[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 50 (Friday, March 13, 2020)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 14605]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-05175]
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Proposed Rules
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of
the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these
notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in
the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
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Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 50 / Friday, March 13, 2020 /
Proposed Rules
[[Page 14605]]
DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
24 CFR Part 100
[Docket No. FR-6138-N-02]
Fair Housing Act Design and Construction Requirements: Adoption
of Additional Safe Harbors: Extension of Public Comment Period
AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal
Opportunity, HUD.
ACTION: Proposed rule; extension of public comment period.
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SUMMARY: On January 15, 2020, HUD published a proposed rule in the
Federal Register inviting public comment on amendments to HUD's Fair
Housing Act design and construction regulations. The January 15, 2020,
proposed rule set March 16, 2020, as the comment due date. Because the
proposed rule referred to documents that were not readily available,
HUD is extending the public comment period for an additional 30-day
period and making the referenced documents available through its
website as described in this document.
DATES: The comment period for the proposed rule published on January
15, 2020, (85 FR 2354), is extended to April 13, 2020.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments regarding
this proposed rule to the Office of General Counsel, Rules Docket
Clerk, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 Seventh Street
SW, Room 10276, Washington, DC 20410-0500. Communications should refer
to the above docket number and title.
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 them immediately available to
the public. Comments submitted electronically through the
www.regulations.gov website 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.
No Facsimile Comments. Facsimile (FAX) comments are not acceptable.
In all cases, communications must refer to the docket number and title.
Public Inspection of Public Comments. All comments and
communications submitted to HUD will be available, without charge, for
public inspection and copying between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. weekdays at the
above address. Due to security measures at the HUD Headquarters
building, an advance appointment to review the public comments must be
scheduled by calling the Regulations Division at (202) 708-3055 (this
is not a toll-free number). Individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing,
or have speech impairments may access this number through TTY by
calling the toll-free Federal Information Relay Service at (800) 877-
8339. Copies of all comments submitted are available for inspection and
downloading at www.regulations.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lynn Grosso, Director, Office of
Enforcement, Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, Department
of Housing and Urban Development, 451 Seventh Street SW, Washington, DC
20410-2000; telephone number (202) 708-2333 (this is not a toll-free
number). Hearing- or speech- impaired individuals may access this
number via TTY by calling the toll-free Federal Information Relay
Service at (800) 877-8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On January 15, 2020, HUD published a
proposed rule in the Federal Register inviting public comment on
amendments to HUD's Fair Housing Act design and construction
regulations, which incorporated by reference the 2009 edition of
International Code Council (ICC) Accessible and Usable Building and
Facilities (ICC A117.1-2009) standard, as a safe harbor. The proposed
rule would also designate the 2009, 2012, 2015 and 2018 editions of the
IBC as safe harbors under the Fair Housing Act. Interested readers
should refer to the supplementary information of the January 15, 2020
proposed rule for additional information.
HUD is extending the public comment deadline to provide the time
needed for relevant stakeholders and the general public to submit
comments regarding the proposed amendments. Specifically, HUD has
determined that additional time to submit public comment is necessary
to permit the public to review certain matrices provided by the ICC
that were not readily available. The Department had requested, and ICC
provided, a side-by-side matrix comparing the relevant 2006 provisions
of the IBC, which HUD had previously reviewed and declared as a safe
harbor, with the 2009, 2012, 2015 and 2018 provisions in the IBC and
related code documents. In addition, ICC provided a similar matrix for
ICC/ANSI A117.1-2003 and ICC A117.1-2009, along with copies of ICC
A117.1-2009 and related documents. Links to the matrices are posted and
available at https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/fair_housing_equal_opp/safe_harbor_rule_making.
Therefore, HUD is announcing through this document that it is
extending the public comment period for an additional 30-day period.
Dated: March 9, 2020.
Anna Mar[iacute]a Far[iacute]as,
Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity.
[FR Doc. 2020-05175 Filed 3-12-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-67-P