or field employees on issues confined to a single 
program area and within the regional administrators' own budget 
authority, including the resolution of unfair labor practice charges 
and bargaining impasses.

Section IV: Delegations Superseded

    This notice supersedes all prior delegations of authority to the 
regional directors/administrators from the Secretary of HUD or the 
Assistant Deputy Secretary for Field Policy and Management.

    Authority: Section 7(d)(q) of the Department of HUD Act, 42 
U.S.C. 3535(d).

    Dated: September 19, 2018.
Matthew F. Hunter,
Assistant Deputy Secretary for Field Policy and Management.
[FR Doc. 2018-20960 Filed 9-25-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4210-67-P