[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 111 (Tuesday, June 9, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35328-35329]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-12433]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-7029-N-05]


60-Day Notice of Proposed Information Collection: Rental 
Assistance Demonstration (RAD) Choice Mobility and Long-Term 
Affordability Evaluation

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and 
Research, HUD.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (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: August 10, 2020.

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: Anna P. Guido, Reports Management 
Officer, QDAM, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th 
Street SW, Room 4176, Washington, DC 20410-5000; telephone 202-402-5534 
(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: Anna P. Guido, Reports Management 
Officer, QDAM, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th 
Street SW, Washington, DC 20410; email Anna P. Guido at 
[email protected] or telephone 202-402-5535. This is not a toll-free 
number. Persons with hearing or speech impairments may access this 
number through TTY by calling the toll-free Federal Relay Service at 
(800) 877-8339.
    Copies of available documents submitted to OMB may be obtained from 
Ms. Guido.

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: Rental Assistance Demonstration 
(RAD) Choice Mobility and Long-Term Affordability Evaluation.
    OMB Approval Number: Pending.
    Type of Request: New collection.
    Form Number: N/A.
    Description of the need for the information and proposed use: The 
Office of Policy Development and Research (PD&R), at the U.S. 
Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), is proposing the 
collection of information for the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) 
Choice Mobility and Long-Term Affordability Evaluation.
    RAD was established under the Consolidated and Further Continuing 
Appropriations Act of 2012 to preserve affordable housing units over 
the long term by enabling public housing authorities (PHAs) to apply to 
HUD to convert at-risk public housing properties to two different forms 
of project-based Section 8 Housing Assistance Payments contracts--
project-based voucher (PBV) or project-based rental assistance (PBRA). 
Doing so gives PHAs more flexibility to access private and public 
funding sources to meet with short-term capital needs, reduce their 
reliance on limited appropriations, and stabilize their financial and 
physical condition. Choice mobility, an additional feature of RAD, 
allows residents of RAD properties to request a Housing Choice Voucher 
that they can use to move to a housing unit in the private market.
    Congress requested an evaluation of RAD to assess the impact of the 
demonstration on the preservation and improvement of public housing, 
the amount of private sector leveraging, and the effect on tenants. HUD 
contracted a two-phase evaluation to address these research areas. The 
Phase I results were published in 2016 and the Phase II results in 
2019. The OMB Approval Number for that evaluation was 2528-0304 and 
expired on January 31st, 2020. The Fiscal Year 2018 Appropriations Act 
provided funds to conduct a follow-up evaluation of the RAD program, 
including its implementation and outcomes, the choice mobility option, 
the impact on tenants and related protections, and the long-term 
preservation of housing affordability.
    This Federal Register Notice provides an opportunity to comment on 
the information collection for this new phase of the RAD evaluation 
titled RAD Choice Mobility and Long-Term Affordability Evaluation. The 
current information collection is designed to support four studies 
included in the evaluation. One is the study of the implementation of 
the RAD choice mobility option and its effects on property outcomes, 
tenant outcomes, and the voucher program. The second study is the 
impact of RAD on the long-term preservation and financial viability of 
converted affordable housing properties. The third is the adequacy of 
asset management for PBV and PBRA conversions. The fourth study will 
examine the organizational and operational changes at PHAs that 
participated in RAD. For the first three studies, the evaluation 
includes web-based survey of all RAD PHAs, RAD property owners/
operators, and former RAD residents who have exercised the choice 
mobility option; and a sample survey of RAD residents who have not 
elected the choice mobility option. For the fourth study, we plan to 
conduct qualitative interviews with senior staff at 26 RAD PHAs.
    Respondents: PHA officials and staff participating in the RAD 
program; property owners/operators of RAD properties; former RAD 
residents who have exercised the choice mobility option; and RAD 
residents who have not elected the choice mobility option.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: This information collection will 
affect approximately 3,596 respondents. This includes: (1) A survey of 
500 RAD PHAs; (2) a survey of 1,350 RAD property owners/operators; (3) 
a survey of approximately 1,300 former RAD residents who are choice 
mobility option users; (4) a survey of a sample of 420 RAD residents 
who did not use the choice mobility option, and (5) qualitative 
interviews of a sample of 26 RAD PHAs.
    Estimated Time per Response: The RAD PHA survey is expected to take 
45 minutes. The RAD property owner/operator survey is expected to take 
20 minutes. Surveys of residents, for both the choice mobility census 
and the non-choice mobility sample, are expected to take 20 minutes. 
Qualitative interviews with a sample of 26 PHAs will take approximately 
60 minutes to complete.
    Frequency of Response: 1 time for all surveys and qualitative 
interviews.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 1,414 hours for all surveys 
and qualitative interviews.

[[Page 35329]]

    Estimated Total Annual Cost: $45,415 for all surveys and 
qualitative interviews.
    Respondent's Obligation: PHAs and property owners who participate 
in the RAD program are required to cooperate with an evaluation of the 
RAD program as a condition of participation in the RAD program. 
Resident participation is voluntary.
    Legal Authority: The collection of information is conducted under 
Title 12, United States Code, Section 1701z and Section 3507 of the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44, U.S.C., 35, as amended.

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                                             Number of     Frequency of    Responses per    Burden hour    Annual burden    Hourly cost
         Information collection             respondents      response          annum       per response        hours       per response        Cost
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RAD PHAs survey.........................             500               1               1            0.75          375.00          $34.46      $12,922.50
RAD property owners/operators survey....           1,350               1               1            0.33          445.50           34.46       15,351.93
Residents survey (choice mobility option           1,300               1               1            0.33          429.00           28.62       12,277.98
 users).................................
Residents survey (choice mobility option             420               1               1            0.33          138.60           28.62        3,966.73
 non-users).............................
RAD PHAs qualitative interviews.........              26               1               1               1           26.00           34.46          895.96
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    Total...............................           3,596  ..............  ..............  ..............        1,414.10  ..............       45,415.10
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Source: Table B-3. Average hourly and weekly earnings of all employees on private nonfarm payrolls by industry sector, seasonally adjusted. U.S. Bureau
  of Labor Statistics. March 2020(P) for all private sector ($28.62) and professional and business services ($34.46). https://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t19.htm.

    To arrive at the dollar cost of the estimated response burden, we 
have used preliminary estimates from the U.S. Bureau of Labor 
Statistics on average hourly earnings in March 2020. For PHA staff and 
property owner/operator staff, we use the estimate for professional and 
business services ($34.46). For residents, we use the estimate for all 
private sector employees ($28.62).

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. The Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and 
Research, Seth Appleton, having reviewed and approved this document, is 
delegating the authority to electronically sign this document to 
submitter, Nacheshia Foxx, who is the Federal Register Liaison for HUD, 
for purposes of publication in the Federal Register.

    Dated: June 4, 2020.
Nacheshia Foxx,
Federal Liaison for the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
[FR Doc. 2020-12433 Filed 6-8-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4210-67-P