[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 167 (Wednesday, September 1, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49044-49045]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-18840]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-7036-N-09]


Notice of Proposed Information Collection: CDBG Urban County 
Qualification/New York Towns Qualification/Requalification Process; OMB 
Control No: 2506-0170

AGENCY: Office of Community Planning and Development, Housing and Urban 
Development (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. The Department 
is soliciting public comments on the subject proposal.

DATES: Comments Due Date: November 1, 2021.

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 Guido, Reports Management 
Officer, QDAM, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th 
Street SW, Room 4176, Washington, DC 20410-5000; telephone 202-402-5535 
(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: Gloria Coates, Senior Community 
Planning and Development Specialist, Entitlement Communities Division, 
Office of Block Grant Assistance, 451 7th Street SW, Room 7282, 
Washington, DC 20410; email Gloria Coates at [email protected] or 
telephone (202) 708-1577 (this is not a toll-free number).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice informs the public that HUD is 
seeking approval form OMB for the information collection described in 
Section A.

A. Overview of Information Collection

    Title of Information Collection: Community Development Block Grant 
(CDBG) Urban County Qualification/New York Towns Qualification/
Requalification Processes.
    OMB Approval Number: 2506-0170.
    Type of Request: Extension.
    Form numbers: N/A.

[[Page 49045]]

    Description of the need for the information and proposed use: The 
Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, as amended (the Act), at 
sections 102(a)(6) and 102(e) requires that any county seeking 
qualification as an urban county notify each unit of general local 
government within the county that such unit may elect to have its 
population excluded from that of the urban county. Section 102(d) of 
the Act specifies that the period of qualification will be three years. 
Based on these statutory provisions, counties seeking qualification or 
requalification as urban counties under the CDBG program must provide 
information to HUD every three years identifying the units of general 
local governments (UGLGs) within the county participating as a part of 
the county for purposes of receiving CDBG funds. The population of 
UGLGs for each eligible urban county is used in HUD's allocation of 
CDBG funds for all entitlement and State CDBG grantees.
    New York Towns may qualify as metropolitan cities if they are able 
to secure the participation of all of the villages located within their 
boundaries. Any New York Town that is located in an urban county may 
choose to leave that urban county when that county is requalifying. 
That New York Town will be required to notify the urban county in 
advance of its decision to decline participation in the urban county's 
CDBG program and complete the metropolitan city qualification process.
    Respondents: (i.e., affected public): Urban counties that are 
eligible as entitlement grantees of the CDBG program.
    Estimation Number of Respondents: There are currently 192 qualified 
urban counties participating in the CDBG program that must requalify 
every three years.
    Frequency of Response: On average, two new counties qualify each 
year. The burden on new counties is greater than for existing counties 
that requalify. The Department estimates new grantees use, on average, 
115 hours to review instructions, contact communities in the county, 
prepare and review agreements, obtain legal opinions, have agreements 
executed at the local and county level, and prepare and transmit copies 
of required documents to HUD. The Department estimates that counties 
that are requalifying use, on average, 67 hours to complete these 
actions. The time savings on requalification is primarily a result of a 
grantee's ability to use agreements with no specified end date. Use of 
such ``renewable'' agreements enables the grantee to merely notify 
affected participating UGLGs in writing that their agreement will 
automatically be renewed unless the UGLG terminates the agreement in 
writing, rather than executing a new agreement every three years.

Average of 2 new urban counties qualify per year: 2 x 115 hrs = 230 
hrs.

192 grantees requalify on triennial basis; average annual number of 
respondents = 63: 63 x 67 hrs. = 4,221 hrs.

Total combined burden hours: 4,451 hours.

    This total number of combined burden hours can be expected to 
increase annually by 1,200 hours, given the average of two new urban 
counties becoming eligible entitlement grantees each year.

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.

C. Authority

    Section 3507 of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 
Chapter 35.
    Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and 
Development, James Arthur Jemison II, having reviewed and approved this 
document, is delegating the authority to electronically sign this 
document to submitter, Aaron Santa Anna, who is the Federal Register 
Liaison for HUD, for purposes of publication in the Federal Register.

Aaron Santa Anna,
Federal Liaison for the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
[FR Doc. 2021-18840 Filed 8-31-21; 8:45 am]
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