[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 150 (Friday, August 5, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48023-48025]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-16855]


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FEDERAL HOUSING FINANCE AGENCY

[No. 2022-N-8]


Proposed Collection; Comment Request

AGENCY: Federal Housing Finance Agency.

ACTION: 60-Day notice of submission of information collection for 
approval from Office of Management and Budget.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), as part of its 
continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites 
public comments on an information collection titled the ``Affordable 
Housing Program,'' as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 
(PRA). FHFA intends to submit to the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) the information collection (assigned control number 2590-0007 by 
OMB) for review and approval of a three-year extension and 
reinstatement of the control number, which has expired.

DATES: Interested persons may submit comments on or before October 4, 
2022.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments to FHFA, identified by ``Proposed 
Collection; Comment Request: `Affordable Housing Program, (No. 2022-N-
8)' '' by any of the following methods:
     Agency Website: www.fhfa.gov/open-for-comment-or-input.
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments. If you submit your 
comment to the Federal eRulemaking Portal, please also send it by email 
to FHFA at [email protected] to ensure timely receipt by FHFA. 
Include the following information in the subject line of your 
submission: Comments (No. 2022-N-8).
     Mail/Hand Delivery: Federal Housing Finance Agency, 400 
Seventh Street SW, Washington, DC 20219, ATTENTION: Proposed 
Collection; Comment Request: ``Affordable Housing Program, (No. 2022-N-
8)''.
    We will post all public comments we receive without change, 
including any personal information you provide, such as your name and 
address, email address, and telephone number, on the FHFA website at 
http://www.fhfa.gov.
    Copies of all comments received will be available for examination 
by the public through the electronic comment docket for this PRA Notice 
also located on the FHFA website.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eric Howard, Principal Policy Analyst, 
[email protected], (202) 649-3009; or Tiffani Moore, Supervisory 
Policy Analyst, [email protected], (202) 649-3304; or Angela 
Supervielle, Counsel, [email protected], (202) 649-3973 
(these are not toll-free numbers); Federal Housing Finance Agency, 400 
Seventh Street SW, Washington, DC 20219. For TTY/TRS users with hearing 
and speech disabilities, dial 711 and ask to be connected to any of the 
contact numbers above.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

A. Background

1. Paperwork Reduction Act

    Under the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), Federal agencies must obtain 
approval from OMB for each collection of information they conduct or 
sponsor. ``Collection of information'' is defined in 44 U.S.C. 3502(3) 
and 5 CFR 1320.3(c) to include agency requests or requirements that ten 
or more persons submit information to a third party. Section 
3506(c)(2)(A) of title 44 requires Federal agencies to provide a 60-day 
notice \1\ in the Federal Register concerning each proposed collection 
of information, including each proposed extension of an existing 
collection of information, before submitting the collection of 
information to OMB for approval. FHFA's collection of information set 
forth in this document is titled the ``Affordable Housing Program'' 
(assigned control number 2590-0007 by OMB). To comply with the PRA 
requirement, FHFA is publishing notice of a proposed three-year 
extension of this collection of information and reinstatement of the 
control number, which has expired.
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    \1\ Following the close of this notice's 60-day comment period, 
FHFA will publish a second notice with a 30-day comment period as 
required by 44 U.S.C. 3507(b) and 5 CFR 1320.10(a).
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2. Affordable Housing Program

    Section 10(j) of the Federal Home Loan Bank Act (Bank Act) requires 
FHFA to promulgate regulations under which each of the 11 Federal Home 
Loan Banks (Banks) must establish an Affordable Housing Program (AHP) 
to provide subsidy to the Bank's member institutions to finance: (1) 
homeownership by households with incomes at or below 80 percent of the 
area median income (low- or moderate-income households); and (2) the 
purchase, construction, or rehabilitation of rental housing in which at 
least 20 percent of the units will be occupied by, and affordable for, 
households earning 50 percent or less of the area median income (very 
low-income households).\2\ Section 10(j) also establishes standards and 
requirements for providing such subsidized funding to Bank members and 
requires each Bank to contribute 10 percent of its previous year's net 
earnings to its AHP annually, subject to a minimum annual combined 
contribution by the 11 Banks of $100 million.\3\
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    \2\ See 12 U.S.C. 1430(j)(1) and (2).
    \3\ See 12 U.S.C. 1430(j)(5)(C).
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    FHFA's AHP regulation, which implements the statutory AHP 
requirements, is set forth at 12 CFR part 1291. The regulation requires 
that each Bank establish and fund an AHP and sets forth the parameters 
within which the Banks' programs must operate. The regulation permits 
the Banks a degree of discretion in determining how their

[[Page 48024]]

individual programs are to be implemented and requires that each Bank 
adopt an AHP Implementation Plan setting forth the specific 
requirements for that Bank's program.\4\
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    \4\ 12 CFR 1291.13(b).
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Competitive Application Programs
    The AHP regulation requires each Bank to establish a General Fund, 
which is a competitive application program under which the Bank accepts 
applications for AHP subsidized advances or direct subsidies (grants) 
submitted by its members on behalf of non-member entities having a 
significant connection to the projects for which subsidy is being 
sought (project sponsors).\5\ The AHP regulation also authorizes each 
Bank, in its discretion to establish, on a phased-in basis, up to three 
Targeted Funds, which are competitive application programs under which 
funds are targeted to address specific affordable housing needs within 
the Bank's district that are either unmet, have proven difficult to 
address through the Bank's General Fund, or align with the objectives 
identified in the Bank's strategic plans.\6\ Each Bank accepts 
applications for AHP subsidy under its competitive application 
program(s) during a specified number of funding periods each year, as 
determined by the Bank.\7\ A Bank must determine for each application 
it receives whether the proposed project meets the AHP regulatory 
eligibility requirements.\8\ The Bank must score each application 
according to AHP regulatory and Bank-specific scoring guidelines, and 
approve the highest scoring projects within that funding period for AHP 
subsidy.\9\
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    \5\ 12 CFR 1291.21. Under the regulation, an AHP project sponsor 
may be an entity that either: (1) has an ownership interest in a 
rental project; (2) is integrally involved in an owner-occupied 
project, such as by exercising control over the planning, 
development, or management of the project, or by qualifying 
borrowers and providing or arranging financing for the owners of the 
units; (3) operates a loan pool; or (4) is a revolving loan fund. 12 
CFR 1291.1 (definition of ``sponsor'').
    \6\ 12 CFR 1291.20(b).
    \7\ 12 CFR 1291.22(a).
    \8\ 12 CFR 1291.22(b)(1).
    \9\ 12 CFR 1291.22(c).
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    The regulation provides that, prior to each disbursement of AHP 
subsidy for a project approved under a Bank's competitive application 
program(s), the Bank must verify that the project continues to meet the 
AHP regulatory eligibility requirements, as well as all commitments 
made in the approved AHP application.\10\ As part of this process, 
Banks typically require that the member and project sponsor provide 
documentation demonstrating continuing compliance. In the event of 
project noncompliance, a project sponsor is required to make a 
reasonable effort to cure the noncompliance within a reasonable period 
of time.\11\
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    \10\ 12 CFR 1291.30(c).
    \11\ 12 CFR 1291.60(b)(1).
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    If the project sponsor cannot cure the noncompliance within a 
reasonable period of time, the regulation permits a Bank to approve a 
modification to the terms of an approved application that would change 
the score that the application received for the funding period in which 
it was originally scored and approved, had the changed facts been 
operative at that time. Before a Bank approves a modification: (i) the 
project, incorporating the changes, must continue to meet the 
regulatory eligibility requirements; (ii) the application, as 
reflective of the changes, must continue to score high enough to have 
been approved in the funding period in which it was originally scored 
and approved; and (iii) there must be good cause for the modification, 
and the analysis and justification for the modification must be 
documented by the Bank in writing.\12\
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    \12\ 12 CFR 1291.29(a).
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    The regulation requires generally that a Bank monitor owner-
occupied and rental projects receiving AHP subsidy under its 
competitive application program(s) prior to and after project 
completion. During the initial monitoring period, a Bank must determine 
whether the project is making satisfactory progress towards completion, 
in compliance with the commitments made in the approved application, 
Bank policies, and the AHP regulatory requirements. Following project 
completion, the Bank must determine whether satisfactory progress is 
being made towards occupancy of the project by eligible households.\13\ 
Within a reasonable period of time after project completion, the Bank 
must determine whether the project meets the AHP regulatory 
requirements and the commitments made in the approved application.\14\ 
During the long-term 15-year monitoring period for rental projects, 
subject to certain exceptions in the AHP regulation, the Bank must 
determine whether the household incomes and rents in the project comply 
with the income targeting and rent commitments made in the approved 
application.\15\ For both the initial and long-term monitoring, a Bank 
must review appropriate documentation maintained by the project 
sponsor.
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    \13\ 12 CFR 1291.50(a)(1).
    \14\ 12 CFR 1291.50(a)(2).
    \15\ 12 CFR 1291.50(c)(1).
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Homeownership Set-Aside Programs
    The AHP regulation also authorizes each Bank, in its discretion, to 
allocate up to the greater of $4.5 million or 35 percent of its annual 
required AHP contribution to establish homeownership set-aside programs 
for the purpose of promoting homeownership for low- or moderate-income 
households.\16\ Under these homeownership set-aside programs, a Bank 
provides AHP direct subsidies to its members who, in turn, provide the 
subsidies as grants to eligible households for down payment, closing 
cost, counseling cost or rehabilitation assistance in connection with 
the household's purchase of a primary residence or rehabilitation of an 
owner-occupied residence.\17\ Prior to the Bank's disbursement of a 
direct subsidy under its homeownership set-aside program(s), the member 
must agree that the subsidy will be provided in compliance with all 
applicable AHP regulatory eligibility requirements.\18\
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    \16\ 12 CFR 1291.12(b); 1291.40.
    \17\ 12 CFR 1291.42(d).
    \18\ 12 CFR 1291.15(a).
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AHP Information Submitted by Banks to FHFA
    FHFA's Data Reporting Manual (DRM) requires each Bank to submit to 
FHFA aggregate AHP information.\19\ Specifically, the DRM requires each 
Bank to submit to FHFA project-level information regarding its 
competitive application program(s) and household-level information 
regarding its homeownership set-aside program(s) semi-annually. The 
information the Banks are required to submit to FHFA under the DRM is 
derived from the documentation submitted by Bank members and project 
sponsors that is described above.
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    \19\ The AHP reporting requirements are located in chapter 5 of 
the DRM, which is available electronically on FHFA's public website 
at http://www.fhfa.gov/SupervisionRegulation/FederalHomeLoanBanks/Documents/FHFB-Resolutions/2006/2006-13-Attachment.pdf.
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B. Need for and Use of the Information Collection

    The Banks use the AHP information collected from Bank members and 
project sponsors to determine whether: (1) projects for which Bank 
members and project sponsors are seeking subsidies under the Banks' 
competitive application programs satisfy the applicable statutory and 
regulatory requirements and score highly enough in comparison with 
other applications submitted during the same funding period to be 
approved for AHP subsidies; (2) projects approved under

[[Page 48025]]

the Banks' competitive application programs continue to meet the 
applicable AHP regulatory requirements and comply with the commitments 
made in the approved applications each time AHP subsidy is disbursed by 
the Banks, through their members, to the project sponsors; (3) requests 
for modifications of projects approved under the Banks' competitive 
application programs meet the AHP regulatory requirements for approval; 
(4) during the initial monitoring period, projects approved under the 
Banks' competitive application programs are making satisfactory 
progress towards completion, are making satisfactory progress towards 
occupancy of the project by eligible households after completion, and, 
within a reasonable period of time after completion, are in compliance 
with the commitments made in the approved applications, Bank policies, 
and the AHP regulatory requirements; (5) during the long-term 15-year 
monitoring period, completed rental projects continue to comply with 
the household income targeting and rent commitments made in the 
approved applications; and (6) applications for direct subsidy under 
Banks' homeownership set-aside programs were approved, and the direct 
subsidies disbursed, in accordance with the AHP regulatory 
requirements.
    FHFA uses the information required to be submitted by the Banks 
under the DRM to verify that the Banks' funding decisions, and the use 
of the funds awarded, were consistent with statutory and regulatory 
requirements.

C. Burden Estimate

    FHFA has analyzed each of the six facets of this information 
collection in order to estimate the hour burdens that the collection 
will impose upon Bank members and AHP project sponsors annually over 
the next three years. Based on that analysis, FHFA estimates that the 
total annual hour burden will be 92,649. The method FHFA used to 
determine the annual hour burden for each facet of the information 
collection is explained in detail below.

I. AHP Competitive Applications Submissions

    FHFA estimates that Bank members, on behalf of project sponsors, 
will submit to the Banks an annual average of 1,250 applications for 
AHP subsidies under the Banks' competitive application programs, and 
that the average preparation time for each application will be 24 
hours. The estimate for the total annual hour burden on members and 
project sponsors in connection with the preparation and submission of 
AHP competitive applications is, therefore, 30,000 hours (1,250 
applications x 24 hours).

II. Compliance Submissions for Approved Competitive Application 
Projects at AHP Subsidy Disbursement

    FHFA estimates that Bank members, on behalf of project sponsors, 
will make an annual average of 345 submissions to the Banks documenting 
that projects approved under the Banks' competitive application 
programs continue to comply with the AHP regulatory eligibility 
requirements and all commitments made in the approved AHP applications 
at the time each AHP subsidy is disbursed to the project sponsors, and 
that the average preparation time for each submission will be 1 hour. 
The estimate for the total annual hour burden on members and project 
sponsors in connection with the preparation and submission of these 
compliance submissions is, therefore, 345 hours (345 submissions x 1 
hour).

III. Modification Requests for Approved Competitive Application 
Projects

    FHFA estimates that Bank members, on behalf of project sponsors, 
will submit to the Banks an annual average of 318 requests for 
modifications to projects that have been approved under the Banks' 
competitive application programs, and that the average preparation time 
for each request will be 2.5 hours. The estimate for the total annual 
hour burden on members and project sponsors in connection with the 
preparation and submission of these modification requests, therefore, 
is 795 hours (318 requests x 2.5 hours).

IV. Initial Monitoring Submissions for Approved Competitive Application 
Projects

    FHFA estimates that project sponsors will make an annual average of 
265 submissions of documentation to the Banks for purposes of the 
Banks' initial monitoring of in-progress and recently completed 
projects approved under their competitive application programs, and 
that the average preparation time for each submission will be 5 hours. 
The estimate for the total annual hour burden on project sponsors in 
connection with the preparation and submission of documentation 
required for initial monitoring of competitive application projects is, 
therefore, 1,325 hours (265 submissions x 5 hours).

V. Long-Term Monitoring Submissions for Completed Competitive 
Application Rental Projects

    FHFA estimates that project sponsors will make an annual average of 
3,178 submissions of documentation to the Banks for purposes of the 
Banks' long-term monitoring of completed rental projects approved under 
their competitive application programs, and that the average 
preparation time for each submission will be 3 hours. The estimate for 
the total annual hour burden on project sponsors in connection with the 
preparation and submission of documentation required for long-term 
monitoring of completed competitive application rental projects is, 
therefore, 9,534 hours (3,178 submissions x 3 hours).

VI. Homeownership Set-Aside Program Applications and Certifications

    FHFA estimates that Bank members will submit to the Banks an annual 
average of 10,130 applications and required certifications for AHP 
direct subsidies under the Banks' homeownership set-aside programs, and 
that the average preparation time for those submissions will be 5 
hours. The estimate for the total annual hour burden on members in 
connection with the preparation and submission of homeownership set-
aside program applications and certifications is, therefore, 50,650 
hours (10,130 applications/certifications x 5 hours).

D. Public Comments Request

    Written comments are requested on: (1) whether the collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of FHFA functions, 
including whether the information has practical utility; (2) the 
accuracy of FHFA's estimates of the burdens of the collection of 
information; (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of 
the information collected; and (4) ways to minimize the burden of the 
collection of information on members and project sponsors, including 
through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of 
information technology.

Shawn Bucholtz,
Chief Data Officer, Federal Housing Finance Agency.
[FR Doc. 2022-16855 Filed 8-4-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8070-01-P